# Unable to install windows 10 to new SSD



## Dylan20002 (Oct 11, 2019)

I'll try give the full, clear story so everything gets covered. I got a new ssd the other day (critical mx500 500gb ssd) for my amd gigabyte A320M-S2H motherboard. Since my old hdd is 512 sectors and the new ssd is 4096 sectors I was unable to clone the data from my hdd to my ssd, so I opted to simply reinstall windows 10 on the ssd and use the hdd as backup storage with my old files on it. I got the windows 10 install tool on a formatted USB and then unplugged my hdd and left my ssd where it was. Following a tutorial online, I selected the correct drive partition, waited for the install to finish and had my pc restart. At first it brought me to the start of the windows 10 install again, which I learned you had to unplug your USB when restarting to avoid this and have it boot from the ssd instead. But after doing that the second time it just brought me to a screen that says 'reboot and select proper boot device after installing new hard drive'. I heard that I needed to prioritize the ssd in the right order as coming first, but it's already listed as first when I took out the usb, and even if I leave it in and set the ssd as first and usb second it just goes to the beginning of the windows install process like before. I've also tried formatting the ssd in the partition menu and tried the repair option in the troubleshoot menu. I also tried switching the cables to my ssd in my pc just to be sure, but still no difference. I'm not a total expert with PCs so I'd really appreciate it to try and keep things simple with explanations if possible. And of course any help at all I'm grateful for. Any questions, feel free to ask away.


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

Dylan20002 said:


> Following a tutorial online, I selected the correct drive partition, waited for the install to finish and had my pc restart.


There should be nothing on the drive when you install. Did you attempt to partition or format the ssd prior to attempting the install?


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## Dylan20002 (Oct 11, 2019)

I assumed formatting and partitioning via the drive select menu during the windows install would work the same. Should I try plugging in my old hard drive to access windows and then format and partition the ssd from there?


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

No. Make the bootable usb using the media creation tool. If you have already done this, that is fine.
Have just the ssd drive connected to the first sata port. Some boards call this sata0 and some sata1.
Boot with the install usb. Delete ALL partitions on the drive during the install. Let setup partition and format as it sees necessary.
Note you do not have to change any boot order. Gigabyte boards have a quick boot menu that you access by hitting the F12 key during POST. Select your usb install as the boot drive and setup starts.


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## Dylan20002 (Oct 11, 2019)

Thanks, I'll give that a try when I'm free later on and get back to you on how it went.


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

BTW an install goes much easier IF you have all of the drivers, utilities you normally use, etc all in one place. Here is a link to the support page for your board;
https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GA-A320M-S2H-rev-1x/support#dl
Download the chipset, lan, sound, and any of the utilities ie charging app, etc. Place these on another flash drive, external, whatever. This way you have all your drivers, etc in one place AND the install goes much quicker.


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## Dylan20002 (Oct 11, 2019)

I unfortunately don't have a spare free USB on me at the moment. I'll see what I can do though. Thanks again


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## Dylan20002 (Oct 11, 2019)

In order from left to right is what I did. Thought pictures would make things easier. This is what's been happening and I'm hoping what I did is along the lines of what you described. If not let me know. Also you asked if my ssd is the the only drive plugged in to which it is since I unplugged my hdd.


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## Couriant (Mar 26, 2002)

You can store files on the USB that you created the tool on. It doesn't affect it.

As to the problem itself... Check the boot order and make sure your drive is listed in it.

Also, in the Boot Menu (F12), if you used UEFI option to boot to the USB but your BIOS is set to use Legacy (or vice versa) then that would also cause this issue. To confirm, try changing the Boot Type to the other (so if it was on legacy, change to UEFI, or vice versa) and see if that helps.


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## Dylan20002 (Oct 11, 2019)

I don't think its the boot order since crjdriver said: "Note you do not have to change any boot order. Gigabyte boards have a quick boot menu that you access by hitting the F12 key during POST." And I've tried changing the boot order in bios before but usually it only shows my ssd as first to which I can't change it to anything else and it just brings up the reboot and select proper boot device... screen when I try booting from it. If you just meant to check the boot order to see if the ssd shows up there then it is showing up. I'll include a few more pictures below to show what my bios looks like so you can see for yourself what it looks like.


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## Dylan20002 (Oct 11, 2019)

In the 'BIOS' section in the pic I sent of the bios menu, I just tried changing the 'storage boot option control' from 'legacy only' to 'UEFI only' and tried booting via 'UEFI: flash, partition 1' in the boot menu and went through the same process as shown above in the installation pictures, but the same thing happened. Idk if that's what you meant but I gave it a try at least. If I'm wrong let me know.


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

I have been offline for a while [fighting with the internet and the internet won]
Your install pictures show a legacy type install with the three partitions on the drive. When you install in uefi mode, your first boot device will be windows boot mgr. 
Here is what I would do;
1 Set the bios to uefi mode or Auto [if used]
2 With only the ssd connected, boot the install usb
3 When the install windows appears, click on the repair your computer
4 I believe the next option is advanced then choose command prompt
5 When at the command prompt, type "diskpart" without quotes and hit enter
6 Type list disk
7 Note the number for your ssd. Type select disk 1 or whatever number was assigned
8 You should see disk 1 is the selected disk. Type clean and hit enter
9 When done, reboot and use the quick menu to select your usb install. Install windows

That was from memory so hopefully I did not miss a step.


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## Dylan20002 (Oct 11, 2019)

Awesome, I'll try that out and again let you know if my pc is being stubborn


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## Dylan20002 (Oct 11, 2019)

Before I do that I should also mention I did change the disk to gtp at one point using that method above, after selecting clean and typing convert gtp when trying to fix a problem in the drive select. I don't know what the drive was originally. It could've been gtp or it could've been mgr or maybe I'm wrong all together. I don't know if this is important or not but let me know if you don't mind. I'll do what you asked in the meantime


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

Good luck. I will be OFF for a while.


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## Couriant (Mar 26, 2002)

GPT is for UEFI. perhaps setting it to boot to UEFI (number one on CRJ's list) should take care of it if Windows was installed.


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## Dylan20002 (Oct 11, 2019)

Sorry for making things awkward but I went ahead and made a very short edited video on exactly what I did and compressed it to send here. Its just to make things less confusing and to show you exactly what I did. If I did anything wrong from what you said, would you be able to point out the time in the video and tell me exactly what to do to fix it. If its something that's not in the video then let me know also. If I did all of this correctly and theres more to do after, make sure to fill me in on that too. Sorry for the quality too, you should just about be able to make out what is being shown on screen at certain parts so it should all be viable enough hopefully. I'll be sure to get back to you tomorrow on it


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## Dylan20002 (Oct 11, 2019)

Any updates on what to do next?


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

It is hard to see your video since it jumps around and shakes. It appears you are doing everything correctly however again it is difficult to see for sure.
Just had a thought; what bios are you running?


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## Dylan20002 (Oct 11, 2019)

Again sorry about the quality and choppiness of the video, I had to do my best to condense it so it was short enough to upload here. For bios version it says F1.

Just on a side note, I've obviously had to turn off and reset my pc a ton while trying to fix this problem. Will this effect my pc in future or damage it because I remember hearing that turning a pc off instantly instead of letting it boot down normally is bad for its health. I'm starting to cringe everytime I hit the power button because I feel like I'm shortening my pc's life span. It's late again so I'll get back to you tomorrow


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

You might try updating your bios to something like F31 or similar. IF you decide to do this task, be sure you read and fully understand the flashing procedure. While a bios flash is not difficult, an incorrect flash can render your board unbootable ie junk.
The only way I ever update a bios on a gigabyte board is by using QFlash which is build into the bios. IMO using a windows based flashing program is just adding an extra layer of complexity to the task.


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## Dylan20002 (Oct 11, 2019)

Damn, I was really hoping I could avoid doing a bios update for the reason you mentioned above. I'll try a bios update so and see how that goes. Just on what I said above about having to constantly turn my pc on and off, will doing this effect my pc?


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## Dylan20002 (Oct 11, 2019)

Actually before I do a bios update, are you sure there is nothing else I could try just to be safe? I'm going off for the night now but I'll be back tomorrow.


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

Just like many things the more often you cycle something the faster you wear it out. If you turn a light bulb ON and OFF constantly, it will not last as long as it would if you just left it ON all of the time.


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## Dylan20002 (Oct 11, 2019)

I understand, just trying to gauge how damaging to the pc it might be


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## Dylan20002 (Oct 11, 2019)

I just had a quick look online and saw that updating the bios isn't actually necessary to get your ssd working. If I'm wrong could you explain how updating the bios could potentially fix the problem. It's just that updating the bios is literally my last resort given how risky it can be if something goes wrong and I haven't the money currently to afford a new motherboard. Is there anything else you could suggest I try doing or is updating the bios the only option?


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

Not really. You have tried just about everything else. Up to you if you want to continue to attempt to install with your ssd.


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## Dylan20002 (Oct 11, 2019)

Just to be sure, it couldn't be my USB that's the problem or something within my pc. Or the fact that the ssd is set to gpt or something? The USB I'm using isn't exactly a high quality USB but I've been able to load windows install on It so I assumed it was fine.


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

It _could_ be a lot of things however it is difficult to diagnose something like this without having the system in front of me. 
Since you have tried most things, the best advise would be to take it to a shop. By shop I mean just that, a real shop that does builds, installs networks, etc NOT a chain store.


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## Dylan20002 (Oct 11, 2019)

Ya that's fair. I'll probably send it in if all else fails, but just for now I'd like to save money and try fix it myself. I just booted up my old hdd and had gotten the same error as before with the ssd when booting but after selecting windows boot manager instead of the hdd from the bios, it loaded up fine. There isn't a windows boot manager option in the bios when loading the ssd, should that be a thing? It only seems to work with windows boot manager

Edit. I just realised it can only be added by installing windows first. My apologies


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

Windows boot mfg is used when installing in uefi/gpt mode.


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## Dylan20002 (Oct 11, 2019)

Understood. I'm going to try 1 or 2 more things and if they don't work then I'll update the bios


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

Most likely either the motherboard bios does not like the firmware on the ssd OR the firmware on the ssd does not like the motherboard bios. One or the other.


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## Dylan20002 (Oct 11, 2019)

And do you think updating the bios will solve this? As in has that worked for people before? Just curious


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

No one can give you a definitive answer. There have been a LOT of improved AGESA and there were a lot of problems with the first gen ryzen boards that were addressed with MANY bios updates. 
Either flash the bios or not; up to you.


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## Dylan20002 (Oct 11, 2019)

Alright I'll do a bios update later after I try this one last thing. I was just wondering is all whether it was worth doing since my pc is pretty expensive and I'd hate to bust it up while trying to fix a simple problem. Thanks for your advice anyway.


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## Dylan20002 (Oct 11, 2019)

So unfortunately I got in contact with a pc technician and after describing everything to him he came to the conclusion that the ssd flash was damaged meaning I'll have to get a replacement or refund. I suppose I got some answer in the end and I tried just about everything so there's not much more I could have done. I never bothered doing a bios update in the end because I was just too put off by the risk of it going wrong and I had my doubts of it working anyway. Still thanks for helping out, I really appreciate it.


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## LinxSupport (May 28, 2020)

Just to make sure, before you close out this thread. I just want to confirm some things from the previously mentioned recommendations.

When you set your BIOS to UEFI boot you need to boot from your USB using the EFI/GPT option to prevent Windows installing as Legacy (which honestly, I believe is backwards compatible but to eliminate points of error)
You have included your chipset driver and your SSD driver (if one exists) to be installed during your Windows install
To reiterate what was previously mentioned, it can be included in the same USB as your Windows Install Media in its own Folder. If you make your own folder, adding files changes nothing, removing install files can cause problems
When prompted for drivers, simply direct it to the folder where ther are stored, allow it to search the folder and select the one you wish to install.

Confirm that your installation media is not corrupt. Reuse the Windows Media Creation Tool to create your USB.
Beware, if you already have your drivers on the USB, be sure to back them up as they will be deleted when attempting to recreate it.


This is simply a restatement of the aforementioned advice to ensure you properly understaood the advice. I have not done research at all on your SSD, however I have never heard of *Critical* as a brand, I have heard of *Crucial*. I have some suspision the drive you purchased may be a chinese rebrand of a smaller drive with software hacks to make it appear as a 500GB drive. I am going to look up your part number to see if that may be the case. In the mean time, if you would please confirm that you have tried the above as it is stated.


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## Dylan20002 (Oct 11, 2019)

Oh sorry I meant 'Crucial' not critical. I have no idea why but for some reason I keep calling it critical like a dope... That's my fault now. Its not a knock off anyway, it's definitely the official brand just to get that out of the way. I suppose I can try those things you mentioned as a final attempt but I've already ordered a refund so I'll try to get it done before I ship it. If I get it working I'll consider keeping it


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## Dylan20002 (Oct 11, 2019)

Just as a mention because I don't know if this is important or not, but when I was attempting to fix the ssd I tried to update the firmware and found it to fail every time, I have no idea why it was doing it since there was a newer version of the ssd out but the official crucial software used for updating their ssd's kept giving me an error. Does this say something about the ssd?


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## Dylan20002 (Oct 11, 2019)

If I were to guess, I would say that I somehow corrupt the ssd while tinkering with it before or when installing windows, since I had it formatted a bunch of times before installing it and during the windows install, I had another error in the drive select/partition select menu where it gave me the message along the lines of "windows cannot be installed to this disk. The disk is of gtp partition style." This prevented me from progressing the install so I fixed it in the command prompt via disk part. There was also another error on the same menu that occurred after the gpt problem and it was something to do with not being able to boot or something with dual booting. I think in trying to fix these problems in command prompt I may have messed up the ssd because i remember following an incorrect tutorial and leaving half way after changing a bunch of stuff to do with the ssd. I eventually got passed these by resetting to defaults in the bios and I had to do that every time I attempted reinstalling windows, otherwise those errors would spring back up. Not sure if this shines light on anything but that's what happened on my end.


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## LinxSupport (May 28, 2020)

Yeah, you probably just have a bad SSD. As far as what you did with DiskPart, unless you unplugged it or cancelled processes while they were running I highly doubt you did any meaningful damage to the drive, and if you did it all goes back to it being bad to begin with.
I have formatted HDD, SSD, USB, NVMe, and SD cards many times, partially and in whole, in quick succession and with months in between, and have NEVER had a single device fail or become permanently corrupt from it. They are pretty robust devices, especially with emphasis on SSD and NVMe drives.
You probably just got a bad batch. But if you want a decent drive for about the same money, I have personally gotten 2 years out of this Sandisk drive, and I only replaced it from need for more storage. It is still kicking on a new laptop.
Milage may vary


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## Dylan20002 (Oct 11, 2019)

I guess it can happen, and of course it ended up happening to me and probably took a year off my PCs life from all the damn tinkering and switching off and on I did to try and fix it. At least I can get a refund on the ssd and just buy a new one. I'll take your advice as well and have a look at that ssd you recommended. Thanks for the help anyway.


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

For ssd either intel or samsung; both are bulletproof. For a nvme, I use either samsung or WD black. I have two samsung 850s that are probably at least 4yr old and still running fine. The samsung software that you install with a samsung drive is excellent.


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## LinxSupport (May 28, 2020)

No problem, but again, I *HIGHLY* doubt you have done any meaningful damage by doing anything you have done. 
I am guessing this is your first computer and you are getting all your data online. There is a big difference in the technical advice and precautions you read about and how you PC will ACTUALLY work. Take them as guidelines, respect them, but find where they apply.
I promise you, as you use your build, you will find things you would like to change to make it better. In a few years, it might not even be the same computer at all.
Enjoy it, you built it. Make it yours. But listen to it, it will tell you when there is something wrong. Until that happens though, it is fine.


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## Dylan20002 (Oct 11, 2019)

I've heard Samsung are good alright but price is typically a bit higher. I might as well just save up for one of them and get my moneys worth.


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## Dylan20002 (Oct 11, 2019)

Thanks for telling me that. I am indeed sorta new to computers and this is indeed somewhat my first build (I say somewhat because I had it pre-built but started adding parts to it to improve it like ram, gpu, cpu etc.) I was always afraid of building my own pc originally, as to build a decent computer your literally in charge of buying and installing components that alone (depending on the quality and type of component) could cost you well over the price of a new console or computer itself, and that could be for just one part. Accidentally breaking or having to spend what feels like years troubleshooting something that expensive and valuable would be a real pain. And PCs can be incredibly complex too. However owning a good PC has about a million advantages to it which is why its worth getting invested in them, especially if you want something good for gaming. I'm all for consoles don't get me wrong, I've a whole bunch of them that I've collected over the years, but at the end of the day you could probably write a bibles length book on the advantages a pc has over a console.


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## Dylan20002 (Oct 11, 2019)

OK this is a bit of an emergency, nevermind the ssd since I'm returning it. For whatever reason though my hdd that I've been using without problem has suddenly (only until a few hours ago) started having the same boot error as with the ssd. The problem is that there is no boot manager option in the bios anymore, I can only boot from the hdd which causes the boot error. What do I do?


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## LinxSupport (May 28, 2020)

Since your old BIOS settings were set to *Legacy Boot Only* I am willing to be that your *HDD *is formatted to use *MBR*. Make sure you set it back to *Legacy Boot Only *and let me know what happens.


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## Dylan20002 (Oct 11, 2019)

Alright I fixed the problem somehow. I solved it by accidentally selecting the blank option in the boot menu. This for some reason booted me into windows like normal and If I select disable as the boot priority it continues to do so. I had originally set settings to default like they were before but that didn't work. Why did this happen do you know?


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## Dylan20002 (Oct 11, 2019)

The thing is, is that it was working like normal for a while without me doing anything different, but for some reason it just randomly upped and decided to get rid of windows boot manager.


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## Dylan20002 (Oct 11, 2019)

Alright its back to normal now for some reason? No need to worry. Don't know why it happened though


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## Dylan20002 (Oct 11, 2019)

Just as quick update to answer my problem. I have a new ssd up and running perfectly. Had no trouble with this one at all. Installed properly as soon as I set it up. I guess my problem was a faulty drive unfortunately. At least now everythings working. Thanks to anyone who helped out!


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