Cannot install Win7 on W520 with new mobo and SSD

[helicopter]

I just replaced the motherboard on a W520 because the old GPU had failed- see here viewtopic.php?f=48&t=132635

I cannot install Windows 7 from scratch. I tried via two methods: from the Lenovo recovery disks (obtained from our community archivist) and from my own legit Windows 7 disks. With the former, all the files copy, and then during the installation routine, there is a blue screen error. With the latter, I get a blue screen error while the files are copying. I tried this on my old SSD and a brand new one I just bought today. I tried it with several different single sticks of RAM, including ones that tested good after 8 passes with Memtest. I think the "new" (actually used) motherboard is OK, because, using another computer, I was able to image an SSD with an old clone of my system and got it to run. But I want to have a totally clean installation because early versions of the system were never complete right-- for example, the system would always crash as soon as I unplugged it and used the battery, UNLESS the power manager setting was set to maximum power. That always bugged me.

I am stumped, but because I don't have as much experience as many of you, there's probably something I'm overlooking or haven't tried. I even tried both using the internal DVD-RW and an external one to load the files, just in case there was something wrong with the device.

Suggestions?

[RealBlackStuff]

Have you tried changing BIOS/Config/SATA from Compatibility to AHCI (or v.v.)?

[helicopter]

Thanks for the reply!

Before your suggestion, BIOS was set to AHCI. I now set it to Compatibility. Installation from the Win7 disks still leads to a blue screen error upon copying the files. I'm trying it with the Rescue Disks as well now and will report back. The Rescue Disk process always gets much further. All the files copy, the auto-exec sequences run, the installation begins, the registry is updated, a few other steps (I can't remember), then a blue screen error.

Other info... in case I have a hardware compatibility problem?
Old motherboard used BIOS 1.46.
New motherboard uses BIOS 1.42. It's FRU 04W2028 with AMT and TPM.
BIOS settings during this installation were all default (except for now, when I changed the SATA mode).
CPU is i7-2720QM.
BIOS recognises the new SSD (a Samsung EVO 870).

FWIW, I even got a blue screen error once last night when using diskpart to clean the partitions off the new SSD. That doesn't have every time though.

[helicopter]

Both methods (Recovery disks and Win7 installation DVD) failed with SATA set to Compatibility mode. Before that I had done it in AHCI.

This is so frustrating. I've sunk so much time into this.

This is what happens when installing from the Recovery Disks
After copying, expanding, and running the auto-exec sequences, the system restarts and goes through these stages:
Updated registry=> starting services=> installing devices=> [system restarts automatically]=> "Preparing set-up for first use"=> Windows Welcome screen=> Preload customization in process
Then comes a blue screen crash with a stop code, then a black screen that says "configuration change- restart the system."
Restarting just leads to a Windows screen (as if the OS is loading), then a message that says, "Windows could not complete the installation. To install Windows on this computer, please restart the installation."

From the Win7 DVD, it crashes while expanding [EDITED] the files. That's the second stage of the process.

[axur-delmeria]

Have you tested the RAM for errors? I've seen bad RAM cause some weird errors.

[ajkula66]

A shot in the dark: remove the wireless card and try installing W7 without it.

Good luck.

[helicopter]

Prior to this repair, I tested two 4GB sticks with Memtest (individually). No errors after 8 passes.

I removed the wireless card and again got blue screen error when installing from the Win 7 disks. I tried this with the two tested sticks of RAM (each alone, in slot 0). I also tried it with two other sticks of RAM. All led to blue screens.

I could buy a new stick tomorrow and test that.

The replacement mobo is used. Maybe it's the problem.

Could someone confirm what the BIOS security settings should be? All passwords are disabled. Pre-boot authentication is disabled. Fingerprint data is cleared. Computrace is disabled. I have never gotten any messages about it. How should the security chip be set: active, inactive, or disabled?

And what about Intel AMT?

[helicopter]

I tried again with new RAM. I took out the Wifi card AND the Blue tooth card. It generated the same BSODs when going through the installation with the Win7 disks. I also ran the laptop with a clone of an old system (supposedly a clean Win7 system)-- with the new RAM-- and it still generated BSODs.

I'm giving up.

[axur-delmeria]

Did you try to pin down the cause of the BSOD by analyzing the crash dump?

[helicopter]

I only looked at them when running the old system clone. They were always different. If you want to know the exact types of errors, drivers and parameters, let me know. I don't have experience debugging.

Alternately, I don't know how to view them when the system crashed during an installation, because I don't know if/where they are saved. In that case, there is no "reboot to safe mode/reboot normally" The blue screen remains until you turn off the machine. I even got a blue screen error once last week when running diskpart after loading WInPE.

[axur-delmeria]

Maybe the new SSD is bonkers. That's always a possibility.
Have you tried running a Linux live USB and see if you encounter issues?

[helicopter]

#Axur: I haven't tried Linux. I don't know the OS. If you could provide a link with some basic instructions on how to set up that USB (and maybe a primer about the system), I can try it in a pinch. In the end, I need to run Win7 for some specific software.

As for the drive, yes, maybe it's a problem. But I would need to control that by using the old Intel SSD.

-----

Last night, I sort of had some success with Win7... but would still like some help.

Somehow the OS installed with the Rescue and Recovery disks. This was with a new stick of RAM and the Samsung 870 Evo. I had removed the wifi and Blue Tooth cards. However, there are some problems. Maybe someone has some insight.

1. During the long installation, the system needs to reboot several times. Each time, the Boot Manager failed to see the Samsung SSD. (BIOS was set to AHCI). However, it's visible in the BIOS as a boot option. My workaround was just to turn the machine off and on (after it tried to find a DVD or a LAN), but this isn't how it should work. The same thing happens after a BSOD. Could it be that the BIOS doesn't always work with the SSD controller? BTW, I read that the 870's controller is different from the one in the 850 and 860.

2. There was one BSOD during the installation. After I got the OS running and then started trying to stress the system, I could make the system crash by changing the power settings to something less than max power (i.e. energy saver) and then disconnecting the AC. The offending driver was always EXE64.sys. The stop code was 3B on four occasions, 7E once, and 1E once. Again, this was only running the OS and apps that Lenovo provided, without any updates. Why is this happening?

BTW, in the past, I once ran the Lenovo checker to see if this was a recalled battery. It's not. RBS once suggested that maybe the battery was bad. Maybe it is. Has anyone had this experience, where a battery works on max power but causes problem with the other settings?

Thanks in advance.

[atagunov]

#Axur: I haven't tried Linux. I don't know the OS. If you could provide a link with some basic instructions on how to set up that USB (and maybe a primer about the system), I can try it in a pinch. In the end, I need to run Win7 for some specific software.

Hi, I guess our advice is not to switch to Linux entirely.
Our advice is to try and see if Linux agrees to run on this machine.
That will give us more information about the machine.
Of course you need Win7 in the end, we understand that.

Now an interesting thing about Ubuntu - a variety of Linux - is that you can run it without installing.
E.g. you prepare the installation USB stick, put it in, boot from it but then instead of selecting "Install Ubuntu" you select "Try Ubuntu"
And if the machine/BIOS are all right it does run without installing, straight from that USB
This is a little slow but it does work.

So what you do is you search online for "Download ubuntu" and download.. probably the latest LTS you can find.
LTS is "long term support". You need the "Desktop" variety. That's what I always do - search for the right page via a search engine.
And currently we end up here: https://ubuntu.com/download/desktop

Current LTS e.g. 20.4.2.0 will be fine, I'm running it on my T520 now day in and day out and it's ok.
Then you need to put it onto a USB stick.
For that you obviously need a relatively modern USB stick of a sufficient size and reasonable speed.
If you have one that supports USB 3.0 choose that one, otherwise other varieties will do.
If you use a USB 3.0 stick it will make sense to put it into USB 3.0 port on W520 when booting.
In a T520 I believe the port on the back side is the 3.0 one. I'm a little less sure about W520.

Next you need to put that image you have downloaded on the USB stick.
To be honest for many years I had a running Ubuntu in the house so I've forgotten how to do that under Windows.
Presumably you need some software?.. Maybe somebody else can help?

[Neil]

To be honest for many years I had a running Ubuntu in the house so I've forgotten how to do that under Windows.
Presumably you need some software?..

Rufus is pretty good for that... Ventoy is even easier, and handy if you want more than one ISO on the same USB stick.

[atagunov]

BTW if W520 is anything like W530 there should be a toggle in BIOS between using

- always the discrete video card (nVidia)
- always the integrated video (Intel HD something)
- a combination of both, known as "Optimus"

nVidia offers better performance but is more power hungry, integrated is lower performance but doesn't require nVidia drivers. Either can drive W530's internal display. Only nVidia can drive external displays.

So my idea here is to play with the setting. Try different options and see if you still get the blue screen. I'd try discrete always, I'd try nVidia always.

As another idea: please double check that ComputTrace is disabled as much as possible in BIOS

[helicopter]

Thanks to everyone for so much help. I appreciate it.

I tried Ubuntu on a USB. One time, I got this result:
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0eYDd_Z ... PxGw7MeV5A
There was no purple pre-boot screen and no option to try/install Ubuntu.

A second time-- I think I changed to NTFS and a DD image on the stick, I got the purple screen, the option to try/install, and after choosing try, I got this result:
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0vDTVq0 ... dfPSPV_K1w
No caching mode page found
Assuming drive cache: write through

I shut down the machine and tried it a third time-- I got the same result as #2, but different numbers before the messages:
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0yEGJFU ... t0DlItI3Uw

Maybe someone can interpret what this means or tell me if I did something wrong.

As for Computrace, it's disabled in the BIOS. I've never gotten any message stating that the machine is registered.

I did some other tests with Win7. I get BSODs when running on battery power, at a setting less than max power (i.e. energy saver or power source optimized.). This happens whether I run the discrete graphics or the integrated. It can happen within seconds of unplugging the AC (if the machine is not set to max power), or it can happen on battery power if I change from max power. AFAIK, it doesn't happen when running in safe mode. Does that indicate a driver problem? It also happens whether I use the new Samsung SSD or the old Intel. I put the same image of the fresh Win7 installation, with all the current updates, on both of them. This is all with new RAM.

There's another weird problem where-- AFTER a crash, not after a regular start-up-- the machine will not boot on its own from the Samsung SSD, even though it's higher in the boot priority list than the LAN. The machine acts like it wants to go to a network (maybe a former corporate network) and load the OS from there. Is it related to this?
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en ... l-nuc.html
I can't remember a network boot option in the BIOS, but maybe I didn't look closely enough. But like I said, the Samsung SSD is higher in the list in BIOS.

Or is it connected to Intel's AMT? Should I permanently disable it, as this article suggests? Right now, it's deactivated. I'm not sure permanently disabling is is possible. Also, there's Intel AMT software that loaded with the Recovery installation.
https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/soluti ... rol-bypass

That's it.

[helicopter]

Update: I had performed the previous three attempts with battery only (accidentally). I plugged the machine in and got Ubuntu to run and am using it now. I don't understand why the other attempts failed, and what this test indicates about the hardware. Is there a way to test Ubuntu on different power settings on a W520?

[RealBlackStuff]

Due to its age (or low capacity), the battery probably is not capable of supporting ALL the hardware, whereas the PSU is.
With PSU you should be able to install w7.

[helicopter]

I tried Ubuntu a fifth time and got it to boot on the battery, but then Firefox and the whole desktop froze after I wrote a message for this forum. Is that a typical Ubuntu freeze, or a problem with Firefox?

#RBS: The battery is indeed old-- over 10 years.

What about this problem of the Intel Boot Manager looking for a network instead of finding the SSD?

[axur-delmeria]

What about this problem of the Intel Boot Manager looking for a network instead of finding the SSD?

That's the laptop not detecting the SSD. Could be a malfunctioning system board or a bad SSD.
Do you have other computers you can test that SSD on for a few days/weeks?

[RealBlackStuff]

Why do you insist in doing everything with only battery?

[helicopter]

I don't think I have a machine I can use to boot from that Samsung SSD. I have a T42, but it's not a 64 bit system and doesn't have much memory. I might have access to a relatively recent Dell.

Can I uninstall the Intel AMT software interface (the one that runs on top of Win7)?

I did check the network boot options and see that the SSD is prioritized higher than the LAN.

I don't insist on only using the battery, but I'm in work situations where I need to move the machine to show or explain something to someone, or I'm in places where access to electricity is limited.

This battery shows a full charge capacity of almost 69 Wh, though it has about 1170 recharge cycles.

[atagunov]

I tried Ubuntu a fifth time and got it to boot on the battery, but then Firefox and the whole desktop froze after I wrote a message for this forum. Is that a typical Ubuntu freeze, or a problem with Firefox?

Hi, I'm heavily using T520 with Ubuntu 20.04.2. Thankfully freezes are not typical at all for me. Firefox may misbehave slightly once a week but it certainly doesn't take the system down with it. Firefox occasionally tells me smth like "oops I need to restart myself", then I tell it "okay, go ahead" and it just disappears. Then I start it again manually.

This is all rather confusing really.. There is a lot of information from all your attempts and it sort of gets mixed up in my head.. Am I correct:

- you have been able to install Win7, it generally runs but sometimes dies with a blue screen?
- the occasions when it dies seem related to power modes or such?
- the blue screens happen both on AC and on battery?
- did you install Win7 on both a Samsung SSD and on an Intel SSD?
- and you are getting about the same behaviour on both?

Re experimenting with "Try Ubuntu", you could probably take the SSD out of the machine completely and see if you can reliably boot into and run in that "Try Ubuntu" mode from the USB stick. The idea is to take one unknown out of the picture - SSD - and see what happens.

I got the same result as #2, but different numbers before the messages

Those numbers are probably just timestamps. E.g. how many milliseconds since you started the system the message was printed, or how many milliseconds since 1 Jan 1970 or smth like that. They don't seem that relevant for solving the issue, I'm inclined to ignore them. To me your attempt #3 gave exactly same result as #2. Unfortunately no, I don't know how to interpret these messages from Linux kernel. Probably it is somehow unhappy with its interaction with SSD? I don't know..

[helicopter]

#Atagunov thanks for the info about Firefox and for the guess about the timestamps. I'll take out the SSD and see if Try Ubuntu regularly works.

This is all rather confusing really.. There is a lot of information from all your attempts and it sort of gets mixed up in my head.. Am I correct:

- you have been able to install Win7, it generally runs but sometimes dies with a blue screen?
yes
- the occasions when it dies seem related to power modes or such?
yes
- the blue screens happen both on AC and on battery?
I believe battery. However, I haven't rigorously tested this with a variety of resource-intensive applications.
- did you install Win7 on both a Samsung SSD and on an Intel SSD?
yes, to try to isolate whether the old Intel SSD was the problem of not. The Samsung drive is new.
- and you are getting about the same behaviour on both?
yes

Sorry I provided too much info.
See above.

[atagunov]

Sorry I provided too much info.

Hey, not to worry, but it will help everybody on this thread to get the details right.

- the blue screens happen both on AC and on battery?
I believe battery. However, I haven't rigorously tested this with a variety of resource-intensive applications

So all of the Win7 blue screens you have seen happened on battery?
How stable is Ubuntu from a USB stick when on AC?
How stable is Ubuntu from a USB stick when on battery?

P.S. I don't know what everybody else thinks, I'm confused... That same battery presumably was able to sustain a similarly configured W520 motherboard before.. Hmm..

[helicopter]

So all of the Win7 blue screens you have seen happened on battery?
Mainly, but yesterday I got one on AC power. The driver was ntoskrnl.exe, as were several previous ones. Someone on this forum said that doesn't really indicate anything, because that can be caused by a variety of problems.
How stable is Ubuntu from a USB stick when on AC?
Today I couldn't get it to load about 4 times. It didn't get past the "try" stage.
How stable is Ubuntu from a USB stick when on battery?
I couldn't get it to load. Once I got a kernel panic error and forced exit. Twice it never proceeded past the black screen with the ubuntu logo at the bottom.

I'm also puzzled. In Win7, I haven't loaded any of my regular apps yet, except Firefox.

I'm sorry to throw in additional info, but the machine did give blue screen errors under similar conditions (i.e. the battery vs AC) prior to the motherboard change. But it also crashed on AC power at times.

But the reason for the mobo change was the failure of the GPU, because I could not drive an external monitor and it looked like a hardware problem. After changing the board, I thought I could then isolate what caused the BSODs (if they still occurred) with a fresh Win7 installation, which brought me to the current predicament. I didn't really want to change the SSD and the memory (since I wasn't convinced those were the problems), but I did it to rule out other things. There are several variables, and one doesn't really know whether the mobo is even 100% reliable.

I think for now I'm going to put this aside. Due to other work, I'm going to return this problem in late Aug. If anyone else has other suggestions, I will certainly read them and follow them.

[atagunov]

Don't think SSD is at fault. You tried a different one. You tried Ubuntu from USB stick. I hope you also tried Ubuntu from USB stick with SSD removed.

You are as good as any one of us at isolating. You've been replacing it part by part and yet the problem remains.

It's as if the problem travelled form old machine to new machine. But how is it possible? The only things that remained are the body, the power supply, the screen assembly, wi-fi card, the keyboard... and CPU?

Power supply?.. You could at least try to measure power inside the machine with a tester.. My imagination is good enough to envision a powersupply feeding wrong voltage and destroying two mobos.. Even if it sounds more like fiction.
Should we suspect that some unscrupulous seller has sold you a bad motherboard?...
Can the CPU be at fault? I wonder if you can borrow a I5-2520M to test somewhere.. After people upgrade a T420 or T520 they are left with an unused 2520M sitting somewhere in a drawer..
No damaged legs or other funny things about your CPU to the best of your knowledge?..
I would have lent you a 2520M but I'm a bit too far, buying locally should be cheaper than sending..

P.S. to remove body and screen assembly out of equation you could run the motherboard outside of the body, attached to a docking station. Advantage of a docking station is that you don't even need the regular keyboard - the docking station has a power button. Of course you'd need an external keyboard and monitor then.

[wsalomon]

I feel your pain - it must be annoying. But...

Have you tried installing Win 10? Having just reloaded both a T-520 and a W-520 with version 21H1, can tell most drivers are included without searching (have yet to recheck my hand-curated store of Nvidia drivers). (My T-420 & T-520 run 16 GB, the W-520 64 GB RAM (all G. Skill), SSDs (all Samsung), repackaged Intel AX200 WiFis, and Oleg-modded BIOS).

The are few others - like for the Ricoh card reader for which there are 4 are old drivers, not updated in years (the first is a Dell, and the other 3 are Lenovo) are not.

They are:

Dell_Ricoh_E822_R227769.exe
Ricoh_ 2_06_02_02_6hss74ww.exe
Ricoh_ 3_64_02_7kss73ww.exe
Ricoh_E283_2_22_18_01_8axw02ww.exe

They are installed in that order (the E822 and E823 refer to PCI codes).

Also needed:

Hotkey_Integration_3_81_0100_8jvu23ww.exe
Hotkey_Integration_3_89_0100_8jvu43ww.exe

The first gives Vertical Scroll (if you like that), the second updates everything else (but there is not Vertical Scroll).

At this point, Win 7 is 1½ yr past EOL (that said, I still run Win 7 on T-42's that I have given out, but they are using the hack for Security Upgrades that will eventually end in 2023 and still upate monthly, but not for "features").

[Neil]

I have had similar issues present because of a faulty battery in a couple of different ThinkPads (and one Dell laptop). I don't understand how a battery can cause such issues, but have seen it with my own eyes. Just this year I began having trouble with my T430, while running on AC power with battery installed, solved by removing the battery. Now it runs fine as long as the battery is physically removed. Had an X60 a few years ago with a battery that appeared to hold nearly a full charge, but prevented the machine from functioning.

[WarMachine]

Hello,

I've done a speed-reading of this topic. I saw there was a shoot in the dark earlier. I'm here to do a second one!
I suggest you disable virtualization in the BIOS of the laptop. That's a trick I saw on reddit about Windows installation problems on the W520. I would've suggested you to have a look to Graphics Devices option (Integrated Graphics / Discrete Graphics / NVIDIA Graphics), but it seems you have already tried that too. It would be useful however to try different combinations.

Hope this will help!

W.