Windows 10: Installing on Intel Desktop Board DX79SR

Boy, did we get a lot of grief trying to get Windows 10 to install on an Intel Desktop Board DX79SR based system!

Windows Setup

Windows cannot be installed to this disk. This computer's hardware may not support booting to this disk. Ensure that the disk's controller is enabled in the computer's BIOS menu.

Some pointers:

• Windows 10 DX79SR Raid (thread 109296)
• Problems with intel (sic) DX79sr running windows (sic) 10 (thread 83709)

Neither post is available for comment thus this blog post plus a new discussion on the Intel Communities site: Windows 10 on Intel Desktop Board DX79SR.

What finally worked:

1. Set up RAID in RSTe (CTRL+I)
2. Set BIOS Boot Mode to UEFI
3. Plug in ISO mount type enclosure with Win10 ISO mounted (we use StarTech S2510BU3ISO)
4. NOTE: I had to use the USB2 ports as the USB3 ports did not power the enclosure during boot
5. F10 during POST
6. Choose DVDROM - UEFI (name may vary)
7. Click through and choose ADVANCED Setup
8. Click on the RAID array logical disk for the OS
   1. NOTE: If any MBR partitions exist they need to be cleaned prior to this step
   2. Use DiskPart in Repair --> CMD
9. Click NEXT

That should do it!

Philip Elder
Microsoft High Availability MVP
MPECS Inc.
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book
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Twitter: @MPECSInc

Windows Server 2012 to RST RAID 0 Error: Windows can’t be installed on drive 0 partition 1 - and Others

We had the following errors when trying to install Windows Server 2012 onto a desktop setup:

Windows Setup

Windows cannot be installed to this disk. This computer’s hardware may not support booting to this disk. Ensure that the disk’s controller is enabled in the computer’s BIOS menu.

And then, after fiddling about with DiskPart we managed:

Windows Setup

We couldn’t install Windows in the location you chose. Please check your media drive. Here’s more info about what happened; 0x80300001.

Windows cannot be installed to this disk. This computer’s hardware may not support booting to this disk. Ensure that the disk’s controller is enabled in the computer’s BIOS menu.

The PC setup

• Intel DX79SR with Core i7 and 64GB RAM
• Intel RST RAID enabled and 6x 160GB Intel SSDs in RAID 0
• Primary SATA set to RAID
• Secondary SATA DISABLED in BIOS
• Boot order set correctly

Now, it is important to note that these SSDs have been in and out of various systems.

So, a last ditch effort:

1. Log into the RAID BIOS
2. Reset the disks to NON-RAID
3. Boot to WinPE
4. SHFT+F10
5. DiskPart
6. Select each SSD and CLEAN
7. Reboot
8. Log into RAID BIOS
9. Set up RAID 0
10. Boot to Windows Server 2012 Setup

We created our 120GB partition and did not see a single message.

So, rule of thumb: Clean each disk while in JBOD/Standalone mode with DiskPart before configuring the disks in a new host-based RAID setup (chipset RAID).

A hardware RAID setup would initialize the disks (use the deep/long initialization to run a full set of zeros across all platters/SSDs if problems happen) so we would not normally see this problem.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

Chef de partie in the SMBKitchen
Find out more at
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Windows Live Writer

Desktop Board BIOS Flash Initiated Within Windows – Caveat

When flashing a desktop board with TXT (Trusted Execution Technology) enabled in the BIOS an update to the BIOS initiated within Windows will fail.

Prior to initiating the BIOS update reboot and disable TXT then run the update.

Once the update has completed and the system has finished its post update boot shut the system down. Pull the power and let it sit for a minute.

Power the system up and F2 or DEL into the BIOS. Verify that the update did not change any of the settings and enable TXT.

We enable TXT before installing the operating system by default. We also make sure the drive mode is set to AHCI.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

Windows Live Writer

Intel Desktop Board 7 Series BIOS Update Caveats – Important

We’ve been building a lot of our corporate desktop systems based on the Intel DQ77KB and the Core i5-3470S with either an 80GB or 120GB Intel 320 Series SSD installed.

We normally finish of a system install with the most recent BIOS update and then a run through the settings post update boot.

This last board stopped dead during the reboot to BIOS update process.

A call into Intel and we discovered why (from their support technician’s e-mail we requested):

In this particular case, for the 7 Series Chipset based motherboards like the Intel® Desktop Board DQ77KB it is extremely necessary to have the BIOS 0044 before applying the latest version. This is because BIOS 0044 contains the update version 8.1.2.1318 for the Intel® Management Engine which corrects possible problems with USB3.0 front panel headers.

All of the Intel® 7 Series Chipset Based motherboards require this Intel® Management Engine firmware update so here is a list of the required BIOS version to accomplish this fix based on the motherboard number:

Motherboard model BIOS with the Management Engine firmware update

DP75EN 0039

DH77DF / DH77KC 0102

DH77EB 0096

DQ77KB 0044

DQ77CP / DQ77MK 0052

DZ75ML-45K 0010

DZ77BH-55K 0093

DZ77GA-70K / DZ77RE-75K 0057

DZ77SL-50K 0089

You can continue updating the BIOS version once you have reached the one having the Management Engine firmware update

As we can see, we need to step our BIOS updates.

UPDATE: Put “77” in the original title. Corrected to “7 Series”.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

Windows Live Writer

Windows 8: Unknown Device Intel LPC Interface Controller - NTN0530

After installing Windows 8 Enterprise x64 on one of our shop systems with an Intel Desktop Board DH67CL we had the following:

• Hardware IDs: ACPI\VEN_NTN&DEV_0530
• NTN0530

Some searching brought us to find that the NTN0530 device is an infrared receiver of some sort.

We did a search on Intel’s site and we found:

• Intel Download Site: Infrared: Nuvoton Consumer Infrared (CIR) Driver for Windows 8
• Intel’s Download Site if the link is broken

After running the driver install routine via right click and “Run As Administrator” we no longer had the Unknown Device problem.

Folks that have been mentioning that Windows 8 will be another Windows Vista may be surprised. Much of the pain we had with Windows Vista had to do with very poor driver releases in the early days of the product post RTM.

So far, we have seen excellent driver adoption across the board for Windows 8 RTM installs that we have done to date. Hopefully this is an indicator that we will not be seeing too much of a driver pain point from mainstream hardware product vendors.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

Windows Live Writer

A New Client Desktop Platform For Us

As mentioned previously we were looking for a power brick that will work with the Intel Desktop Board DQ77KB Slim Mini-ITX. We received _a lot_ of feedback on that quest and came to the following:

• Mini-Box.com: 19v/8.4A 160 Watt AC-DC Power Adapter
• 

We had a few of these adapters shipped to us by Mini-Box.com and are getting ready to plug everything in but hit a bit of a snag in that the Intel Active Thermal Solution HTS 1155LP was not available for ship at the same time as the rest of the components.

Note the size of the DQ77KB box next to the 80GB Intel 320 Series SSD OEM box and the i5-3470S sitting on top of it.

The Lian-Li PC-Q05 is a gorgeous case:

It has a power button around the corner from the two status LEDs on the right front bezel. It is lit while the system is powered on along with the power status LED on the front. The other is for the hard drive.

Size wise the PC-Q05 is a lot slimmer than the standard Mini-ITX cases we have been using though it is a bit wider to accommodate the low profile heat sink.

We believe this unit will be a good seller for us as it can be tucked away virtually anywhere or sit out on a desk as above or on its side depending on the user's needs.

For professional services firms the PC-Q05 will fit right in especially where technology needs to be minimalist such as in dentist offices or reception/office administration areas.

Now on to the stress testing!

• Passmark: BurnInTest Professional

Thank you to all that contributed to our finding the adapter! :)

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

Windows Live Writer

Intel Desktop Board DQ77KB Slim Mini-ITX - Anyone Have a Brick/Adapter They Use?

Hello all.

We are trying to get a system configured using the Intel Desktop Board DQ77KB Thin Mini-ITX motherboard and are having some difficulties since we are not using an Intel All-in-One unit.

The Power Supply situation:

• 19 Volt DC (120 to 150 Watt is what we are looking for).
• 7.4 mm/Outer Diameter
• 5.1 mm/Inner Diameter

The Thin Mini-ITX Component Catalogue gives us the following:

So far we have not had too much success sourcing any of the above adapters.

• Intel Desktop Board DQ77KB Support Page

Please do comment or e-mail us with your suggestions!

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

Windows Live Writer

Excellent Intel Board Identifier Utility

The Intel Board ID Tool is an excellent little utility for the Technician's Thumb Drive.

The utility eliminates the need to open the box if all that is needed is the board model and BIOS version for troubleshooting purposes.

• Intel Board ID Tool (direct link to the .EXE)
• Intel Download Centre
• The Board ID Tool turned up when searching for drives and a BIOS for the DQ77MK.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

In-Win BP655 System Integration Tips

We happen to have an In-Win BP655 series Mini-ITX case here in the shop to see if it would work with some of our system designs. The main benefit of this particular case is the 200 Watt power supply that would give us a little more juice for higher end setups.

It is important to note that the hard drive needs to be mounted in the cage shown above. This is done with the cage out of the case.

The cage then needs to be mounted back in the case _without_ the optical drive installed.

The desktop board is then mounted in the case and cabled up.

The final step is to slide the optical drive into its resting place from the front of the case.

Change the order of any of the above steps and things just don’t work!

Once the system is complete it is actually a good looking little case with the built-in fan along with the CPU fan being relatively muffled.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer