Windows install problem...out of ideas.

Re: Windows instal problem...out of ideas.

Lol, dude I'm one step ahead of you! These errors are all on a Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H. After the first batch of problems I had on the Asus I assumed it had to be a mobo thing, it was the only thing that made sense. So I picked up the Gigabyte...but problems continued. That's what's got me banging my head against the wall...NOTHING seems to work. At this point I'm just thinking I'll return the Gigabyte and sell the rest of the parts individually, move my HTPC to the garage and get a NAS for the family TV instead.

Unfortunately I can't RMA the ASUS mobo, I bought it over a year ago used...unless someone can hook a brother up! cough::cough::hint::hint :D

So you bought this a year ago right ?
GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD3H LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Newegg.com
Look at where gigabyte replies, you may want to contact them.
See what they say about your issue and any warrenty services they can provide.
I urge you to have a gigabyte technician to view this thread so they can see what is happening.
Tell them a certified comptia tecnician, actually helped you this far and hope they can give you something better.
Clearly that board is very messed up, I was reading some info last summer about this board.
Nice specs and all, but that one is jacked up. :/
 
Re: Windows instal problem...out of ideas.


Close, that one I got just a week ago. The ASUS I got a year ago. At this point it will be easier to just return the Gigabyte for either a new one and give motherboard #3 a try or just return it and piece the rest of the system out. Or keep the parts as spares as both my personal and htpc comps are 1155.
 
Re: Windows instal problem...out of ideas.

Close, that one I got just a week ago. The ASUS I got a year ago. At this point it will be easier to just return the Gigabyte for either a new one and give motherboard #3 a try or just return it and piece the rest of the system out. Or keep the parts as spares as both my personal and htpc comps are 1155.

Honestly I would keep the cpu, sell off the ram and return the mobo for a refund.
Newegg.com - MSI CSM-H61M-P32/W8 LGA 1155 Intel H61 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
Crucial Ballistix Tactical Tracer 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory (with Red/Green Light) Model BLT4G3D1608DT2TXRG - Newegg.com

If your willing to make use of your cpu as simple media/home office center that would do perfectly.
 
Re: Windows instal problem...out of ideas.

I'm going to give the ASUS another try, will definitely return the gigabyte. I'm heading out skiing for the rest of the week so won't be able to play with it for a while. Once I'm back I'll keep posting in this thread. If it doesn't work out I think I'll still go with a NAS, I've been meaning to try it out for a while now. I'm running over 20 devices in the house so I think it's about time to move to the NAS for media sharing.
 
Re: Windows instal problem...out of ideas.

Something that has happened to me in the past, have you formatted the drive using the Windows disk during the install process? If so try using a 3rd party tool like GParted then go to install Windows.

Now the thing is this. Windows since Vista has removed the option to do a full format. Instead now what Windows does during the install, and fails miserably at it, is try to mimic GParted and do a full format quickly. What it turns out to do is what Windows XP called a Quick Format and that can sometimes have negative effects on a new Windows install, even using a known good disk.

From experience, not from any text books, I have found that using 3rd party software like GParted Live to format my drives first and from there use the Windows install media to install has never given me issues again. There have been times before I found GParted and was trying to install Windows Vista that I got such errors, even though I have used the disk to previously install on the same machine. It was at that point I discovered that Windows switched to the "Quick Format" style and caused more problems than it solved. So I would use Windows XP to do a full format, stop the install process from continuing after the format and then switch to Vista. Then Vista miraculously installed with no issues and no corrupted files.

So it could very well be that it has nothing at all to do with the hardware, nor any issues with it at all. It could just be that there is some residual crap left on the hard drive and the Windows format didnt clean it up and that is causing your issues.
 
Re: Windows instal problem...out of ideas.

+1 to what Mak said. I've followed his advice in years past about using GParted instead of the built-in Windows format during install, and never had any issues.
 
Re: Windows instal problem...out of ideas.

Hmmm...should gparted work on a system that doesn't have Windows installed on it? I burnt it over and got hung during running it on this system twice. Popped the SDD into an external drive bay and tried it on my other computer but it didn't recognize the external hdds. Before I open up the case and swap out one of my drives for it just want to make sure that's necessary.
 
Re: Windows instal problem...out of ideas.

Hmmm...should gparted work on a system that doesn't have Windows installed on it? I burnt it over and got hung during running it on this system twice. Popped the SDD into an external drive bay and tried it on my other computer but it didn't recognize the external hdds. Before I open up the case and swap out one of my drives for it just want to make sure that's necessary.

I think I know what might be the real problem here.
- Install on HDD instead of SDD: Get a WerFault.exe error that throws me into a cyclical error. BSOD on restart.

That I bolded, is directed at a memory issue with your system.
Also you may have the wrong drivers for your nvidia card.
I don't know what drivers you have for the 660GTX, but there are some bad drivers after the release of version 306.
Drivers | GeForce

Cab you test your memory stick for errors by using this ?
http://www.memtest86.com/downloads/memtest86-usb.zip

I want to be sure the memory functions like it should be.
Do what mak suggested first, even though he has som good points to show, I still believe it is hardware directed.
GParted Live on USB
GParted Live on USB

That should enable you to make a bottable flash driver after you read the guide.
 
Re: Windows instal problem...out of ideas.

Haven't bothered reading through the entire thread but in case you haven't tried htis... you might want to to a full wipe.. as in open up a terminal on a *nix distribution and figure out which device is the hard drive you want and run

Code:
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/<device>

That'll give the drive a 100% blank slate (all 0's written lol)
Then format it with Gparted or the Windows installer.
 
Re: Windows instal problem...out of ideas.

I think I know what might be the real problem here.
- Install on HDD instead of SDD: Get a WerFault.exe error that throws me into a cyclical error. BSOD on restart.

That I bolded, is directed at a memory issue with your system.
Also you may have the wrong drivers for your nvidia card.
I don't know what drivers you have for the 660GTX, but there are some bad drivers after the release of version 306.
Drivers | GeForce

Cab you test your memory stick for errors by using this ?
http://www.memtest86.com/downloads/memtest86-usb.zip

I want to be sure the memory functions like it should be.
Do what mak suggested first, even though he has som good points to show, I still believe it is hardware directed.
GParted Live on USB
GParted Live on USB

That should enable you to make a bottable flash driver after you read the guide.

I ran memtest last week on both sticks individually for a few hours, no errors and then both together overnight...no errors. I even swapped in a different memory stick from another computer with the same problems.

I dont even get to the nvidia driver install, most errors occuring during or just after the OS install and those that get by that stage act up at the mobo drivers. Not a single install has made it to updating the video drivers. Also, I tried a couple of installs with a 9800gt, same problems.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom