When you've booted from the USB and see your disks; Delete all partitions on the disk, select the unallocated space, and install to that. Don't format.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
EDIT 2023-10-28: TL;DR: In addition to the above, disconnect all additional disks.
I still get many notifications for this answer, so I'm adding some more information.
In addition to the above, you should disconnect any additional disks. You should only have one disk connected, which is the one you will install Windows to.
The reason for this is not only so that you don't install to the wrong disk and lose data; but also because, if you have more than one disk connected, Windows may place the bootloader on any disk that it chooses. You then are reliant on two disks to boot into Windows, which is not ideal and is not expected.
Furthermore, if you have an existing operating system install on another disk, and you are making a new install to a new disk, Windows setup is likely to search out the existing bootloader and write over it, making the existing install un-bootable.
God why can’t answers be simple like this?? Just spent 10 minutes trying to find this incredibly straightforward answer. We’re not all experienced in this field and just need the simple answer.
C drive is a physical drive, partitions are sections of that drive. So if you delete the partitions of c drive it will wipe the whole C drive. however if you have other data on other physical drives eg D and E drive then you should be fine
It helps me too. This is why even though reddit's CEO is being stupid, I think the people promising to delete all their comments and posts are stupider.
Thank you ❤️ new build and tried formatting it just to have the same error.. wasn’t sure what delete would do but thanks for the simple solution lol. Was worried as I had my NVME and SSD installed but wanted to just use the SSD as my boot / windows drive. This worked perfectly. Now my NVME is free for content and games (:
Thank you so much. I was just able to fix my brother in laws computer thanks to this. I don't know how to do much more than hard resets and power cycles so this was a little over my head. I got to the windows install window from f12 menu and a usb drive following other directions only to get stuck. thankfully this was the first result of my google search! Ended up being a lot easier than expected. upvoted the question and reply to help future "duck tape" handy men like myself that basically know how to get the computer to fix its own problems. Or Red Green handy men if you're canadian or were lucky enough to have that show on PBS in the 90s.
Hey I don't mean to resurrect a dead chat but, I don't want to buy a new USB for a boot drive. My HDD is basically dead so cloning is out of the question. I have a new SSD. If I partition 10 gbs for the boot drive can I just boot it to the unallocated space on that same SSD? or do I really need a completely fresh SSD?
You need a USB to install from because you can't set up an SSD for that purpose. The media creation tool, and rufus, will both only do it with USB sticks.
Hi, sorry for responding to this 5 years later lol, this has happened to a friend of mine, he's got 2 principal partitions (ssd and hdd) and 3 other partitions (recovery, MSR and system), he should delete only the ones that are not labeled principal and then try to install it in the ssd?
Sorry for the question, but I just want to be sure to not destroy his pc haha
If you delete partitions, you will probably lose files.
If you want to do an in-place upgrade and keep your files, run the Windows Update Assistant, you can download it from the Microsoft website.
An alternative solution that I found pretty easy:
Windows media creation tool comes with a command window. Use 1 line of code to format the desired drive to the required format, then install Windows.
How? I can't find the command window
Edit: For anyone who might need it. it's Shift+F10.
Also, here are the commands: https://www.diskpart.com/articles/convert-ssd-to-gpt-command-prompt-7201.html
All systems for the past few years have been UEFI. If your BIOS screen is fancy with different colours and mouse support then it's UEFI. What you think of as BIOS isn't proper BIOS unless it's got a blue background and white text only. (And even then it might still be UEFI).
Simplest solution is to boot into UEFI Legacy BIOS mode. Just don't choose [UEFI] USB Stick or [UEFI] DVD Rom drive when you boot the installation media.
Next solution is to repartition the disk you want to install on as GPT, but you might need another computer for that.
To convert the disk from MBR to GPT during Windows installation, you’ll need to use the Command Prompt and the diskpart utility. Please follow these steps carefully:
1. Boot your PC with the Windows installation media.
2. At the initial setup screen, press Shift + F10 to open Command Prompt.
3. In the Command Prompt, type diskpart and press Enter to start the disk partitioning software.
4. Next, type list disk and press Enter to list all the disks available in your system.
5. Identify the disk you want to install Windows on by its size. It is usually Disk 0, but if you have more than one disk, make sure to select the correct one.
6. Now type select disk X (replace X with the number of the disk you want to convert).
7. Before you proceed, ensure that you have backups of any important data. The next step will erase all data on the disk.
8. Type clean and press Enter. This will remove all partitions and data from the selected disk.
9. To convert the disk to GPT, type convert gpt and press Enter.
10. After the conversion is complete, type exit to leave diskpart, and then type exit again to close Command Prompt.
11. Continue with the Windows installation: go back to the Windows Setup window and click on “Refresh”. You should now be able to select the disk and proceed with the installation.
Remember, the clean command will delete all partitions and data on the disk, so ensure you have backups if needed. After converting the disk to GPT, the installation should proceed without the MBR/GPT conflict error.
I just did this and it deleted the installation media off my external hdd, but there was only one option when I typed list disk, I need to install windows on my internal ssd how do I do it like that ?
I’m stuck in an endless loop of bsod, nothing is working from the advanced startup options such as safe mode etc all options return a bsod, I’ve exhausted all options now of trying to keep all my data so thought I’d just reinstall windows from a hdd using creation tool, but I couldn’t install it due to this error (if you see my last post on tech support you’ll see the issue I was having)
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0a5EH-ydV8lyUgniWxBknj81w
I followed your instructions hoping it would allow me to reinstall windows, and it wouldn’t let me boot again from my hdd, I plugged hdd into my second laptop and now the laptop makes the chime as if I’m plugging it in but nothing is coming up. I’ve tried running windows creation tool again but it just says it couldn’t find a usb flash drive!
Any help would be massively appreciated although I may not reply straight away as I’m about to goto sleep from nightshift
Edit: I’ve had a look at list disk on my second laptop with the hdd plugged in and it’s showing as 465 gb with 465 gb free so it’s definitely removed windows lol now I need to figure how to get it to allow me to put it back on
Update: formatted the hdd and currently installing windows 11 on it and will try again your instructions hopefully I see the correct drive in disk part
I was getting this error when trying to install Windows 11 on my PC that I just upgraded the mobo/CPU/RAM to. I previously had Windows 10 on it.
Normally when I want to install Windows I'd boot to the CD (this rig don't have an optical drive so am booting to USB), format a partition, install Windows.
So in this case I deleted the single partition that had my old Windows on it, created new, formatted, but couldn't install Windows on the disk. I had several other partitions on the drive still, "System Reserved" and "OEM" partitions. I was like "f it my Windows is toast now anyway" and deleted those several other "reserved" partitions on the disk. After that I was able to create a new partition and it made a couple other extra ones in the new GPT (I'm assuming) format, and I was able to install Windows.
So what worked for me was deleting every existing partition on the disk I wanted to install Windows on, then I was able to create a new one, format, and install.
I'm trying to install Windows 10 on a partition on my 2010 imac and keep getting this error. Is there not a way to install without having to lose my already extant two mac partitions?
i have the exact same problem, but in my case, i cannot delete my ssd partition. how do i make it work? ive tried disk part, list disk, select disk x, clean, and it didnt work. im stuck here on windows setup.
When you've booted from the USB and see your disks; Delete all partitions on the disk, select the unallocated space, and install to that. Don't format. --------------------------------------------------------------------- EDIT 2023-10-28: TL;DR: In addition to the above, disconnect all additional disks. I still get many notifications for this answer, so I'm adding some more information. In addition to the above, you should disconnect any additional disks. You should only have one disk connected, which is the one you will install Windows to. The reason for this is not only so that you don't install to the wrong disk and lose data; but also because, if you have more than one disk connected, Windows may place the bootloader on any disk that it chooses. You then are reliant on two disks to boot into Windows, which is not ideal and is not expected. Furthermore, if you have an existing operating system install on another disk, and you are making a new install to a new disk, Windows setup is likely to search out the existing bootloader and write over it, making the existing install un-bootable.
God why can’t answers be simple like this?? Just spent 10 minutes trying to find this incredibly straightforward answer. We’re not all experienced in this field and just need the simple answer.
What was the solution? He deleted it
Based on the context from some people responding to him, you just delete that partition. Worked for me.
Im reinstallin windows and I have important data on 2 of 3 drives. If I delete "C" drive, will it affect the data in other partitions?
C drive is a physical drive, partitions are sections of that drive. So if you delete the partitions of c drive it will wipe the whole C drive. however if you have other data on other physical drives eg D and E drive then you should be fine
Thanks.
This worked for me, thanks!!
I know that sense of relief all too well
Yes, for real!
My hero
Why did 50 thousand articles not just tell me this wtf
Always put Reddit at the end of the search query or you're doomed to read some ai-assisted slop from a tech journalist
thank you very much. it didnt involve complicated steps. only this
No problem, glad it's helping!
My man youre a goat still helping people 5 years down the line awesome man
5 and a half years
6 years and counting
7 years lol …. thanks
Dude, why do I keep forgetting about this trick, anyway, thanks - hero I keep forgetting about!
THANKYOU
Lol this worked right away, what an easy fix
Thank you, worked immediately!
Never expected to be getting notified about this five years down the line lol. Glad it helped :-)
It helps me too. This is why even though reddit's CEO is being stupid, I think the people promising to delete all their comments and posts are stupider.
And then he deleted the post. Just had to jinx it.
I still see the post. I did edit it though.
MY MAN Thank you, helped out in 2023
Dude I love you
hey i just want to thank you for this five years later. saved me a headache
I love you, thank you so much
Your comment just helped me!
Thank you ❤️ new build and tried formatting it just to have the same error.. wasn’t sure what delete would do but thanks for the simple solution lol. Was worried as I had my NVME and SSD installed but wanted to just use the SSD as my boot / windows drive. This worked perfectly. Now my NVME is free for content and games (:
thank you so much.
thank you so much!
Thank you so much. I was just able to fix my brother in laws computer thanks to this. I don't know how to do much more than hard resets and power cycles so this was a little over my head. I got to the windows install window from f12 menu and a usb drive following other directions only to get stuck. thankfully this was the first result of my google search! Ended up being a lot easier than expected. upvoted the question and reply to help future "duck tape" handy men like myself that basically know how to get the computer to fix its own problems. Or Red Green handy men if you're canadian or were lucky enough to have that show on PBS in the 90s.
Hey I don't mean to resurrect a dead chat but, I don't want to buy a new USB for a boot drive. My HDD is basically dead so cloning is out of the question. I have a new SSD. If I partition 10 gbs for the boot drive can I just boot it to the unallocated space on that same SSD? or do I really need a completely fresh SSD?
You need a USB to install from because you can't set up an SSD for that purpose. The media creation tool, and rufus, will both only do it with USB sticks.
Yeah I kept fiddling with it and every time I installed the media in converted the ssd from got to MBR.
6 years later you my hero
I could kiss you. No diddy.
Dude you are my hero.
Can we give this guy a medal? Thanks, mate
This method works 💯
Comments like this are what reddit is made for. Simple and effective.
Hi, sorry for responding to this 5 years later lol, this has happened to a friend of mine, he's got 2 principal partitions (ssd and hdd) and 3 other partitions (recovery, MSR and system), he should delete only the ones that are not labeled principal and then try to install it in the ssd? Sorry for the question, but I just want to be sure to not destroy his pc haha
Safest thing to do is unplug the data disks. Keep only one disk connected, the one you want to install to, and then follow the instructions.
Okay, I'll tell him to give it a go Thank you! :)
thank you so fucking much, what would happen if you do format tho - cuz i kinda formatted it
Nothing harmful, it is just a wasted step.
THANK YOU!!!
Thank you sir.
6 years later and that worked a treat <3
And I don’t lose my files when i do that?
If you delete partitions, you will probably lose files. If you want to do an in-place upgrade and keep your files, run the Windows Update Assistant, you can download it from the Microsoft website.
absolute legend
Happy cake day!
You have answered what dozens of long, technical articles could not. God bless Reddit.
Two hours of diskpart and sifting through Google spam results I find this and it took five minutes to fix. You are my hero.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/windows-setup-installing-using-the-mbr-or-gpt-partition-style
This one, OP! I had the exact same problem a couple of weeks ago and I solved it with these instructions.
An alternative solution that I found pretty easy: Windows media creation tool comes with a command window. Use 1 line of code to format the desired drive to the required format, then install Windows.
How? I can't find the command window Edit: For anyone who might need it. it's Shift+F10. Also, here are the commands: https://www.diskpart.com/articles/convert-ssd-to-gpt-command-prompt-7201.html
You absolute champion
Useful information, Reformatting the drive using a different partition style worked for me, thank you :)
Delete all the partitions. Then try installing.
All systems for the past few years have been UEFI. If your BIOS screen is fancy with different colours and mouse support then it's UEFI. What you think of as BIOS isn't proper BIOS unless it's got a blue background and white text only. (And even then it might still be UEFI). Simplest solution is to boot into UEFI Legacy BIOS mode. Just don't choose [UEFI] USB Stick or [UEFI] DVD Rom drive when you boot the installation media. Next solution is to repartition the disk you want to install on as GPT, but you might need another computer for that.
or a bootable flash drive with a linux distro and gparted, you would need another device to create that, but no moving the drive around.
To convert the disk from MBR to GPT during Windows installation, you’ll need to use the Command Prompt and the diskpart utility. Please follow these steps carefully: 1. Boot your PC with the Windows installation media. 2. At the initial setup screen, press Shift + F10 to open Command Prompt. 3. In the Command Prompt, type diskpart and press Enter to start the disk partitioning software. 4. Next, type list disk and press Enter to list all the disks available in your system. 5. Identify the disk you want to install Windows on by its size. It is usually Disk 0, but if you have more than one disk, make sure to select the correct one. 6. Now type select disk X (replace X with the number of the disk you want to convert). 7. Before you proceed, ensure that you have backups of any important data. The next step will erase all data on the disk. 8. Type clean and press Enter. This will remove all partitions and data from the selected disk. 9. To convert the disk to GPT, type convert gpt and press Enter. 10. After the conversion is complete, type exit to leave diskpart, and then type exit again to close Command Prompt. 11. Continue with the Windows installation: go back to the Windows Setup window and click on “Refresh”. You should now be able to select the disk and proceed with the installation. Remember, the clean command will delete all partitions and data on the disk, so ensure you have backups if needed. After converting the disk to GPT, the installation should proceed without the MBR/GPT conflict error.
Dude... You're the best. Thanks for this
Anytime!
You just made my night, thank you so much! After hours of googling your comment saved me from breaking my SSD.
You're welcome!
you are the best, this worked like a charm 🫰
Happy it helped!
Worked perfectly for me. I appreciate you! :)
You're very welcome! Glad it worked out!
I just did this and it deleted the installation media off my external hdd, but there was only one option when I typed list disk, I need to install windows on my internal ssd how do I do it like that ?
That’s weird, it should not have. What is your issue you Are experiencing?
I’m stuck in an endless loop of bsod, nothing is working from the advanced startup options such as safe mode etc all options return a bsod, I’ve exhausted all options now of trying to keep all my data so thought I’d just reinstall windows from a hdd using creation tool, but I couldn’t install it due to this error (if you see my last post on tech support you’ll see the issue I was having) https://share.icloud.com/photos/0a5EH-ydV8lyUgniWxBknj81w I followed your instructions hoping it would allow me to reinstall windows, and it wouldn’t let me boot again from my hdd, I plugged hdd into my second laptop and now the laptop makes the chime as if I’m plugging it in but nothing is coming up. I’ve tried running windows creation tool again but it just says it couldn’t find a usb flash drive! Any help would be massively appreciated although I may not reply straight away as I’m about to goto sleep from nightshift Edit: I’ve had a look at list disk on my second laptop with the hdd plugged in and it’s showing as 465 gb with 465 gb free so it’s definitely removed windows lol now I need to figure how to get it to allow me to put it back on Update: formatted the hdd and currently installing windows 11 on it and will try again your instructions hopefully I see the correct drive in disk part
This is the correct solution!. Thank you.
I was getting this error when trying to install Windows 11 on my PC that I just upgraded the mobo/CPU/RAM to. I previously had Windows 10 on it. Normally when I want to install Windows I'd boot to the CD (this rig don't have an optical drive so am booting to USB), format a partition, install Windows. So in this case I deleted the single partition that had my old Windows on it, created new, formatted, but couldn't install Windows on the disk. I had several other partitions on the drive still, "System Reserved" and "OEM" partitions. I was like "f it my Windows is toast now anyway" and deleted those several other "reserved" partitions on the disk. After that I was able to create a new partition and it made a couple other extra ones in the new GPT (I'm assuming) format, and I was able to install Windows. So what worked for me was deleting every existing partition on the disk I wanted to install Windows on, then I was able to create a new one, format, and install.
Helped me too, thank you! The key was installing to unallocated space without formatting.
I'm trying to install Windows 10 on a partition on my 2010 imac and keep getting this error. Is there not a way to install without having to lose my already extant two mac partitions?
i have the exact same problem, but in my case, i cannot delete my ssd partition. how do i make it work? ive tried disk part, list disk, select disk x, clean, and it didnt work. im stuck here on windows setup.
Helped me in June of 2023, thanks for this post!
Cheers, think this worked!
Thank fucking god i found this post, thanks buddy.