[SOLVED] System freezes on Windows 10 Setup

[.etlaM]

Hey smart people of the internet,



I'm sorry for bothering you as a noob with my question but I just don't know what else I can try. I hope this is in the right category.



I upgraded my machine recently and since then can't get Windows to work. I'm able to sit in the bios all day, but once I try installing Windows or when I went into my OS before I formatted it for a clean install everything freezes. I can't move my mouse or press any key and there is no more installation progress.



My specs are:



Mainboard: ASUS Prime Z390-A

CPU: Intel i9 9900k 3600 MHz

RAM: 32 GB DDR4 Corsair Vengeance LPX 2666 MHz

Heatsink: Prolimatech Genesis

Air cooling with multiple Fans

GPU: old NVIDIA (I'm sorry I am not sure, but I don't think it matters, as I have the same problem using onboard video)

PSU: be quiet 550W



Everything seems to be working fine, my CPU is idling at 30°C , every part is properly detected.



But once I start the Windows Installation progress (I've tried USB and CD) I get about 5-10 minutes until everything freezes. When I still had an OS on my SSD the timing till it froze was about the same.



I'm using a 256GB SSD by intenso.



Everything I could find I tried, so I'm not sure where else I could go from here.



Thank you very much.

Edit: I'm trying to install Windows 10 Pro 64Bit

 

[kanewolf]

I would start with 6 - 8 hours of memtest -- https://www.memtest86.com/ to see if you have a stable system. If a windows install fails, that is always my first diagnostic.

 

[.etlaM]

I would start with 6 - 8 hours of memtest -- https://www.memtest86.com/ to see if you have a stable system. If a windows install fails, that is always my first diagnostic.

Memtest is running, I will post the results later

 

[.etlaM]

So I just woke up to good (?) news. After running memtest the whole night it logged not a single error.

But what is the problem then?
I thought it had to be the SSD then, but after running a diagnostic the only problem with it seems to be a broken start partition (which is obviously because of the failed installation) and not a problem with the hardware.

 

[kanewolf]

So your system has a stable hardware baseline. I would next download a brand new Windows image from Microsoft and create new installation media.

 

[.etlaM]

So your system has a stable hardware baseline. I would next download a brand new Windows image from Microsoft and create new installation media.

That’s what I did yesterday. Went to a friend to burn a fresh DVD and create a fresh USB. Both froze.

I can try again later, but I don’t think it will change anything. Other ideas maybe?

Also thank you for trying to help me!

 

[kanewolf]

Make sure your BIOS is current.
Simplify things. Your PC has an integrated graphics. Remove the video card. Drop to a single DIMM.
What OS are you trying to install ?

 

[.etlaM]

I’ve stripped everything except the two RAMs, the SSD and my Windows USB, I will try again with one RAM. So far it’s the same problem.
System freezes during the install, my USB is still blinking as if there’s activity. But after two hours of praying still nothing is installed.

The OS I’m trying to install is the latest Windows 10 Pro 64 Bits.

 

[helper800]

With windows 10 and these types of problems, I have learned that doing these things first is always a good idea to make sure there are no problems with the Windows install:

1. Open Start.

2. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.

3. Type the following command and press Enter, let run until its complete: SFC /scannow

4. Type the following command and press Enter, let run until its complete: DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth

5. Type the following command and press Enter, let run until its complete: DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth

6. Type the following command and press Enter, let run until its complete: DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

7. If step 3 failed but steps 4-6 found corruption and fixed it repeat step 3 again.

Report back when this finishes (5-10 min)

 

[kanewolf]

With windows 10 and these types of problems, I have learned that doing these things first is always a good idea to make sure there are no problems with the Windows install:

1. Open Start.

2. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.

3. Type the following command and press Enter, let run until its complete: SFC /scannow

4. Type the following command and press Enter, let run until its complete: DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth

5. Type the following command and press Enter, let run until its complete: DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth

6. Type the following command and press Enter, let run until its complete: DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

7. If step 3 failed but steps 4-6 found corruption and fixed it repeat step 3 again.

Report back when this finishes (5-10 min)

Are these steps applicable for a NEW install on a clean disk? SFC doesn't make sense for an initial install.

 

[helper800]

Are these steps applicable for a NEW install on a clean disk? SFC doesn't make sense for an initial install.

I have seen partially corrupted downloads of windows iso's that have installed leading to corrupted boot partitions. I recommend doing this because it takes 5 minutes to do and it eliminates Win10 boot partition corruption as a source of the issue.

 

[.etlaM]

Make sure your BIOS is current.
Simplify things. Your PC has an integrated graphics. Remove the video card. Drop to a single DIMM.
What OS are you trying to install ?

When I dropped the one RAM everything ran perfectly.

Turns out my BIOS version did not support 32 GB of RAM. I don’t know if this is common or not, but if somebody experiences similiar problems updating your BIOS might sort it out.

I really fear updating my BIOS and somehow destroying my motherboard, so it really was the last straw. Thanks kanewolf for the fix and also helper800 for your help as well!