Windows 10 may halt the installation process when it detects a problem with the storage device, such as an HDD or SSD.
Windows 10 may halt the installation process when it detects a problem with the storage device, such as an HDD or SSD.
My laptop froze during startup and displayed a black screen. While trying to boot, it would sometimes say "No bootable devices found." I removed the hard drive and put it in an enclosure. On another computer, CrystalDiskInfo showed abnormal values like "Reallocated Sectors Count" and "Uncorrectable Sector Count," plus corruption warnings. I attempted a full format without checking, wrote zeroes, and ran "diskpart> clean all." After restarting, the drive appeared healthy again. Since it now shows good status, I tried installing Windows 10 but kept getting stuck at copying files. The installer eventually finished but displayed corrupted logos and animations. I also tried a different Windows 10 installer without success. Now I use an M.2 SSD for games and data, which works perfectly—no corruption or issues there. CrystalDiskInfo still confirms the HDD is in good condition. It’s been about three months since I started using the old HDD as my main drive. Update: I upgraded to a 2TB HDD and traded in the old one. Questions: Would Windows 10 halt installation if it detects problems with an HDD or SSD? What checks does Windows perform to verify drive health? As noted, the HDD still functions but isn’t installing properly. Could this indicate a hardware fault?
The problem might be related to the Windows 10 installation process rather than your HDD.