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Windows 7 won't install on BXi7? *Solved*

C

cslayden

Junior Member
Hi everyone,

I've been googling this for hours, but I have 3 BXi7's I bought for my boys, each with RAM, mSATA SSD (both double-checked for compatibility before purchase) and an external USB DVD drive. When I try to install windows 7 (64) on any of them, it loads the files and says "starting windows" and hangs.

I'd think this was hardware DOA, but that doesn't seem likely to be identical with 3 separate builds. Does anyone have any idea why this would happen? Do I have to get copies of 8.1 instead (and will they install)? Or is there some sneaky trick I can use to just get the damned OS installed?

For some reason I couldn't find any solutions to other people with the same problem-- closest I got was that one person had a totally different build whose PSU was crashing windows (?).

another thought-- they all get hot when I look at the bios, with the CPU running at 89 degrees. Is that normal? Seems a little excessive for just bios perusal.

I really appreciate anyone's help.

Solution:
-So that you don't have to scroll through the entire thread, the problem ended up being that Windows 7 doesn't support USB3 without special drivers, and that's the only type of USB that the BXi7 has (at least my version). As soon as Windows tries to begin its setup process, it loses contact with the DVD ROM and hangs. We considered that heat might be a factor because the CPU got very hot during idle in the BIOS, and an excellent proposal was made that it might be an issue with the HDMI interface switching to minidisplay during setup, and there was another suggestion that I had made a grievous error buying a product that didn't work and that I should return it and buy something else. But after a lot of attempted troubleshooting on windows 7, I finally installed windows 8.1 without difficulty. Many thanks to all that so helpfully lent their insights to a complete stranger to solve a frustrating problem.
 
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89 degrees Celsius or Farenheit? 89 C at idle is too hot and will cause the machine to crash when exposed to any sort of load, 89 F is icy cold.
 
That definitely sounds hot, but obviously they shouldn't get hot enough to reboot when loading Windows. It would be very unlikely that you'd get three units that all overheat due to defectiveness.

My first guess would be a USB3.0 compatibility issue. Windows 7 doesn't like to install from USB3 ports--I've installed on laptops before where the only way to get Win 7 to load was to use a USB2 port instead.
 
89 degrees celsius. in the bios, I can watch it go up a degree every 5 or 10 seconds, while the fan goes between 995 and 1500 rpms.

As for the OS-- I was beginning to detect that this might be the problem. Is there anyone that has successfully installed win 7 on one of these things? I would really like to avoid windows 8 if possible.
 
89C idling in the BIOS is too hot, which is probably why the machine hangs when you try to start the installer (if I am reading your post correctly). It's worth checking the heatsink and making sure that it's mounted securely. If it is, I'd probably remove it, clean off the thermal paste, and reapply.
 
The BXi7 should be able to run any version of Windows or Linux. I agree with other posters that the temperature is most likely the problem. If all three are doing the same thing, then you probably either got a bad batch (if they are new), broken systems (if used), or possibly something got damaged or knocked out of place during shipping.

Open up the case(s) and make sure the heatsink is mounted properly as mfenn said, and confirm that the cooling fans actually spin when the power is turned on.
 
I agree that the problem sounds like something other than a USB3 issue. My understanding was that Intel USB3 controllers, revert to USB2-hardware-compatible controllers, until the USB3 drivers are loaded. And that the issue only affects attempting to load Windows 7 via a USB stick, that loading via an external CD/DVD-ROM drive was unaffected. I could be wrong about that last bit.

Anyways, if you were even able to start the installer at all, on those systems, then I would think that the USB3.0 was not the problem. When the installer gets to the point of rebooting the system, the OS is already completely on the HDD, it just hasn't completely finished setting up yet.

I'm thinking that perhaps the issue is not the temps, nor the USB3.0 issue, but possibly that of the display controller chipset, and the BIOS, and how it controls / detects the outputs.

I recall reading in another thread that someone had a similar problem, and the Brix was defaulting at some point to the DP output rather than the HDMI, even though the HDMI was the one plugged in. He had to get a DP to HDMI cable in order to see what he was doing and complete the setup. Does that sound like what might be happening here, OP?

Edit: Re-reading the OP, maybe it is the USB3.0 issue. You say it "Hangs", is that after the installer copies the files to the HDD, and reboots, and then tries to load Windows (off of the internal HDD)? Or is it upon the initial installer booting, and you don't even get to the HDD selection / installation screen, or the copying files screen?
 
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Interesting! That could definitely be the cause. Basically, the screen is freezing when it would normally flicker over to the "welcome, let's get started" (or whatever) screen for the installation. If there was a display adapter issue, a frozen screen on one output could be what's going on while everything is going normally otherwise. I shall procure one of these "adapters" you speak of and experimentate.
 
No telling yet. I have to wait for the DP to HDMI adapter to arrive. I will update when I have it. If that doesn't work I'll attempt to install windows 8.1 instead.

The hanging happens after the windows installation files are loaded (white bar at the bottom of the black screen), but before any actual windows installation business starts- I never see a welcome or get started screen in the installation process, only the logo with the revolving windows dots you get right before that or during a normal boot-up, and then a freeze. The freeze is always at the same point regardless of the internal temperature of the machine. If I change the SSD to IDE from AHCI, it goes far enough for the logo to assemble itself, but still always freezes there.
 
cslayden said:
The hanging happens after the windows installation files are loaded (white bar at the bottom of the black screen), but before any actual windows installation business starts-
Click to expand...

OK, so no it is not making it through the install. My bet is that it's getting too hot when starting the installer. Why would it hang there? Because that's the first time a significant load is being placed on the CPU.
 
mfenn, what you're saying makes sense, but there have been times when I've gone into the installation attempt with a cold machine, gotten frustrated and powered it down, and then looked at the hardware monitor and seen only 50 or so degrees. That's why I'm hesitant to say heat is the culprit.
 
Return them and buy something usable. Unless they have 7 sq foot rooms, Brix makes no sense.
 
cslayden said:
mfenn, what you're saying makes sense, but there have been times when I've gone into the installation attempt with a cold machine, gotten frustrated and powered it down, and then looked at the hardware monitor and seen only 50 or so degrees. That's why I'm hesitant to say heat is the culprit.
Click to expand...

I hear ya. You could try booting up a Linux live CD (eg. Ubuntu) to see if you can get any sort of OS going on the hardware.
 
Update: I got the cable adapter so that I'm operating from the mini display port, but the hang still happens at the same spot. The only other option I can think of is that it's the suspected USB3 problem-- the disc drive spins down when the hang happens and doesnt' re-activate unless I eject and re-insert the disc, which then spins down again and brings about no progress. So now I'm waiting for windows 8, and then we'll see if it's just the OS/USB3 issue.

Thanks for everyone's helpful comments (except the return-to-store one. Could have figured that little gem out by myself). I'll update when I try the different OS.
 
Thanks everyone, it was definitely USB3. Windows 8.1 is on without difficulty (this machine has to use windows-only software, otherwise I would have been all over linux).
 
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