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I can't turn on my computer with Windows 11 after putting it on a new Samsung 980 Pro.

I can't turn on my computer with Windows 11 after putting it on a new Samsung 980 Pro.

M
MacManTyler
Member
178
09-24-2026, 07:36 PM
#1
Hello everyone, I have looked at some other threads with the same problems but tried those fixes and they didn't work for me. Here are my computer details: AMD Ryzen 5800X3D, EVGA Geforce 3060Ti, 8GB RAM, B450 motherboard, Crucial Pro 32GB DDR4 memory, EVGA power supply, Kingston SSD drive, and an old Samsung 980 Pro (1TB) that I plan to use for the new installation. My BIOS is up-to-date version 7B86v1J1.

Here is what I am trying to do: clean install Windows 11 on my NVMe drive using a bootable USB. I already have Windows 10 running on an old Kingston SSD, which works when CSM (Compatibility Support Module) is enabled. I followed the official instructions exactly, even after deviating for troubleshooting without success. I made sure to never plug in any other hard drives when setting up Windows 11 on my NVMe drive. Every time I click next and select the NVMe drive, it lets me create partitions.

I tried many things that are listed online: enabling or disabling secure boot, creating partitions manually using diskpart, trying to boot from CSM even though UEFI is needed, and more. Nothing worked after step 8 of the guide. Instead of finishing properly, two things happen: either my PC boots back into Windows Setup without completing anything, or I unplug the USB right after a restart, or go into BIOS after restarting and manually disable the drive there. The result is always "reboot and select proper boot device."

I wanted to try running a secure erase on the 980 Pro but can't do that because my Samsung Magician software doesn't see the drive, even though Windows can see it and control it. I am not sure why this is happening or if it relates to anything else. I used Rufus to make the bootable USB from the Windows 11 ISO downloaded directly from Microsoft. I am looking into using the official Windows Media Creation tool but think that won't help either. Thank you for any and all help!

Here are some links: Drive Manager info, a picture of my NVMe drive showing up as Drive 4, diskpart output after running "install," and where Windows sets up partitions before clicking next.
M
MacManTyler
09-24-2026, 07:36 PM #1

Hello everyone, I have looked at some other threads with the same problems but tried those fixes and they didn't work for me. Here are my computer details: AMD Ryzen 5800X3D, EVGA Geforce 3060Ti, 8GB RAM, B450 motherboard, Crucial Pro 32GB DDR4 memory, EVGA power supply, Kingston SSD drive, and an old Samsung 980 Pro (1TB) that I plan to use for the new installation. My BIOS is up-to-date version 7B86v1J1.

Here is what I am trying to do: clean install Windows 11 on my NVMe drive using a bootable USB. I already have Windows 10 running on an old Kingston SSD, which works when CSM (Compatibility Support Module) is enabled. I followed the official instructions exactly, even after deviating for troubleshooting without success. I made sure to never plug in any other hard drives when setting up Windows 11 on my NVMe drive. Every time I click next and select the NVMe drive, it lets me create partitions.

I tried many things that are listed online: enabling or disabling secure boot, creating partitions manually using diskpart, trying to boot from CSM even though UEFI is needed, and more. Nothing worked after step 8 of the guide. Instead of finishing properly, two things happen: either my PC boots back into Windows Setup without completing anything, or I unplug the USB right after a restart, or go into BIOS after restarting and manually disable the drive there. The result is always "reboot and select proper boot device."

I wanted to try running a secure erase on the 980 Pro but can't do that because my Samsung Magician software doesn't see the drive, even though Windows can see it and control it. I am not sure why this is happening or if it relates to anything else. I used Rufus to make the bootable USB from the Windows 11 ISO downloaded directly from Microsoft. I am looking into using the official Windows Media Creation tool but think that won't help either. Thank you for any and all help!

Here are some links: Drive Manager info, a picture of my NVMe drive showing up as Drive 4, diskpart output after running "install," and where Windows sets up partitions before clicking next.

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_digiboy
Member
196
09-25-2026, 02:06 AM
#2
If all drives are unplugged and you're left with just one NVMe stick, you gotta wipe every single partition shown on the image (assuming that's your NVMe). Make sure Rufus is set up for GPT mode with UEFI turned on.
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_digiboy
09-25-2026, 02:06 AM #2

If all drives are unplugged and you're left with just one NVMe stick, you gotta wipe every single partition shown on the image (assuming that's your NVMe). Make sure Rufus is set up for GPT mode with UEFI turned on.

C
Charlie_Senpai
Member
112
09-25-2026, 07:08 AM
#3
Thanks so much! I did a triple check and confirmed that Rufus set up the boot USB with UEFI format, not just MBR. I also checked that my NVMe drive is GPT mode and made sure there were no partitions on it before installing. After the Setup finished and I restarted my PC, I took out the USB and went into BIOS to check the boot order again. My BIOS shows it's set for UEFI with secure boot turned on. The list shows "Standard" which sounds right to me. Here are screenshots from that moment: 1. Both the USB and NVMe drives show GPT 2. There were no partitions on my drive before I installed 3. The BIOS boot order is correct 4. Rufus shows the drive properties and settings All good! Thanks for your time!
C
Charlie_Senpai
09-25-2026, 07:08 AM #3

Thanks so much! I did a triple check and confirmed that Rufus set up the boot USB with UEFI format, not just MBR. I also checked that my NVMe drive is GPT mode and made sure there were no partitions on it before installing. After the Setup finished and I restarted my PC, I took out the USB and went into BIOS to check the boot order again. My BIOS shows it's set for UEFI with secure boot turned on. The list shows "Standard" which sounds right to me. Here are screenshots from that moment: 1. Both the USB and NVMe drives show GPT 2. There were no partitions on my drive before I installed 3. The BIOS boot order is correct 4. Rufus shows the drive properties and settings All good! Thanks for your time!

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_Aska_
Member
89
09-25-2026, 09:07 AM
#4
I figured this out, but it turned out that putting a storage pool on my hard drive made me nervous because I needed the system running before installing Windows 11. After deleting the pool and getting rid of that extra setup step, I could finally install the OS without any trouble. Thanks a lot to @RealBeast for helping me out!
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_Aska_
09-25-2026, 09:07 AM #4

I figured this out, but it turned out that putting a storage pool on my hard drive made me nervous because I needed the system running before installing Windows 11. After deleting the pool and getting rid of that extra setup step, I could finally install the OS without any trouble. Thanks a lot to @RealBeast for helping me out!