Upgraded everything except case, HDD and GPU - Computer keeps restarting after BIOS post.

CurtisBorst

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I decided to upgrade my PC after 6 years, so I got all the parts I need except a new GPU. As of today I've gotten all of my new hardware installed, but whenever I try to boot my PC turns on, displays the BIOS post and then restarts immediately after and does the same thing ad infinitum.

Previous Specs:
- Gigabyte GA-F2A55M-HD2
- AMD A6-5400K Black Edition
- Crucial Ballistix Sport 1x8GB DDR3 1600
- Sapphire AMD Radeon 7790 1GB OC
- WD Blue 1TB 7200RPM
- ToPower 650PM PSU

Upgraded Specs:
- MSI B350 Tomahawk
- AMD Ryzen 5 1500X
- Corsair Vengeance LPX 1x8GB 2133
- (Unchanged)
- (Unchanged)
- EVGA 450 Bronze PSU

Important details:
- HDD was previously IDE, current mobo only accepts AHCI or RAID. I believe I changed my HDD to AHCI using regedit and the BIOS on my old mobo but honestly I've been so stressed I have no clue if it worked properly or not. I remember changing it from IDE to AHCI, and then when I booted everything was black except for my cursor. Although if I used CTRL+ALT+DEL it would display just fine.

- I'm able to get in to the BIOS of my new mobo. It recognizes my HDD, CPU, GPU, RAM, everything connected to it. I currently have my HDD set up as #1 boot priority.

- Before I switched my HDD from IDE to AHCI, it would have the same issue, except when I set my HDD to #1 boot priority it would shut off and then enter a boot loop where it didin't get to the BIOS post. I reset my BIOS by removing the battery and then placing it back in.

- I have tried re-seating my RAM, although I haven't tried moving it to a different slot.

Speculation:
I think it has something to do with my HDD, as that and my GPU are the only things I'm carrying over from my old PC. IDEALLY I would like to NOT format my HDD, as it has 6 years of files and games on it. ABSOLUTELY ANY HELP is GREATLY appreciated, as I just spent upwards of $550 on this PC. Thank you for your time
 
Solution


No.
New motherboard with an old drive and an existing OS is very much of a "sometimes" issue.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
Fool around with all the drivers and junk you want...it is still "sometimes".

Time for a clean install of the OS.


And...
...as it has 6 years of files and games on it.
Is precisely what backups are for. Even without all the new parts...you...

CurtisBorst

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Ive seen guides that say it is possible to use an old HDD with a new Mobo without formatting it. I've gone through and uninstalled all of the old mobo's drivers (forgot to mention in original post) as per this guide
 

USAFRet

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No.
New motherboard with an old drive and an existing OS is very much of a "sometimes" issue.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
Fool around with all the drivers and junk you want...it is still "sometimes".

Time for a clean install of the OS.


And...
...as it has 6 years of files and games on it.
Is precisely what backups are for. Even without all the new parts...you are one head crash or major virus away from losing it all.
 
Solution

CurtisBorst

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So, if I were to buy another HDD and clone my old one on to it, would that work?

Basically what I am asking is, can I move my files from the old HDD to a new one?
 

Siyico

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If you plug in a new HDD and install windows onto it, and have the old one plugged in you'll be able to use the old one as a second drive and access it as normal.
 

USAFRet

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Cloning the whole thing to a new drive is no different than using the current drive.

You CAN copy all your personal files, and Steam games off to another drive.
Or install the new OS to go with the new hardware on a new drive.
No problem.

What OS is this?
Licensing issues may ensue.


Basically, you obtain a new drive.
Do a full OS install on this new drive.
Later, connect your old drive, copy what you need off it....your personal files and Steam games. Not applications.
Then wipe that drive.

And at 6 years old, it is:
1. Time for a new drive anyway
2. Time for a clean OS install anyway. You have several years of cruft lingering in that OS install.

Maybe now is the time to look into an SSD?
 

USAFRet

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Only install the OS on the new drive with only the new drive connected.
Reconnect the old one after.
 

CurtisBorst

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Okay. The reason I asked about cloning is because I cloned the original drive the PC was built with onto the 1TB drive I have now.

So, the best course of action here would be to order a new drive (I'm thinking SSD), perform a fresh install of Windows, and afterwards connect my old drive for use as a secondary?
If I'm being honest, I originally wanted to do that, but it was unnecessary at the time. Now, though...
 

USAFRet

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Cloning from one drive to another drive, in the same system, is absolutely no problem.
I do it all the time.

Cloning a drive to go into a whole different system...problem.
No different than using the actual original drive.

But yes...SSD. You will be pleasantly surprised at the difference.
I would not build a main use PC without one.
250GB minimum.
 

CurtisBorst

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I'm rocking Win7 Ultimate, 64bit. I'm a scrublet at the software of PC upgrades, so as you could imagine I took too big of a bite with this project.

EDIT: I should also mention that I have the product key to my windows installation. No idea if that matters or not. I also don't know if I have OEM or not, chances are more than likely I do.
 

USAFRet

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Unless you "know" it is a retail license, it probably is not.
This will almost certainly involve a call to MS to get it activated with the new hardware.

Where did this Win 7 U come from?
 

CurtisBorst

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That's where I have zero clue. This PC was originally built for me in 2012, the most involvement I had was choosing the case I wanted. I don't have access to the method of installation or the person who installed it, so I'm totally in the dark.
 

USAFRet

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If you have the license key, go here and attempt to download the Win 7 license.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows7
It will ask for your license key to start the download.

The problem is...Win 7 Ultimate is actually quite expensive, and not generally installed without knowing it.
A valid Win 7 Ultimate license was $200-$300
 

CurtisBorst

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Which is why I was trying to avoid going through the process of moving it between drives. I was 12/13 at the time this PC was built, and it was built as a gift to me, so I don't know much about how things were acquired past "They exist".
 

USAFRet

Titan
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well...even if it DID boot up, it would have unactivated itself upon seeing the new hardware.
Those are two different concepts.
But since it does not even boot up....you have no recourse right now.

Try that link above. It may allow you to download the relevant Win 7 install ISO.
Or, it may tell you that it is not valid.
 

eyupo92

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There are lots of misconceptions and deadly sins in the way you approached this.
1) Ryzen is brand new and has problems even on fresh installs.
2) Ryzen is not compatible with any other CPU/motherboard chipset.
3) Expecting a 6 year old OS install to support a two month old processor family is ... words fail me here.
4) Is your Win7 install even support UEFI ? Ryzen is full UEFI
5) On your followed "guide" they are moving from an Intel Core ix-3yyy series processor to Intel Core ix-5xxx series processor - which is much more easier as the CPU architectures are same or compatible. AMD A6 CPU and Ryzen CPU are not compatible.

My experience from today says : definitely install Windows with only one disk attached. On two desktops I had to install them twice today - altough I selected everything right on install, the EFI boot partitions etc were not created on the new drive and somehow the EFI partition of old drive was used. Consequently the new drive did not boot when old drive was removed. I had to reinstall both of them from scratch. That hurt me very much. Twice. I can't even believe I made this error.

Also for Ryzen, I suggest you to download and install Win 10 x64 build 1703 - March 2017 Creators Update. It is much more stable than Win 7,8,8.1, Win 10 1511 and 1607 builds. don't bother with any old Windows version.

You can use Heidoc.net's Windows ISO Downloader tool to download original windows ISO's from Microsoft and use Rufus to move the ISO to USB flash disk for install.

Also, try to enter your Win7 license key at Win10 install - it may work. It worked when I upgraded from Win7 Pro to Win 10 Pro. Here is an old document : https://www.cnet.com/news/which-edition-of-windows-10-will-you-get-for-free/ It says Win7 Ultimate will be upgraded to Win10 Pro. So, your license key may work if you install Win10 Pro.

And definitely buy an SSD, don't bother with HDD. Samsung 850 Evo works best if you can afford, if you don't have that much money a Sandisk Ultra II or Sandisk X400 will do. For all other brands and models, I have bad experience.

If you can afford an NVMe drive much better: a MyDigitalSSD BPX, Samsung 950 Pro, Samsung SM951, PM951, SM961, PM961, Toshiba XG3... all are very fast and maybe you can get one cheap - but don't buy an Intel 600p, it is waste of money. I don't know which country you are living, but you might be able to get one of these drives at an affordable amount.
 

CurtisBorst

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Would you consider Win10 to be essential, or a very, very strong recommendation? If possible, I'd like to stay with Win7. It's by FAR my preferred OS.
 

CurtisBorst

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Would you consider Win10 to be essential, or a very, very strong recommendation? If possible, I'd like to stay with Win7. It's by FAR my preferred OS.
 

eyupo92

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>> Would you consider Win10 to be essential, or a very, very strong recommendation? If possible, I'd like to stay with Win7. It's by FAR my preferred OS.

Absolutely essential. Microsoft does not and will not support any older Windows version on Ryzen. And build 1703, absolutely essential. I have been burned by Windows 10 1511 and 1607 - you are free to try it out yourself, but I would not do that.

Let me be frank: Ryzen is not mature and will not be mature in this first release - I expect it to mature in new releases - the Ryzen 2xxx series.

Trying to run an non-mature platform on a not supported OS using some patches - which do not come from Microsoft the supplier of OS- is inviting bad things.

I have upgraded all my computers from XP/Vista to Windows 7 the moment it came out. I skipped Windows 8 and 8.1 as Win7 was my favorite. I did not install windows 10 for a year as I had to run a software that did not work on windows 10. But the moment I found a hack to run that software on Windows 10, I switched on all my computers I use.

A wise woman had once told me : "you get used to good things very easily". Windows 10 is such a good thing. You will not miss Windows 7. I don't.
 

CurtisBorst

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I mean, if it's essential I'll cope. I've had to use Win10 in the past and I've hated it,I find that it's more complex for the sake of being complex. I also take it that since it's been over a year, I'll have to pay for Win10 myself?
 

USAFRet

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Yes.
 

eyupo92

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Maybe not. You have 30 days after install to enter a new key. Try your Win7 key, if not works, you'll have to get one.

As for complexity of Windows 10: have you seen the settings icon when you left click on the Start button and the options that get displayed when you right click on the Start button ? You can remove ( unpin ) all not needed links from Start menu and pin your most used ones. I attached here two screenshots : https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-eN7sXDAhunOTI5cDdFR1JTd2M and https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-eN7sXDAhunZUR2SkdLM1pOY00

It is much more useful for me than Windows 7. But I might be a peculiar case, I tend to use things and features that ease the way I work - at age of 47, I don't have the time I had on my first Commodore 64, I care about how fast I can do things so that I can stop starign at that screen. I even paid for Stardock Fences and find it indispensible : http://www.stardock.com/products/fences/ You can never imagine how useful it is until you use it.