Solved Windows 10 clean install won't start

[Thierry14]

Hi,

I'm trying to install win10 on a newly built PC from a flash drive created with the Windows media creation tool.

Mobo is msi mpg gaming carbon wifi z490 with i7-10700k. Trying to install OS onto a Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1TB.

After clicking "install now", I get an error saying that the required device drivers are not found and a prompt to select a drive to install drivers from.

So far I've tried moving the flash drive to a different USB port (both 2.0 and 3.0) at various points in the process, cleaning and partitioning the drive in cmd (in diskpart) / making the target partition active and changing the boot priorities to set UEFI USB first. I haven't played with any other settings in UEFI.

First time build so I'm not sure if I've missed something. All of my hardware is connected up and shows up in the UEFI.

Any other ideas on what I could try please?

 

[zebanovich]

cleaning and partitioning the drive in cmd (in diskpart) / making the target partition active

This sounds like your procedure to format the drive was wrong,
It's not clear how did you format the drive if it's not listed in installer?

Before reformatting again, make sure the following:
1. USB drive is formatted as FAT32 before Windows installation files are copied on it.
2. EUFI mode is set in BIOS. (instead of Legacy)
3. Make sure latest Windows is downloaded from here:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10
4. The drive is the first in boot priorities in BIOS and USB is second.

This "should" show the drive in installer.
If not, you might want to clean the drive (with DISKPART) so that it contains no partitions and no partition table, only "unallocated space". (I don't know how did you format it, but I guess you'll use the same procedure to be able to clean it)

To install Windows select entry unallocated space, and entry drive will be used by OS.

If you want to split the drive so that it contains one or more "data" partitions, the procedure is much different, and I'm not going to share it unless you want to do so.

 

[zebanovich]

I forgot but in BIOS there should be either AHCI or SATA mode for your drive.
Try to toggle this setting and your drive should appear.

 

[Thierry14]

This sounds like your procedure to format the drive was wrong,
It's not clear how did you format the drive if it's not listed in installer?

Before reformatting again, make sure the following:
1. USB drive is formatted as FAT32 before Windows installation files are copied on it.
2. EUFI mode is set in BIOS. (instead of Legacy)
3. Make sure latest Windows is downloaded from here:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10
4. The drive is the first in boot priorities in BIOS and USB is second.

This "should" show the drive in installer.
If not, you might want to clean the drive (with DISKPART) so that it contains no partitions and no partition table, only "unallocated space". (I don't know how did you format it, but I guess you'll use the same procedure to be able to clean it)

To install Windows select entry unallocated space, and entry drive will be used by OS.

If you want to split the drive so that it contains one or more "data" partitions, the procedure is much different, and I'm not going to share it unless you want to do so.

Thanks for the replies, the issue doesn't seem to be that the drive isn't displaying in the installer as if I click browse to search for a driver, I see my USB and an additional drive (image attached).

This is the video that I followed in my first attempt to fix it...

I've completed steps 1-4 again and recreated my USB installer, but I was already using the settings that you recommended. The target M.2 drive did show in the Windows Installer and in BIOS, but the dialog box is asking for missing drivers.

I forgot but in BIOS there should be either AHCI or SATA mode for your drive.
Try to toggle this setting and your drive should appear.

This was on AHCI by default. I toggled to RAID and back to AHCI. My boot mode is UEFI and CSM is off.

I went back into diskpart and my SSD is listed as it was before and I cleaned it again (image attached). Although I'm not sure what disk 1 is as my SSD. Is it my USB?

Even with all of the above, I'm still seeing the same message.

 

[Thierry14]

Although I'm not sure what disk 1 is as my SSD. Is it my USB?

Checked this and disk 1 is my install USB

 

[crjdriver]

You should not need any drivers to install windows from an install usb. You do not partition or format the drive on which you want to install windows. This is done by win 10 setup. I would start over and first secure erase the M.2 drive. Note secure erase is NOT a format; this is a command issued to the drive's controller. Use a working system to make the bootable samsung usb to secure erase the drive.

Note many high end motherboards actually have a secure erase utility built into the bios. Since I do not use msi boards, I do not know if this is an option for you.

You are installing the M.2 drive to the first slot correct?

 

[zebanovich]

OK, this video is telling you how NOT to format drive!

This was on AHCI by default. I toggled to RAID and back to AHCI. My boot mode is UEFI and CSM is off.

Are you saying there is no SATA mode? just AHCI and RAID?
In that case select AHCI, and that's done.

While you're in BIOS please try to find option that looks like:
"Windows 10 support WHQL"
If there is no such option, no problem.

SCM should not be enabled, feel free to leave if OFF.

Once you confirm all this, please make sure not to format drive, just clean it and refresh then try again.

It is still possible to format drive manually, but for testing purposes just clean it and don't format.
You need to manually format only to create additional data partitions, but in that case the video in question is wrong!

 

[crjdriver]

I should have included you would need to install the samsung magician software on the working system to make the bootable usb. Once this is done, boot the problem system with this usb and complete the secure erase. Remove the samsung bootable usb and pw ON. Enter the bios and load defaults. Restart with your windows install usb and do the install.

 

[Couriant]

I don't know if this is the case, but I suspect that the driver for your M.2 drive is not loaded in the WinPE so when Windows is trying to install, it doesn't see it. I have had this issue with the computers that I have to deal with here that have NvME/M.2 drives.

Do you have any other drives connected?

How was this USB drive created? I would recommend redoing the USB stick.

 

[crjdriver]

I don't know if this is the case, but I suspect that the driver for your M.2 drive is not loaded in the WinPE so when Windows is trying to install, it doesn't see it. I have had this issue with the computers that I have to deal with here that have NvME/M.2 drives.

Do you have any other drives connected?

How was this USB drive created? I would recommend redoing the USB stick.

I have built approx. 10 systems with M.2 type drives. No drivers where ever needed in order to install win10.
These were both intel and AMD systems.

 

[Couriant]

I have built approx. 10 systems with M.2 type drives. No drivers where ever needed in order to install win10.
These were both intel and AMD systems.

I take it they were not Dell Precision Towers... lol I am aware my experience is from an enterprise setup and I can fix it by injecting the driver that is needed, but I believe the idea is the same... the Windows Setup file or boot/WinPE doesn't have the driver that is needed.

 

[crjdriver]

Correct. These where high end asus, gigabyte, or asrock boards.
Dell being dell has to be different.

 

[Couriant]

W

Correct. These where high end asus, gigabyte, or asrock boards.
Dell being dell has to be different.

well most of our desktops are fine.. these precisions are more annoying... like you have to keep the cover on or it will shut down the computer... anyways

 

[Thierry14]

Solved. I bought a new USB and it worked a treat. It's now installing. The one I was using before works perfectly fine as a storage device and as a bootable device but for whatever reason, it was being temporamental and causing this issue. I bought a new SanDisk Cruzer Blade today and it worked immediately.

 

[crjdriver]