Windows will not install.

[tonystrickler966]

Ok, so for the past few days I have been trying to install Windows onto my computer. The problem I am having is that it won't install. I have tried booting from a CD, USB and still will not work. I have unused copies of windows and they still will not install. I get bsod errors when I try booting from a USB and when I try from the CD it won't show any progress as if it's not even reading the CD. I have re-burned a Windows CD twice now and still will not work. Also tried installing Windows onto a different drive other than my ssd and nothing will happen. Please if anyone can help me it is much appreciated.


System specs.

I7-7700K
ASUS H170 PRO GAMING (with bios update to run the 7700k)
32gb Corsair vengeance lpx 2133 ram
Gtx 1050ti
250gb Samsung 850pro ssd
160 gb WD1600sj HDD

I also have a 1.5 tb drive that has just backups of random files from an old PC I want to keep.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Disconnect all drives except the target drive, which should be the SSD, and make sure the SSD is connected to SATA 0.

It may also help to reset the bios by removing the CMOS battery for two minutes, with the power disconnected from the wall, pressing the power button for ten seconds while the CMOS battery is out, then put it all back, power on, enter bios, default settings, attempt to install again.

 

[tonystrickler966]

Disconnect all drives except the target drive, which should be the SSD, and make sure the SSD is connected to SATA 0.

It may also help to reset the bios by removing the CMOS battery for two minutes, with the power disconnected from the wall, pressing the power button for ten seconds while the CMOS battery is out, then put it all back, power on, enter bios, default settings, attempt to install again.

If I reset the bios won't that reset the update I need for my 7700k to run on my motherboard?

 

[Darkbreeze]

NO, it will not. It will reset the bios settings AND trigger a rebuild of the hardware tables used by the boot partition, but it will not "regress", "backwards update" or "revert" your bios version. The only way to do that, and not all boards even support flashing backwards, especially after some specific bios updates, is to reflash the bios again.

Resetting is a standard procedure when there are troubles.

 

[tonystrickler966]

Fixed, Windows only wanted 8gb of ram when installing. Thank you for your help tho

 

[Darkbreeze]

That really doesn't make sense. The only way windows should have a problem is when you don't have ENOUGH memory, not because you have too much. Must have been some kind of configuration problem. After installing, did you install the other 24GB and it is working and recognized as 32GB now? Windows sees 32GB? You've checked with CPU-Z to see if it is actually using all 32GB and is running in dual channel?

 

[tonystrickler966]

Right now I am running 16gb, I have 2-16gb kits but my computer errors out when I try to run all 32gb. I dont know why that is but I have been looking all day for solutions.

https://valid.x86.fr/im1xa0
CPU-Z webpage

 

[Darkbreeze]

Does it fail to post with 32GB installed, or does it simply fail/error out in Windows?

Does it get INTO windows and then error out, or does it fail to BOOT into windows with 32GB?

Do BOTH sticks work, if you use them individually?

Have you updated the motherboard bios as was recommended? There are no less than 15 BIOS updates available for your motherboard (You only need to install one to get all previous updates, so no need to install each individually), almost all of which have to do with CPU and memory stability. The second to latest one specifically addresses DRAM compatibility.

https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/H170-PRO-GAMING/HelpDesk_BIOS/

Since you are running a Kaby Lake CPU on a Skylake motherboard, it must have had some kind of updates done or it wouldn't run at all. SO, WHAT bios version is actually installed on there right now?

Nearly all memory compatibility issues are usually resolved via bios updates, and this is likely the solution to your dilemma. There remains a chance that you simply have another issue, but until you verify you are on one of the more recent releases, if not the latest release, it's just a useless endeavor.

Also, did you buy those modules together in a matched set, or separately. Doesn't matter if they are the same model number or not, it matters only if they were factory tested to be compatible and sold in a set as such.

I'll tell you right now, about 30-40% of hardware compatibility or stablity issues we see here are resolved, usually right off the bat, by bios updates.

 

[tonystrickler966]

It does post with the 32gb in, and inside the bios it shows I have 32gb.

It does not get into windows before it errors. It can get to the screen of the windows 10 loading icon the blue screen.

Yes the other 2 stick work by themselves (the ones I'm trying to add) so both sets by themselves let me boot into windows.

The bios version I have is 3403 x64 and firmware is 11.6.10.1197

Not too long ago I sent my board back to Asus for an RMA so that away it could run my I7-7700k

When I bought the ram I bought 1 16gb kit (2 8gb sticks) from Amazon and then a week later I bought another kit of 16 (2 8gb sticks) thinking that I could run 32gb. The ram is the exact same make and model. Corsair vengeance lpx 2133MHz.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Either they are not compatible, and it doesn't matter that they are the same, they can still be incompatible if they did not come off the same production run and were not tested together. In some cases, even the exact same model number can have MAJOR differences between production runs.

See this post as an example of three different module configurations that all share the same part number but have different memory chips, with differences in chip rank as well as differences in how many sides there are chips ON.

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-3610013/amd-ram-compatibility.html#20562100


That's just one example, and with the limited availability currently of memory chips (ICs) there are many more examples of memory manufacturers changing module configurations based on what supply they can get at the time. Even when this is NOT the issue, and everything is the same, there can still be issues with two identical chips not tested together for compatiblity, to not work together.

Another consideration is voltage. Four modules may require a small or modest bump in DRAM voltage in order to run. In some cases, in order to run four modules OR to run modules at speeds which are advertised, but are higher than the default SPD value, it may be necessary to overclock the CPU. Often, when using a CPU that cannot be overclocked, it becomes impossible to run some modules at their advertised speeds.

That bios version should be sufficient for up to date DRAM compatibility as the only newer one addressed the ME vulnerability and is not related to memory or CPU stability, so no worries there I think.

You might try installing one stick, and bumping the DRAM voltage by .05v, then saving settings, shut down, install the other sticks and see if it will boot. Or try adding only one stick at a time until it won't. Perhaps there is one stick that will work with two of the other sticks but has an issue when all four are installed.