Trouble Clean Installing Windows

[bmhbison]

My SSD containing windows died the other day, so I went to Best Buy and bought another one. I installed it on my desktop and created a windows 10 boot drive on my laptop, but I am running into issues installing it. When I select the new SSD to install windows from the installation menu, I always get the same message: "Windows could not prepare the computer to boot into the next phase of installation. To install windows, restart the installation"

 

I have tried:

- Rebooting, and restarting the installation (obviously)

- Checking all physical connections, and disconnecting everything but the essentials, including my HDD and disk drive

- Re-creating the boot drive (which took about 2 hours)

- Resetting the BIOS

- Changing the BIOS boot order

- Trying legacy mode and UEFI mode in BIOS

- Deleting/creating new partitions on the SSD

- Partitioning/mounting the SSD in command prompt (which always fails at the "active" command and tells me that my disk is not a fixed MBR disk)

 

Any help would be much appreciated. Almost all my free time has been devoted to this goddamn computer since it crapped out and honestly I'm at my wit's end and I may just take it into a shop to have a pro look at it.

Edited July 22, 2020 by bmhbison

[Moonzy]

12 minutes ago, bmhbison said:

Partitioning/mounting the SSD in command prompt (which always fails at the "active" command and tells me that my disk is not a fixed MBR disk)

i once had a laptop that refused to install window OS on GPT/MBR (i forgot which) drive

maybe u could try switching between both, see which works

[Master Disaster]

15 minutes ago, bmhbison said:

My SSD containing windows died the other day, so I went to Best Buy and bought another one. I installed it on my desktop and created a windows 10 boot drive on my laptop, but I am running into issues installing it. When I select the new SSD to install windows from the installation menu, I always get the same message: "Windows could not prepare the computer to boot into the next phase of installation. To install windows, restart the installation"

 

I have tried:

- Rebooting, and restarting the installation (obviously)

- Checking all physical connections, and disconnecting everything but the essentials, including my HDD and disk drive

- Re-creating the boot drive (which took about 2 hours)

- Resetting the BIOS

- Changing the BIOS boot order

- Trying legacy mode and UEFI mode in BIOS

- Deleting/creating new partitions on the SSD

- Partitioning/mounting the SSD in command prompt (which always fails at the "active" command and tells me that my disk is not a fixed MBR disk)

 

Any help would be much appreciated. Almost all my free time has been devoted to this goddamn computer since it crapped out and honestly I'm at my wit's end and I may just take it into a shop to have a pro look at it.

Try disabling CSM is BIOS then trying to install again.

[TehDwonz]

17 minutes ago, bmhbison said:

My SSD containing windows died the other day, so I went to Best Buy and bought another one. I installed it on my desktop and created a windows 10 boot drive on my laptop, but I am running into issues installing it. When I select the new SSD to install windows from the installation menu, I always get the same message: "Windows could not prepare the computer to boot into the next phase of installation. To install windows, restart the installation"

 

I have tried:

- Rebooting, and restarting the installation (obviously)

- Checking all physical connections, and disconnecting everything but the essentials, including my HDD and disk drive

- Re-creating the boot drive (which took about 2 hours)

- Resetting the BIOS

- Changing the BIOS boot order

- Trying legacy mode and UEFI mode in BIOS

- Deleting/creating new partitions on the SSD

- Partitioning/mounting the SSD in command prompt (which always fails at the "active" command and tells me that my disk is not a fixed MBR disk)

 

Any help would be much appreciated. Almost all my free time has been devoted to this goddamn computer since it crapped out and honestly I'm at my wit's end and I may just take it into a shop to have a pro look at it.

Use UEFI mode, and disable Secure Boot if possible.

Boot the installation media (USB stick?), wait for it get to the disk selection screen before it actually installs. Press SHIFT+F10 to open a command prompt.

Now use Diskpart to clean the SSD you want to install Windows to.

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.18363.959]
(c) 2019 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Windows\system32>diskpart

Microsoft DiskPart version 10.0.18362.1

Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation.
On computer: [PC NAME]

DISKPART> list disk

  Disk ###  Status         Size     Free     Dyn  Gpt
  --------  -------------  -------  -------  ---  ---
  Disk 0    Online          223 GB  1024 KB        *
  Disk 1    Online          447 GB  1024 KB        *
  Disk 2    Online          931 GB      0 B
  Disk 3    Online          931 GB      0 B
  Disk 4    Online          476 GB      0 B        *
  Disk 5    Online         2048 GB      0 B
  Disk 6    Online         2048 GB      0 B        *

DISKPART> select disk 0

Disk 0 is now the selected disk.

DISKPART> clean

Note that when you "select disk", the number might not be 0 - verify you have the right one by the size. But the SSD and install media should be the only disks you see - if there are more, power-down and unplug them and start again.

After "clean", type exit. Then refresh the disk selection window and proceed to install.

[TehDwonz]

2 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

Try disabling CSM is BIOS then trying to install again.

This too, but be aware that it *might* prevent booting from USB installation media on some BIOSes, leaving a DVD as the only option.

[Master Disaster]

6 minutes ago, TehDwonz said:

Use UEFI mode, and disable Secure Boot if possible.

Boot the installation media (USB stick?), wait for it get to the disk selection screen before it actually installs. Press SHIFT+F10 to open a command prompt.

Now use Diskpart to clean the SSD you want to install Windows to.

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.18363.959]
(c) 2019 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Windows\system32>diskpart

Microsoft DiskPart version 10.0.18362.1

Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation.
On computer: [PC NAME]

DISKPART> list disk

  Disk ###  Status         Size     Free     Dyn  Gpt
  --------  -------------  -------  -------  ---  ---
  Disk 0    Online          223 GB  1024 KB        *
  Disk 1    Online          447 GB  1024 KB        *
  Disk 2    Online          931 GB      0 B
  Disk 3    Online          931 GB      0 B
  Disk 4    Online          476 GB      0 B        *
  Disk 5    Online         2048 GB      0 B
  Disk 6    Online         2048 GB      0 B        *

DISKPART> select disk 0

Disk 0 is now the selected disk.

DISKPART> clean

Note that when you "select disk", the number might not be 0 - verify you have the right one by the size. But the SSD and install media should be the only disks you see - if there are more, power-down and unplug them and start again.

After "clean", type exit. Then refresh the disk selection window and proceed to install.

This is correct but misses a step.

 

After you do "clean" you should then do "convert gpt" then finally "exit".

[TehDwonz]

9 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

This is correct but misses a step.

 

After you do "clean" you should then do "convert gpt" then finally "exit".

I think it's already GPT as his error mentions it "not being MBR"? But that can't hurt.

[bmhbison]

14 minutes ago, TehDwonz said:

Use UEFI mode, and disable Secure Boot if possible.

Boot the installation media (USB stick?), wait for it get to the disk selection screen before it actually installs. Press SHIFT+F10 to open a command prompt.

Now use Diskpart to clean the SSD you want to install Windows to.

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.18363.959]
(c) 2019 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Windows\system32>diskpart

Microsoft DiskPart version 10.0.18362.1

Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation.
On computer: [PC NAME]

DISKPART> list disk

  Disk ###  Status         Size     Free     Dyn  Gpt
  --------  -------------  -------  -------  ---  ---
  Disk 0    Online          223 GB  1024 KB        *
  Disk 1    Online          447 GB  1024 KB        *
  Disk 2    Online          931 GB      0 B
  Disk 3    Online          931 GB      0 B
  Disk 4    Online          476 GB      0 B        *
  Disk 5    Online         2048 GB      0 B
  Disk 6    Online         2048 GB      0 B        *

DISKPART> select disk 0

Disk 0 is now the selected disk.

DISKPART> clean

Note that when you "select disk", the number might not be 0 - verify you have the right one by the size. But the SSD and install media should be the only disks you see - if there are more, power-down and unplug them and start again.

After "clean", type exit. Then refresh the disk selection window and proceed to install.

thanks for the response. I tried this, and now it is telling me that it encountered an unexpected error (code 0xC0000005)

[TehDwonz]

4 minutes ago, bmhbison said:

thanks for the response. I tried this, and now it is telling me that it encountered an unexpected error (code 0xC0000005)

At what point is that happening? That's a blue-screen stop code meaning "Access Violation", which is fairly generic. Check your SATA cables, re-seat your RAM.

[Master Disaster]

1 hour ago, bmhbison said:

thanks for the response. I tried this, and now it is telling me that it encountered an unexpected error (code 0xC0000005)

Head into BIOS and make sure you haven't got hot plug enabled for any of your SATA ports. Sometimes Windows can get confused by a hot plug SATA drive and think its removable (technically it is removable when hot pluggable)