Gaming build- crashing issues in windows

[ageezer]

Greetings, I recently encountered an issue upgrading my system.

Specs:
OS- Windows 7 Professional 64 (upgrade)
PSU- XFX ProSeries 550W
Motherboard- MSI H77MA-G43 LGA 1155 Intel H77 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0
CPU- Intel Core i5-3570 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155
Graphic- SAPPHIRE 100355L Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP
8gb DDR3- G.SKILL Value Series 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
HDD- WDC WD2500KS-00MJB0 ATA 3Gb/s Device x2

This is pretty much just a gaming setup, and from my understanding all parts are compatible. I pretty much gutted everything except for the optical and hard drives from the old build. Previous Windows install was XP, I believe 32 bit if that matters. I replaced the parts without issue and took care to ensure there was no damage due to a static charge. My optical drives do not work, but I am not concerned as they are old and unseemingly part of the issue. The hard drives are from my old build as well, but I have never had any problems with them. They are plugged into the SATA 1 and 2, 6Gb ports of the new mother board.

1st attempt: upgrade
-created USB flash boot drive using Windows 7 USB DVD Download tool and windows 7 upgrade iso
-upgraded windows
-installed video card drivers
-ran MSI live update to install motherboard drivers
-installed anti-virus game and data recovery programs

Running data recovery programs and games caused computer to crash. The hard drive windows was installed to was no longer recognized, evident by running BIOS. A cold restart would locate the hard drive again. Warm restarts would produce the following message:

"bootmgr not found press ctrl+alt+del to restart"

Simple processes would cause the computer to crash in the same manner.

I proceeded to review newegg youtube tutorials and the other guides. I also rechecked my connections to the motherboard. Everything looked ok.

2nd attempt: clean install
-unplugged secondary hard drive
-installed Windows from USB flash drive as before
-copied motherboard and video card drivers to USB flash drive and installed
-ran MSI live update for VGA driver

Trying to update the driver, the computer crashes in the same manner as described above with a different message:

"EPI Shell version 2.31 [4.653]
Current running mode 1.1.2
mep: Cannot find required map name.

press ESC in ... to skip starup.nsh, any other key to continue.
Shell>" prompt

I restart and continue installing video card drivers, anti-virus and games. Continued usage and the computer ultimately crashes just from the simplest tasks. I checked the resource manager and the memory doesn’t seem to be a problem.

I’m not familiar with other diagnostic tools, so I don't entirely know what to look for. Additionally I'm wondering if the issue is caused by the hard drive? Or could the motherboard or CPU could be defective? Are there recommendations on how I can start cracking down on the root cause?

[zburns]

You do have some real problems. For example go to this url on installing Win 7 on top of already installed Windows older systems: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/32-bit-and-64-bit-Windows-frequently-asked-questions Now go down to this topic in the list: 'Can I upgrade from a 32-bit version of Windows to a 64-bit version of Windows 7 or from a 64-bit version of Windows 7 to a 32-bit version of Windows?' Click on the topic for the answer to the question. From the article, here is the bottom line: 'If you want to move from a 32-bit version of Windows to a 64-bit version of Windows 7 or vice versa, you'll need to back up your files and choose the Custom option during Windows 7 installation. Then, you'll need to restore your files and reinstall your programs.' But go read the whole article from the URL in the first line to get the full story.

Next go to Rob's on line build instructions for 'My Super PC'. Read thru from the beginning his instructions and note that he has the builder doing one thing at a time and then 'proving' that things are still ok at 'each step of the build'. ( I am simplifying to some degree)

I would suggest you restart at the simplest level and proceed one step at a time, and at the end of each step, prove that you are still ok!

You cannot use the 32 bit data inside the HD with the new 64 bit OS. The first URL I gave you in the opening sentence should explain the HD problem to you.
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From your narrative above, I get the impression that you put together the system without knowing that each step 'was done totally correct' before proceeding to the next step. If you did things as just described, you will have created a lot of problems unnecessarily.
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My comments are very general by necessity. I cannot see anyway out of your problems except by starting over, follow Rob's build instructions, make sure things are ok after each step. Ideally, you absolutely have to know that each step is ok before proceeding to the next step!!! If I sound very negative, I apologize; I just do not see any way to 'fix' your situation other than my suggestions -- if it was my problem right now, what I said above is what I would do!
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I hope Ricky Tick comments. His advice and perspective is always correct, useful, etc..

[RickyTick]

Start with Startup Repair


Insert the Windows 7 installation disc into the disc drive, and then start the computer. Or the USB drive.

Press a key when the message Press any key to boot from CD or DVD appears.

Select a language, a time and a currency, a keyboard or input method, and then click Next.

Click Repair your computer.

In the System Recovery Options dialog box, select the drive of your Windows installation, and then click Next.

At the System Recovery Options dialog box, click Repair your computer.

Click the operating system that you want to repair, and then click Next.

In the System Recovery Options dialog box, click Startup Repair.

Refer to this for help.
http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msstore/html/pbPage.Help_Win7_usbdvd_dwnTool

[zburns]

Ricky, what about this -- 1st para in my post above. He cannot load Win 7 64 bit on top of Win XP 32 bit; he has to clean up his hard drive first, according to this URL: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/32-bit-and-64-bit-Windows-frequently-asked-questions.

He also has two hard drives, so both have to be cleaned up. Again refer to the url.