Glad you have it set. If it installed and it is EFI - GPT for sure you booted the Win 10 installation drive as UEFI.
Related to the firmware, BIOS and UEFI are different in many aspects and have changed in the last 40 years. BIOS or UEFI is the first software to run on the computer. It defines how hardware should work. As hardware has changed in the last 40 years, also did BIOS and/or UEFI.
Last edited by Megahertz; 16 Jun 2021 at 10:21.
The main difference between UEFI and legacy BIOS is how the devices are detected and reported to the operating system. Apart from that, there is no difference in performance.
I did ultimately get a new power supply. Would that it had made things better rather than bitter.....
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Okay - things just keep going from bad to worse and I'm my wit's end. I have twice done a clean install following the advise here and also reference Brink's tutorial. Each time, after no more than 48 hours, I come into the studio to find that the machine will no longer boot and that I can't access the drive on which windows 10 pro was installed. I swapped m.2 drives and tried again -- same results.
Now (having exhausted my supply of m.2 drives), I can not use either and get a clean install even started. I configure the bios, reboot and the system goes off into la-la land (blank screens; drive seems to be accessing but nothing every changes). I've put in a support request with MSI but, based on previous attempts, I'm not hopeful. What I am is extremely frustrated.
I have recently attemped to replace the hard disk on an old laptop and clean-install v21H1. After copying all Windows 10 files, it reboots in order to install devices etc. Somewhere during that process for some unknown incompatibility the system shutdown and it would never continue (I got an error message to reboot and start again). I then tried to do a clean installation of an older build of Windows 10 (v1909). This completed OK without any issue. Since I had lost too many hours already, I wouldn't dare to upgrade v1909 to v21H1 to see what happens, but I guess 80% it would fail again.
My point is, have you tried installing an older Windows 10 build? Maybe your system too is incompatible with v21H1. By older build of course, I don't mean v20H2, I would use a much older, such as v1909 or earlier to be on the safe side. If you haven't kept such a build, you won't find it on Microsoft's site and old Media Creation Tools have expired and won't let you download an older build. Your only option is to use an old Windows 10 DVD (if available) or download the Windows 10 ISO from a non-Microsoft site.
That is something to consider. With an i9 chip, I had assumed that it would be 'modern' but perhaps there are issues with the mobo that, while new to me, has been on the market for awhile. Thank you for your input, it is worth considering especially since I have yet to get any reply from MSI support.
Seems unlikely that a Z390 based system (new in 2018) would be too old to support any version of Win 10.
I'm not sure exactly what path you have followed, but here are some random thoughts:
You want the USB drive of the installer to be formatted as FAT32.
When doing a clean install, it may be helpful to disconnect all SSDs and HDDs, other than the one you are installing the OS on.
When you boot the PC from the USB drive, the USB drive will be listed twice. Choose the UEFI one.
In the installer, delete all partitions from the target drive. The installer will then create all the partitions that are needed.
Maybe you've already done all of these, but a quick reading of the thread does not confirm or deny that.
If you have been allowing a clumsy or malicious person (no, I don't mean you) to log into the PC, don't do that.
usb is formatted by the media creation tool AFAIK;Seems unlikely that a Z390 based system (new in 2018) would be too old to support any version of Win 10.
I'm not sure exactly what path you have followed, but here are some random thoughts:
You want the USB drive of the installer to be formatted as FAT32.
When doing a clean install, it may be helpful to disconnect all SSDs and HDDs, other than the one you are installing the OS on.
When you boot the PC from the USB drive, the USB drive will be listed twice. Choose the UEFI one.
In the installer, delete all partitions from the target drive. The installer will then create all the partitions that are needed.
Maybe you've already done all of these, but a quick reading of the thread does not confirm or deny that.
If you have been allowing a clumsy or malicious person (no, I don't mean you) to log into the PC, don't do that.
All drives have been disconnected -- with the exception of the drive for the user profile install (as per Kari's tutorial found here).
UEFI install is the one not working. I have not tried retrograding to the CSM install.
If I could get the install to the point of identifying drives/partitions I would do as you suggest. Unfortunately, I cannot even get the Windows OS install to begin. Or do be more accurate, so far as I can see there is no evidence of the OS install beginning but, apart from accessing the BIOS, nothing is visible on the screen.
At this point there is no one who can access this DAW-PC but me. If I could get the system to perform in a stable manner, I would create logon/user accounts for the boys in the band. But we're no where near doing that at this point.
You've been through the tutorial? Clean Install Windows 10
(I find it a little too general. I rarely use an installer with all of those options present.)
You're unable to get to this screen?This is where you can delete all the partitons from the selected drive, converting it to unallocated space. Once you've done that, you can proceed with the installation. The installer will create and fromat the necessary partitions.
Are you sure the SSD is OK? If Windows Setup cannot identify it and gets stuck, it is either incompatible with your system or has gone bad. If it is under Warranty I would return it to the shop for a check. All you have to do is say you cannot install Windows. They should replace it with the same or equivalent model from other brand.
A workaround would be to install Windows on another disk and then clone to the SSD.
Yes. I've used it twice and twice after successful installation the system refused to boot or do anything. I cannot, at this time, get to any of the screens in the tutorial -- I can see no evidence that the windows install even begins. I either have not managed to configure something correctly (although, for the life of me, I don't see what I'm missing) or there is something wrong with the hardware. For a system to install and then a day later refuse to boot seems quite odd and outside anything I've experienced in 40 years of building pcs.You've been through the tutorial? Clean Install Windows 10
(I find it a little too general. I rarely use an installer with all of those options present.)
You're unable to get to this screen?
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At this point, everything is an open question including something flaky in the mobo, that I have (odds are against it but...) not one but two bad samsung 2tb m.2 nvme drives and that I'm a complete idiot and missing the bloody obvious due to brain damage resulting from banging my head against too many hard objects.
It is true, that I have other ssds that I was going to use in this system at a later point and, perhaps, what you suggest is something that I should give serious consideration to. I thank you for the suggestion.
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