Urgent help - Windows re-install fail partition error

[Sheza]

Hello,*

I'n going to explain every single detail that I can, to minimise questions and maximise answers, since I actually freaked the hell out after getting this issue, and I'd rather not have a heart attack aged 16.

Disable usb keyboard thing

My specs are in my signature. I installed Windows 7 on this system, as the processor and mobo *parts were brand new, without problems.

I wanted to try out Windows 8, so I format my SSD and try to install. I'll say it right here - it doesn't make a difference whether its Windows 7 or 8, I tried both.

I get a message similar to this when I try to install on the formatted partition "we could not find or create any partitions on this disk, for more information see the set up logs".*

I read all over the internet about this issue, and here is a lost of what I have tried, with no success, to date:

Using advanced set up tools to format disk using command line.
Removing my external USB HDD (lots of people with this problem reported a fix after removing USB HDD or an SD card)
Tried to disable SMART but I couldn't find it in the BIOS settings.

Things I could still try:

Disable USB keyboard support, unplug USB keyboard and mouse and use a PS2 keyboard.
Remove second disk (a normal HDD) so there is just the SSD plugged in

So to recap, all of a sudden I cannot install Windows. I kick myself a million times over for wanting to try out Windows 8, but surely if this issue is replicated on Windows 7 install too, then I would have found out just the same gut wrenching error message on my eventual Windows fresh install which is usually every 6 months.

So why, despite the BIOS clearly seeing my SSD, and my being able to format it, does Windows refuse to install to it? Is my SSD broken, or is my motherboard to blame?

I keep using the sentence "worst comes to the worst, you could always buy a new PC" to calm me down, but I know that isn't true. Everyone always lists formatting as a final solution to any problem, so imagine my freak out when even that fails to work.

Thanks for your time and help. Mini-specs below just in case my signature is outdated (written this on my iPhone)
MSI Z77A GD65 Mobo
Intel Core i7 3770K
8GB RAM
Crucial C300 realssd 128GB
Samsung 1.5TB SSD

 

[andrewmchugh]

Go back to the first screen and on terminal do format c: /fs:NTFS ... did you just to format c: the first time?

 

[airdeano]

is this the consumer preview or the developers preview?
it wasn't mentioned, but verify you are in AHCI mode not RAID or IDE.
any card readers plugged into the USB ports?

airdeano

 

[Sheza]

Thanks for your replies. When I did the disc clean and stuff, I followed a MS technet article to the letter, where it said the diskpart auto applies a drive letter.

Anyway I have since removed my HDD so that my SSD is the only disk plugged i (not the case when I installed it on this new hardware the first time!) and am pleased to report tht Windows 7 has installed.

I will now wait until October to get Windows 8

 

[ChrisGlobe]

Sounds like the SSD wasn't set up in AHCI, I would have done that before you installed Windows...

 

[yassarikhan786]

Yeah sometimes when you have both an SSD and HDD plugged it you can run into issues. I'm not exactly sure why the issues occur, but when I installed Win7 on my SSD my HDD was unplugged.

Glad you got the issue sorted

 

[Sheza]

Sounds like the SSD wasn't set up in AHCI, I would have done that before you installed Windows...

Well this has been nagging me since I upgraded my motherboard.

According to the instructions, on on-board SATA 3 controller operates in the first few ports (either 1 &2 or 1 through to 4, can't remember) so naturally I plug my SSD into Slot 1. (And HDD into Slot 2)

The motherboard reported to me the first time I booted with the SSD, that the integrated mode is AHCI.
So naturally I thought the mobo was awesome ad adapting itself.

However, every time I boot up, I get a screen from the ASMedia SATA controller, which is the external one. It lists both the disks I have connected. Why? It adds to my boot time :/
And when I go to the mobo options, I see that the ASMedia controller reports it is in IDE mode.
Worse still, I went to disable the controller so it would stop displaying the stuff at start-up, and Windows didn't boot.

So why the heck is this ASMedia thing, in IDE mode no less, being displayed and required if I haven't plugged anything into the ports on which it operates?

 

[ChrisGlobe]

The GD65 has 8 SATA ports, four white, four black.

The two white ones nearest the corner of the board are SATA 3Gb/s on the ASMedia controller, the four black ones are SATA 3Gb/s on the Intel controller and then on the far right, furthest from the corner of the board and next to the USB3 header are the two SATA 6Gb/s on the Intel controller.

Make sure your drives are in the SATA 6Gb/s ports on the Intel controller, and that that is in AHCI mode

 

[Sheza]

The GD65 has 8 SATA ports, four white, four black.

The two white ones nearest the corner of the board are SATA 3Gb/s on the ASMedia controller, the four black ones are SATA 3Gb/s on the Intel controller and then on the far right, furthest from the corner of the board and next to the USB3 header are the two SATA 6Gb/s on the Intel controller.

Make sure your drives are in the SATA 6Gb/s ports on the Intel controller, and that that is in AHCI mode

So the Intel 6Gbps ones are on the far right and they are white?

I can see the text under it(because, doh, nothing is plugged into it) and it has the label "SATA1_2"

Also the ones on the nearest side to the corner must be 6Gbps since the ASMedia reported my SSD as being in SATA 3 mode, plus that's what it says in the manual "SATA 1~2 7~8".

Either way it seems I have in fact plugged in to the wrong one, despite checking several times. Perhaps I misread the manual and just assumed it worked on a left-right 1-8 basis.

So if I plug it into the Intel controller, that's set as AHCI, what happens? Don't my Windows files get corrupted?

 

[ChrisGlobe]

Ah, yes, right hand side is Intel 6Gb/s, I thought the ASMedia ports were SATA 3Gb/s, but you are correct, the Intel ports will give you a better speed though

I wonder if it was a case of drivers for the ASMedia ports not being installed correctly when you wanted to install Windows, hence the problems there.

It won't corrupt the OS, it'll simply crash and reboot. Before you go changing ports, in Windows...

1. Open Regedit
2. Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE -> SYSTEM -> CurrentControlset -> Services
3. Open msahci
4. Click "Start" and go to Modify
5. In the value Data field enter "0" and click "ok"
6. Exit Regedit

From there, shut down, unplug drives and put in to Intel 6Gb/s ports and boot

 

[Sheza]

I've always wanted an on-board controller (I had to use an external PCI-E one when I first got my SSD, and that gave worse speed than on-board SATA 2) so to think I've been running the non-Intel one for 4 months without realising it.... ugh!

What would happen if I didn't do that bit in the registry? Would I have to switch back to the controller and use IDE (or just use IDE) until I did do that bit? Just so I know what damage I've avoided doing, because I actually considered changing something around last month and decided to play it safe.

 

[ChrisGlobe]

If you installed in IDE, then changed to AHCI (using the ASMedia or Intel ports) then you wouldn't have been able to get in to Windows until you changed it back, no damage as such, just lots of annoyance whilst you try and work out what's wrong

You can change from ASMedia to Intel and still use IDE, but you'd lose TRIM (wear levelling and auto-garbage collection; extends SSD life).

I'd say make the changes

 

[Sheza]

Ugh I've been running without TRIM for 4 months, and I know the TRIM command in CMD is only Windows-based but it still gave me false hope :/

Thanks for your help, I'll be changing it later today. Maybe I'll notice the speed boost? Haha. My SSD is quite an old generation one.

 

[ChrisGlobe]

Should be a bit of a difference, yeah Also, once you format the SSD you're back to square one when it comes to TRIM and Garbage Collection, you should be able to go indefinitely if you format it regularly, but of course that's not really useful!

Let us know how it goes

 

[andrewmchugh]

Thanks for your replies. When I did the disc clean and stuff, I followed a MS technet article to the letter, where it said the diskpart auto applies a drive letter.

Anyway I have since removed my HDD so that my SSD is the only disk plugged i (not the case when I installed it on this new hardware the first time!) and am pleased to report tht Windows 7 has installed.

I will now wait until October to get Windows 8

Good good. I get windows 8 next week. I'll try it... can't say I will use it. I only use windows for games and visual studio otherwise linux!

 

[Sheza]

Hi,

The entries "msahci" and "pciide" already have a Start value of 0 - I'm assuming from a bit of Googling that I need to change the Start value of "iaStorV" instead (which is currently 3) am I right?

Also, I havem't installed any of the Intel stuff like RST or Rapid boot or w/e it's called, I can do that after I switch it over, right?

Thanks.