Windows 7 cannot be installed to this disk.

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Operaghost

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jun 4, 2004
Messages
1,315
Ok so I installed my new Intel X-25m 80GB.
Installed win7 on it.
Proceeded to screw up by installing intel chipset drivers.
Rebooted, and couldn't boot to the SSD, nor to my SATA DVD drive.
I reset CMOS.
Was able to boot to the Win7 CD to try and reinstall.
Got to location for install selection and got a message that windows could not install to that drive and to check on BIOS settings.

So I go in and try changing the SATA back to IDE from AHCI, and again am getting boot failures.

I know its just some BIOS setting I'm missing but I can't figure out which cause I don't know what all that shit actually does.

My rig is in my sig. EVGA X58 mobo.

Here's my BIOS setup:
Under Onboard PATA/SATA Device:
SATA Mode - AHCI

JMB362 SATA Controller - Enabled
JMB363 SATA/PATA Controller - Enabled
JMB363 Mode - AHCI Mode
JMB363 Mode - AHCI Mode

Then there is a submenu labelled AHCI Configurations:
Stagger Spinup Support - Disabled
Mechanical Pesence Switch = Disabled
Hotplug capable port - Enabled
Cold Presence Detection - Disabled

With these settings, I'm able to boot the Win7 dvd, but then again when I choose the drive/partition it tells me Windows cannot be installed there as stated previously.

Anyone have any suggestions please? I'm blown, because I had it installed and working, until I screwed up and installed new Intel chipset drivers.....
 
So basically windows 7 setup isn't recognizing my SSD as a bootable drive and thus won't install to it.

The setup won't let me create a new partition on the drive either.
Just shows:
Disk 0 Unallocated Space 74.5GB

Then there is a little warning message below:
Windows Cannot be installed to this disk. This computer's hardware may not support booting to this disk. Ensure that the disk's controller is enabled in the computer's BIOS.

If I click on next I get:
Setup was unable to create a new system partition or locate an existing system partition. See the setup log files for more information.

Any offer some advice please?
 
Are you trying to install the X-25M while its plugged into the JMicron port?

Disable JMicron completely, unplug ALL of your drives except the optical and the X-25M and make sure they are in the BLACK SATA ports 0 and 1. The RED ports on your motherboard - AVOID THEM COMPLETELY.
 
Don't know what Jmicron ports are but I will check and make sure they're on the black ports.
 
I confirmed the SSD is on SATA0/1 (black) and the DVD drive is on SATA2/3 (black)

Disabled the JMB362 SATA Controller as well as the JMB363 SATA/PATA Controller.

Tried to boot to Win 7 Disc:
Invalid system disk. Replace the disk, and then press any key
 
Which doesn't make sense to me because the BIOS recognizes both the SSD and the DVD drive.

So strange. I went back to the BIOS, don't think I changed anything other than the boot order (to cd first).

Now it booted up to the DVD

But it is still telling me that Windows cannot be installed to the Disk.
 
Make sure power is plugged in properly. Try a different bootable CD or DVD.
 
can you put the SSD into another PC and try to create a partition or two on it, then delete all partitions, then pop it back into thenew PC and try installing Win7
 
This whole thing started when I installed intel chipset drivers which caused the drive to not boot. So I deleted/formated the partition on the SSD, and tried to reinstall. Except I got this error message. So what the hell is causing this? I just don't get it
 
Try a tool that will clear the SSD of any partitions, so it is blank and unformatted. I don't ever try installing Windows to a drive that's formatted.
 
I hooked up my old WD Caviar drive to see if it would allow me to install to that drives partition. It would not let me, so that's leading me to believe it is the SATA controller/driver and not a problem with the disk.

So my question now is: Which driver do I try to install to get the WIn 7 disc to allow me to install to it? I've read about the msachi driver from Win 7 but I can't find it on the install disc, nor could I google search for a downloadable version of it.

I don't know if I have the original sata drivers that came with the mobo, and the intel chipset drivers from EVGA site is what got me here to begin with.

Anyone have an idea what I should do next?
 
Try resetting your BIOS to the "standard config" or whatever option your BIOS calls it. For an Intel chipset, you shouldn't need any drivers loaded during the install, whether you are using IDE or AHCI.
 
See I thought it was a problem with the partitioning on the drive also, but if it won't install to my Western Digital Vista drive, then maybe it is the controller/driver?

Or would Win 7 deny the Vista drive also since it had an OS installed on it?
 
Try resetting your BIOS to the "standard config" or whatever option your BIOS calls it. For an Intel chipset, you shouldn't need any drivers loaded during the install, whether you are using IDE or AHCI.
Click to expand...

That's what I figured. Win 7 should just install whatever drivers it needs. But then why am I not able to begin the install on the disk?

I've tried all possible combinations of BIOS configs for the SATA....I just can't get anything to work.
 
Have you tried eVGA's forums? See about the BIOS option to basically restore it to the factory defaults. If you botched something up in the settings, this will let you start over.
 
Have you tried to install with the drive in IDE mode just for kicks? Also maybe connect the SSD as a secondary drive in another system and do a secure erase on it if you can.
 
Well setting it to IDE removed the warning about it not being able to install.

However, still when I click to continue I get: Setup was unable to create a new system partition or locate an existing system partition. The the setup log files for more information.

So it basically removed the BIOS settings warning, but still won't let me install
 
Make sure to delete any partitions listed on the drive if they do not have any data. Start with a totally clean drive.
 
IF it's not installing to either of your HDs, then the problem lies with your motherboard, optical, or configuration. Is this your first system build? Unfortunately, without seeing anything in person, it is difficult to say whether you did something wrong.

Run a bootable CD or DVD with Linux and see if there is anything wrong with your hardware.
 
No this is not my first build. I've done dozens.

The only new hardware is the SSD. The problem is somewhere with the configuration, or the partitioning of the drive. I just can't figure out how to fix either
 
Operaghost said:
Well setting it to IDE removed the warning about it not being able to install.

However, still when I click to continue I get: Setup was unable to create a new system partition or locate an existing system partition. The the setup log files for more information.

So it basically removed the BIOS settings warning, but still won't let me install
Click to expand...

What do the log files say?

At this point I would connect the SSD as a secondary drive and try to initialize it through disk management. Try to partition the drive there and then install Windows.
 
I don't know how to access said log files.

What if I connect it as a secondary drive next to my Vista Install drive, then booted into Vista. Would that allow me to partition it there? I didn't really use Vista very long so don't know what the partition tool is called or located
 
Operaghost said:
I don't know how to access said log files.

What if I connect it as a secondary drive next to my Vista Install drive, then booted into Vista. Would that allow me to partition it there? I didn't really use Vista very long so don't know what the partition tool is called or located
Click to expand...

is your Vista machine a different PC? If it's a hardware issue with problem-PC, that wouldn't be of much help.

If you cannot install Win7 on problem-PC trying 2 different HDDs, chances are it's a hardware issue.

But, yes, you can hook the SSD to your Vista machine and see what the live OS says for partitions.

You may also want to try some sort of LiveCD with SSD installed in problem-PC to see if that can do anything with the SSD drive.
 
Ya the vista drive is from the same machine.

I only have one machine that is SATA capable so I can't really test it elsewhere
 
well since it's the same PC, then that would be your best bet.
would also help determine if it's a hdd or hardware issue, since it's all the same hardware and only difference is OS and HDD.
 
Ok so I hooked up the Vista mechanical as the boot drive and connected the SSD as a secondary.

Boot up to Vista, open Disk Management and this is what I got:

Capture.jpg


The screenshot is a little blurry but it reads the SSD as: 74.53 GB RAW, Healthy (Primary Partition)

So I still don't get why Win7 won't install to it....
 
delete the partition and try to install again.

that's what I would do.

could be that for whatever reason Win7 is failing to install because there's an unformatted partition?
 
Ya but the Win7 setup wouldn't let me delete it.

Cause that isn't even partitioned is it?

Ok I "Deleted Volume" on it in disk management.

Now I'll reconnect it as primary and try to install again.

I'll update when I have news. Thanks again everyone for the input.

just for reference here is what it shows as now:
Capture2.jpg
 
if no partition existed, it would say "Unpartitioned Space" or something to that effect.
Showing that it was RAW, simply means it was partitioned but not formatted.
 
Ok so it worked!

I was finally able to reinstall windows.

Now my only question I have left is:
Is there ANYTHING I need to do before I switch my SATA back from IDE to AHCI in the BIOS?

I don't want to fuck up my windows install yet again, and I thought I read somewhere about installing a driver before switching from IDE to AHCI. I just want to make sure I'm getting TRIM.

So before I switch from IDE to AHCI in the BIOS, is there anything else I should know and/or do?
 
j-sta said:
if no partition existed, it would say "Unpartitioned Space" or something to that effect.
Showing that it was RAW, simply means it was partitioned but not formatted.
Click to expand...

No, what you see above means the drive is unpartitioned. This is how any new disk shows up in Windows after it has been initialized via Disk Management. If he were to right click anywhere in the black & white bar, he would get an option to create a "New Partition"

Unallocated = unpartitioned. Trust me, I deal with this on almost a daily basis imaging machines at work. When I delete the partition using various partition apps, it always shows the space as unallocated.
 
Operaghost said:
Ok so it worked!
Click to expand...

Bam! I thought so. You're welcome. :)

Operaghost said:
I was finally able to reinstall windows.

Now my only question I have left is:
Is there ANYTHING I need to do before I switch my SATA back from IDE to AHCI in the BIOS?

I don't want to fuck up my windows install yet again, and I thought I read somewhere about installing a driver before switching from IDE to AHCI. I just want to make sure I'm getting TRIM.

So before I switch from IDE to AHCI in the BIOS, is there anything else I should know and/or do?
Click to expand...

Well, you should be able to install it in either mode without a problem. Obviously you want to end up using AHCI, but if for some reason your eVGA board will only let you install Windows under IDE mode then you can always switch back later (it's just a simple registry change IIRC). Windows 7 natively supports AHCI, so it's a LOT easier to switch from IDE -> AHCI than it was with XP.
 
imyourzero said:
No, what you see above means the drive is unpartitioned. This is how any new disk shows up in Windows after it has been initialized via Disk Management. If he were to right click anywhere in the black & white bar, he would get an option to create a "New Partition"

Unallocated = unpartitioned. Trust me, I deal with this on almost a daily basis imaging machines at work. When I delete the partition using various partition apps, it always shows the space as unallocated.
Click to expand...

his first SS showed "RAW" and "Primary Partition"
after deleting the partition it changed to "Unallocated Space"

I do apologize in mixing up Unparitioned/Unallocated.

But yes, he last SS does show unpartitioned. I know that.
His first SS showed it did have a partition though ;)
 
Operaghost said:
Ok so it worked!
Click to expand...
That's what I figured. I usually blank my drives before installing Windows, just to avoid this very issue. I use something other than my Windows disc to do it as well. I'm partial to gdisk, which I run from a bootable USB flash drive.
 
Well I fucked it up again.

Installed Windows w/ SATA in IDE mode.

Then once I had it installed I switched to AHCI in BIOS and blam! Invalid Boot Disk.

So I'm back to square one. Installing via IDE again.
What is really odd is the first time I installed Win7 it was in AHCI mode and I had no problems.

How do I switch to AHCI after install without jacking up my boot drive? I want to make sure I'm running on AHCI before I start installing other shit, so I'm not wasting my time if I fuck it up again.
 
Last edited:
This is turning into a nightmare..

Recent update: I tried http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922976 that reg fix to enable AHCI through Win7.

Reboot
Set SATA to AHCI
Go to boot up and.......INVALID SYSTEM DISK
Change SATA back to IDE in BIOS
Go to boot up and........INVALID SYSTEM DISK

So I'm back to reinstalling again I guess.
I've about come to the conclusion that I'm just not going to be able to run this SSD in AHCI mode, which means I miss out on TRIM.

Unless anyone else has a new idea? This is just unreal, and I'm honestly confused still as to what the F'in problem is. Been working on this for about 12 hours today and I've gotten nowhere at all.
 
Delete the partition again.
Disconnect the other (Vista) drive.
Enable AHCI.
Install AFTER having enabled AHCI.
 
What exactly are the bios options you are being given? In my bios (gigabyte p55 board) there are three options for turning on ACHI mode.
The first in the list is to run in IDE mode or ACHI mode.
Next is the individual controller options to enable ACHI. I have two SATA controllers, thus an option for both.
Make sure you haven't missed a setting somewhere.

Also, this thread kinda scares me because I intend to get an SSD in the near future and I have installed the chipset drivers provided by Gigabyte. Just so happens that both SATA controllers are Intel and now they have an Intel driver. :(

Intel(R) 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset Family 2 port Serial ATA Storage Controller - 3B26
Intel(R) 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset Family 4 port Serial ATA Storage Controller - 3B20
Should I remove these drivers before I attempt to install an SSD, or is this a problem for X58 chipset alone?
 
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