Unable to get fresh install of windows 7 on new SSD

johnearle99

Honorable
Aug 20, 2012
15
0
10,510
Yesterday I attempted to install a few new components in my computer and have been having issues installing windows

New components
Asus M5A97 Mobo
AMD Phenom X4 965 3.4 Ghtz
Samsung 830 128gig SSD

In the system I have my previous working
Samsung DVD drive
500v power supply
Radeon HD 6850 graphics card

I do not currently have my 1tb Samsung drive connected

I have the SSD hooked up in the first 6b/s SATA port and the DvD drive in port 2.
BIOS finds the hard drive and the setting in BIOS are ACHI

When I get to the windows setup screen where it asks me to pick the drive to install windows on I choose the SSD which shows 120g unallocated space,

At this point I get a Windows cannot create partition error.
I have gone into Diskpart and created the partition and set it to active and again tried to reinstall and get the same message

I have followed some Windows forums post (http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/91339-ssd-hdd-optimize-windows-reinstallation.html) regarding a clean install on SSD which says to create a NTFS format partition in Diskpart but when I attempt to format the SSD in Diskpart I receive an I/O device error.

At one point I actually got passed the initial step in setup and go to expaning files where it failed with the message unable to install files. Since then it has reverted back to the unable to create partition error.

I also tried doing the installation using the UEFI boot option in BIOS and when I create the new partitions (as an article I read was saying it should) The 3 partitions were created but when I selected the partition to put windows on I received the unable to create partition error.

I have a burned windows 7 disc I made using ISOBurner, a USB stick to use for install, and have even tried a previous Vista disk retail (not burned) to see if it was perhaps the installation.

I have also hooked up my previous Samsung 1tb HDD to see what happens if I were to try to boot from it, I have seen 2 outcomes to doing this.

The first is Disk Read Error press cntrl alt del to reset and the second (which I only had happen once) the windows login screen came up, then flashed blue and reset the pc.

I built a PC for my brother in law 3 weeks aho using an Asus mobo with the same BIOS screen, that install I had a fresh HDD and a SSD and it allowed me to install windows without a problem to his SSD (again from a burned ISO disk). I did not have to do anything out of the ordinary.

This has been really frustrating and at this point I am not sure if there is just something wrong with the Mobo or I am missing a tiny step in the process, any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Solution
have you tried F6 during install and loading AHCI drivers (2-13-2012) on ASUS's website?
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD_AM3Plus/M5A97/#download
or updating the BIOS to 1208 (5-25-2012)...

are you using compatible memory?

----update

is your DVD drive a SATA drive? Page 3-17 of the motherboard manual says this... "If you use a SATA optical drive to run the Windows XP OS installation disk, we strongly recommend that you install the optical drive to the SATA connectors 5/6 and set them to [IDE] mode.

I don't know why it would single out XP, but, it's worth a shot

johnearle99

Honorable
Aug 20, 2012
15
0
10,510
Thanks for being extremely helpful.

I have a valid licensed copy of windows 7, as I said I don't believe the install method to be the issue as I am getting the same error on an old Vista disk.

I am wondering if the SATA controller on the motherboard is bad, I am not sure the symptoms of something like this but I am not having luck with either of my hard drives and the errors Im receiving in Diskpart are troueblesome.
 

dingo07

Distinguished
have you tried F6 during install and loading AHCI drivers (2-13-2012) on ASUS's website?
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD_AM3Plus/M5A97/#download
or updating the BIOS to 1208 (5-25-2012)...

are you using compatible memory?

----update

is your DVD drive a SATA drive? Page 3-17 of the motherboard manual says this... "If you use a SATA optical drive to run the Windows XP OS installation disk, we strongly recommend that you install the optical drive to the SATA connectors 5/6 and set them to [IDE] mode.

I don't know why it would single out XP, but, it's worth a shot
 
Solution

johnearle99

Honorable
Aug 20, 2012
15
0
10,510
I am using compatible memory and only 2 sticks at the moment.

The BIOS is at 1208 which is the latest version.

I did notice that minor note in the manual regarding XP install but ignored it due to this beign a W7 install.

I am now not even using the disk I am using a USB thumb drive with the install on it and am still receiving the same errors.

There are some windows SSD install tips that says to format the hard drive using DISKPART prior to running the install and I cannot get this to work.

in DISKPART when i try to format the drive it fails with an err Invalid Parameter.
 

j2j663

Distinguished
Apr 29, 2011
414
0
18,860
I would try a couple of things. First reset the BIOS of your motherboard take it back to factory defaults and start from the beginning.

Second take out any peripherals that you aren't using, if you are going to install from USB take out the CD drive. Definitely take out any HDDs. Also if you are going to install from USB make sure you are not connected to a USB3 port as they need extra drivers to run. USB2 is natively supported but motherboards.

I would also check out your SSD on another computer if possible. Plug it in and try and create a partition with the Disk Manager. If you can't do that then you may have found your problem.

Also to rule out the SSD try installing win7 onto an HDD the same way. Same or different problems mean motherboard or driver issues. If the install works then you know the problem is with the SSD. To me all signs are pointing that you need to make sure the SSD is working correctly before you check out too many other components.
 

johnearle99

Honorable
Aug 20, 2012
15
0
10,510


Thank you for the help!

I was just able to hook the SSD up to my wifes PC which is 2 years olf, log into windows format the drive and copy files to it.

The SSD looks to not be the issue at this point. Working on next steps.

 

johnearle99

Honorable
Aug 20, 2012
15
0
10,510
I took out the DVD rom drive reconnected my SSD to port 1 and booted, the SSD did not show up in the boot order in BIOS but did show up under SATA configuration.

I ran the windows install again but before going into it I ran diskpart and the SSD showed up as Disk 0 but when i tried to run a clean I received an error, the same Device I/O error I have been getting.

Upon trying to install again I received the same Windows cannot partition the drive error. At this point I am at a loss of where to go next.
 

johnearle99

Honorable
Aug 20, 2012
15
0
10,510


I am unfamiliar what you are referring to, I am admittedly a novice when it comes to this in depth of troubleshooting.
 

dingo07

Distinguished
Did you use the same SATA cable from when you tested it in your wifes' computer? Have you ruled out the cable is OK?

-----UPDATE

Have you tried "Load Driver" in the Where do you want to install Windows setup screen? Use the driver that you can download from my previous post - from the ASUS support webpage, choose Win7 64bit, then SATA
 

johnearle99

Honorable
Aug 20, 2012
15
0
10,510
Yes I have ruled out that it is a cable issue, I took the cord i used in my wifes pc and used it in my own.

I downloaded the AHCI drivers from asus and installed them during installation using the method you described and still I am getting errors.

When running Diskpart sometimes it will let me clean the drive and sometimes it errors out with a Device I/O error. When i try to format the drive in diskpart I am getting an Inavlid Parameter error.

I dont mind replacing the mobo, but my biggest fear is putting in a new mobo and having this EXACT same issue rise again and see that it was a config issue the whole time.
 

dingo07

Distinguished
Eliminate all peripherals/cards that are not necessary to install Windows on the SSD. Does the processor have on-board video? if yes, i would eliminate the video card, etc..

and see if it will then install normally - bare bones, processor memory and thats it
 

johnearle99

Honorable
Aug 20, 2012
15
0
10,510
Mobo does not have onboard video i am already running barebones right now. I could go down to 1 single stick of ram instead of 2. The vid card is a radeon hd 6850.

The errors I receive in diskpart are intermittent sometimes it errors when i try to clean the disk, sometimes clean works and it errors during format.

The intermittent nature of this is what troubles me.

Thanks for your help and trying to work through this with me, its been a solid 10 hours of trying things on my end to no avail.
 

johnearle99

Honorable
Aug 20, 2012
15
0
10,510
Here is a rundown of the errors I am getting with regards to the new SSD and my previous 1tb HDD.

I get 2 different errors depending on which install media I use

When using the Windows 7 burnt disc or Thumbdrive (with the disc info on it) install-

In Diskpart when i attempt to format fs=nfts label="Windows 7" as per the tutorials I have found on here I see a 0 percent complete message and then receive the error (usually after some time)

Diskpart encountered an error. Parameters are invalid

Most of the googling I do on this topic seems to point to a bad hard drive.
However, I can format the hard drive on my wifes PC and write to it without issue.

When using the retail Vista Disc I get this error when trying to format:

Virtual Disk Service Error: The file system is incompatible

Also after I attempt to format and it fails, the disk no longer shows up in list disk.
If I make any changes to the disk via the windows install window (delete a partition) and then go into Diskpart to do a clean I get a

Diskpart has encountered an error: the request could not be performed because of a I/O device error

once this error occurs the disk does not show up in the list.


When I hook up my old hard drive a 1tb Samsung that has windows on it and try to boot from the drive I get the error (9 times out of 10):

Disk read error press cntrl + alt +del to reset

One time out of the 10 attempts, I believe it was attempt ~6 I got the windows 7 loading graphic then a quick blue screen flash and the PC reset.


With all these symptoms I am leaning towards a bad SATA controller on the mobo but I don't want to open up a new one I just got from a nearby store and put it in just to have the same issue pop up. But I think I may risk it tonight and do just that. Ideas on these symptoms?
 

dingo07

Distinguished
How about trying this...

Install the SSD (only) in your wifes computer and install windows. Then put it in your computer and ry to see if it boots, if you can get to Repair Windows, it might work.

Other than that, replace the MB like you mention with the new one.
 

johnearle99

Honorable
Aug 20, 2012
15
0
10,510
Dingo thanks for all the replies to my issue you have been very helpful!

But wouldn't installing my old hard drive with windows already on it be the same test as doing this (outside of the new drive being SSD) I cant get my old hard drive with windows on it past the disk read error (9 times out of 10).
 

dingo07

Distinguished

well, yes and no. You ultimately want the SSD, so there's no point in "trying" with the HDD. This does work sometime, to varying degrees based on hardware differences. It can be a tedious and arduous adventure, or it can be easy breasy - there's no way to know. It was just a thought and a last-ditch effort, if you wanted to [strike]waste[/strike] put the time in and see if it'll work.

IMO I think you should put the new MB in and RMA or get your $$$ back from this one. You've already proven there's nothing wrong with the SSD by installing it and writing to it on your wife's computer - unless, of course, it IS the SSD and it's only an intermittent issue, like a cold soder joint somewhere, or something never heard of...
 

johnearle99

Honorable
Aug 20, 2012
15
0
10,510
I just spoke to an Asus support person and they told me to verify that I can install windows to the SSD by using another computer to ensure that the drive is working. I told them that i was able to format the drive in windows and read/write to it but they told me that I need to be able to install windows to ensure that the SSD is not the problem.

If I can get windows to install on the SSD on my wifes pc then he said it is most likely a defect in the board.

He still could not explain to me why when I use my old hard drive I get a Disk Read Error when I try to boot into windows (which to me shows an issue with the board).

I suppose when I get home tonight I have a couple more things I can try before swapping boards, the cpu/mobo/ssd setup i am using is pretty common and I don't see alot of glaring reports of issues so I would assume this would work quick and easy, alas that has not happened haha.
 

johnearle99

Honorable
Aug 20, 2012
15
0
10,510
Finally ended up getting this installed.

I got windows working on my old 1tb hard drive and from there worked on getting the SSD to work.

I had to download the Asus ACHI drivers in my old HDs version of windows in order to format the SSD in windows. Once I was able to format the drive I disconnect my other HD and booted up the windows installer.

At this point I had to load the ACHI drivers again before choosing the partition I just formatted in the previous windows session.

Windows is now successfully installed on my SSD.

Thanks to all who helped me with this ordeal!