Help Needed - Asus-based System Meltdown

[Extra Fox]

I ended up just abandoning the Sabertooth, my experience with Asus customer service was so thoroughly disappointing I decided to cut my losses.

I still believe that Asus makes good hardware and bought a Maximus VI Hero which brought an end to the BSODs, but now I can't get Windows to install. So it seems it's just one thing after the other for this system.

I would absolutely love to try another Processor in this system, but right now that's just not in the cards. I've just spent too much money at this point trying to buy my way out of the problems with little effect. It's been very frustrating as I'm sure you might imagine.

[Nate152]

Hello Extra Fox

What happens when you try to install windows?

Please list all your hardware.

[Extra Fox]

Basically it freezes at some point in the installation process; typically this happens during the Expanding Files phase, but I've had it freeze at points leading up to the actual install as well. No BSOD's though, it just goes unresponsive. It also appears to "freeze" the SSD when I try to install there.

At the moment this is all that's installed on the system. It's about as bare minimum as I can get.

Processor: i7 4770k (with Noctua NH-U12s cooling)
Motherboard: Maximus VI Hero
Boot Disk: Intel 530 SSD
RAM: Corsair Dominator Platinum (2x8GB)
Power Supply: Corsair AX760

[Nate152]

Thank You

I don't know if you've made any changes in the bios prior to installing your os but go into the bios and hit F5 to set defaults and try installing your os again.


If it freezes again let me know.

[Extra Fox]

I have actually gone so far as to clear the CMOS with the jumpers and restarted from there. The only thing is to cancel the motherboard's complaint about CPU fan speed by changing the monitoring minimum to 400 RPM due to the Noctua's ability to run the fan at less than 600 RPM.

Even after that complete reset it froze in roughly the same spot in the installation.

[Nate152]

OK

Does the motherboard give you a code other than AO when it freezes?

How are you installing the OS?


You got a new motherboard and same problem - freezing so it can't be the motherboard
You tested the ram with memtest86 and no errors - still freezing so it can't be the ram
Could POSSIBLY be the SSD since it is freezing when expanding the files
Could POSSIBLY be the optical drive if this is what you are using to install windows

Now this lets the psu and the cpu

Can you have your psu cpu and SSD tested at a pc shop ? If these all test ok, then it is your optical drive. But I think they will find something wrong with one of these.

This is what I would do and it would be the fastest way to get to the problem.

Give us an update after doing this.

[Extra Fox]

I will do so. It will be a few days though as I'm going to be away for a while.

[Nate152]

Ok sounds good, will be waiting for an update.

[Extra Fox]

After nearly six months I have finally reached resolution; the processor was at fault.


I'd sent my PC over to one of my colleagues at work and he spent a couple weeks trying to get things working again. I desperately needed a second opinion to validate that what I was experiencing wasn't just the result of my incompetence. After he was unsuccessful we both concluded that there must still be some hardware issue. So I replaced the 4770k with a new 4790k and I was finally met with success. I'll be sending the 4770k back to Intel for replacement.


At this point I nearly have enough parts to build a second system or I'll just sell the other gear off to try and cover a portion of my expenses. I am simultaneously relieved and irritated. Relieved to have a working PC, irritated that I could have had this resolved ages ago.