[SOLVED] ASRock H81(M?)-HDS - unable to install Win7 64-bit via USB

[VirtualLarry]

I can boot the Win7 64-bit installer, it shows "loading windows files" in white text on a black background, with a progress bar underneath, but then after the opening screen where you click "Install", it shows a dialog box, saying something about a "CD/DVD driver not found", and giving me the option of "rescan" or "browse". Which is pretty wierd.

I have the UEFI set to AHCI for the disk controller. I'm booting in legacy / CSM mode, off of an A-data USB3.0 stick, in either the USB2.0 front ports on my Rosewill micro-ATX case, as well as one of the rear USB2.0 ports, no difference.

I tried both disabling USB3.0 totally on the mobo, as well as enabling "USB compatibility mode" (whatever that does), no change.

I suppose I could try another SSD (currently, a Mushkin ECO2 120GB SATA6G SSD), but the UEFI sees it OK. I also just finished installing Linux Mint 17.2 MATE 64-bit from USB to the SSD. So the mobo, SSD, USB port, etc. works.

Also, when I select "browse" in Win7's installer when prompted, it shows both a C: and an X:, with files.

Edit: SOLVED. Rufus worked!

 

[Flapdrol1337]

Any other bios settings, like advanced boot options which you can turn on or off?

Think I had a similar problem before and that was the fix.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Secure boot and Fast boot are both disabled. I just tried each of the two identical brand-new DDR3-1600 RAM sticks, individually in each RAM slot, no change.

Edit: Also, it's a G3258, but not currently OCed.

 

[Flapdrol1337]

Why are you booting in legacy mode btw?

 

[VirtualLarry]

Why are you booting in legacy mode btw?

Well, Win7 has a few rough edges in it's UEFI support, and mostly because the USB flash drive that MS's ISO tool makes, is an MBR NTFS partition, that won't boot UEFI on most PCs.

Plus, I've never had issues booting legacy to install Win7 before.

 

[vailr]

If you didn't use Rufus to create the USB installation thumb drive, re-try with that, using the MBR & FAT32 options.
Also try: once booted into the initial Windows installation, completely delete all existing partitions on the target SSD, then create & format a new partition.
Rufus:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/rufus.html

 

[Flapdrol1337]

Never bothered with legacy mode.

Anyway, is the drive mbr? if you installed linux first maybe it's gtp? win7 can't boot from gpt.

 

[tcsenter]

Either the UEFI BIOS' legacy support (CSM) module is buggy, the USB drive is misconfigured for UEFI mode, the SSD has a GPT partition on it, or the USB 3.0 driver is required.

I have a laptop with mobile 9-series chipset (not 100) that does the same thing when trying to install Windows 7, even with USB compatibility mode in BIOS, even when using the USB2.0 port rather than USB3.0. Turns out it still needs the USB 3.0 driver.

Try ASRock's Win7 USB Patcher: http://www.asrock.com/microsite/Win7Install/index.html

 

[VirtualLarry]

If you didn't use Rufus to create the USB installation thumb drive, re-try with that, using the MBR & FAT32 options.
Also try: once booted into the initial Windows installation, completely delete all existing partitions on the target SSD, then create & format a new partition.
Rufus:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/rufus.html

Yeah, I've used Rufus before. I'll give that a shot. The Win7 installer doesn't show any drives to install to, whether the Mushkin SSD was brand-new empty, or whether it had Linux Mint 17.2 on it.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Either the UEFI BIOS' legacy support (CSM) module is buggy, the USB drive is misconfigured for UEFI mode, the SSD has a GPT partition on it, or the USB 3.0 driver is required.

I have a laptop with mobile 9-series chipset (not 100) that does the same thing when trying to install Windows 7, even with USB compatibility mode in BIOS, even when using the USB2.0 port rather than USB3.0. Turns out it still needs the USB 3.0 driver.

Try ASRock's Win7 USB Patcher: http://www.asrock.com/microsite/Win7Install/index.html

Could the problem also be SATA-port related? Maybe if I try another SATA port on the board?

 

[aigomorla]

i get this problem when i put the USB flash drive in a usb3.0 port instead of a usb2.0 port.

If you havent tried so, use the USB2.0 port... the non blue one.

 

[VirtualLarry]

i get this problem when i put the USB flash drive in a usb3.0 port instead of a usb2.0 port.

If you havent tried so, use the USB2.0 port... the non blue one.

I AM using the USB2.0 ports. At least, they're not the blue ones. And I know that the front-panel ports are USB2.0 as well, because they're plugged into a mobo USB2.0 header, and there aren't enough pins for USB3.0.

I just tried the ASRock USB3.0 patcher for Win7. Totally useless. I popped a Win7 DVD into the source drive, a fresh USB stick into the destination drive, told it to create a USB stick, it formatted it, copied a BOOT EFI file, and that was it. It didn't copy over the Win7 install files at all.

Edit: In fact, it copied over a 32-bit UEFI boot file, which is also useless for a 64-bit Windows 7.

Edit: I'm trying Rufus. It defaults to MBR for BIOS or UEFI, and FAT32. After pointing it at the Win7 ISO file, and clicking START, it auto-changed to MBR for BIOS or UEFI-CSM, and filesystem NTFS. Apparently, you can't create a UEFI FAT32 installer from a Win7 ISO?

Edit: Well, what do you know, Rufus WORKED! Strange that a USB drive created by Microsoft's own ISO Tool, doesn't work, but one created by Rufus does. So the next thing for me to check, is to see if the "broken" USB boots and shows drives in any other machine. If it doesn't, then maybe the USB stick went bad, and lost a sector somewhere.

 

[XavierMace]

Strange that a USB drive created by Microsoft's own ISO Tool, doesn't work, but one created by Rufus does.

It's less strange when you realize that tool predates wide spread UEFI usage by several years. Since it's designed to be as simple of tool as possible, it uses the most common options for users at the time it was created.

 

[VirtualLarry]

It's less strange when you realize that tool predates wide spread UEFI usage by several years. Since it's designed to be as simple of tool as possible, it uses the most common options for users at the time it was created.

But I wasn't trying to boot UEFI, and I don't think the one that Rufus made would work in UEFI mode either.

 

[Dahak]

Little late now as you do have it fixed, but just for other users too maybe.

I have had issues with MS's tool for making win7 usb boot drives so I either did it manually or used Rufus.

For UEFI / Non UEFI - I personally do a non uefi install for win7 as it was not fully supported until SP1, and just gives me less headaches

Win8+ MS's tool and UEFI all seem to be ok

 

[Ranulf]

Also try: once booted into the initial Windows installation, completely delete all existing partitions on the target SSD, then create & format a new partition.

At least twice now in the past year I've forgotten about how win 7 can get cranky with installs. That and it always wants to put its swap partition or whatever on a 2nd drive. I purposely have only one drive hooked up when installing win7 now.

I don't remember if I've used the MS tool for usb installers, but I've had good luck with rufus.