Facing difficulties with Windows installation? Let me help you troubleshoot.
Facing difficulties with Windows installation? Let me help you troubleshoot.
Hey there, I'm Starfall. I'm having trouble setting up Windows on my USB drive. Linux works perfectly since I know how. The issue is when trying to install Windows from a USB stick—drivers appear, but neither the HDD nor the SSD shows up in DiskPart. If I open the terminal with Shift+F10 and use DiskPart, all drives are listed, yet my HDD isn't visible while the SSD is. Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes. I'm German. Thanks in advance for your help, Starfall!
The rig's specifications are available, and it runs the latest version of Windows.
Windows 10 Redstone 5 Preview, system already has Windows installed but needs a fresh setup. Processor: Ryzen 5 1600X, motherboard: Asus Prime B350-Plus, RAM: Samsung 960 Evo 250GB, storage: WD Blue NDD Starfall 2TB.
Suggestion simple – if you're using a functional Windows, avoid reinstalling the same version. I often see people trying to "upgrade" or "clean up" by reinstalling, but they end up with the exact same setup again. Over time, this creates a loop where nothing really changes. Instead of just refreshing, it's better to create something unique on your machine.
Perhaps I often reinstalled it, though I sometimes made mistakes because of the issues from my first setup. I tried using DiskPart to clean it and start fresh, but even after formatting it to NTFS in DiskPart, it still isn’t recognized.
I possess a driver CD for the mainboard. When inserted during installation, it reports that boot drivers aren't loaded, indicating an issue in that direction. However, placing the CD on the driver screen allows access to other drives, and despite attempts, no installation occurs. I've tried using RAID/AHCI drivers and some USB 3 drivers hidden in deep directories. I'm not able to rely on Linux because my two main games aren't compatible or available in a VM for my system.
Sure, I'm interested in moving completely to Linux, though gaming isn't my favorite hobby... Installing it has been smooth, and I can easily identify all the storage devices. It's impressive! However, Windows remains reluctant to install. It's odd that other tools like File Select, DiskPart, and CMD display drives correctly.
Possible issue with UEFI/legacy setup could stem from a poorly made USB drive.