I'm having a tough time installing Windows 11 on my new PC setup. Here are the specs: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D CPU, Corsair H115i cooler, ASUS ROG STRIX B650E-I GAMING WIFI motherboard, 32GB Corsair Vengeance RAM, Samsung 990 Pro 2TB SSD, NVIDIA RTX 5070 GPU, and a Corsair SF1000 PSU. I used the Media Creation Tool to prepare a bootable USB drive (SanDisk 3.2 Gen1, 32GB FAT32) and even added the necessary motherboard drivers to it. The USB appears fine in Windows and is healthy in Disk Management, but when I boot my PC with the USB inserted, it freezes on the "Del or F2 to enter BIOS" screen, rendering all peripherals unresponsive. If I boot without the USB, I can enter BIOS, but it doesn't detect the USB as bootable when I plug it in. I've tried various USB ports and enabled USB legacy support, toggled CSM, Fast Boot, and more. Any thoughts on why this is happening? Is it my USB configuration or a BIOS setting I'm overlooking?
3 Answers
Have you thought about trying a different USB drive? It might be best to avoid partitioning it and just let the entire installation package fill the drive. Keeping it straightforward could make a difference!
I noticed you used the Media Creation Tool, which sometimes isn't reliable. You could try using Rufus to create the bootable USB instead. Just download the Win 11 .iso, use Rufus to set it up, and make sure to follow the settings carefully. It usually works better than MCT. Also, have you tried formatting the USB before starting?
I'll give Rufus a shot! Is there a good guide you recommend?
Make sure TPM is enabled in your BIOS settings. Sometimes that can be the culprit when installing Windows 11.
I believe I enabled it, but I’ll double-check.
I’ll buy another one if necessary. Thanks for the suggestion!