Windows 8 installation "Missing media driver" problem

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fterh

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Jul 22, 2013
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I used Rufus to create a bootable USB flash drive (Sandisk Extreme USB 3) (I tried GPT and MBR formats), but I get thrown this message when installing Windows 8 from a USB 3 port:

A media driver your computer needs is missing. This could be a DVD, USB or Hard disk driver. If you have a CD, DVD, or USB flash drive with the driver on it, please insert it now.

Note: If the installation media for Windows is in the DVD drive or on a USB drive, you can safely remove it for this step.

I read that this happens if you inatall from a USB 3 port, so I tried changing to a USB 2 port - same thing.

I also reformatted and recreated the flash drive to ensure it wasn't a case of data corruption.

Then I tried not using Rufus, and using Disk Management instead. Create new volume, NTFS, then mark as active, and copy the ISO file contents over. This time, it worked - even though I'm installing from a USB 3 port.

So what exactly caused the problem in the first place? From the above it seems like formatting and creating a bootable flash drive using Rufus is the cause. Yet this does not correspond to the error message which implies that Windows has problems reading the data from the drive.

And isn't it supposed to be impossible to install via a USB 3 without loading the drivers? So how come I was able to do so?
 
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The Windows 8 installation media includes USB 3.0 drivers. USB installation media created using alternative utilities, including the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool, produce a boot configuration which is incompatible with USB 3.0.

Media produced using the Install Windows 8 button on the page Upgrade to Windows 8 with only a product key will also work with USB 3.0, as will media created with the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (Windows ADK) and the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) using Windows PE 4.0 or newer.
 
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Is there a way to install the drivers during an installation using a USB created with the Windows 8 USB/DVD Download Tool?

I am also guessing that installing via a DVD circumvents this issue?
 
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Start by unplugging un-needed hardware, expansion cards/card readers/DVD drives. I had the same problem and I unplugged a SATA II card and it worked great afte that (my optical drive was plugged into it, I just moved the optical drive to the MB).
 
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If you are asking whether the Install Windows 8 button here on the Upgrade to Windows 8 with only a product key page creates media compatible with USB 3.0, the answer is yes.

There is no Windows 8 USB/DVD Download Tool, only one for Windows 7, and the media it creates does not support boot from USB 3.0.

Another alternative is to manually create the media, follow the steps listed in Create a Bootable USB Flash Drive to create an active partition, then manually copy and paste the files from the ISO into this partition. Because this uses the ISO native files to boot, it is identical to using the DVD, which yes, also supports USB 3.0 during installation.

For reference, the commands are:

Code: 
diskpart
list disk
select disk <x>
clean
create part pri
select part 1
format fs=ntfs quick
active
exit
List disk lists your system's current disks to allow you to discover the drive number or letter of your flash drive. This number or letter should be used in place of <x> in the following step. UEFI systems require a disk formatted in FAT32, so in the format step use fs=fat32 rather than NTFS if your system is UEFI.
 
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Hi,

can you explain better what you really did? You say that you simply copied the iso file to the usb pen? Did it works?

Thanks
 
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He essentially does the same steps as the instructions that I outlined here:


Only he did these steps with the Disk Management console. He removed all partitions from the disk, created a single partition formatted NTFS, marked it as active, then copied the entire contents of the ISO to that partition.
 
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I had the same problem and spent half a day trying to get Windows 8.1 installed using a USB thumb drive. It would load Windows 8.1 setup then inevitably reach the same error every time: the "Load Driver" titled window that stated "Missing Media Driver". I believe that I could've gotten it to work through changing a particular BIOS settings to "legacy" mode is I found out later in other forums (apologize I don't remember the specifics). But, I ended up simply burning the ISO to DVD, then when booting from DVD it worked perfectly! If you continue having the problem, the likely cause is a corrupt ISO file as stated by Microsoft here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2755139/
You can get fresh media installation here:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/create-reset-refresh-media
If it STILL doesn't work after the new ISO file with a freshly burned DVD then I would be scratching my head too; but hopefully my suggestions help.
 
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As WinOutreach2 said,
Another alternative is to manually create the media, follow the steps listed in Create a Bootable USB Flash Drive to create an active partition, then manually copy and paste the files from the ISO into this partition. Because this uses the ISO native files to boot, it is identical to using the DVD, which yes, also supports USB 3.0 during installation.

For reference, the commands are:

diskpart

list disk

select disk <x>

clean

create part pri

select part 1

format fs=ntfs quick

active

exit



List disk lists your system's current disks to allow you to discover the drive number or letter of your flash drive. This number or letter should be used in place of <x> in the following step. UEFI systems require a disk formatted in FAT32, so in the format step use fs=fat32 rather than NTFS if your system is UEFI.

Thank you very much it really works.. Thank you very much
 
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How did you do this? I can't find that in the Bios
 
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I know this sounds stupid, but it worked for me. Load the error screen, then click cancel and exit. Next unplug your usb and plug it into another port, then click install.
 
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This worked for me too, on a very new system. Windows is a stupid OS so therefore there is often no apparent logic in the solutions to the problems it creates, well done for finding that out :)
 
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I have fought this demon for 2 days trying to reinstall the OS after a RAID driver failed and broke my array. Created the media on 2 different USB3 flash drives using the media creation tool and got the same error. A friend of mine used one of the flash drives I created to install Windows 10 on his machine. But every time I tried to use them, I got this stupid "media driver missing" error.

Long story short, I plugged the drive into another port on the back of the motherboard and it worked flawlessly. Well played, Microsoft. Well played.
 
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On the HP Models in the Bios there is an option to set to auto, the function of the USB port from going directly to USB3.0. This function would not allow my USB stick to start the Windows 7 Install.
 
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