Insider Dev Builds of 21H2 and Windows 11 fail to boot on an Asus ROG G703GXR

Anonymous
2021-07-03T19:52:10+00:00

I've tried just about every release of 21H2 as well as the new release of Windows 11.

So far, they all react the same way.

Download works fine.

Update during restart works fine.

If further updates need to install, that boot sequence works fine and updates continue to install.

Once it reboots with no further updates to install, the post finishes, there is a bit of disk activity after the post before the spinning circle of dots would normally appear.

That is as far as the boot goes.

It just hangs there, indefinitely.

I've left it sit there for over 48 hours to no avail.

My only recourse is to physically power off the laptop, wait, turn back on and the upgrade is rolled back to the 21H1 installation I am running from the insider beta channel.

The G703GXR is a desktop replacement laptop.

It runs an Intel Core i9, 9980HK, 8 core (2.4Ghz to 5Ghz).

It also has an NVidia RTX 2080.

64GB RAM, 8GB VRAM

1 x Samsung 970 Pro 512GB NVMe for boot.

2 x Samsung 980 SSD 1TB (part of storage space)

1 x Samsung 860 QVO 2TB (part of storage space)

2 x Samsung 970 Pro 512GB NVMe inside ROG ESD-S1C USB-C enclosures.

I've checked and triple-checked all the CMOS/UEFI settings, trying different combinations.

I've gone as far as re-installing from scratch using the 21H1 USB ISO image (which cost me my W10 Pro for Workstations digital license when not all the devices matched the prior install).

I then attempted the 21H2 and W11 insider previews again, same hang at the same place.

What are the differences in the boot sequence for 21H2 and W11 from 21H1?

Is there a way to get any logs or debug information from the boots?

Windows Insider program | Windows Insider preview | Install, activate, and Windows update

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  1. Anonymous
    2021-08-31T02:26:24+00:00

    I assumed they were part of the zip file.

    I've tried with all drives but the OS 500gb 970 pro nvme removed.

    Made no difference.

    Link with extra log files.

    https://1drv.ms/f/s!AiTyfmSLduRYiXzhx1zTxzzyc2Hw

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  2. Anonymous
    2021-08-31T02:10:30+00:00

    I tried after burning iso to dual layer DVD. No change.

    I've tried with secure boot enabled and disabled. Made no difference.

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  3. Anonymous
    2021-08-31T01:05:15+00:00

    All four DIMM slots are filled with 16GB DIMMs.

    9th Gen Core i9, 8 cores, 16 threads.

    It powers on, goes through post, strobes USB devices, then hangs until I power it off.

    I am not reaching the disk selection screen at all when I try to boot from 21H2 or Win 11 ISO image on a DVD or written to a flash drive using rufus.

    I assume your machine is UEFI and has Secure Boot on.

    Maybe you are falling into the Rufus trap ? Or maybe not ?

    Here it is, just in case:

    I know Rufus is a popular tool to prepare the installation media.

    Users have reported problems booting a UEFI machine from a flash drive prepared with Rufus.

    As a workaround they had to disable secure boot and then turn it back on after the installation completed.

    If the install.wim is bigger than 4GiB (Which is the case for windows insider builds ISOs like 21H2 or Win 11 22000.xxx), Rufus prepares a kluged installation media that is not FAT32 (as it should per UEFI specs), they call it NTFS:UEFI which has a small FAT hidden partition at the end of the disk after a main NTFS partition.

    The FAT partition contains the UEFI:NTFS boot loader and the NTFS partition contains all the files needed for the windows installation. The problem with that is that it may not work. 😒

    When the install.wim is bigger than 4GiB there are simples ways to either split it into 2 or more .swm files smaller than 4GiB or covert the install.wim into a compressed install.esd with a size smaller than 4GiB and then create the correct FAT32 installation Media on a USB flash.

    4GiB = 4,294,967,296 Bytes is the file size limit for a FAT32 file system.

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  4. Anonymous
    2021-08-31T00:31:30+00:00

    Did you ever supply the files setuperr.log and setupact.log that should be in the C:$Windows.~BT\Sources\Panther folder. I checked two of your prior links but maybe you removed access if they were there originally.

    When problems arise with a system, it is best to simplify as much as possible. Additional drives can be involved.

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  5. Anonymous
    2021-08-31T00:25:54+00:00

    Yes, tried it, restarted, retried update.

    No change.

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