Black screen with flashing underscore

[twixie]

Just finished making a build, but i can't seem to get it to boot properly.
After the bios screen it just goes to a black screen with a flashing underscore, not accepting any input ('cept ctrl alt delete to reset)


build info:
Intel Core i5 2500K

ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 Motherboard

Corsair Vengeance CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9R 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 550 Ti 1GB Overclocked

Silverstone Strider 500W ST50F-ES

Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB ST2000DL003

Intel 320 Series 80GB SSD



I've tried booting it seperately with the ssd and the hdd, same result.
No cd/dvd drive, i'm intending on installing the os from usb.

 

[neograndizer]

In the BIOS did you change boot priority to boot from USB first?

You need to install the OS first before doing anything else.

 

[twixie]

Yeah, i've gone into bios and done that but it still just comes up with the black screen and flashing underscore.

 

[neograndizer]

It sounds like you didn't make the Windows install on the USB key properly or something went wrong when making it initially. The blank screen and blinking cursor indicate there's no boot data/table to read on the disks or usb key.

 

[twixie]

I followed this to the dot
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/window-on-windows/configure-a-usb-flash-drive-to-be-a-windows-7-installation-platform/1446

I can re-do it all but i'm almost certain i didn't mess any of it up o-o

 

[twixie]

Okay, im doing the usb again using http://www.informationweek.com/byte/howto/personal-tech/storage-memory/231000246

with a different usb this time tho, because the software didnt accept the one i was using (possible reason for previous problem is that the usb is simply faulty?)

 

[neograndizer]

I don't know about this (never used it), but it looks like something you're looking for and a little more simplistic in nature.

Windows 7 USB/DVD download tool with step-by-step instructions found here

I've never installed an OS via USB.

There's another wizard program called WinToFlash.

HTH.

 

[twixie]

Best answer selected by twixie.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey