Bad 7 OEM Installation Disk?

Afternoon -

After days spent mucking about over the past week and a half I am still unable to install 7 onto a new build desktop system.

Instead I am getting an endless reboot cycle.

Components;
CPU [ AMD Athlon Dual Core ]
MB [ Asus ]
Case [ Antec ]

Vid Card [ G-Force ]
PSU [ Seasonic ]
RAM [ G-Skill ]

OS [ Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit OEM ]
HDD [ Western Digital ]
Optical [ Plextor ]

Not a high end but not a basement build either. Components are SATA and capable of handling Windows 8/8.1. Cables are configured, everything runs, but install won't work.

Hardware, CPU/RAM/MB/PSU checks out with Ultimate Boot CD and will run Hiren's BootCD such as the mini-XP. HDD can write zeros to every sector, chkdisk finds no problems, etc etc and will format to NTFS by Partition Wizard in Hiren's.

I've also tried switching the optical burner for a generic Asus read-only drive without affecting the installation issue.

BIOS is set to defaults or auto, changing boot order also does not affect the installation loop problem. BIOS date is just from last Fall 2013.


On installation;
The Windows disc will run and give the grey bar for "Windows is loading files."
The logo screen starts, but the colored orbs do not create the flag before going to a black screen displaying "Starting Windows."
The colored GUI page starts, with the Vista-style "circle" to show the system is working.
Some kind of window pops up for too short a time to read or capture on the GUI screen.
Instead of giving me the "Install Windows" prompt for language/currency/keyboard the computer reboots itself.

Trying to change the boot order in BIOS or removing the install disk to force Windows to use any files on the HDD does not work - the cycle of it trying to load from the DVD continues.

Pulling the disk only causes the "Insert boot media and hit any key" result, and putting the disk back in just goes back to the endless reboot cycle.


I've been searching online but haven't seen much any tips or suggestions to resolve this reboot cycle that seem to work when the system itself checks out.

ASUS A88X-PLUS FM2+
As the new MOBO's now have a uEFI/BIOS firmware.
How to install Windows 64 bit on a uEFI/BIOS firmware:
UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) - Install Windows 7 with
or
UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) - Install Windows 8 with

Hello -

Disabled Secure Boot by choosing BIOS -> Boot -> Secure Boot -> Other OS.

Still just reboots without going to the Install prompt window.

Boot the DVD/USB in UEFI mode.

Yes, sorry, I did try that too off the basic BIOS menu [F8 -> Boot from UEFI Optical Drive] but all it added was a "Hit any key to boot from CD or DVD." step, upon which I hit space or enter immediately, and the PC still just reboots without giving the Install prompt.

I even tried to reset UEFI to be the Boot Device in Advanced -> Boot -> Boot #1, which doesn't seem to be an option there.

Where do you buy your Full Windows 7 Product Key & DVD from?

Thanks for the responses.

SmilodonUP said:

OS [ Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit OEM ]

theog said:

Where do you buy your Full Windows 7 Product Key & DVD from?

It's a clear DVD case with the "silvery" disc, a "Welcome to your PC, Simplified" marketing blurb insert, and the multi-color/graphic sticker key on the case back, sealed into a densely-printed cardboard Microsoft sleeve with two "By opening this package etc etc" strips of red tape.

Microsoft
WIN HOME PREM 7 SP1 64BIT ENGLISH 1PK DSP
OEI 611 DVD

Various codes & bar-codes.

Units per Box: 01


Might not be official? Unsure, as any previous OS I've used came installed on the PC and the builds did not include a system disk or even always a recovery disk.

Try cleaning the DVD disk & drive.

Nothing, same endless reboot.

This old Vista laptop does recognize the disk as a DVD but won't read anything beyond giving the "Not compatible with this version of Windows etc" pop-up. I'm unwilling to push past that to try and check install as this machine is already barely functional but is covering my work usage.


There are some scratches on the DVD but not too bad. Cleaned with the solution and microfiber cloths for an LCD flat-panel in swipes from center to edge.

The BIOS seems to recognize whichever optical drive has the disk in it, as switching to the Plextor burner enables it to be started as Basic BIOS menu -> F8 -> Boot from UEFI Optical Drive.

AS you have the Retail Windows 7 version,you can legally download the ISO from here:
Windows 7 Direct Download Links, Official Disk Images from Digital River
to replace your DVD.