3 Ways to Fix Windows Won’t Install on SSD or HDD

Why Windows won't install on SSD?

Installing Windows on a solid state drive (SSD) will surely make your computer faster. However, it would be frustrating if Windows won’t install on SSD. Many possible reasons may cause Windows to be unable to install on SSD.

Perform quick checks on your PC and SSD

If your SSD or computer has some physical damages or connection issues, Windows setup not detecting SSD also happens. So, before we start to analyze the solutions, we suggest you try some checks on your devices.

1. Check connections
Connect all cables to the computer and verify that the SSD is properly connected. This remedy will determine whether a faulty BIOS connection is the cause of the issue.
2. Enable the SATA port
Failure to enable the SATA port in the system configuration (BIOS) could result in the omission of the newly installed SSD drive from the BIOS.
3. Verify SSD functionality
Please connect the drive to an operational computer to ascertain whether the SSD is visible in the BIOS.
4. Install the most recent BIOS
The BIOS is critical for ensuring that your SSD/HDD operates without issue under Windows. Please update the BIOS before Windows installation.
5. Enable AHCI mode
Please enable AHCI mode on the SATA port if the SSD is not visible in the Windows 10 installation.

3 ways to fix "Windows won't install on SSD"

This part covers 3 situations and provides a corresponding solution to fix Windows 10 won't install on SSD effectively. You can check which case is yours and skip to the suitable way,

Situation 1. SSD not recognized by BIOS

Usually, an SSD will be automatically detected in BIOS when you attach it. However, if your SSD is not showing in BIOS, you should check the things below:

1. Check the SSD cable connection. You can simply switch to another SATA cable. You can also connect it to an external USB adapter to see if there is a problem with a damaged BIOS connection.

2. Check if SATA port is enabled. In some cases, the port is turned OFF in System Setup (BIOS). When you connect a new SSD drive to the system, you may need to manually turn it on before you can see the drive in BIOS.

3. Connect the drive to another working computer to see if the SSD is damaged.

Situation 2. SSD not recognized by Windows 11/10/8/7 Setup

If it is detected in BIOS, then you can refer to the following steps to make it right:

If it is detected in BIOS, then you can refer to the following steps to make it right:

1. Boot into BIOS, and set SATA to AHCI Mode. For installing Windows 8/10/11 cannot install on SSD, enable Secure Boot if it is available.

2. If your SSD still is not showing at Windows Setup, press SHIFT+F10 to open a Command Prompt window.

3. Type “diskpart”

4. Type “list disk” to display all the disks connected to your computer.

5. Type “select disk [disk number]” For example, type “select disk 0” if you have insert one drive in your system

6. Make sure the selected disk has no valuable data. Type “clean all” and press Enter to wipe out all data from the SSD.

7. When the process is complete, type “exit” to close this windows and go back to Windows Setup screen.

After that, you should see the SSD drive appear in Windows Setup. If you think this disk clean process may reduce its lifespan, you can perform a Secure Erase for SSD.

Situation 3. Windows cannot be installed on this disk

If Windows sees the SSD drive, but you can’t install Windows on SSD GPT with an error “Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected disk is of the GPT partition style”, you can fix this by changing BIOS settings or converting disk to MBR partition style.

If your computer supports UEFI boot, you can go to BIOS settings and enable UEFI mode. If you only see Legacy boot mode, you can convert the SSD to MBR disk referring to the following.

1. Press Shift+F10 to bring out a command prompt.

2. Type the following:

● diskpart
● list disk
● select disk [disk number]
● clean
● convert mbr

3. Wait for the process to complete. Till then, go back to the Windows installation screen, and then you should be able to install Windows.

If the error message you received is “Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected disk has an MBR partition table. On EFI systems, Windows can only be installed to GPT disks”, you can disable UEFI mode and enable Legacy mode, or you can convert SSD to GPT disk.

As mentioned, using diskpart.exe to convert disk to MBR/GPT will completely wipe out everything on the disk. If you do not want the SSD to be erased, there is third-party software AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard that allows you to convert disk to MBR/GPT without data loss/removing partitions.

You can download the free version on a working computer and connect your SSD to it as a second drive. To convert drive to GPT/MBR with AOMEI Partition Assistant:

1. Open this software.

2. Right click on the SSD and select Convert to GPT. If your SSD is MBR, select Convert to GPT.

3. Confirm the task and click “Apply” to apply this change.

Tip: You need to upgrade to Professional version if you need to convert system disk between MBR and GPT.

This software also allows you to create bootable media so you can use it on a computer that has no Windows system installed yet. If you want to clone hard drive to SSD instead of fresh install, this software can be of use too. In conclusion, you don’t need to panic when Windows will not install on SSD. You can just follow these steps to fix it based on your situation.

FAQs about Windows won't install on SSD

Why does my SSD appear in the BIOS but not in the Windows installation?
SSD not displaying in Windows installation could be due to a variety of factors, including improper SSD seating, driver issues, Secure Boot or UEFI configurations, BIOS settings, or Secure Boot or UEFI configurations. You can resolve the issue by consulting the article.

Why will Windows boot failure happen on SSD?
Windows boot failures on an SSD can occur for several reasons, ranging from software issues to hardware malfunctions. To address a Windows boot failure on an SSD, you can:

• Use the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) to perform startup repair. 
• Run CHKDSK
• Ensure your SSD firmware is up to date

Why is my SSD not showing up in BIOS after Windows install?
It could be due to a few different issues, for example, SSD might not be properly connected to the motherboard, so you should check the physical connections of the SSD. Or the SSD could have experienced a failure or malfunction, especially if it's not detected in the BIOS. What's more, insufficient power from the power supply unit (PSU) can lead to hardware not being detected, and then SSD may not show up in BIOS.