Unable to Install Win 7 on ASUS P8Z77-V LE Plus M/B

fireberd · 23 Jun 2013

I have a PC with subject motherboard (and an i5 3550 CPU) that currently has Windows 8 installed (NOT UEFI). I need to also install Win 7 as I have an old Singer Embroidery machine program and a USB/Serial adapter that will only work on Win 7 (its supposed to also be Win 8 compatible but either the old Embroidery program or the adapter does not work on two different Win 8 systems I have).

When I boot (NOT UEFI) from the Win 7 installation disc it will load or at least partially load Win PE and then the screen goes blank and nothing else happens. It will load to the point I get the screen message "Starting Windows" and the four color blips and then the screen goes blank. I've waited as long as 5 minutes after the screen goes blank but nothing ever happens. I've tried two Microsoft "factory" installation discs and one that has a (legal) download version of Win 7 home premium with SP1 and all three do the same thing.

I have an Acronis WinPE3 boot disc and an Acronis Linux boot disc and both load OK. I have a Macrium WinPE4 boot disc that loads OK, and a Partition Magic (Linux) boot disc that loads OK.

Could it be something in the BIOS is causing the problem? I had tried it with the original BIOS version (0606) and then saw that a later version was available and one of the items had to do with booting so I installed the latest 0901 BIOS but that didn't make any difference. The BIOS is at its default settings (including ACHI).

I've tried disconnecting the hard drive with Win 8 on it, so only the hard drive that I want to install Win 7 or was connected but that didn't make any difference (and probably its not even getting that far in the install disc setup). Initially, I was using the built in Video in the i5 CPU, but I installed a separate PCIeX16 video card (an NVIDIA GTS450OC) but nothing changed.

theog · 23 Jun 2013

1) Make sure you have not USB external device plugged in.

2) Try with only 2gb of ram.

fireberd · 23 Jun 2013

I don't have a 2GB memory stick to use. I only have (two) 4GB memory modules installed.

I thought that was fixed? I have another system (with a Gigabyte Z77 motherboard) and it had no problems with Win 7 Home 64 bit installation with 16GB of RAM installed.

gregrocker · 23 Jun 2013

The amount of RAM is definitely suspect, but there are cases where Win7 can't be installed without wiping the HD first, which solves about 3/4 of installation problems.

Is it possible you have Secure Boot via the latest BIOS Update? It must be disabled to install Win7 on Win8-era hardware which has it.

Otherwise what are your CSM or Legacy Mode settings in BIOS setup? Camera snaps of related settings would be helpful.

fireberd · 23 Jun 2013

I have a newly formatted hard drive (known good drive). Secure boot is not being used for the Win 8 installation.

The BIOS is at factory default settings, no customization. I'll try to get some screen shots. I'll have to take pictures since its the BIOS.

As the installation (WinPE) only gets to the "Starting Windows" screen and does not go any further, I wouldn't think the hard drive to be installed on even comes into play yet.

As noted I have discs with WinPE3 (Acronis) and WinPE4 (Macrium) and they load and function properly.

theog · 23 Jun 2013

As the installation (WinPE) only gets to the "Starting Windows" screen and does not go any further, I wouldn't think the hard drive to be installed on even comes into play yet.

Which is a DVD.

As noted I have discs with WinPE3 (Acronis) and WinPE4 (Macrium) and they load and function properly.

Which are CD's.

May be your DVD Drive is NO reading DVD's.

fireberd · 23 Jun 2013

I have the Acronis and Macrium WinPE's on DVD's, not CD's.

If the drive would not read DVD's it would never get to the point of "Starting Windows".

DavidE · 23 Jun 2013

I had a problem once installing Win7 x64 on a Gigabyte MB.
I had to set the Memory Clock below default in BIOS to get the install to work.
After the install, setting the Memory Clock back to default caused no problems.

gregrocker · 23 Jun 2013

Bad boot code can stop booting in its tracks, even the OD. Formatting has nothing to do with wiping possibly corrupt or interfering boot code off the HD to clear the slate. It requires Diskpart Clean Command

Can you try flash stick install using a fresh ISO from Step 1 of Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7 written with the tool in Step 2 or UltraISO Software To Create Bootable USB Flash Drive ? Set HDD first to boot in BIOS setup then trigger the stick using your one-time BIOS Boot Menu key. If it fails unplug or disable the OD in BIOS.

fireberd · 24 Jun 2013

I'll give the USB a try.

ADDED: FWIW, I have two DVD drives in the PC and both do the same thing (I am able to read and write with these drives in Win 8). I also have an iso version downloaded from Digital River (Win 7 64 bit SP1 Home) and it too does the exact same thing. Loads to the point of getting the "Starting Windows" and four color pips and then screen goes blank and nothing more.