PC Cycles on any drive
PC Cycles on any drive
Hello, I’m trying to figure out if there’s a way to resolve this problem I’m facing.
It seems I don’t have a component list right now, though I’m not too surprised if it’s related to hardware.
My friend performed a factory reset on his PC without backup and fell asleep. When he woke up, he tried booting and setting up Windows fresh, but at random moments the mouse would freeze as if the system was stuck.
I offered to check it out since I’m more experienced with computers than him.
I managed to reproduce his issue. After booting through his SATA SSD setup, Windows would start personalizing the system, and occasionally the cursor would freeze, but the PC wouldn’t shut down or display a blue screen.
Believing this might be due to corrupted files from the Windows reinstall, I downloaded the Windows Media Creation Tool on a flash drive, reformatted his SSD via BIOS, and ran the installation process. During the reinstall, the PC would still freeze at random points.
At that stage, I was puzzled because everything else seemed normal—temperatures were stable, components weren’t faulty, and the BIOS was functioning correctly.
I decided to reset his BIOS back to default settings and cleared the CMOS. Now, when the PC loads into BIOS and I try to boot the UEFI flash drive in the boot manager for another Windows install, it makes noise as if it’s starting up, then quiets down. It shows the motherboard manufacturer logo, loads, and then resets repeatedly.
After putting the flash drive back on another machine, I confirmed it was formatted correctly as FAT32.
I didn’t notice any problems with the Windows Media Creation files themselves, though I might have missed reformatting or reinstalling them again.
Since it’s late, I left his house and plan to return tonight to keep troubleshooting.
If anyone has insights on why the flash drive won’t boot after a CMOS reset or why the Windows setup froze randomly during installation, please share your thoughts.
I would first verify for any new BIOS version and install it, or even reinstall if it's already there. also consider using a different SATA drive. simply allow the Media Creation Tool's flash drive installation package to handle the formatting. How To - Windows 10 clean install tutorial If you're seeking a Windows 11 Clean install guide, you can find it here: Windows 11 Clean install tutorial (Click here). Alternatively, welcome to the Windows 10 Clean install tutorial. This guide aims to assist you through each step of a clean installation of Windows... forums.
It seems to be working well, I’ll give it another shot. I previously tried to update his BIOS using EZFlash through the internet, but EZFlash indicated the latest BIOS was already installed. I plan to bring another flash drive and try reinstalling his BIOS this evening. Regarding the SATA SSD, I don’t think I have another spare on hand, though I can look through my old PCs for one. I do have an M.2 slot in my main computer, but for practical reasons I’d rather not remove it and instead try to use it with his motherboard.
I’ll also obtain a complete list of his components once I’m back, so I can inspect them directly and avoid any mistakes. I might also try installing Windows onto his hard drive to test the situation, which could help confirm if the SATA drive is the problem. This should happen if my flash drive successfully boots the Windows installation after I recreate the Windows Creation Media setup on it. Thank you for your advice—I’ll proceed and update with any new details.
Verify this process by opening the installer during installation and navigating to the 'advanced' settings. Examine the number of partitions and installations on the drive. Based on different conditions, you might find 3 or 4 partitions, with 2 or 3 being small (for recovery, cache, etc.) and one large partition for the operating system. Assume your personal data is already backed up or removed. Instead of letting Windows auto-install on whatever is present, use the option to clear everything back to unallocated space, then proceed and check the outcome.
Will proceed as planned and will remain updated this evening. Appreciate your support!