Installation issues caused by system crashes during setup
Installation issues caused by system crashes during setup
Hello, my machine won’t start beyond Windows 10 in safe mode on its installation disk. I’m stuck with every try to boot from an install USB ending in a crash. I’ve reviewed the guidelines for BSOD situations, but I can’t get into a clean setup since every attempt triggers a failure. I understand the importance of documentation, yet I’m unable to access any functional version of Windows. This makes gathering system dumps or detailed logs extremely challenging. Please share a summary of my current setup and the steps I’ve tried so far, along with a brief account of what happened before. I’m feeling stuck and unsure what to try next.
System Specifications:
- Processor: i5 9600K
- Motherboard: ASUS PRIME 390Z-P
- Power Supply: 630W
- RAM: 32GB (4x8GB) Corsair Vengeance
- Storage: Mix of HDD, SSD, NVMe drives
- Operating System target: Samsung 990 Pro 2TB
Previous Setup:
- Boot drive: Windows 10 Pro on Samsung 980 Pro 1TB
- CPU usage: consistently at 100%
- Fix attempted: Disabled Hyper-V, but issue persisted and became intermittent
- About a month later, moved boot drive to 990 Pro, then faced boot problems
Initial Troubleshooting:
- Turned off Hyper-V as a temporary solution
- Continued CPU at 100% despite fixes
- After weeks, intermittent recovery occurred
- Eventually migrated to 990 Pro and started experiencing BSODs
Testing & Diagnosis:
- Booted into safe mode from 990 Pro works, both networking and command prompt functional
- SFC, BCD, and other CLI tools show no errors
- Win10 boot drive, Windows USB, Win11 USB, WinPE USB all trigger BSODs consistently
- Error codes observed: KERNEL AUTO BOOST INVALID LOCK, SYSTEM EXCEPTION, NTOSKRNL.EXE ERROR, IRQL NOT LESS OR EQUAL, ATTEMPTED WRITE READONLY MEMORY, KERNEL SECURITY CHECK FAILURE, WIMFSF.SYS ERROR
- Performed memory tests via DOS mode with WinPE and Win10 USB; no errors reported per stick
- Removed all drives, GPU, peripherals, and tested every boot mode/configuration
- Reset BIOS to defaults, changed slot position on motherboard
- Used multiple USB drives; none improved boot stability
- BIOS is up-to-date and system has been restarted repeatedly with varying errors
Advice Needed:
I’m considering removing the PSU, motherboard, and CPU in order, but I don’t have spare parts and want to avoid unnecessary purchases. I’m not sure if the CPU is dead, as it still boots into safe mode and handles tasks like video editing without issues. I’d really appreciate any guidance or alternative suggestions to resolve this. My data is safe, so I’m open to wiping or resetting everything—though I’m unsure what that would mean in this context.
Which PSU model and GPU are you using? It seems like the PSU might be underpowered for the GPU, especially if it's a low-wattage one. The BSODs during booting from USB are a significant issue. Have you tried different USB drives? Could be the drive itself or the tool/image causing problems. Can you explain how the USB is being prepared?
Consider using MemTest86+ for a memory check at https://memtest.org/. If issues arise, locate a few working drives and install Windows from them. Some random crashes are memory-related, making it tougher to get four drives stable than with just one or two.
If you have a secondary NVMe slot that isn't in use, I'd attempt to install Samsung Magician and look for firmware updates. Both the 980 Pro and 990 Pro come with firmware that can render the drive unusable. If it's already read-only, it might be too late to recover.
PSU: ThermalTake Smart SE 630w GPU: 3090 FE (though this was removed from the PC throughout) USB: built using Rufus, UltraISO, Windows Media Creation Tool, Ventoy. Ran a memory test with it and found no problems with the stick I was using. Sadly, I don’t have another system, so I might ask around, but it’s unlikely. Thanks all for your quick replies. If you have more feedback or ideas, feel free to share!
You can install Windows on a temporary drive using a secondary SSD and verify both storage devices.