Hey all,
Finished a new computer a few weeks ago, and right away I started having all sorts of problems. First, the PSU went dead within a week, which I replaced with the same PSU. This PSU, in turn, died within a week, which I was forced to replace with a different PSU (the non-modular, Corsair I have now). Finally, with adequate power being reliably supplied to my system, I was able to boot and use the new rig for about 1.5 weeks before it started freezing erratically, to the point where I could not really use the machine at all. This in turn, I figured out to be a motherboard defect, which was causing memory problems with the system (memory wasn't appearing, even though I individually tested each stick for consistency). Thanks to ASUS customer support, I was able to get a new board relatively quickly, which I installed a few days ago. Right away, I started having CPU overheating problems, which continued to freeze the computer. Since the stock CPU fan wasn't doing its job, I went out and purchased a fancy Zalman unit, which brought the CPU temp down a solid 40 celsius, down to the range of 40-45 celsius (idling). At this point, I had hoped the computer would work. Alas, I came into my current predicament, which I cannot seem to solve...
I cannot seem to get Windows 7 (64 bit professional) to install, or boot, on this machine. At first, I still had the OS installed on the primary hard drive, which I had used on the computer before the mobo failed. I decided I would reformat the drive, just to be safe, and start from scratch, so to speak. Interestingly, the computer froze, and continued to freeze, right after the Microsoft logo materialized during the boot sequence from the disc. Then, when I tried to boot the existing partition of Windows 7, it did the exact same thing: freezing on the Microsoft logo after 5-10 seconds. Basically, I could not boot my computer into Windows, nor could I reinstall, delete, or modify the existing Windows partition.
So what did I do to try to solve it? A great many things. I first attempted to replug everything in the system back into place, checking my connections and so far. Everything got the green light, through a series of diagnostic tests I ran, such as Memtest 86+ on the memory (4 x 2gb), and HD regen on the primary drive (1 TB), where I wanted windows. Everything under the BIOS showed up as running correctly, including the frequency on the RAM/CPU, and the configuration on all SATA devices (2 optical, 2 HDs) showed up fine. Essentially, it seemed as if the computer itself was giving me a green light, but at the same time refused to operate.
I followed up attempting a boot with different RAM configurations, ranging from 1 stick, 2 stick, 3 stick, to 4 stick, in every configuration I could think of. No dice. I tried looking through the BIOS for tell-tale signs of driver conflict, and attempted disabling devices on the board such as the 1394 adapter, HD audio, and USB 3.0. Unfortunately, since I do not have a PS/2 keyboard, I could not try disabling the USB 2.0 drivers, as otherwise I could not operate the install. I tried installing from the DVD from both drives, to no avail. I tried unplugging the backup HD and using only the one DVD drive and the HD, to no luck. Everything I tried seemed to get me stuck at the Microsoft logo.
But I did make some progress. Interestingly, without ANY HDs plugged in, the disc boots correctly to the Windows setup screen (although obviously that doesn't really help me). When I set the optical drive's PIO to 4, and to UDMA 5, the disc booted correctly, but then froze on the "Setup is starting..." screen. I made myself a Windows 7 installation USB key, using a friend's computer, which correctly boots past the Microsoft logo, and even gets by the "Setup is starting" window at times, but always freezes by the next screen, where you must accept the user agreement. Besides this, I have tried seemingly endless options in the BIOS, such as setting the storage configuration to AHCI, and RAID, which got me by the Microsoft logo, 2/5 boots, but always froze by the setup screen. I have yet to reach the screen where I actually partition the disc.
I'm seriously tearing my hair out over here.
Any advice would be ungodly, and extremely appreciated.
Thank you,
Mr. Narrative
I'll list my computer specs here:
Mobo: ASUS Rampage III Gene LGA 1366 Intel X58 Micro ATX Motherboard
CPU: Intel Core i7 950 3.06GHz 8M L3 Cache LGA1366 Desktop Processor
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 480 1536 MB Graphics Card
RAM: Corsair DOMINATOR 8 GB PC3-10666 1333Mhz 240-Pin CAS 7 DDR3
PSU: Corsair TX950W Power Supply
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS9900LED Ultra Quiet CPU Cooler
Case: Cooler Master ATX Fulltower Case
Finished a new computer a few weeks ago, and right away I started having all sorts of problems. First, the PSU went dead within a week, which I replaced with the same PSU. This PSU, in turn, died within a week, which I was forced to replace with a different PSU (the non-modular, Corsair I have now). Finally, with adequate power being reliably supplied to my system, I was able to boot and use the new rig for about 1.5 weeks before it started freezing erratically, to the point where I could not really use the machine at all. This in turn, I figured out to be a motherboard defect, which was causing memory problems with the system (memory wasn't appearing, even though I individually tested each stick for consistency). Thanks to ASUS customer support, I was able to get a new board relatively quickly, which I installed a few days ago. Right away, I started having CPU overheating problems, which continued to freeze the computer. Since the stock CPU fan wasn't doing its job, I went out and purchased a fancy Zalman unit, which brought the CPU temp down a solid 40 celsius, down to the range of 40-45 celsius (idling). At this point, I had hoped the computer would work. Alas, I came into my current predicament, which I cannot seem to solve...
I cannot seem to get Windows 7 (64 bit professional) to install, or boot, on this machine. At first, I still had the OS installed on the primary hard drive, which I had used on the computer before the mobo failed. I decided I would reformat the drive, just to be safe, and start from scratch, so to speak. Interestingly, the computer froze, and continued to freeze, right after the Microsoft logo materialized during the boot sequence from the disc. Then, when I tried to boot the existing partition of Windows 7, it did the exact same thing: freezing on the Microsoft logo after 5-10 seconds. Basically, I could not boot my computer into Windows, nor could I reinstall, delete, or modify the existing Windows partition.
So what did I do to try to solve it? A great many things. I first attempted to replug everything in the system back into place, checking my connections and so far. Everything got the green light, through a series of diagnostic tests I ran, such as Memtest 86+ on the memory (4 x 2gb), and HD regen on the primary drive (1 TB), where I wanted windows. Everything under the BIOS showed up as running correctly, including the frequency on the RAM/CPU, and the configuration on all SATA devices (2 optical, 2 HDs) showed up fine. Essentially, it seemed as if the computer itself was giving me a green light, but at the same time refused to operate.
I followed up attempting a boot with different RAM configurations, ranging from 1 stick, 2 stick, 3 stick, to 4 stick, in every configuration I could think of. No dice. I tried looking through the BIOS for tell-tale signs of driver conflict, and attempted disabling devices on the board such as the 1394 adapter, HD audio, and USB 3.0. Unfortunately, since I do not have a PS/2 keyboard, I could not try disabling the USB 2.0 drivers, as otherwise I could not operate the install. I tried installing from the DVD from both drives, to no avail. I tried unplugging the backup HD and using only the one DVD drive and the HD, to no luck. Everything I tried seemed to get me stuck at the Microsoft logo.
But I did make some progress. Interestingly, without ANY HDs plugged in, the disc boots correctly to the Windows setup screen (although obviously that doesn't really help me). When I set the optical drive's PIO to 4, and to UDMA 5, the disc booted correctly, but then froze on the "Setup is starting..." screen. I made myself a Windows 7 installation USB key, using a friend's computer, which correctly boots past the Microsoft logo, and even gets by the "Setup is starting" window at times, but always freezes by the next screen, where you must accept the user agreement. Besides this, I have tried seemingly endless options in the BIOS, such as setting the storage configuration to AHCI, and RAID, which got me by the Microsoft logo, 2/5 boots, but always froze by the setup screen. I have yet to reach the screen where I actually partition the disc.
I'm seriously tearing my hair out over here.
Any advice would be ungodly, and extremely appreciated.
Thank you,
Mr. Narrative
I'll list my computer specs here:
Mobo: ASUS Rampage III Gene LGA 1366 Intel X58 Micro ATX Motherboard
CPU: Intel Core i7 950 3.06GHz 8M L3 Cache LGA1366 Desktop Processor
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 480 1536 MB Graphics Card
RAM: Corsair DOMINATOR 8 GB PC3-10666 1333Mhz 240-Pin CAS 7 DDR3
PSU: Corsair TX950W Power Supply
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS9900LED Ultra Quiet CPU Cooler
Case: Cooler Master ATX Fulltower Case