Windows cannot be installed to this disk

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When I try to install Windows 7 to a Dell Optiplex 755 computer I get the message from the Win7 installer:
[INDENT]Windows cannot be installed to this disk (Show Details)[/INDENT]

I can install Windows XP and Linux Mint 17.1, whats wrong with Windows 7?

When I click on Show Details, I get the message:
[INDENT]Windows cannot be installed to this disk. This computer’s hardware may not support booting to this disk. Ensure that the disks controller is enabled in the computer’s BIOS menu.[/INDENT]

When I create a partition I get the message:
Windows cannot be installed to Disk 0 Partition 1. (Show Details)

With the same message as above when I click on Show Details.

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Have you formatted the drive and set the controller to AHCI?

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Have you formatted the drive

Have you formatted it to NTFS??

IMHO, AHCI isn’t necessary (though it may be a good thing for an SSD).

Zig

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Have you formatted the drive and set the controller to AHCI?

I have used Derick’s Boot and Nuke to delete everything, and then I have created partitions and formatted them.

I have checked the BIOS, and the controller is set to RAID/AHCI.

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Delete the partitions and try again without creating anything. You can use one of the free partition managers to shuffle partitions later.

cheers, Paul

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PaulT, if controller has been set to RAID, what does that mean for OP? In earlier days, I understood RAID to be striping bytes [and therefore files] onto two or more hard-drives.

"Take care of thy backups and thy restores shall take care of thee." Ben Franklin, revisted

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RAID/AHCI just means the interface is AHCI and RAID is available, should you choose to use it.

cheers, Paul

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When I got to the select partitions page for the WD drive, there were 5 partitions, and all of them had the

Windows cannot be installed to this disk (Show Details)

message.

I deleted all the partitions, and created a new one, and clicked on refresh.

The message disappeared, and Windows 7 is now installing.

I would still like to know why Windows 7 refused to install on a hard drive that installed Windows XP and Linux Mint 17.1 without a problem.

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I checked the Hard Drive. it was a Maxtor, so I ran the Sea Tools Long test on it, and it passed. Then I found this on Tom’s Hardware

at the screen where it ask you to choose which drive to install Windows on, press Shift+F10 and a DOS window should open

type: diskpart
type: list disk (you should see only Disk0)
type: sel disk 0
type: clean

close the DOS window

click on Refresh, select the disk that is listed, and click Next

It didn’t work.

I have installed a WD drive, and will try that.

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Windows was just being fussy about having 5 partitions – I would complain too, that’s way too many.

cheers, Paul

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Windows was just being fussy about having 5 partitions – I would complain too, that’s way too many.

cheers, Paul

Windows was not complaining about the partition count. After I deleted the partitions, which I did because I didn’t want them, not because I thought they were the problem, and created a new partition, I still had the message until I clicked on Refresh.

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PaulT, would the above Prescott OPerations depend upon which partition was Active & Primary? I mean before he deleted all but one partition.

"Take care of thy backups and thy restores shall take care of thee." Ben Franklin, revisted

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Paul,

I don’t think windows was complaining about the partition count as my current setup has 6 partitions on the boot drive:
38874-partitions
Of course it is a GPT disk and Not MBR which of course would not like more than 4 Primary partitions. Maybe when the OP setup the disk none of the partitions were set to Active?

I wish we had more information about the created partitions to use in diagnosing the problem but since OP now has the install working I guess that is a moot point. :cheers:

May the Forces of good computing be with you!

RG

PowerShell & VBA Rule!
Computer Specs

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Paul,

I don’t think windows was complaining about the partition count as my current setup has 6 partitions on the boot drive:
38874-partitions
Of course it is a GPT disk and Not MBR which of course would not like more than 4 Primary partitions. Maybe when the OP setup the disk none of the partitions were set to Active?

I wish we had more information about the created partitions to use in diagnosing the problem but since OP now has the install working I guess that is a moot point. :cheers:

Since on the original Maxtor drive, I not only deleted the partitions, but used Derick’s Boot and Nuke to erase all traces of them, before creating a new one, I don’t think that anything about the partitions was the problem.

I’m just glad that the problem, whatever it is, is in the Maxtor drive, and not in the computer.

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Since on the original Maxtor drive, I not only deleted the partitions, but used Derick’s Boot and Nuke to erase all traces of them, before creating a new one, I don’t think that anything about the partitions was the problem.

it’s Darik’s Boot and Nuke

Eliminate spare time: start programming PowerShell

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Set BIOS to AHCI and reboot with NO USB devices connected to computer, install form DVD only. This should work. A USB device being present can cause this problem.

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I thinks it’s because you were creating and deleting partitions instead of letting Windows install do it.

cheers, Paul

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I thinks it’s because you were creating and deleting partitions instead of letting Windows install do it…

Sorry Paul, don’t think it’s quite that easy.

Past few months have seen several Maxtor 250GB HDDs that were returning similar errors. Copy partitions to new HDD then try again usually works, maybe need to run Windows Startup Repair from DVD.

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Happy to be wrong.

cheers, Paul

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