Windows 11 Random Restarts During Installation and OOBE. Stable in Linux and Windows Desktop

System Specs

Motherboard: ASRock B450M Pro4-F (BIOS P10.43 Beta, AGESA ComboAM4v2 1.2.0.F)

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5500

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060

RAM: 2x 16GB (tested and verified stable, no errors)

Storage: Samsung 970 EVO 1TB NVMe

OS: Windows 11 Pro 25H2

Problem

This PC previously ran Windows without issues for 5-6 years. I recently decided to do a fresh Windows 11 install, and my system randomly restarts during Windows 11 (and Windows 10) installation at various stages. Sometimes at 15%, sometimes at 48%, sometimes during the OOBE setup when clicking "Next." There is no BSOD, no error message. The screen just goes black and the system reboots. The system is completely stable when idle at OOBE screens (it can sit for hours without issue), and it is fully stable once Windows is actually running on the desktop.

Linux (Zorin OS) runs perfectly stable in every scenario: live USB, installation, and normal use. No crashes whatsoever.

What I've Tested and Ruled Out

Hardware

RAM: Ran memory diagnostics, no errors found. Also tried using each stick individually (1 stick at a time), same issue with both.

SSD: SMART health check shows no issues

Multiple GPUs tested: Tried a different GPU, same random restarts during installation

Multiple USB drives: Tried different USB drives for installation media, same result

CMOS battery: Considered but system clock is accurate and BIOS settings persist

BIOS

Updated BIOS from P7.40 to P8.01 to P10.43 Beta (latest available with AGESA ComboAM4v2 1.2.0.F and updated fTPM)

Disabled fTPM (Advanced > CPU Configuration > AMD fTPM Switch > Disabled), no change

Tested multiple BIOS versions, restarts occur on all of them

Software

Tried both Windows 10 and Windows 11 installation, both experience the same random restarts

Tried different Windows 11 ISOs, same behavior

Linux is completely stable. Zorin OS runs without any issues, which rules out fundamental hardware failure

Workaround That Got Windows Installed

Since the Windows installer (Windows PE) kept crashing, I bypassed it entirely by applying the Windows image directly from Linux using wimlib:

Booted Zorin OS live USB

Partitioned the NVMe drive (GPT: 512MB EFI, 16MB MSR, 930GB NTFS)

Used wimapply to apply install.wim (Index 6, Pro) directly to the NTFS partition

Copied the EFI bootloader files manually

Created BCD store from a Windows PE command prompt using bcdboot

Windows booted successfully, but OOBE still caused random restarts when progressing through setup. I used Ctrl+Shift+F3 to enter Audit Mode, installed GPU and chipset drivers, and created a local user account manually via command line.

Current State

Windows 11 Pro is installed and the desktop is functional, but I'm stuck in Audit Mode with broken UWP/AppX app provisioning:

Start Menu opens but taskbar icon clicks don't work

Windows Search doesn't work

Notification panel doesn't open

Built-in apps like Notepad don't launch

Creating a new user profile doesn't fix it (system-level issue)

sfc /scannow finds no integrity violations

DISM /RestoreHealth fails with error 0x800f0915 even with the ISO as source (version mismatch, Windows Update patched the system past the base ISO build)

Re-registering AppX packages produces errors about missing paths

Cannot run in-place repair upgrade because setup.exe refuses to run in Audit Mode

Cannot fully exit Audit Mode. Registry values are set correctly but Windows keeps booting into Audit Mode (ImageState was IMAGE_STATE_SPECIALIZE_RESEAL_TO_AUDIT, changed to IMAGE_STATE_COMPLETE but Audit Mode persists)

Sysprep /oobe /reboot triggers OOBE which crashes again with random restarts

No unattend.xml files found on the system

Key Observation

The random restarts happen exclusively in:

Windows PE (the installer environment)

Windows OOBE (first-time setup screens, specifically when advancing through steps)

The system is completely stable in:

Linux (any distribution, any scenario)

Windows desktop (Audit Mode, normal use)

Windows OOBE when idle (sitting on a screen without clicking)

This pattern suggests a driver or ACPI compatibility issue specific to the Windows pre-boot/setup environment on the B450 + Ryzen 5500 combination, not a hardware defect.

Questions

Has anyone experienced similar random restarts specifically during Windows installation/OOBE on B450 boards with Ryzen 5000 series CPUs?

Is there a known incompatibility between Windows PE/OOBE and certain B450 + Zen 3 configurations?

Is there a way to force Windows out of Audit Mode when all registry approaches have failed and OOBE causes crashes?