I'm having a serious issue with my husband's new PC build. After our last setup failed, we decided to start fresh with a new motherboard (Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Elite AX Rev 1.1), RAM that meets the motherboard's specifications, and a brand new 2TB M.2 storage drive. I removed everything from the old system, installed the new components along with his 4080 FE and 14900K processor, and successfully updated the BIOS. The problem arises when I try to boot the PC with a Windows installation USB created with the Media Creation Tool. It won't post with the bootable drive connected, although it does boot into BIOS without it. I've tried using both USB 2.0 and 3.2 ports, and even switched to a different USB stick to rule that out. The original setup and the new one both had errors, making me wonder if the CPU might be the issue. Can anyone help me troubleshoot this?
4 Answers
If both builds are throwing errors, it could be that the 14900K is failing. Try dropping the multiplier settings in the BIOS to something lower, like 20-25 for both P and E cores. That might help stabilize it enough to boot from the installer. Let me know if you need steps on how to do that!
Did you set the USB drive as the primary boot drive in the BIOS? Sometimes it helps just to ensure that's selected, but it sounds like you weren’t able to access the BIOS with the USB plugged in. Trying with the integrated graphics should allow you to change that setting. Let me know how it goes!
Using integrated graphics did let me access the BIOS. Now it boots from the USB, but it fails to install Windows.
Have you tried different USB sticks? Sometimes the issue can be with the USB drive itself. Just a thought!
Yes, I’ve tried two different USB drives including one with Windows 10, but no luck.
Make sure you've got the HDMI/DP cable connected to the GPU, not the motherboard. Your 14900K has integrated graphics, so if you pull out the 4080 and boot with the integrated graphics, you might be able to install Windows that way. It’s worth a shot!
The DP cable is definitely on the GPU. If the GPU were the problem, wouldn't the VGA debug light be on? Or could it be causing issues when I try to boot?
The new build isn’t throwing errors; it just refuses to post with the USB inserted. How do I set the BIOS multipliers? I’m pretty new to BIOS adjustments.