Asus PN51-S1 doesn't allow Windows installation... Missing required media driver.
Asus PN51-S1 doesn't allow Windows installation... Missing required media driver.
During the setup of Windows 11 on a new Asus PN51-S1 mini PC, I encounter this warning after opening the installer: "A required media driver is missing. It might be a DVD, USB, or hard disk driver. If you have a CD, DVD, or USB flash drive with the driver installed, please insert it now." When I open a command prompt, I can check diskpart to confirm the NVMe drive is recognized, but the installer blocks further progress. The system indicates it’s running BIOS version 0116, matching the latest ASUS release, yet the listed build date/time doesn’t align with the website’s release information. I attempted an update using the download from ASUS, but it still shows the same version and date/time. My NVMe setup isn’t RAID configured. Several forums suggest the issue could stem from a corrupted installation media, and I’ve confirmed the SHA256 checksum of the Windows ISO is valid. I’ve tested various USB ports and even tried Windows 10, which also failed with the same error. Some recommendations suggest enabling a USB2 port or turning off USB3 in BIOS, but the BIOS doesn’t support disabling USB3 and there are no dedicated USB2-only ports. One suggestion mentioned missing Intel RST drivers, though this seems unlikely since the machine is AMD-based. Full system details: CPU – AMD Ryzen 3 5300U, SSD – Kingston NV2 M.2 NVMe Gen 4, 250GB, RAM – Corsair 16GB (1x16GB) DDR4 2400MHz CL16 Vengeance SODIMM.
I attempted a straightforward Linux setup just to test functionality. Another option is to set up Windows on a different machine and transfer the disk.
I’ve encountered this problem before. Usually it’s about the drive installation process disconnecting. Try using another USB stick or something similar. You might also want to purchase a USB PCI controller and check if those ports function. To verify if the issue is with the USB drive, boot your computer from the stick and observe if the error repeats. If it does, click browse in the pop-up and check for the USB stick. If not, the problem likely lies with the stick or port. Hope this assists!
The USB drive is visible from the browse menu. I have tried several USB drives, both USB3 and USB2 drives. This is a mini PC, there is no slot to add an extra USB controller card. The system has a SATA port, so I tried writing the windows ISO to a SATA disk, but the BIOS did not detect it as bootable. I will have to experiment with this a bit more.
Have you checked the drivers on the installation disk to see if it calms down?
I received a response from ASUS' support team suggesting the use of the Windows Media Creation Tool for writing the USB drive. Previously, I relied on the ISO file from Microsoft and the dd command-line utility. I plan to try this method tonight and will provide an update afterward.
The advice from ASUS support was accurate. I tested the USB drive on another system using the Windows Media Creation Tool, started the installer, and it installed without issues. It’s strange, though—I wonder if the tool is adding extra drivers or if there’s a bug in the ISO image.