First Build - Windows 8.1 refuses to install

[Quewin]

Man, that sucks. It is times like this that having a cache of known good spare parts really comes in handy. Do you know anyone nearby that you could borrow parts for testing?

I'm assuming you aren't overclocking or setting the voltages to something other than stock? DRAM voltage is set at 1.5V?

Any chance your residence has old and possibly unreliable wiring? Maybe try another outlet? Are you using a power strip or uninterruptible power supply? Have you gone into the BIOS and looked at the monitoring area to check the input voltages that the motherboard is getting?

Tell me about it. No, Unfortunately I don't have a shorthand I can use to test parts, which makes it all the more difficult. No overclocking, and I've tried three different outlets. I looked at the voltage in the BIOS too, however due to my lack of knowledge, I can not tell if the numbers indicate a healthy PSU or not.

Here are the numbers in the BIOS:
CPU Core: 1.040V
CPU IO: 1.016V
System 3.3V: 3.408V
System 5V: 5.080V
System 12V: 12.384V
DRAM: 1.488V

Thanks!

I'm quoting myself here to expound on the CPU-fault possibility. A CPU is generally the least likely component of a computer to be at fault, but the memory controller is sounding more and more likely to be the cause of your issue.

If an alternate storage solution does not show relief for your issue, there may be some steps you can take to identify a CPU-related cause. The BIOS has some settings (such as EIST, Turbo Boost, Cache Line Prefetch, Hardware Prefecter,Active Processor Cores, Hyper-Threading) that, when disabled, would lower the stress and usage of certain parts of the processor, and may point out an issue on that front.

Wishing you the best of luck on solving this annoying issue!

Thank you sir, I have requested an RMA for the CPU. It's still pending, but hopefully it will be approved soon. My only choice now is to RMA potential candidates and hope.

Perhaps you can clarify something for me which I may have miscommunicated? If i've entirely disconnect the SSD (SATA and Power), and the errors still prompt without any changes, does this not rule out the SSD? This is the case with my issue, without any SATA peripherals it still gives those errors before or during Windows Setup.

I will look into the CPU options before the RMA and see what I can deduce, thanks!

Something to try would be to load and run linux "live" version. You can do this with either ubuntu or linux mint. I have tried the live version before and it looks and acts like a normal linux system. At least you can confirm the the hardware is at fault vs the OS.

I'm assuming you mean the "Try Ubuntu" feature when booting from a USB? If that's what you mean, I have tried that. I installed Ubuntu as well! I mentioned it briefly in the OP, but it was long and tedious so I think people must have overlooked it.

Ubuntu installs fine but does not operate smoothly at all. Multiple errors attempting to download apps, open apps, general use crashses very often. The few keywords I picked up was "segmentation" which apparently points to memory issues. Ubuntu behaves the same with the new Motherboard and RAM as well.

 

[Ketchup]

... Perhaps you can clarify something for me which I may have miscommunicated? If i've entirely disconnect the SSD (SATA and Power), and the errors still prompt without any changes, does this not rule out the SSD? This is the case with my issue, without any SATA peripherals it still gives those errors before or during Windows Setup...

Correct, I would considering that ruling out a drive problem.

 

[BadThad]

Everything points to a bad CPU at this point. I take it you don't have another 1150 CPU for testing? Besides an RMA, you could run out to a retail BM store and pickup a cheap Pentium for testing. Then return it or sell it on the used market. That's probably what I'd do after this much pain.

 

[Quewin]

Hey guys,

Just wanted to update this for future reference. I just installed the brand new 4690K and IT FINALLY WORKS. At least no errors for now lol, and Windows 8.1 installed perfectly and seems to be running problem free. Will do more driver installation and testing tomorrow, but it seems like the CPU was the problem!

Really want to thank everyone in this thread for taking the time to help, especially those who continually helped me after all my updates. Much appreciated guys, couldn't have done it without ya!

 

[OlyAR15]

Congrats on finally fixing the issue. Enjoy your new computer.

 

[sam_816]

Congrats man! Hope things go smoothly from here on for you.

 

[Ketchup]

Good to hear!

 

[VirtualLarry]

wow, so it was a bad CPU? What are the odds. Good job getting it all worked out.