So, I'm in a bit of a pickle. I recently decided to upgrade the case and motherboard of my two-year-old custom PC, and things haven't gone as planned. Here are the specs:
Current:
OS: Windows 7
GPU: Nvidia 750 TI
CPU: AMD FX-4350 4.2GHz, quad-core
Memory: Crucial 8gb (one stick)
PSU: Thermaltake TR2 430W
SSD: Samsung EVO 850gb
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB
Motherboard: Gigabyte - GA-78LMT Micro ATX AM3+
Case: DIYPC - Solo-T1 (ATX Mid)
(I also have an optical drive)
New stuff:
Motherboard: MSI 970 Gaming
Case: NZXT S340
So to start off, I took out my old board and screwed in the new one. It bluescreens while booting windows (unfortunately the bluescreen is a fraction of a second and I can't read the error code that fast). At this point I realize that the problem is that I haven't installed the drivers from the manufacturer's DVD. Thankfully no damage was done, so I swap the old board back in.
I boot my computer and run "DVDSetup.exe" (I say yes to the "let this program make changes to your computer" prompt). DVDSetup.exe shows up in task manager, but it sits and does nothing no matter how long I leave it open. Running the .exe again yields the message "Setup already running!" even though nothing is happening. The MSI motherboard manual says that the following should happen:
It is worth noting that while the DVD doesn't work properly on my desktop, it runs properly on my laptop (i.e. it opens the application the manual suggests should appear). I also tried running the .exe files on the DVD manually, and though I did install a handful of drivers this way, the new motherboard still bluescreens on startup.
So, the next step is going to the manufacturer's website. I downloaded the drivers from the site (link) and install them. I plug the new motherboard back in and boot my computer - the computer still bluescreens while loading windows, even in safe mode. Startup repair and a Windows 7 repair disk fail to fix anything.
So after some googling, I come to the conclusion that a fresh install of Windows is probably my best bet. This is a problem for me, because I used a Win-7 key from a broken old laptop, and so Windows won't let me use the key to download a new ISO with which I could reinstall Windows. I decide to go and buy a new Win-10 DVD since I don't know what else to do. (I don't trust third-party ISO websites.)
But Windows hasn't quite finished causing problems. I use a partition manager to create 80gb unallocated space on my SSD, so Win-10 has somewhere to go. I figure it's better to make sure the DVD works before swapping to the new board again; I reboot the computer and select "boot from CD/DVD". Windows 10 makes it as far as the splash before freezing (black screen with the cyan Windows logo in the middle - no loading spinner or other sign of life); I've tried to boot from the DVD numerous times and it always gets stuck on the splash. I know the DVD isn't totally kaput; the Windows 10 installer on the DVD runs fine while my computer is turned on, but that doesn't do me much good since it wants to overwrite Win-7 (and thus keep my current motherboard drivers).
So what the heck do I do? How can I get the drivers to work, or get Win-10 to install in such a way that I can put the new drivers on there?
(Sorry for the novel-length post; this is my first time on this website and I figure too much info is better than not enough.)
Current:
OS: Windows 7
GPU: Nvidia 750 TI
CPU: AMD FX-4350 4.2GHz, quad-core
Memory: Crucial 8gb (one stick)
PSU: Thermaltake TR2 430W
SSD: Samsung EVO 850gb
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB
Motherboard: Gigabyte - GA-78LMT Micro ATX AM3+
Case: DIYPC - Solo-T1 (ATX Mid)
(I also have an optical drive)
New stuff:
Motherboard: MSI 970 Gaming
Case: NZXT S340
So to start off, I took out my old board and screwed in the new one. It bluescreens while booting windows (unfortunately the bluescreen is a fraction of a second and I can't read the error code that fast). At this point I realize that the problem is that I haven't installed the drivers from the manufacturer's DVD. Thankfully no damage was done, so I swap the old board back in.
I boot my computer and run "DVDSetup.exe" (I say yes to the "let this program make changes to your computer" prompt). DVDSetup.exe shows up in task manager, but it sits and does nothing no matter how long I leave it open. Running the .exe again yields the message "Setup already running!" even though nothing is happening. The MSI motherboard manual says that the following should happen:
It is worth noting that while the DVD doesn't work properly on my desktop, it runs properly on my laptop (i.e. it opens the application the manual suggests should appear). I also tried running the .exe files on the DVD manually, and though I did install a handful of drivers this way, the new motherboard still bluescreens on startup.
So, the next step is going to the manufacturer's website. I downloaded the drivers from the site (link) and install them. I plug the new motherboard back in and boot my computer - the computer still bluescreens while loading windows, even in safe mode. Startup repair and a Windows 7 repair disk fail to fix anything.
So after some googling, I come to the conclusion that a fresh install of Windows is probably my best bet. This is a problem for me, because I used a Win-7 key from a broken old laptop, and so Windows won't let me use the key to download a new ISO with which I could reinstall Windows. I decide to go and buy a new Win-10 DVD since I don't know what else to do. (I don't trust third-party ISO websites.)
But Windows hasn't quite finished causing problems. I use a partition manager to create 80gb unallocated space on my SSD, so Win-10 has somewhere to go. I figure it's better to make sure the DVD works before swapping to the new board again; I reboot the computer and select "boot from CD/DVD". Windows 10 makes it as far as the splash before freezing (black screen with the cyan Windows logo in the middle - no loading spinner or other sign of life); I've tried to boot from the DVD numerous times and it always gets stuck on the splash. I know the DVD isn't totally kaput; the Windows 10 installer on the DVD runs fine while my computer is turned on, but that doesn't do me much good since it wants to overwrite Win-7 (and thus keep my current motherboard drivers).
So what the heck do I do? How can I get the drivers to work, or get Win-10 to install in such a way that I can put the new drivers on there?
(Sorry for the novel-length post; this is my first time on this website and I figure too much info is better than not enough.)
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