Several Errors at W7Ux64 Partition Stage

First off, system specs:

MoBo: ASUS P8Z77-V LK (UEFI)
CPU: i5 3570K @ 4.6GHz
RAM: G.Skill 4 x 4gb @ 2133MHz
Install SDD: RevoDrive 120gb (The basic, not X2 or X3 or whatever)
Optical: None
PSU: Corsair 750W
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100

(Any other information will gladly be made available on request)



Ok, this is my first attempt at installation of Windows 7 Ultimate x64 on my revodrive.
I have no optical drive, so I had to use my laptop to prepare a USB drive for my desktop.

All went quite well. The desktop booted the USB quickly, and loaded everything.
Language selected.
Partition menu selected.
*Drivers for revodrive loaded from other USB, and USB removed afterwards.
*Drive partitioned via Shift + F10 and diskpart.

*: These options were mixed/matched. ie. Attempted at different times, and different cycles of rebooting as per suggested across internet.

The failure is shortly thereafter, when I attempt to begin the install by selecting "next" after selecting the hard drive.


I've used many different partition tools.
Tried different ISOs including my retail disk ISO made from the brand new quality disk via dd on laptop.
Tried several different USB medium including USB 2.0 SD card reader, USB 2.0 Flash, USB 3.0 Flash of sizes ranging from 4GB to 16GB.
Attempted disconnecting my 6 SATA 3.0 HDDs, disconnecting other hardware.
Attempted different PCIe ports for revodrive.

Revodrive firmware is lateest.
Revodrive secure formatted by both OCZ Toolbox and filling with zeroes via dd.

UEFI install works fine.
MBR install is the one which fails.

UEFI install utilizes GPT partition table however, and is unacceptable for the application of this machine. The partition table must be MSDOS MBR.

I've tried many different UEFI/BIOS configurations, though with so many options, it's difficult to not only list them all, but also be assured I've tested all possible.


I've tried injecting the drivers, and extracting the install.wim archive to the drive, but always ends with a BSOD after bootstrap, during the initial load.

There is no access to an optical drive.


If anyone can assist me, I would be greatly indebted.
Feel free to explain in whatever tech-speak is comfortable. I'm quite learned in computers, and should be able to understand anything you say.

The problem is most likely the installer.

Download the latest official ISO and burn to stick using the tools provided in Steps 1 and 2 in Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7 which steps wil assure you get a perfect install even for retail.

Unplug all other HD's and peripherals,

Boot into BIOS setup to see if there is an EFI Boot Disk in BIOS Boot order. If so remove it, set DVD drive first to boot. If EFI BIOS also set to Legacy BIOS. Then set SATA controller to AHCI. Save changes and Exit.

Boot installer, at first installer screen Press Shift + F10 to open a Command Box, type:

DISKPART
LIST DISK
SEL DIS 0 (after confirming Windows 7 target HD #)
CLEAN
CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY
FORMAT FS=NTFS LABEL="WINDOWS 7"
ACTIVE
EXIT
EXIT

Next click Install Now to Clean Install Windows 7 to the partition you created. If it fails then report back at which step and the verbatim error message.

The iso in the link provided was one that I had tried prior to this posting.

None the less, a new copy could do no harm.


Whiel attempting the posted advice, I noticed that partitioning the disk from the first screen is impossible. The drivers are loaded at the partitioning GUI on the installer.


The ISO also failed at the same spot.

The system partition failure.


I apologize, i did not record the error message, though it seems fairly common.

How exactly did Diskpart fail? The installer should have the SATA driver, or at least be able to run Diskpart commands. Failure to find a controller driver during install is almost always a bad installer.

What did you use to write the installer to stick?

diskpart did not fail, however it was unable to detect the hard drive.

Windows 7 seems to not ship with the drivers for the RAID controller, or the revo pseudo processor.


So they must be loaded prior to partitioning.

Type diskpart
LIST DISK
SELECT DISK # ( HD Drive for Windows 7)
CLEAN
convent gpt
exit


Make the OS HD DRive first in Drive Options



To boot your USB Pendrive, using the one time boot menu



press enter on the UEFI USB drive



How to clean install

UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) - Install Windows 7 with

The USB Pendrive must be format in FAT32, as Option Two in this Tutorial:
USB Windows 7 Installation Key Drive - Create

"convert GPT"

Sorry for the wait, was out of state for quite some time.

Please answer all of my questions. It still sounds like a bad write to stick. To be sure use UltraISO Software To Create Bootable USB Flash Drive.

Making a bootable USB Drive is extremely simple, and was completed using your suggested methods without trouble.

Is Revo less than a year old?

Yes.

If so I'd contact tech support to have them test it with you for possible RMA as we see regular failures.

RMA is not necessary, the drive is running perfectly, and has no errors whatsoever.

It's also hard on chip to write zeros and only necessary if you're trying to make data irretrievable.

What exactly is hard about filling a drive with zeroes? A simple "dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sd{a,b} conv=sync bs=512" does the job nicely. As would a "echo 'diskpart; lis dis; sel dis 0; cle all; exit' > clean.bat; clean.bat" From Windows Preinstallation Environment.

The point of filling with zeroes is to ensure the cleanest possible environment in order to eliminate any possible unforeseen bugs.

Type diskpart
LIST DISK
SELECT DISK # ( HD Drive for Windows 7)
CLEAN
convent gpt
exit

What exactly leads you to believe that I don't understand how to use diskpart? As I've said, this is NOT where the problem is occurring.

Make the OS HD DRive first in Drive Options

This did not help, the failure was exactly the same.

To boot your USB Pendrive, using the one time boot menu

Why exactly are you recommending such an inefficient method when the problem is not the boot loader?

press enter on the UEFI USB drive

This is almost insulting. Did you not read my post, or is this a copy/paste for every user with a similar question to mine?

How to clean install

As I've said, I do NOT want to use a GPT partition table, nor would I like to UEFI chainload Windows. I require MSDOS MBR and Legacy NTFS native booting.

The USB Pendrive must be format in FAT32, as Option Two in this Tutorial:

The P8Z77-V LK can legacy boot just fine, without using UEFI.




Thank you for your attempted help. I appreciate the time you've given me, but without reading my original post, you cannot help me in the manner that does the reputation you claim any justice.


I've nearly solved my issue in this manner. The install works, but the bluescreen at boot will let me go no further.

I converted the filesystem of the Windows 7 Ult x64 disk image from ISO9660 to UDF.

I wrote the new UDF image directly the flash drive beginning at the very first sector.

I emulated a USB CD/DVD ROM via UEFI/BIOS option.

Drivers injected via Windows Install GUI.

SSD filled with zeroes via tools found here:
Tools and utilities for Windows
http://www.ltr-data.se/files/win64/rawcopy64.zip

Install worked, finally. Will not boot.

Attempting to isolate the bluescreen at load problem. Suspected that the x86_64 drivers will not work, and am trying to substitute with the x86 drivers.