My ASUS TUF Gaming A15 FA506IU started crashing during boot with an LCU error, 0x3F1. After seeing suggestions to reinstall Windows, I created installation media and tried to start the setup process. However, I get an IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL blue screen when selecting "I don't have a product key" or shortly afterward. MemTest86 and CrystalDisk both reported no problems. Could the existing Windows installation or partitions be causing this, and should I erase the drive completely before installing Windows again?
1 Answer
If you’ve backed up anything important, try a genuinely clean installation rather than installing over the existing Windows setup. In the disk-selection screen, delete the partitions on the target drive until it shows as unallocated space, then let Windows recreate the required partitions automatically. Be careful to select the correct drive, since this erases its contents. If the blue screen still happens after a clean install, the cause is more likely a hardware or firmware issue, although the original problem could simply be a faulty driver or corrupted Windows installation.
So I should remove the existing partitions and install Windows into the resulting unallocated space, rather than keeping the old files?