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Win7x64 UEFI-boot install hangs at "Starting Windows" on Skylake
Let me first address a few things:
- I have read extensively on this topic, using guides such as this to determine whether or not I have bootable media for UEFI, which I do.
- I have both an original, unused Windows 7 Pro w/ SP1 x64 install DVD, connected through the USB 2.0 external DVD burner that was provided by the computer manufacturer, as well as a 4gb USB 2.0 stick that I created using Rufus (the settings are all correct and specified for UEFI/GPT/FAT32 and all that) and slipstreamed with Intel's USB 3.0 drivers for Windows 7 x64. Both devices boot and give me the same result: the freeze at "Starting Windows," where the dots start moving around momentarily before freezing in place.
- Booting the DVD in Safe Mode still gives me a freeze. The last "Loaded:" item in the list is disk.sys.
- I've seen it mentioned that some NVIDIA cards have had issues with UEFI and/or Windows 7 booting/installation, so I tried switching off the "switchable graphics" option in my bios so that my system would run using the integrated Intel graphics (which I would assume it had been doing anyway). Still the same result either way.
- I am not dual-booting, nor do I have any desire to use legacy bios if it's going to stick me in an infinite boot loop like the last time I tried that. My laptop, a Lenovo Y700-15ISK, has no option to use any "UEFI + Compatibility" option--I am only given the choice between one or the other.
- Secure Boot is disabled! As are Intel Platform Trust Technology (I've toggled this one on/off for different attempts as well), Fast Boot, and OS Optimized Defaults,the latter of which I'm not sure should be disabled or not.
Enabled: "When load default values, will load pure UEFI mode default values. Win8 and later OS support pure UEFI mode"
Disabled: "When load default values, will load legacy support mode default values."
(The "Disabled" option there leads me to believe that selecting UEFI as my Boot Mode and disabling OS Optimized Defaults sort of gives you a "UEFI + legacy bios" option that is missing from the actual Boot Mode choices. Exactly how wrong am I?)
- My SSD was included with the comp and probably has multiple partitions including a restore option. I don't want/need to keep any of the data currently on the drive.
Some specs:
Skylake i7-6700HQ
8 GB DDR4 RAM
NVIDIA 960M 4 GB DDR5
1xUSB 2.0, 2xUSB 3.0 (might be relevant because Skylake? I dunno)
M.2 SSD
Bios version CDCN25WW
A couple of thoughts:
-Could the fact that I have >4gb of RAM have any impact?
-This model of Lenovo laptop was released in mid/late 2015. Do I need to flash any bios? I have no real experience in that regard, but I also wouldn't think there have been any updates crucial to my success that hadn't already been preinstalled on systems for quite some time now. I'm pretty late to this party.
-Could I need a USB 3.0 device in order to get my installation media to agree with Skylake? I was thinking that the Skylake/USB3/Win7 issue only went so far as the booting stage, but I'm not so sure.
I'm afraid to switch to Legacy at all, because the last time I did (on another system), it resulted in an infinite boot loop that I don't think could've been fixed without opening up the system (and thus voiding the warranty, which I'd like to avoid in case I brick something). I should clarify my earlier, edited statement that said I won't use legacy at all--I'm happy to use it if it works, but I'm afraid to flip that switch because I wasn't able to boot from any media following that step.
Thanks for reading! All help and suggestions are appreciated. If there's any more info I can provide, please let me know. I'll be updating this post over the next couple of hours with anything I think is relevant.
Last edited by Jawn; 17 Jun 2016 at 15:22.
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