I encountered a frustrating issue with my Windows installation after changing my RAM settings, which led to corruption. Initially, I attempted several fixes, but eventually, my system just wouldn't boot beyond the loading circle when trying to use a Windows drive. I took a step back and got an external enclosure for my SSD and managed to recover all my important files without any issues.
After recovering my data, I formatted my drives and reconnected them to my PC, but any attempt to access the flash drive led to system freeze. Sometimes, I could get past the loading circle and reach the installation screen, but after proceeding, I was met with a persistent black screen. I tried everything: wiping the drives multiple times with diskpart, reflashing my motherboard's BIOS, and updating the SSD firmware, but nothing worked.
I recalled that both my GPU and motherboard support PCIe 5.0, while the riser I was using is only PCIe 4.0. I realized the crashing began after resetting the BIOS to optimized defaults. I adjusted the PCIe x16 slot to Gen 4 speeds, and thought I finally had it fixed. I booted successfully from the flash drive and began the installation, only to face another black screen after the system restarted with a 'Getting Ready' message.
I've continued troubleshooting since then, doubting it might be RAM issues, but MemTest86 showed no problems. I performed ASUS Secure Erase, tried using just one RAM stick, and attempted installing Windows on both drives separately, but the issue persists. I even swapped the M.2 slots and tested with just one SSD, but nothing seems to resolve it. I'm really at my wits' end about what to do next.
2 Answers
It sounds like your PSU isn't cutting it for such a powerful setup, but let's not jump to conclusions just yet. A good test is to run a Linux distro from a USB to see if your system operates fine that way. As for the black screen, sometimes that just means your graphics drivers are taking longer to install. I suggest you unplug that hefty GPU for the time being and connect your monitor to the motherboard instead. Since your CPU has an integrated GPU, it should be able to handle the installation just fine. If that works, you can add the big GPU back in afterward. Let me know if that helps! Good luck!
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