- Jan 15, 2013
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I'm installing Win 7 from a USB stick on an ASUS P9X79 motherboard. When the machine boots up, it doesn't see any of my connected drives. What am I doing wrong?
Whether by DVD or USB you have to press F12 (your pc may use a different key) when you start the computer, and open the boot menu. Then you select the USB stick in either UEFI or AHCI mode depending on whether you're going to use GPT or MBR.
I'm only quoting to just clear this up a bit. F12 is the alternate boot key stroke. If you've set your boot options in BIOS to be DVD and/or USB, then F12 is not necessary.
F12 is nice because it allows access to a boot selection list, without having to modify the BIOS setup.
Whether by DVD or USB you have to press F12 (your pc may use a different key) when you start the computer, and open the boot menu. Then you select the USB stick in either UEFI or AHCI mode depending on whether you're going to use GPT or MBR.
Practical experience says you're incorrect. Many current mobos don't even have a legacy BIOS. BIOS was the device level setup utility prior to the UEFI setup utility. The Basic Input/Output System is an entirely different sytem from the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface setup utility.
If the typical user is installing an operating system on a mobo utilizing a UEFI setup utility, that does not include a legacy BIOS option, the only way the way the typical user can ensure that they are installing the operating system in either UEFI/GPT or AHCI/MBR is via the boot menu.
Practical experience says you're incorrect. Many current mobos don't even have a legacy BIOS. BIOS was the device level setup utility prior to the UEFI setup utility. The Basic Input/Output System is an entirely different sytem from the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface setup utility.
If the typical user is installing an operating system on a mobo utilizing a UEFI setup utility, that does not include a legacy BIOS option, the only way the way the typical user can ensure that they are installing the operating system in either UEFI/GPT or AHCI/MBR is via the boot menu.
OK..If the mobo isn't recognizing any drive type; then you have a problem with how you've attempted to connect all the components; mobo, SSDs, HDDs, peripherals, and the entire wiring harness.
This is a top-of-the-line ASUS mobo and I again urge you to re-read your user manual from beginning to end. I'm not trying to break bad on you; but from your responses to the replies you've received to your OP you're lacking in some technical experience. Be patient and retrace your steps.
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If you are not using an SSD, do you HEAR the mechanical hard drive spin up?
Obviously it's connected since I am able to boot, but the installer doesn't see any other drives.
It's the same case with SATA or USB. They're definitely connected, I see them in the boot screen.
UEFI systems still have a setup menu. I will give you this, I have not messed with UEFI on a home mobo level. My only practical experience with UEFI is at a server level for roughly 3 years. So, maybe there is a difference. In these situation, I am not incorrect, there's still a boot list to config as you want.