New build, can't install windows or linux

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nemesiser

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Mar 27, 2016
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Parts:
CPU: core i7 6700k
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 2x8 GB DDR4 3200 Mhz
Mainboard: MSI Z170A Gaming M5
PSU: Corsair CX750M
SSD: Samsung Evo 500 GB
SSD: Sandisk Ultra 128 GB

I can get my system boot to windows installation screen, however as soon as Installation goes into "Windows Copying files", system would just reboot immediately. Or when I try to format the SSD both (SSDs) within installation screen, it would reboot as well. Try gparted in linux, format also reboot the system. I though there could be something wrong with ssd so I formatted it using old PC, format went smooth without any error. I have tried different boot order, AHCI is enable. I have tried to enable windows 7/8/10 feature comes with the Mainboard, still my system would reboot as soon as "Windows copying files". All of the above steps without GPU (that's why I didn't include my GPU), and only 1 SSD at a time. I'm not sure if this is driver issue with windows 8/10

I've never run into this kind of problem before, any help/advice would be much appreciated. Thank you
 
Solution
JMW22
nemesiser, when you say your new mainboard 'supports' UEFI instead of BIOS, can I safely assume you mean that the firmware is UEFI, and not BIOS? If so, and if you have been partitioning the SSD's with GPT boot sectors rather than BIOS boot sectors, then your issue could possibly be fixed with just a firmware update. If not, my next guess would be some kind of hardware issue, like maybe bad cables, bad mainboard, incorrectly installed cables, ungrounded system (which can be caused by floating metal pieces, hanging wires, etc). Come to think of it, I suggest you do a basic check for hanging wires, metal pieces and any other grounding issues you might be having, and if you're content that your system is grounded, consider (carefully)...
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JMW22

JMW22

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Dec 21, 2015
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This is just a hunch, but the formatting program you are using under Linux may be set to automatically reboot after the format (because the formatting won't show up until after a reboot), or else it may be presenting you with a dialog asking you to reboot and you may have answered 'yes' without realizing it. It's been awhile since I've done this, but I do seem to recall some formatting programs on linux rebooting automatically.

In other words the reboot during "windows copying files" could be a completely separate issue, for example the drive could be formatted in a way that the windows installer doesn't understand, or the boot sector could be unreadable to it, or various other relatively quotidien problems that could cause a windows installation to fail.
 
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nemesiser

Commendable
Mar 27, 2016
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1,510
@JMW22: Thank you for your reply. My system reboot immediately as soon as I click start formatting. It didn't get a chance to do its job :(
Btw I have tried to swapped my motherboard from Gigabyte Z170x gaming thinking MB was the issue but with the new MSI MB, it's still doing the same thing
 
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nemesiser

Commendable
Mar 27, 2016
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1,510
I forgot to mention that. I did delete all partition multiple times, sometimes it would let me delete all, sometimes it would reboot the system immediately just like formatting.
 
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JMW22

JMW22

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Dec 21, 2015
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nemesiser, I'm still going with the hypothesis that the Windows install issue and the Linux formatting issue are separate. Using the graphical interface adds another layer of complexity. If your linux distro has an option to boot in non-graphical mode, please do that. Either way, instead of using gparted, please use gnu parted, the non-graphical partitioning program. Here is the user manual:


https://www.gnu.org/software/parted/manual/parted.html

If you can't avoid booting in graphical mode, switch to a console with ctrl-alt-f1 (do this on a fresh boot). open up parted and follow the instructions in the user manual under the section 'rm'. Delete all partitions on the SSD you want to format. Just do one of them. After doing this, reboot and partition the fully deleted drive, then reboot again.

The Gentoo handbook has a walkthrough for this which is not Gentoo specific:

https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Handbook:AMD64/Installation/Disks#Viewing_the_current_partition_layout_with_parted

I strongly recommend you use the walkthrough if you've never partitioned a drive under Linux.
 
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nemesiser

Commendable
Mar 27, 2016
5
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1,510
JMW22,

I totally agreed with you that they can be separate issue. I did try a fresh install on the same SSD on my old BIOS PC without a hiccup. I was doing some research and it appears the my new Mainboard support UEFI instead of traditional BIOS, was thinking that Secure Boot could play a role in this issue since windows copying files then .... system kicked off the reboot. But Secure boot was Disabled. I did try diskpart to format the partition without issues but installation still reboots the system at "Windows Copying files". I would try to stay away from linux for now since I want to identify if it's driver issue with windows 8/10 or one of my part is having problem.
 
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JMW22

JMW22

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Dec 21, 2015
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nemesiser, when you say your new mainboard 'supports' UEFI instead of BIOS, can I safely assume you mean that the firmware is UEFI, and not BIOS? If so, and if you have been partitioning the SSD's with GPT boot sectors rather than BIOS boot sectors, then your issue could possibly be fixed with just a firmware update. If not, my next guess would be some kind of hardware issue, like maybe bad cables, bad mainboard, incorrectly installed cables, ungrounded system (which can be caused by floating metal pieces, hanging wires, etc). Come to think of it, I suggest you do a basic check for hanging wires, metal pieces and any other grounding issues you might be having, and if you're content that your system is grounded, consider (carefully) updating your firmware using a Linux live USB. After checking the grounds, but before attempting to update the firmware, check the output of dmesg for any hardware issues it might pick up:

http://www.tecmint.com/dmesg-commands/

Look it over for any issues that jump out at you, but also look specifically for the drives in question, labelled as sda, sdb, etc, i.e.:

dmesg | grep sd

If your system is grounded, dmesg shows nothing and firmware update doesn't help, I'd be thinking deeper hardware issues, like possibly a bad mainboard. I'd certainly explore faulty cables and bad connections very thoroughly before RMA'ing the mainboard though. I'd even reduce it to a minimal build before trying again, removing any graphics or sound cards you might not have mentioned, only using one SSD, unplugging any internal (or external) USB hubs that aren't necessary, etc. If the build is absolutely minimal and still doesn't work, that will tend to indicate a mainboard issue.
 
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