Went through another Windows 7 install (gave up on Windows 8.1 .. again) and documented my steps fairly precisely, utilizing/refining on the steps outlined in the Hardforum thread below under the Jun 17 edit.
(Work occurred on 7/23/2014)
=--Windows 7 rebuild--=
Asus Z87-Plus motherboard
Creative SBZ audio card
EVGA GTX 760 video
1. Windows 7 x64 and reboot
2. Windows 7 SP1 and reboot
3. Windows 7 post-SP1 rollup (KB2775511) and reboot
4. Turn off UAC and reboot
5. USB3 drivers and reboot
6. MEI drivers and reboot
7. Manual* chipset install, to recognize the SMBus controller in device manager. Reboot
8. NIC drivers and reboot (you will be asked to set network location first)
9. Manual* install of IRST drivers, extracted and used against Standard AHCI 1.0 Serial ATA Controller. Reboot x2 (I had no control over the 2nd reboot, it happened after login following the 1st reboot)
10. Creative SBZ drivers and reboot
11. NVidia video drivers and reboot (this will include a .NET 4 install)
12. Windows updates (118 important updates, 51 optional). Patching for hours.
13. Installed SSD specific utility. In my case, a Plextor drive this time.
14. Moved pagefile to non-SSD hard drive, as is routine and recommended.
15. Set Windows power plan to High performance. Set NVidia 3D settings to single display performance mode and prefer maximum performance, which is in line with my configuration.
16. Followed this guide for tweaking the OS to make it SSD friendly:
http://night-ray.blogspot.com/2012/11/ssd-and-windows-7.html
17. Relocated my temp folders to the non-SSD hard drive.
* Manual install meaning I extracted the files from the install packages and manually pointed the unknown devices in Device Manager to these files. This method avoids unnecessary bloated software that accompanies these packages.
Error logs have been very clean for several days. Very pleased with this outcome. Hopefully I realize some level of contentment with my system now.
-- EDIT JUL 17, 2014 --
The entire hardware build, as shown on a NewEgg wishlist:
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=25353665
-- EDIT JUN 17, 2014 --
I've had a number of performance issues and all around strange behavior. Found this post on [H]ard|Forum:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1772439
Follow that forum post, ignore what I wrote below, and unless absolutely necessary, don't install the Asus AI suite. It gave me nothing but problems. I also ditched the ASUS Xonar DX sound card and picked up an SB z-series card which I'm much happier with. Also returned to Win 7. Much better performing system overall. The only glitch I have is a flagged device in device manager, but the hardforum post confirms that it will be like this, and as long as you're not using Asus AI suite, it's a non-issue. I've ignored it, and had no issues. Also, my event logs are now finally staying error free. You'll notice that the hard forum post is not using any Asus drivers. Because of these driver issues, I will seriously reconsider ever getting another Asus mobo.
I also recommend disabling all the quick start, fast start, hibernation, super standby, WHATEVER, on the mobo and in Windows. Once I turned that all off, things started working much better. But good luck to you if you decide you want to make it work. Don't forget to disable the onboard sound if you have a sound card. If you update the BIOS, the onboard sound will probably re-enable itself, so check again post bios update.
====
IGNORE THE POST BELOW - leaving it for posterity
====
Context: picked this mobo up the other day for a new build. As usual, little to no info out there on the order of installation for the various minutia (drivers, etc) that need to be applied to a newer motherboard with medium to higher end components. Hopefully this is helpful to someone.
ASUS Z87-Plus mobo
Xonar DX sound card
i5-4670K LGA1150 proc
Samsung 250GB SSD
1.
OS: Clean install of Windows 7. Single partition, all on SSD.
a.
Reboot once after first login.
2.
CHIPSET: Install Chipset drivers from MOBO
manufacturer stock CD.
a.
Forced reboot, then install, then another forced
reboot.
3.
SP1: Install SP1. It will force reboot multiple times.
a.
Reboot after first notification that SP1 is
installed.
a. Would not install, needs internet
connection. Installing LAN driver.
5.
LAN: Install LAN driver. Deselected the teaming/VLan crap. Chose home network.
a.
Manual reboot
6.
VIDEO: NVidia drivers. Took the .NET 4 option. Forced reboot.
a.
The .NET option is probably what required the
internet connection. Observing the
driver pull down .NET from Microsoft.
7.
AUDIO: Install the stock driver from the ASUS
site.
a.
Forced reboot, although it should be noted that
sound started working prior to reboot
b.
After reboot, set Windows sound to 24 bit, 44100Hz
and Xonar to 8 channels, PCM 44.1 KHz and 5.1 speakers, set to Game mode and
disabled GX.
8.
MOBO: Install Intel Management Engine
Components.
a.
Manual reboot
9.
USB: Install the Intel USB 3.0 Host Controller
Driver
a.
Forced reboot
10.
SATA: Intel Rapid Storage Technology driver.
a.
Forced reboot
b.
After reboot, I was forced to do another reboot
by Windows.
i.
I also noted here that Audio wasn’t working. But this Xonar DX card has always been flaky
so it may have been happenstance. The
reboot cleared it up.
c.
Note that there are components that appear to be
on a delayed startup, but they will show up in the notification area eventually
(hopefully with a green checkmark). I
tend to let that piece always load before moving on to other drivers, etc.
11.
SATA: ASMedia
Host Controller Driver. I have
nothing connected to it, but it exists on the mobo, so I’m installing it.
a.
Forced reboot
12.
SSD: Samsung Magician 4, in my case. Intel has their own, and I’m sure most
manufacturers do.
a.
Manual reboot
b.
The Samsung software places itself in startup,
forcing a UAC. I’ll be taking it out of
startup if research proves it’s not needed.
YMMV.
c.
The SSD tool also has an “OS Optimization”
routine it can run. I did this, and it
advised a reboot. This also adds a
category (I think) called “Samsung High Performance” in the power save options
area.
d.
Rebooted
e.
I added the Samsung Magician as a scheduled
task, 1 minute delay, to run for any user at logon, highest privileges and
removed it from the startup group. Failed!
13.
DIRECTX
9: Ran the web setup. About 100MB.
a.
Manual reboot
14.
KB/MOUSE: Logitech gaming software for both
devices.
a.
Should clear up some WUDFRd.sys warnings showing
in event logs
b.
Manual reboot
i.
A quick check of the logs shows the error
remains. May leave it, may research, but
system does not seem to be affected.
Probably not related to the Logitech gear now, but who knows.
15.
WINDOWS
UPDATES: The critical/important
first, then the optional. Disabled the
malware and IE installs for now.
a.
Anecdotally, the important updates, leaving off the
IE and Malware pieces, was still 301MB as of 7/8/2013. Time for a new SP, methinks
16.
MSE: Installed Microsoft Security Essentials,
updated, rebooted and did a full system scan.
17.
FINALE: Clear out all the event logs, and do
several reboots in a row, checking the event log between each. If there continue to be errors or warnings,
run each down individually. The goal is
to achieve zero errors, and minimal warnings.
I suspect some warnings may be unavoidable, but I believe all errors
(provided you have working hardware) can be resolved eventually.
