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Windows 10 fresh install fails

Hi!

I'm having a common issue and I've tried all of the fixes I've found online.  I still have the issue

I have two disks - the USB removable memory stick which contains the installer ISO image, and an M.2 Samsung 500GB drive.  I'm doing a fresh install of windows 10 and I'm encountering an error during the installation.

When I reach the 'Where do you want to install Windows' dialog box in the installer, I see Drive 0, with 465GB of unallocated space.  When I select this disk and click install I get the following error:

"Windows could not prepare the computer to boot into the next phase of installation.  To install Windows, restart the installation"

My unallocated disk space looks like this from diskpart:


>diskpart

> list disk

DISK ###    Status    Size       Free    Dyn     GPT

Disk 0         Online    465GB   0B                     *    <----samsung m.2 500GB drive

Disk 1         Online       28GB  0B                     *    <----usb running windows installer

> list volume
Volume ####    LTR   Label            FS        Type            Size       Status    Info

---------------   -----   -------           ---        -----            -----        -------    -----

Volume 0          C       Recovery     NTFS   Partition      529MB   Healthy    

Volume 1          F                           NTFS   Partition      465GB   Healthy

Volume 2          E                            FAT32  Partition      100MB   Healthy    Hidden

Volume 3          D       WIN10         FAT32  Removable       28GB     Healthy

>select disk 0

>list partition

Partition ###   Type    Size    Offset

--------------    ----     -----     ------
Partition 1       Recovery    529MB   1024KB
Partition 2       System       100MB    530MB
Partition 3       Reserved    16MB      630MB
Partition 4       Primary       465GB    646MB

The only thing that l see that looks out of sorts is that volume 0, Recovery, gets drive letter C.  Volume 1 is the one I expected to get drive letter C.

Has anyone else seen an issue like this before?   Am I barking up the wrong tree with the drive letter, or is something else going on?

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I'll try it... but your suggestions don't make sense to me.  

My BIOS is fine.  My boot order is fine.  I can boot to the usb installer without any issues.  I can partition the drive at the command line and in the installer.

My problem happens later, when I try to install the software onto my disk...  Any other suggestions?  Where can I find those logs?

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Check this link, I hope it helps.

https://neosmart.net/wiki/setup-was-unable-to-c...

Note: This is a non-Microsoft website. The page appears to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the site that may advertise products frequently classified as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the site before you decide to download and install it.

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OK...

Solved the problem.  It was a drive partition recognition issue.  The installer created partitions on the internal m2 drive, but then tried to install on the usb stick.

Here's how I solved it:

1)  Booted to usb installer

2)  Started diskpart (shift-f10 to get a command prompt)

3)  cleaned the internal drive - removing all partition data

4)  converted to GPT - so that it could boot in utfi mode

5)  CREATED a small 10GB partition on the internal M2 drive, formatted it as ntfs, and gave it a drive letter.  Left remaining space on internal drive as 'unallocated'

6)  XCOPY'd the installer files from my usb stick to the new partition

7)  Rebooted the system without the USB stick plugged in.   The installer booted from the internal drive

8)  Installed windows.  YAY!

9)  Rebooted - and it booted to the installer again, because the partition I created earlier was still the first boot partition in the list

10)  Used diskpart to reformat the small partition I created earlier - so it would no longer be a boot option

11)  Rebooted one more time and everything worked

The installer was able to boot to the partition on my internal disk and started normally.  When  I installed windows on the unallocated space on the drive, the installer did all the right things and windows installed!  Having only one drive in the mix (no usb) was the main issue.  I suspect that it's because the m2 drive is the only internal drive in my system.

The key was finding a method that took the decision of where to install out of the installer's hands.  As long as the USB drive was the primary drive the installer failed to find the correct place to install windows

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I am very happy that you solved the problem.

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my pc has been upgraded now and mine looks just like that.it is driving me crazy now due to myirst error code was for disc drive failure and I started with the hard drivesbefore I found the disc exploded.then I chaged the dvd rw out with a bad drive.i have a split program now and its all windo s 7 now but im on it now!  things are looking up

i want to thank all of you that responded to my plea for sanity and helped me put my pc back up and running.it had split up the hard drives and thanks to all of your help im back in top shape

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Last updated February 11, 2024 Views 17,378 Applies to: