Windows 7 fails to boot after new MOBO/CPU Install

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Jeff_40

Commendable
Mar 1, 2016
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Hi all, got a new build here, hardware problems worked out, now on to software. I've been following the instructions from http://www.dowdandassociates.com/blog/content/howto-repair-windows-7-install-after-replacing-motherboard/ and this thread: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/42670-63-windows-boot-motherboard-bios in order to repair my current Win 7 installation and install Win 7 drivers for my motherboard.

I'm stuck on the part at the command prompt because I can't seem to detect the flash drive or the external drive that I put the drivers on. It can find D (my HDD), E (my SSD), and F (CDROM), but it does not register any drives beyond that. This occurs whether the USB drives are plugged into USB 3.x or 2.0/2.1. I have a PS/2 keyboard and mouse that seem to function fine through this process however.

Also, the advice in that thread about switching the BIOS from ACHI/IDE or vice-versa does not seem to apply in my case as my ASUS Maximus VIII does not have an IDE setting that I can find, only SATA settings are ACHI/RAID.

Thanks in advance for your assistance.
 
Solution
USAFRet
You're going to have to bite the bullet and do a full reinstall of the OS and everything else.
OS, then drivers, then Windows Updates, then everything else.
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Jeff_40

Commendable
Mar 1, 2016
14
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1,510
Yeah, building a new rig, but with the same HDD and SSD. Old mobo was some 10-year-old ASUS middle-of-the-road M4-something, new mobo is ASUS ROG Maximus VIII.
 
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bigpinkdragon286

Splendid
Oct 3, 2012
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If you're changing the majority of the platform on which your copy of Windows is installed, and motherboard and CPU usually fall into this category, having issues is pretty much expected. I took a quick look at the instructions you linked to and I recommend just performing a repair installation for Windows. The instructions on those sites seem to be overcomplicating things and unsuited for Skylake based installs.

If your new equipment is Skylake based, which you didn't happen to mention directly, but I assume, since you mention an Asus Maximus VIII (I don't know if this model is available for multiple platforms or not), you are out of luck for seeing USB based devices until after Windows has been repaired or reinstalled and the new USB drivers installed as well. The one workaround to this issue is if the BIOS can perform USB emulation for you and essentially load it's own driver for the installation process. The catch is, at some point during the installation of Windows, you will still lose USB functionality, so it's really going to become a game of swapping between PS/2 keyboard and mouse, or perhaps getting good with Window's Mouse Keys. I don't know if ASUS supports this or not, but I do know it's possible with Gigabyte's implementation.

Also, in BIOS, you will need to ensure that XHCI hand-off is enabled.

Edit: If you find USB controllers that have failed with Code 10 under Device Manager, you may also need to enable EHCI hand-off. YMMV with this setting on different platforms.
 
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Jeff_40

Commendable
Mar 1, 2016
14
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1,510
Yes, the CPU is an Intel Core i7-6700k and the motherboard BIOS does support USB emulation I think. It recognized my flash drive and gave me options for it such as AUTO/HDD/FLOPPY etc. I did try changing these options but there didn't seem to be a change in getting windows to detect it. I tried setting XHCI hand-off to enabled, but it disabled my mouse and keyboard and also still didn't seem to recognize the flash drive.

I tried running the repair installation both from my HDD install and from the installation disc and neither attempt was successful.
 
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bigpinkdragon286

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Oct 3, 2012
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You're going to have to get past trying to use USB devices during your install or repair of Windows 7. It's just not supported for your platform configuration. The USB emulation is only going to work up to a certain point, and I would hardly expect it to work flawlessly. Any drivers that Windows 7 does not natively ship with should be installable after the initial installation, unless you need special raid drivers, so I wouldn't even bother trying to shoehorn them in until after you have completed a normal or repair installation.

If you can't perform a repair installation, that pretty much leaves a full reinstallation.

Use your PS/2 peripherals until after you have Windows up and running, and have installed the proper USB 3 drivers and those are functioning too, at which point, you will be able to use USB devices on your Windows 7 machine. If you want a smooth installation on your new equipment with USB devices, you will have to go with a newer OS. Windows 7 simply doesn't support the new equipment natively. That's why the new boards are still shipping with PS/2 connections. It's a pain, but it's doable.
 
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Jeff_40

Commendable
Mar 1, 2016
14
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1,510
I was really hoping I wouldn't have to do a full re-install, I was looking forward to not having to re-install all my programs and everything. If I do a re-install of windows, and then load the back-up image I made before I moved the HDD over, I'm guessing any newly-installed drivers will also disappear with that rollback?

Can I use another computer to add the drivers directly to the HDD or SSD instead of using USB? Is that possible?
 
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Jeff_40

Commendable
Mar 1, 2016
14
0
1,510
I can't believe I just now realized my backup drive has a SATA port in addition to USB (In my defense, it was in a hidden compartment). Going to try to connect with the SATA port and it should detect, hopefully.
 
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bigpinkdragon286

Splendid
Oct 3, 2012
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I guess I'm confused as to what the actual problem you are facing is. What drivers are you trying to install before Windows has been installed or repaired and why? USB drivers should be dealt with after you have your Windows 7 up and running.

Depending upon how you made your backup, and what is restored, it's quite possible you could put yourself right back to where you started, with a non-booting copy of Windows.
 
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Jeff_40

Commendable
Mar 1, 2016
14
0
1,510
The backup drive was recognized and the new drivers were successfully copied over to my windows install. The OS is up and running now, just gotta hunt down remaining drivers and make a few more tweaks.
 
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