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For 3 days I'm trying to install Windows 7 on my cousin's PC but I'm getting BSOD every time. I've tried with Windows 7 x86/x64 and Windows Xp /32. First steps are going well,but after restart when it reaches "Finishing installation" screen a BSOD appears. I read tons of forum posts and still no solution. I set SATA mode on BIOS to IDE and AHCI but no result. Removed almost all hardware except RAM, HDD and Graphic card. Tested with Memtest86 and HDD tune. Reformatted HDD several times and Rebuild MBR 3 times.

Every time BSOD shows different message and error code. Sometimes they are caused by Ntfs.sys, USBSTOR.sys. Last time deleted USBSTOR.sys from Command Prompt and still no luck. I've tried with other SATA ports, installation from DVD/USB stick. I'm not a technician, but I have some knowledge and I've never seen something like this. Most interesting part is that I've installed 2 times Linux Mint 16 on same PC and it's working without any problems. Before several months I've installed same Windows 7 on same PC without any problems...I would be grateful if you could help me. Thanks in advance and sorry for my English :)

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  • So you installed the same version of windows on the same physical PC (not just the same model) and it worked previously. This time, are you installing over the existing partition, or are you starting with a freshly reformatted drive? The NTfs.sys problem seems to point to a corrupted drive partition. A Linux install would use a clean, different partition. I would try using the option in the windows installed under "advanced" to reformat the destination partition with the consistent windows ntfs formatter.
    – jdh
    Dec 19, 2013 at 22:52
  • I've tried installation on freshly reformatted HDD,it doesn't works.I will try again in "advanced" option and i will post the result.Thanks. Dec 20, 2013 at 21:14

4 Answers 4

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This is most likely caused by a bad hardware, though it is hard to determine which piece of hardware is causing the problem, unless you have some spare hardware on hand. I'd say try switching the RAM and HDD first, since these are more readily available and easily switched. Then if the problem persists, we can conclude the motherboard is probably bad.

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You seem to have made most of the trouble-shooting steps...

RAM or CPU seems unlikely as the Linux install and MemTest are both fine and both would have noticed RAM issues.

My best guess: Harddisk or motherboard (SATA controller) trouble. Possibly the SATA cable (did you swap the cable too ?)

It is possible that a flaky harddisk (or SATA controller) only shows issues on certain access-patterns which Windows will hit during normal run and which don't happen during the early phase of the install.
Likewise, another OS (Linux), may not show the issue at all or only after prolonged use.

Swap RAM, swap HDD with a known good one, swap SATA cable.
Be sure to do a "Reset to factory defaults" in the Bios AFTER EACH hardware change.

These things can be difficult to troubleshoot.
If you are trying a lot of combinations it is very easy to draw the wrong conclusions, because you can easily get your test-results mixed-up.
Be systematic, change 1 variable at time and write down what you attempted and what the result was.

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In my experience, BSODs during the installation of any version of Windows is due to faulty RAM. I know you said you tested the RAM with Memtest86, but I would try one stick, or even a completely new/different stick, if you have one.

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  • Thank you.I've requested one more stick and after delivery and try,i inform you for the progress. Dec 20, 2013 at 21:16
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Windows 7 cannot be installed on IDE mode, so you need to be at AHCI to install windows 7. If your installation is completed till "finishing installation" point then it's showing you the problem then it's your HDD that's faulting the windows installation. During installation you need to click 'Advanced' tab while selecting a drive for the windows installation and then first 'delete' that drive and then 'create' a new drive from that deleted drive. There should be no problems installing the windows. If you still get errors after installing then press F8 repeatedly when your bios starts to show the menu to load windows in "Safe mode". Try that mode for checking if the problem is your HDD or if there's problem with your installation disk.

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  • Nonsense: Windows 7 CAN be installed in IDE mode. It is not recommended because of slow performance (AHCI is a lot faster on the same HDD and controller), but it WILL work.
    – Tonny
    Dec 24, 2013 at 11:45
  • It's true Windows 7 can be installed on IDE mode but different type of HDDs crash due to this problem. Just like Sata 3 drive will crash on installing windows 7 at IDE mode, and others will probably work under SSD harddisks. I said it because most of the people nowadays use Sata disks which will crash windows 7 in IDE mode.
    – Hunter
    Dec 24, 2013 at 11:53
  • IDE mode on a plain harddisk will not lead to crashes. Just awfull performance. But a SSD or hybrid drive (HDD+cache) needs Trim commands which can NOT be done in IDE mode. Such disks typically refuse to work in IDE mode at all, or will fail very early in their life-time. Changing IDE to AHCI (or vice-versa) will also often lead to a crash, but that is because Windows will be using the wrong set of drivers. That's is not a hardware issue and not relevant for the question.
    – Tonny
    Dec 24, 2013 at 12:03

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