[SOLVED] Issue installing Windows on SSD

[igglez]

Spent 10+ hours on this and could do with help. I've searched through tons of posts on google of people seemingly having the same issue but none get to the answer I'm looking for.

I'm trying to install windows onto an SSD. I've created a bootable EUFI USB (with Rufus), my BIOS recognises this and shows the USB twice in boot options (EUFI USB and USB), however it doesn't show my SSD as EUFI, only legacy.

If I set EUFI only I can't see my SSD in BIOS (windows installer still see's the disk). So even after installing windows, it wont boot from the disk. If i set it to legacy and UEFI, or just legacy, it wont boot as it says no bootable media.

I've tried installing as legacy but windows doesn't let me do that on the installer, it only lets me if I set the drive to GPT for EUFI via cmd diskpart.

I've updated BIOS to the latest version.

I've changed the AHCI options.

Feels like somehow windows is missing something off the drive, but when I've checked the files windows created on there everything seems to be in order.

 

[Colif]

Is this win 10?
Why do you want to install as legacy?
Why not install as UEFI if that is all it lets you do?
what is on the ssd now? if its blank it shouldn't show in boot order yet

Did you set up user accounts on this install? just curious if it got past the 1st restart and isn't just half installed. hence it won't work.

What motherboard is this?

 

[igglez]

yes win 10.
I don't, I was just seeing if that option worked.
I did, but the drive doesn't show after the initial installation in BIOS to boot from.
Nothing on SSD, was formatted.

No user accounts, as once it does the first install, it doesn't see the drive anymore (other than on legacy which it wont boot from).

its GA-Z97X-Gaming 3

 

[Colif]

No user accounts, as once it does the first install, it doesn't see the drive anymore (other than on legacy which it wont boot from).

i thought that was the problem.
It can't see the UEFI install as its not finished, its sometime after the 1st restart that it sets the boot partition on the ssd. I found out that when someone put another hdd into PC mid install and win 10 chose that hdd as boot location instead. We didn't know it could do that.

So is ssd in boot order?
as it should be only thing if it is, not USB. you don't want anything else in here.

your bios has an option called Boot Override
Allows you to select a device to boot immediately. Press <Enter> on the device you select and select Yes to confirm. Your system will restart automatically and boot from that device. )Page 60 of manual - https://download1.gigabyte.com/Files/Manual/mb_manual_ga-z97x-gaming3_e.pdf
it is on the save & exit screen

What you should do is start pc with USB in Slot
go into bios and go to save & exit tab
choose boot override
pick USB from list
PC will restart and use USB this one time, the next start it should use the SSD and continue install

 

[igglez]

I resolved this, such a strange fix too.

I noticed my drive was always disk 1 or 2 (if USB was connected) in diskpart, yet my primary on my other computer is 0. Wasn't sure how to change it to disk 0 without disk management. changing SATA ports made no difference. So I installed another OS using ISO & Rufus - Ubuntu. During the install it asks you to make some changes to the drive, and it changed it to drive 0. After this my BIOS could recognise the OS.

So then I cleaned and converted the drive with diskpart > set drive 0 > clean > convert GPT. It retained the drive as 0. I installed Windows and it recognised the EUFI partition/windows OS this time.

I don't know if its a limitation of this mobo only being able to see windows OS when a drive is set to 0, I've never run into this before honestly.