Windows 7 Install Problems

I am having a lot of trouble getting Windows 7 to install on a new build based on the ASUS Z97-C motherboard.


Reason for the Build:


The computer will be my primary DAW in my recording studio. It will be a CLOSED (no internet) system. I have proprietary PCI audio & MIDI interface cards. The Z97-C has 3 PCI slots and 4 PCIe Express slots. It is replacing my aging LGA 775 Q9650 3.GHz DAW running WinXP SP3, Win 7 SP1 and Win 10. Primary applications are Reaper, Sonar 8.5.3, and Sonar X3.


Here are the ASUS Z97-C specs:


SOCKET: LGA 1150

CHIPSET: Intel Z97

CPU: i7-4790K 4.0 GHz

RAM: 32GB

SATA 1: DVD Burner

SATA 2: 160GB hard drive

SATA 3: 2TB hard drive

M.2 Slot: 500 GB Team Group SSD PCIe Express (Target Boot drive)

BIOS: 2801 (last one released)

PCIe Slot 16x : USB3 card (all other slots are empty)


Target OSs: Windows 7 SP1 Professional 64 bit & Linux Mint 21.3 dual booted.


ASUS has Windows 7 64bit drivers for this motherboard. i7-4790K is listed in the ASUS supported CPU list for this motherboard.


INTEL has Windows 7 64bit drivers for the Z97 chipset.



The ASUS UEFI BIOS sees the DVD drive, both SATA hard drives, and the M.2 SSD. Keyboard is USB, mouse is PS/2 - both work fine. I am using the onboard video via the VGA mobo port 1680 x 1050 monitor. I flashed the BIOS to 2801 from 2103. No issues, easy update.



1. Using the genuine Windows 7 SP1 64 bit install DVD, the install hangs at the Windows logo & "Starting Windows" screen.


2. Using a Win7 SP1 64bit Professional install USB (UEFI), the install hangs at the Windows logo & "Starting Windows" screen.


3. Using a Win7 SP1 64bit Professional install USB (BIOS), the install hangs at the Windows logo & "Starting Windows" screen.


4. If I disconnect the SATA hard drives, the Windows Install program (DVD or USB) does NOT hang but gets as far as asking where to install but does NOT show the 500GB M.2 SSD as an option so there is no place available to install. Cancel & Reboot.


5. If I remove the M.2 500GB SSD and have the two SATA Drives in, the install program hangs as before at the Windows logo & "Starting Windows" screen. Ditto for just one SATA drive.


I have tried the above with UEFI and Compatibility modes. Makes no difference. Install hangs.


6. I can boot the Linux Mint 21.3 install media and it can see the hard drives & the SSD.


7. Booting Hiren’s BootCD PE USB (WIN 11 based) takes about 15 minutes to boot but it does finally boot.


I have been working on this build for a day & a half now with no luck. I have never had a Windows 7 build behave like this.


Internet searches came up with SATA drive issues with Win7 but these were early in Win7's life and the install media are based on WIn7 SP1 which had fixes for the SATA issues.


Any ideas?



Many Thanks!

SIW2,

Thank you very much for your reply!!! I will try and report.

What is your installation media: DVD or USB drive?

Do you have a Win 7 installation iso file?

To make a Win 7 USB boot able drive:

Open a CMD window as administrator and type:

diskpart
list disk (it will list all drives. Identify the USB drive number)
select disk n (replace n by the USB drive number obtained with list disk)
clean
convert mbr
create part primary
select part 1
format fs=fat32 quick
assign
active
exit (to exit diskpart)

If you have a Win 7 installation iso file
On Win 7 use 7Zip to extract all files and folders from the Win 7 iso file to the USB drive.
On Win 10, mount the iso file and copy all files and folders to the USB drive.

If you have a Win 7 installation DVD
On another computer that has ODD, copy all files and folders from the DVD to the USB drive

To make it UEFI boot able you must add the \efi\boot folder


To make it universal (all Win 7 versions), go to \sources on the USB drive and delete \sources\ei.cfg

- - - Updated - - -

Reset BIOS or load defaults.
Set Disk mode to AHCI, not RAID
Select OS mode = UEFI or Select OS mode = other + UEFI or CSM (depends on BIOS).
Disable fast boot and secure boot (you can turn it on after installation)

Windows can be installed in two ways: Legacy-MBR or UEFI-GPT
To install as Legacy-MBR you must boot the installation drive as Legacy
To install as UEFI-GPT you must boot the installation drive as UEFI.

As you have a UEFI BIOS, you should install as UEFI-GPT
Detach any other drives (SATA or Power cable) from the MB.

During POST, press F8 to launch the boot menu. You will see two options for the USB drive. USB UEFI (Name) and USB (Name). Select USB UEFI (Name) if you want to install as UEFI-GPT or select USB (name) if you want to install as Legacy-MBR.
Go to install and delete ALL partitions on the main drive till you have one and only one unallocated space and then proceed.
If you don't want to use MS account, don't enable updates or connect to the internet during installation.