Pro Z690 WiFi (DDR4) - Windows install issue

[Kyehaisler0158402d6]

Have spent days trying to fix an issue with windows installation on my computer. For some background information I decided to remove my old hard drive that previously had windows and go with a fresh install on my sata ssd. I decided to do this via the windows media creation tool using a usb flash drive. I am able to boot into the flash drive and install windows, however the problem occurs when my computer goes to restart to boot into windows. If I leave the flash drive in the computer boots to the beginning of the windows install, and if I take the flash drive out the computer boots straight to bios. I’ve spent days and hours looking up solutions for this problem. I’ve tried changing almost every single possible bios setting, I’ve tried removing all drives except for the one ssd, and I’ve tried dozens of more ways in both UEFI and CSM mode in bios. Nothing seems to be working and I’m planning on trying a bios update to see if that will do anything to fix the problem. If that doesn’t work I’ll probably end up just going with a new motherboard, I’m beyond fed up with trying to fix this issue.

 

[citay]

BIOS update is a must. The early BIOS usually has lots of bugs, you don't want to troubleshoot for days when everything could've been avoided with a BIOS update to the latest version. Leave the BIOS in UEFI mode.

In general, i would do it like this with a new system:

1) Perform a quick basic stability test using Memtest86 Free. Prepare a USB stick with Memtest86 (on another PC) and boot from it by pressing F11 for the boot menu (press it a couple times right after turning on or rebooting the new system).

2) Update the BIOS to the newest version from the support site (extract latest BIOS ZIP file to USB stick on another PC, enter BIOS on the new system by pressing DEL a couple times after turning it on, enter M-FLASH from within the BIOS, and select the file on the USB stick to update from). Such a BIOS update is crucial, unless you want to suffer from BIOS bugs that are long solved in newer versions. After updating, enable XMP for the RAM and set up your fan curves in the BIOS. XMP makes the RAM run at the proper speed of for example DDR4-3600 instead of the safe default of DDR4-2133 (or DDR5-6000 instead of DDR5-4800). Now it's best to run Memtest86 again, to see if XMP makes the RAM unstable or not. The RAM has to be in slots A2 and B2 (2nd and 4th from the left), by the way.

3) Install Windows.
For that, you would download the latest Media Creation Tool for Windows 11. Freshly prepare a USB drive with it (obviously again on another PC), and then boot from it by pressing F11 for the boot menu after turning on the PC, and select the USB drive there. I explained the Windows installation procedure a bit here. There is no need to set the boot order manually, Windows will automatically add itself as the boot drive. It's crucial to use this Media Creation Tool to prepare a USB stick, because it will download the latest version of Win11. When you use an older Win11 installation DVD you might have, it can cause problems later.

Only have the drive attached that you want to install Windows to. Temporarily disconnect the other drives, so the Windows installer doesn't get confused. You can add them later again, when Windows was installed.

12th/13th/14th gen CPUs have P-cores and E-cores, and Win11 has improved thread scheduling to put workloads on the proper cores, so certain workloads don't accidentally get stuck on an E-core. With two free tools linked here, you can make it look like any Windows, i made it look and feel like Win10.

4) Install the Intel Chipset drivers first, then Serial I/O, Intel GNA Scoring Accelerator and Management Engine (all from the MSI support site). These will get rid of all the unknown devices in the device manager and set everything up correctly for the power saving modes to work and so on. Also LAN driver, and let Windows Update check for missing updates. Reboot (or several) will be needed. The WLAN, LAN and Bluetooth drivers ("Driver64" of each) you can get from Intel directly, they are newer. Or on a board with Realtek LAN, those drivers are here.

Here is a video with some general PC building advice:

 

[darkhawk]

Have you setup your BIOS so it's set to boot from the SATA drive? It kinda sounds like you haven't done that, if I'm honest, and the default settings may not work for that.

I don't think you need to update the BIOS or anything else....sounds more like it's just not setup to boot from the right type of drive.

 

[Kyehaisler0158402d6]

Doesn’t give me the option to select a boot drive other than the usb flash drive on UEFI mode, when I switch to CSM it gives me the option to boot from sata. However, when I boot from the sata it just shows me a blank screen with text saying to choose a proper boot drive. Along with this, CSM doesn’t allow me to install windows onto my drive as it says that my hardware does not allow for it.

 

[Kyehaisler0158402d6]

BIOS update is a must. The early BIOS usually has lots of bugs, you don't want to troubleshoot for days when everything could've been avoided with a BIOS update to the latest version. Leave the BIOS in UEFI mode.

In general, i would do it like this with a new system:

1) Perform a quick basic stability test using Memtest86 Free. Prepare a USB stick with Memtest86 (on another PC) and boot from it by pressing F11 for the boot menu (press it a couple times right after turning on or rebooting the new system).

2) Update the BIOS to the newest version from the support site (extract latest BIOS ZIP file to USB stick on another PC, enter BIOS on the new system by pressing DEL a couple times after turning it on, enter M-FLASH from within the BIOS, and select the file on the USB stick to update from). Such a BIOS update is crucial, unless you want to suffer from BIOS bugs that are long solved in newer versions. After updating, enable XMP for the RAM and set up your fan curves in the BIOS. XMP makes the RAM run at the proper speed of for example DDR4-3600 instead of the safe default of DDR4-2133 or so. Now it's best to run Memtest86 again, to see if XMP makes the RAM unstable or not. The RAM has to be in slots A2 and B2 (2nd and 4th from the left), by the way.

3) Install Windows.
For that, you would download the latest Media Creation Tool for Windows 11. Freshly prepare a USB drive with it (obviously again on another PC), and then boot from it by pressing F11 for the boot menu after turning on the PC, and select the USB drive there. I explained the Windows installation procedure a bit here. There is no need to set the boot order manually, Windows will automatically add itself as the boot drive. It's crucial to use this Media Creation Tool to prepare a USB stick, because it will download the latest version of Win11. When you use an older Win11 installation DVD you might have, it can cause problems later.

Only have the drive attached that you want to install Windows to. Temporarily disconnect the other drives, so the Windows installer doesn't get confused. You can add them later again, when Windows was installed.

12th/13th gen CPUs have P-cores and E-cores, and Win11 has improved thread scheduling to put workloads on the proper cores, so certain workloads don't accidentally get stuck on an E-core. With two free tools linked here, you can make it look like any Windows, i made it look and feel like Win10.

4) Install the Intel Chipset drivers first, then Serial I/O, Intel GNA Scoring Accelerator and Management Engine (all from the MSI support site). These will get rid of all the unknown devices in the device manager and set everything up correctly for the power saving modes to work and so on. Also LAN driver, and let Windows Update check for missing updates. Reboot (or several) will be needed. The WLAN, LAN and Bluetooth drivers ("Driver64" of each) you can get from Intel directly, they are newer.

Installed the newest drivers and tried to boot again but got the same problem whether I removed the usb flash drive or not. I also tried on CSM mode to make sure and nothing changed. Any ideas on what else could be causing the problem?

 

[Alan J T]

Installed the newest drivers and tried to boot again but got the same problem whether I removed the usb flash drive or not. I also tried on CSM mode to make sure and nothing changed. Any ideas on what else could be causing the problem?

When you install Windows to the SSD are you deleting all partitions first that are on that drive

 

[citay]

Do not try in CSM mode, it makes no sense for a fresh installation. Win11 has a hard requirement for UEFI mode. Even for Win10 it would make no sense, because in two years you're gonna have to update to Win11 (because Win10 support ends), so you want UEFI mode now already, no matter what. Do not change the boot order or anything in the boot page of the BIOS. Windows (10 or 11) will add themselves automatically as the boot target via "Windows Boot Manager". It's an UEFI feature that the OS can add itself during installation, you don't have to change a thing yourself.

Try a Clear CMOS and repeat the process, using F11 for the boot menu to boot from the USB stick (Windows installation media).

When you say you "installed newest drivers", does that mean you updated the BIOS to the newest version via M-FLASH?

 

[Kyehaisler0158402d6]

Do not try in CSM mode, it makes no sense for a fresh installation. Win11 has a hard requirement for UEFI mode. Even for Win10 it would make no sense, because in two years you're gonna have to update to Win11 (because Win10 support ends), so you want UEFI mode now already, no matter what. Do not change the boot order or anything in the boot page of the BIOS. Windows (10 or 11) will add themselves automatically as the boot target via "Windows Boot Manager". It's an UEFI feature that the OS can add itself during installation, you don't have to change a thing yourself.

Try a Clear CMOS and repeat the process, using F11 for the boot menu to boot from the USB stick (Windows installation media).

When you say you "installed newest drivers", does that mean you updated the BIOS to the newest version via M-FLASH?

Yes I updated the Bios to newest drivers

 

[Kyehaisler0158402d6]

When you install Windows to the SSD are you deleting all partitions first that are on that drive

Yes, I went into cmd and manually cleaned the drive and created a new primary partition.

 

[Alan J T]

Yes, I went into cmd and manually cleaned the drive and created a new primary partition.

Make a new Windows Media Installer one you are using may be faulty
Windows Version Downloads

 

[citay]

During the Windows installation, you have to delete all partitions. Don't create any yourself, the installer will do it automatically.

It will look something like this:

There you click "Delete" until there is just unused space on the SSD. Then you just click "Next" and everything will be created for you. Like mentioned before, only have the SSD connected you want to install to, no others. And to boot from the USB stick, only press F11. Don't change anything in the BIOS regarding the boot settings. If you have already done so, do a Clear CMOS to reset it to defaults beforehand.

 

[Kyehaisler0158402d6]

Make a new Windows Media Installer one you are using may be faulty
Windows Version Downloads

Already tried that 3 times, and tried repairing the install with an iso file but nothing worked.

 

[Alan J T]

Starting to sound like a faulty SSD Drive or you got what is a SCAM drive

Where did you buy the SSD from and what model is it

 

[Kyehaisler0158402d6]

Main SSD I was trying to install on was a 1TB Sata Teamgroup Vulcan, but I have also tried to install to my secondary drive which is a 1TB Sata WD Blue.

 

[Kyehaisler0158402d6]

I’m able to boot into a selected drive so theoretically I would be able to boot into a drive that already has windows installed correct? I’m thinking of maybe using a separate computer and installing windows onto my ssd then just putting it in my computer since I am unable to install windows myself.

 

[citay]

Have you tried it exactly like i said, after a Clear CMOS? Can you list step by step how you proceeded? Even down to what Media Creation Tool you used.

 

[Alan J T]

I’m able to boot into a selected drive so theoretically I would be able to boot into a drive that already has windows installed correct? I’m thinking of maybe using a separate computer and installing windows onto my ssd then just putting it in my computer since I am unable to install windows myself.

Yep that can work have done it my self my current right is a transplanted OS from a X570 Motherboard


Now I get flamed

 

[Kyehaisler0158402d6]

Have you tried it exactly like i said, after a Clear CMOS? Can you list step by step how you proceeded? Even down to what Media Creation Tool you used.

Tried again after clearing cmos, same issue.

 

[Kyehaisler0158402d6]

UPDATE FOR ALL: I have fixed my computer and solved the problem. I fixed this issue by simply installing windows on a separate computer and moving the drive over. The issue seemed to be coming from my 1TB Vulcan ssd, however after testing this drive still functions well so I believe it was some sort of capability issue with either windows or my motherboard. I was able to install windows on my 2nd ssd and everything is in good working order. I appreciate everyone’s help thanks!

 

[hdirfeli12bf02ae]

UPDATE FOR ALL: I have fixed my computer and solved the problem. I fixed this issue by simply installing windows on a separate computer and moving the drive over. The issue seemed to be coming from my 1TB Vulcan ssd, however after testing this drive still functions well so I believe it was some sort of capability issue with either windows or my motherboard. I was able to install windows on my 2nd ssd and everything is in good working order. I appreciate everyone’s help thanks!

Hello i have the same issu on my z690 tomahawk on kc3000 1tb cant install windows on it, cant boot in uefi just in csm legacy maybe the ssd firmware your sdd have the same problem? (i see you solved thja way)