New Motherboard, Vista and Win 7 won't install

My brothers motherboard ( ASUS P5N-E SLI ) recently died. His iPod shorted the USB port, which in turn shorted the motherboard. I purchased a GIGABYTE GA-EP43-UD3 from newegg.com to replace it.


The other components in his system are:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 Conroe 2.33GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor

Memory: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 Dual Channel Kit

Hard Drives: (2) Western Digital Caviar Blue WD1600AAJS 160GB 7200 RPM SATA

DVD Drive: LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model LH-20A1L-06

Video Card: EVGA 512-P2-N773-AR GeForce 8600 GTS 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16

PS: COOLER MASTER eXtreme RP-500-PCAR 500W ATX12V V2.01

Monitor: Westinghouse 19" LCD



Prior to his ASUS motherboard dying, Vista Ultimate 32-bit was his OS. After replacing the ASUS mobo with the newly purchased Gigabyte, I have tried unsuccessfully numerous times to install both Vista and Windows 7 (from several different DVD's).


Installation has failed in three different ways:

1. During "Expanding Files" I get Error Code: 0X80070570 (http://www.sevenforums.com/attachments/installation-setup/8938d1240733558-error-code-0x80070570-during-installation-7100-x86-2d0ht11.jpg)

2. During "Completing Installation" I get "Windows could not configure one or more system components. To install Windows, restart the computer and then restart the installation."

3. Once Windows 7 completed installation, but upon booting into Windows for the first time I was bombarded with errors concerning various devices that were not functioning and when restarted the installation failed to boot.


Things I have tried:

1. I have flashed several BIOS versions (newest, original, older)
2. I have loaded Fail-Safe BIOS settings, and Optimum setting
3. I have disconnected all but one hard drive, the CPU, Memory, Video card, keyboard, and DVD Drive
4. I reformatted both hard drives
5. I successfully installed windows 7 on one of the the hard drives by connecting it to a different computer, but then when connected back to the problem computer I was bombarded with errors concerning various devices that were not functioning when Windows started and when restarted the installation failed to boot.
6. I connected a different DVD drive to the problem computer and attempted to install
7. I systematically enabled/disabled every BIOS option
8. I have checked and rechecked and rerechecked every connection and cable.
9. I have tried several different DVD's of both Vista and 7


I am almost certain that there is a problem with the new Gigabyte motherboard, but I have never experienced something like this before so I am seeking some other opinions.

Additionally I am not certain if it is indeed a faulty motherboard or if there is merely a conflict between the motherboard and one or more of the other components (although according to Gigabyte's website and the manual, all of the components are compatible and I have verified that all the components are functioning correctly when connected to a different computer).

Have you tried to repair the MBR? I've run into instances where reformatting a drive won't correct a bad master boot record, using the windows repair tool should do the trick. The other thing to worry about is if your RAM is still good, if that got fried it could cause install problems.