I'm upgrading my kids' old gaming PC and ran into a strange issue. I replaced the i5 (from the same generation) with an i7-4790K on an MSI Z97 Gaming 5 motherboard, and I've updated to the latest BIOS. Here's what's working and what's going wrong:
- BIOS detects the i7-4790K without any issues.
- Linux and Unix run perfectly from a USB stick.
- Memtest86 and stress tests for the CPU are all passing.
- The same Windows installation USB that worked with the i5 doesn't work with the i7.
The problems:
- Both Windows 10 and Windows 11 installation USBs freeze right at the logo without any error messages.
- I can't boot into the existing Windows 11 installation, which is expected since I'm fine with a reinstall.
I've already tried several fixes:
- Resetting the CMOS multiple times.
- Updating the BIOS.
- Tweaking various settings like disabling Hyper-Threading and Secure Boot.
- Using different USB dongles and ports.
- Trying a single RAM stick instead of all four.
Every time, the system freezes immediately at the Windows logo, leaving me completely puzzled. Has anyone faced this issue or have any suggestions?
4 Answers
As a side suggestion, have you thought about using a Linux distro instead? Something like Mint could work well, and just check if your kids' favorite games are compatible with it.
If the i5 worked fine and the i7 isn’t booting, it could be a problem with the motherboard not supporting the i7 properly or maybe even a defective CPU. You might want to double-check the motherboard’s power settings and maybe try disabling any power management features like Turbo Boost. Did you check the CPU temperature when booting into Linux?
It sounds like Windows 11 needs a newer Intel processor or TPM 2.0 to install properly. Even though your i5 worked before, make sure the i7-4790K is compatible as well. You might want to check if your motherboard has any limitations on CPU support for the latest Windows versions, even if it seems common.
That CPU is quite old for those newer operating systems, and while Windows 10 originally had better support for older CPUs, newer media may have dropped support. You could try finding an earlier version of Windows 10 if that's the case.
I've looked into that, but the same USB worked with the old i5 just fine. I doubt it's a version issue since they’re both from the same generation.
I see your point, but I don't think that's the issue. The same USB drive worked just fine with the i5, so it seems like the i7 should do the same.