Windows installer doesn't work?

Anonymous
2019-03-03T03:18:06+00:00

So I'm having a bit of a weird issue. I've installed windows 10 on a few computers before and have never run into this until now. I recently bought an ssd to boot my OS from, but running the install media usb doesn't seem to work right. I only used windows 10's install media tool. I should also mention I only have a keyboard, mouse, monitor and the install usb plugged in.

I created the usb (twice now), then shut my pc off, removed the existing hdd, then plugged in the ssd and the usb with the install tool on it. I boot into setup, make sure the drive is all unallocated space, and then hit new. I let it create the necessary partitions and then click next. I've also tried just clicking next with a totally blank ssd.

The setup tool runs normally, prompts a restart which is when I remove the install usb, if I don't remove the usb then it loops back to the installer again. When I remove the usb and then restart though, my pc prompts me to insert boot media into the drive and press any key. It doesnt seem to actually install the necessary files to download and install windows 10. No matter what I do, after the install media tool finishes and causes a restart I cannot continue with the installation. 

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I know it isn't a problem with another component because plugging in the original hard drive works fine. I've also plugged both drives in and scanned for errors on the ssd to no avail. I checked and there are files being installed on the ssd. It seems to work normally otherwise so I dont think it's a bad drive either.

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Install and upgrade

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  1. Greg Carmack 24,780 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2019-03-03T23:12:15+00:00

    To boot both UEFI and Legacy installs requires CSM.

    What was the eSATA drive plugged into PORT 5?  This was very likely the problem.

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  2. Greg Carmack 24,780 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2019-03-03T22:59:13+00:00

    If the SSD is good or it won't install UEFI to another drive either, then try enabling CSM and booting media as Legacy.  

    Try another flash stick or DVD creating new media..

    Try also enabling all SATA ports to AHCI in case it's plugged into another port.

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  3. Greg Carmack 24,780 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2019-03-03T22:44:42+00:00

    Just to confirm, you plugged the SSD into PORT 1 and set it to AHCI under SATA controller? You know for sure it's Port 1 by looking at Manual?  It won't work or tell you otherwise.  

    You then enabled UEFI, disabled Secure Boot, set SSD first to boot, then triggered media via boot interrupt key,  cleaned the SSD?

     Can you test this with another HDD or SSD?  Also test the SSD with the  manufacturers diagnostic tool while their phone or chat support is connected with you so you can get an RMA on the spot.

    https://mashtips.com/ssd-health-test-and-performance-monitor-tools/

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  4. Anonymous
    2019-03-03T22:43:21+00:00

    It would definitely complicate things trying to run 2 windows installations. But I'm not. Up until I took a break from attempting to fix the issue, the hdd was completely detached. I switched them out and everything works as normal again.

    I'd really like to try and get windows to boot from the ssd but I can always just use it as a drive to run any programs I want to, just not the OS. 

    I can confirm with pretty good confidence that the hdd used the legacy version of the media creation tool, way back at the release of windows 10. Could it be an issue where a drive using the legacy version but the uefi doesnt? This would be weird to me though considering the motherboard uses uefi and it is enabled. Is there a setting I'm missing that forces legacy mode only? I did also try installing on the ssd with the legacy media but it was not compatible. I even tried formatting the disk as MBR instead of GPT. A blank drive says it's just not compatible, when formatted as GPT it says it cannot because it isn't compatible with GPT. But when formatted as MBR it says it cannot install because of a MBR partition table. No matter what option I choose it isnt compatible with the legacy install media for some reason or the other. I can try mounting the iso again but I don't think it will work like last time.

    It has to be a problem with the installer or the drive. But again the drive seems to work and the installer does too. The install media successfully runs. It seems like it missing a necessary file to boot windows or something. But then there are tons of files on the ssd, and I can also run other things from the ssd without issue. I can reformat it and use it as a second drive, just not a boot drive for some reason.

    Could the board just not boot uefi type installations? The board is getting old, it was bought about 5 or 6 years ago now. The last firmware update was from 2014. Maybe the bios works with uefi but I'm forced to boot via legacy?

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  5. Anonymous
    2019-03-03T22:20:01+00:00

    Hi,

    You can have two windows installations on your machine at once, but it complicates things...

    The boot files for the SSD may end up on the HDD for instance...

    Do you know for a fact which Bios type the original HDD was set up for ?

    I know Gregg is quite knowledgeable about this stuff, but I disagree with his opinion of the use of the Media Creation Tool to make the Installation Flash Drive...

    It does not always work... Some machines simply can not interpret the combination UEFI\Legacy drive it creates... This is dependent upon the machines Bios, and what it specifically responds to...

    UEFI Bios is supposedly "Uniform" between machines, but it is not... What may work on one Machine's Bios may not work with another machine... The standardization is not very precise...

    That is why I suggest RUFUS... Rufus does not install... it just runs... It creates a drive specifically for a UEFI or Legacy machine, and as a result, removes some of the guessing as to what is going on with the Bios...

    As I mentioned about my machine... It auto switches it's Bios configuration based upon the boot media configuration... Obviously, if it can not clearly distinguish what is being booted, things do not go smoothly..

    I think your issues are down to two possibilities...

    The flash drive is not being detected properly...

    The SSD has a problem..

    I'm not sure how you want to proceed.. I know my first encounter with the UEFI Bios about drove me nuts... I didn't even know my motherboard was UEFI capable, as the first OS installed on it was from a Windows 7 Pro SP1 DVD... This automatically configured the Bios for Legacy, and everything worked...

    It wasn't until later when the newer machines came out and UEFI problems popping up everywhere that I became more aware of it...

    What really got me mixed up in it was the installation of a PCIe NVMe M.2 drive...

    The drive does not even appear as a boot selection... Just the WindowsBootManager that is on it...

    It required adding driver files to the installation media just to install Windows 7 to it...

    I have since removed it, as the boot speed was no faster than my regular SSD, and it was a bit of a pain to deal with..

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