Win11 Installation Freezes or Restarts PC after 1 minute

[ChuckV]

MOBO: MSI B550 Tomahawk
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800G
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16GB 3600MHz (4 sticks, reduced to 1 stick for install)
PSU: Rosewill Hive1000S
SSD: WD Black sn850x 2TB

I built the pc, over a year ago and it's run great the whole time. I have an SSD with Win11 already installed, that boots up perfectly fine, so I assume that hardware is as good as it has been for the last year. I tried upgrading the storage drive and also getting another copy of win11 to install on that. But the installation is giving me trouble.

I've tried searching for answers and i've tried a lot of different solutions, no thing has worked so far. I've tried installing windows install media from different methods (media creation tool and rufus), different devices, different USB drives (2.0 and 3.0), different USB ports. I've tried resetting cmos, updating bios, take off gpu and display out via CPU and MOBO, various ram configurations reduced to 1 on 2nd slot, tried using 3 different SSDs, checked bios settings, tried plugging mouse and keyboard into different usb ports.

I chatted with microsoft support, as soon as they found out it was a custom build, they told me it sounds like a drivers issue and to contact manufacture support.
I chatted with MSI support, they turned me away because it's a custom build and outside of their support hours for builds, then they followed up with an email that gave a few ideas:
-make new bootable device or use another flash drive for install
-reset CMOS
-update BIOS
-reset the storage device or use another storage device

but I had already tried all of those, with no success

i've made another USB with drivers following a youtube video, but that video showed that the drivers were added after the install, so i'm confused by this 1 minute timer before the PC freezes or restarts (usually freezes). I believe there's an opportunity to add drivers at the time of choosing what storage device to install on.

 

[citay]

I tried upgrading the storage drive and also getting another copy of win11 to install on that.

You don't need to buy another Win11 license. If Win10 was activated on this PC before, then Win11 will recognize the system again, and as soon as you go online, it will activate itself. A Win10 license is as good as a Win11 one, it will work for that too.

I've tried searching for answers and i've tried a lot of different solutions, no thing has worked so far. I've tried installing windows install media from different methods (media creation tool and rufus), different devices, different USB drives (2.0 and 3.0), different USB ports. I've tried resetting cmos, updating bios, take off gpu and display out via CPU and MOBO, various ram configurations reduced to 1 on 2nd slot, tried using 3 different SSDs, checked bios settings, tried plugging mouse and keyboard into different usb ports.

So you have some instability and tried a lot of things. I will tell you what stuck out to me from your list of hardware immediately: The PSU. You have a 1000W model, complete overkill on the rated wattage, but a very cheap (read: likely bad) model, also see here. So that's where i would start when troubleshooting the hardware. Borrow a different PSU for a test (which has to be known good, not too old and of decent quality), connect it on-the-fly using its own cables, see if that helps the situation. If yes, see my Guide: How to find a good PSU, because then you need a new one. Go way higher on the quality, and way lower on the rated wattage. You could basically use the lowest-wattage PSU you can find that's Tier A or B (explained in the guide), something like this one for example. Unless you want to add a powerful GPU later, but then you also need something better than a cheap 1000W Bronze-rated unit, get a Gold-rated unit.

 

[ChuckV]

You don't need to buy another Win11 license. If Win10 was activated on this PC before, then Win11 will recognize the system again, and as soon as you go online, it will activate itself. A Win10 license is as good as a Win11 one, it will work for that too.



So you have some instability and tried a lot of things. I will tell you what stuck out to me from your list of hardware immediately: The PSU. You have a 1000W model, complete overkill on the rated wattage, but a very cheap (read: likely bad) model, also see here. So that's where i would start when troubleshooting the hardware. Borrow a different PSU for a test (which has to be known good, not too old and of decent quality), connect it on-the-fly using its own cables, see if that helps the situation. If yes, see my Guide: How to find a good PSU, because then you need a new one. Go way higher on the quality, and way lower on the rated wattage. You could basically use the lowest-wattage PSU you can find that's Tier A or B (explained in the guide), something like this one for example. Unless you want to add a powerful GPU later, but then you also need something better than a cheap 1000W Bronze-rated unit, get a Gold-rated unit.

My PSU has worked great for over a year and still works great on an SSD that has windows already installed.

 

[citay]

Oh i see, so the same system works fine with another SSD, i have not understood that correctly before. Yeah, that means the PSU is less likely to cause anything here. Still an odd choice of PSU for this particular system, but less of a concern.

What is the model of SSD it works fine with? And when you say you tried "3 different SSDs", what were those exact models?

I mean, when it works fine with one particular SSD, we really have to hone in on that more. What's the difference, is one SATA and the others M.2 PCIe? With the other SSDs, does it even freeze in the BIOS, or only in Windows?

 

[ChuckV]

Oh i see, so the same system works fine with another SSD, i have not understood that correctly before. Yeah, that means the PSU is less likely to cause anything here. Still an odd choice of PSU for this particular system, but less of a concern.

What is the model of SSD it works fine with? And when you say you tried "3 different SSDs", what were those exact models?

I mean, when it works fine with one particular SSD, we really have to hone in on that more. What's the difference, is one SATA and the others M.2 PCIe? With the other SSDs, does it even freeze in the BIOS, or only in Windows?

the one that works currently is a Kingston om8pdp3256b-ai1 256gb ssd
the other two are both WD Black sn850x, a 1TB and a 2TB
the 1TB had worked on this pc with this same OS previously, but i had cloned the OS and everything to the smaller drive to use the 1TB in another computer.
Now I'm trying to do a new install on a brand new 2TB WD Black for a new key that i've already installed.
The purpose is that i want to create multiple bootable storage devices with their own OS key (not cloned). It's part of an archive that I want to build up over time.

I'm really thinking the problem is with the installation media, maybe the USB drives i've tried so far aren't capable of this, but i don't understand how or why.
I read another post where this same problem was solved by reinstalling the media, but they succeeded on their 3rd attempt of creating the install media. I'm at about 6 attempts of creating install media. I'm about to try using a SanDisk Ultra USB 3.0 32GB drive.

 

[Adrian the Saxon]

I'm really thinking the problem is with the installation media, maybe the USB drives i've tried so far aren't capable of this, but i don't understand how or why.

Which programs did you try making the USB stick?

 

[ChuckV]

Which programs did you try making the USB stick?

I've tried the windows installation media creation tool from microsofts website, and I've tried using Rufus. Do you have any recommendations for what program to use?

 

[Alyred]

Might be a crazy question, but have you tried different USB ports? I see you tried both Rufus and the Windows Installation Media creator - I was getting issues running a Windows 11 ISO from Ventoy (errors when scanning for the drives), but switching to a normal media installation USB worked fine.
Also check your RAM, Windows 11 uses more RAM and will fill it more than Win10 did, I've seen a minor error in a RAM stick cause installation failures years ago in Windows 10, though the hardware seemed to run fine otherwise. Maybe try installing with 1 RAM stick in A2, and if youget the same error, try the other stick. Not sure it would help but worth a try.

 

[citay]

the one that works currently is a Kingston om8pdp3256b-ai1 256gb ssd
the other two are both WD Black sn850x, a 1TB and a 2TB

the 1TB had worked on this pc with this same OS previously, but i had cloned the OS and everything to the smaller drive to use the 1TB in another computer.

Meaning, it's not a weird compatibility issue with the SN850X which we sometimes get in MSI AMD boards, because the 1TB drive of this model also worked before. That puts the spotlight on that individual 2TB drive. It needs to be ruled out by trying with a different drive, but otherwise the same procedure with the same Windows installation USB stick etc. Because when you're testing from "the wrong end", creating the installation USB in all kinds of different ways, and it's really the SSD, then you'd be wasting your time. The Media Creation Tool is normally the correct way. So i would try to borrow/source another different SSD model and try with that.

Might be a crazy question, but have you tried different USB ports?

->

different USB ports. I've tried resetting cmos, updating bios, take off gpu and display out via CPU and MOBO, various ram configurations reduced to 1 on 2nd slot

 

[Alyred]

Meaning, it's not a weird compatibility issue with the SN850X which we sometimes get in MSI AMD boards, because the 1TB drive of this model also worked before. That puts the spotlight on that individual 2TB drive. It needs to be ruled out by trying with a different drive, but otherwise the same procedure with the same Windows installation USB stick etc. Because when you're testing from "the wrong end", creating the installation USB in all kinds of different ways, and it's really the SSD, then you'd be wasting your time. The Media Creation Tool is normally the correct way. So i would try to borrow/source another different SSD model and try with that.



->

Oops, missed that.

 

[Adrian the Saxon]

So i would try to borrow/source another different SSD model and try with that.

You all think it is a hardware problem.
I would make a Linux boot stick with a live version and look if it finds the drive.
If it finds the drive it is a software problem.

 

[Alyred]

You all think it is a hardware problem.
I would make a Linux boot stick with a live version and look if it finds the drive.
If it finds the drive it is a software problem.

I mean, I get your point in trying, but how could it be a software problem on a Windows 11 install that's designed to work on millions of different devices and configurations? Once he got fully into windows, sure, but how could that be a software problem where it locks up during install itself?

 

[ChuckV]

now you all know my confusion...
my reasoning is that the hardware is good because it works with another ssd that has it already installed. and it does show any of the SSDs or USBs during the installation on the "select storage device" page.
Microsoft tech support chat briefly mentioned that it sounded like a driver issue, yesterday i tried to focus on how to add drivers to the install.wim file of the iso, but i felt that i was travelling into foreign territory with that. So i watched vids showing installing win11 onto b550 mobo's and they weren't adding drivers until after win11 installed (which leaves me in the dust).

so, I'm as baffled as you all are, i've been trying to troubleshoot this for a week now.

 

[Alyred]

Is your BIOS set to RAID mode for the SATA connectors, or AHCI? Even if you're not using SATA by putting that in RAID it'll require RAID drivers from AMD for Windows 11 to see the drives.
If you're trying to install it as a RAID, I highly recommend against that unless you're just doing mirroring.
I'm unsure why this would lock up the installation, but it would definitely make it so you couldn't find the drives.

 

[Adrian the Saxon]

I mean, I get your point in trying, but how could it be a software problem on a Windows 11 install that's designed to work on millions of different devices and configurations? Once he got fully into windows, sure, but how could that be a software problem where it locks up during install itself?

I'm sure it has something to do with the software. And it is very easy to rule out a hardware fault.
Two downloads, Ventoy and a (some) modern Linux distribution. Ventoy is self-explanatory.
The distribution I would use is Gparted, the ISO is 500 MB.
But that's my personal thing, you're welcome to continue experimenting with Windows.

Windows 11 install that's designed to work on millions of different devices and configurations?

Seems you do not follow news about Computers.
Microsoft has begun to rule out computers which not have the required Hardware. The Windows Defender mark some tools as PUP now. And this is not all.
Google it yourself.

And to be a bit sarcastic:
Linux can be installed on a toaster if he has a chip.
Android is Linux - how many different devices use Android (look on your TV, your phone, your car).

 

[ChuckV]

Is your BIOS set to RAID mode for the SATA connectors, or AHCI? Even if you're not using SATA by putting that in RAID it'll require RAID drivers from AMD for Windows 11 to see the drives.
If you're trying to install it as a RAID, I highly recommend against that unless you're just doing mirroring.
I'm unsure why this would lock up the installation, but it would definitely make it so you couldn't find the drives.

my bios is set to AHCI

 

[Adrian the Saxon]

This guy solved it for his system.
MSI MAG X870 TOMAHAWK WIFI: "A media driver your computer needs is missing" for Windows 11 Install

 

[Alyred]

I'm sure it has something to do with the software. And it is very easy to rule out a hardware fault.
Two downloads, Ventoy and a (some) modern Linux distribution. Ventoy is self-explanatory.
The distribution I would use is Gparted, the ISO is 500 MB.
But that's my personal thing, you're welcome to continue experimenting with Windows.


Seems you do not follow news about Computers.
Microsoft has begun to rule out computers which not have the required Hardware. The Windows Defender mark some tools as PUP now. And this is not all.
Google it yourself.

And to be a bit sarcastic:
Linux can be installed on a toaster if he has a chip.
Android is Linux - how many different devices use Android (look on your TV, your phone, your car).

I follow computer information fine. I run linux and windows, servers and workstations in my homelab, depending on need. And I understand about the TPM requirements on Windows 11 install as well as MS now marking some of the workarounds as PUP. I also run Ventoy for my installs, and notice that Win11 24h2 does throws an error when running an ISO booted through Ventoy.
However, the description that @charlieev50158902da gave did not mention an error or displayed problem, just that Windows would freeze or restart, and no drive is found during the initial installation. Unless there is an error that wasn't mentioned?
He could install linux but that's not his goal here, and the machine works otherwise with another drive that already has Windows on it. So it's not likely a hardware failure with his other parts, no. It's either a configuration issue or something with the drive itself.
@charlieev50158902da , does the BIOS recognize the drive? I re-read your posts and don't see that you mentioned that. @citay also wondered if you tried that new drive in another machine to make sure it's not the drive itself that's failing. If you can get an installation started on a different computer that would rule out the drive itself as the problem.
It's possible also that you have a compatibility issue with the drive on this particular motherboard. It looks like from this post:

the one that works currently is a Kingston om8pdp3256b-ai1 256gb ssd
the other two are both WD Black sn850x, a 1TB and a 2TB
the 1TB had worked on this pc with this same OS previously, but i had cloned the OS and everything to the smaller drive to use the 1TB in another computer.
Now I'm trying to do a new install on a brand new 2TB WD Black for a new key that i've already installed.
The purpose is that i want to create multiple bootable storage devices with their own OS key (not cloned). It's part of an archive that I want to build up over time.

I'm really thinking the problem is with the installation media, maybe the USB drives i've tried so far aren't capable of this, but i don't understand how or why.
I read another post where this same problem was solved by reinstalling the media, but they succeeded on their 3rd attempt of creating the install media. I'm at about 6 attempts of creating install media. I'm about to try using a SanDisk Ultra USB 3.0 32GB drive.

It looks like the kingston drive (PCIe v3) is working, but the SN850x drives are currently not working now for install but the 1TB 850x did work previously for install? Check the BIOS and see if you have the M2_1 slot configured for PCIe v4 and not Auto. Did you add anything else to the motherboard, such as PCI cards? Cards in some slots/configurations will disable the M2_2.
If you're still getting lockups and freezes during the install when it scans for drives, I'm pretty sure it has something to do with that drive itself. If it throws an error before locking up or rebooting, please post that here.
It could also be an incompatibility issue in general like @citay mentioned earlier, where the 1TB drives are fine but the 2 TB are not? Reddit has a couple of posts similar to this though I'm not sure if the 1TB drives work OK.

https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/1817ugo

 

[Adrian the Saxon]

notice that Win11 24h2 does throws an error when running an ISO booted through Ventoy.

Installed Windows 11 Pro (23H2) and Manjaro on my spare Laptop in early January using Ventoy. No problems.
Guess why I used 23H2.

He could install linux

I never said "Install Linux". I said:
Run a "Live System". Do you know the difference? You run Linux?
To make this point completely clear:
I never recommend to install a Linux. I recommend "Live Systems".
A "journalctl -b" and you have a complete boot log with errors written in red. And you can browse it back and forth. Two more commands "fdisk -l and "inxi" (if it is installed) and you have a overview over Partitions and the Hardware.
You should know this if you use Linux.

 

[ChuckV]

@charlieev50158902da , does the BIOS recognize the drive? I re-read your posts and don't see that you mentioned that. @citay also wondered if you tried that new drive in another machine to make sure it's not the drive itself that's failing. If you can get an installation started on a different computer that would rule out the drive itself as the problem.
It's possible also that you have a compatibility issue with the drive on this particular motherboard. It looks like from this post:

It looks like the kingston drive (PCIe v3) is working, but the SN850x drives are currently not working now for install but the 1TB 850x did work previously for install? Check the BIOS and see if you have the M2_1 slot configured for PCIe v4 and not Auto. Did you add anything else to the motherboard, such as PCI cards? Cards in some slots/configurations will disable the M2_2.
If you're still getting lockups and freezes during the install when it scans for drives, I'm pretty sure it has something to do with that drive itself. If it throws an error before locking up or rebooting, please post that here.
It could also be an incompatibility issue in general like @citay mentioned earlier, where the 1TB drives are fine but the 2 TB are not? Reddit has a couple of posts similar to this though I'm not sure if the 1TB drives work OK.

https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/1817ugo

Yes, BIOS does recognize the WD Black drives, I even used BIOS to run a test on the SSD, and it said that it's good. It does show up in the win11 installation screen, but shortly after i select that drive for the install, i run out of time and the pc freezes or restarts.

Further development, I made a Ventoy boot drive with ISOs for Win11 and Win10. Win 11 continued to freeze or restart after 1 minute. So I tried Win10, it did not freeze or restart during the install process, however it did start freezing or restarting after that (during initial configuration and while running Win10). However, when it boots into win10, it usually restarts rather than freezing, whereas attempting to install win11 tended to freeze more often than restart

I've tried rushing into updating drivers, but I run out of time, it restarts and then Win10 sometimes goes into recovery mode. It's frustrating, but i feel that it's some kind of progress.

so, I started to think maybe it is a hardware problem, so I swapped back to the SSD w/ Win11 that works, and it's still working wonderfully without freezing or crashing. So that kinda makes me think it has to do with drivers. I'm wondering if I need to add drivers to an ISO. I will also note that the drive with the OS that works has AMD drivers.

In brainstorming, I'm wondering if perhaps the drive with win11 that works may be using an older ISO? while the issues i've been having have all been with ISOs that i've acquired recently from Microsoft's website, which as was mentioned earlier, they have had issues with for updating security updates, but perhaps they resolved that and have some other problems? Although, maybe it's a software/hardware combo problem, like maybe recent ISOs don't like my PSU or something? but i don't know, i'm just brainstorming what the issue might be.

I wonder if I might be able to get my hands on an older ISO to try to use. I'm also at the point of trying cloning to the 2TB SSD and maybe I can use that to transfer to my new win11 pro key, and still be able to archive the small drive.

What do yall think? Btw, I REALLY appreciate you all helping me figure this situation out! I'm SO grateful for all of you giving your best efforts on this. Thank you all so much.