Cannot install Windows 10 from DVD or USB-stick

What is the picture for ? The computer does not see my phone.

List dsk returns :
Disk ### Status Size Free Dyn Gpt
---------- --------- -------- ---------- ----- -----
Disk 0 Online 465 GB 1024 KB
Disk 1 Online 119 GB 87 GB

<---- That is not the formatting I reproduced !

There should be 167 GB free on the SSD. Disk 1 must be the USB-stick

Yes. That is the SSD drive on which WIndows 10 is installed.

Something has changed : In Windows repair I now have the option to choose keyboard settings first from a long list.

I tried reconnecting the HDD, to see what happens then. If I now try to install on the SSD on the primary partition, I get the "Windows Setup" message window (in Dutch) : "Cannot initialize te distribution engine again. Start the installation again if you want to install Windows." Before it a Window about the preparation appeared for about 1 s. Trying again gives the same result.

Another thing has changed. I can get into the boot meny with F12. The window for pressing is narrow. I may have missed it before.

Trying to delete or format the primary partition of the SSD gives the same result as yesterday. (Error: 0x80070017)

Clean command of Diskpart gives the same result as yesterday.

Trying to install on the free partition of the HDD still doesn't work.

I dismounted the SSD to whether it fits in a Dell computer from 2012. No.

WIthout the SSD I try to install Win 10 on the free partition of the HDD. Still error code 0x80004005.

Is wiping the HDD to try installing Windows on there a reasonable option ? A drawback is that will probably be slower to copy data and Windows on there will be slower. Moreover, it probably won't work anyway.

Could Ubuntu diagnose, wipe and possibly repair the SSD ?
Are there adaptor pieces to connect an internal SSD externally to computer (like a modern Macbook) ?

My new external HDD has finally arrived the the collection point. I'll fetch it.

I disconnect the internal HDD.

When I command chkdsk /f, I get back :

"The type of the file system is NTFS.
Cannot lock current drive.
Windows cannot run disk checking on this volume."

The SSD is NTFS formatted. The USB-stick is FAT32 formatted.

Diskpart clean still doesn't work. Create partition primary doesn't work either.

I tried some solutions described here : https://recoverit.wondershare.com/h...-cannot-run-disk-checking-on-this-volume.html

METHOD 1 : "Cannot open volume for direct access."
But I used the letter E as the article said. I suspect I should use C.

METHOD 2 : "Diskpart failed to clear disk attributes."

Yes, I can load the Windows installer from a USB-stick with only one internal disk connected.

Rustys : "Yes then when you get to this screen DELETE the partitions then Click Next
Windows will create and take care of everything that it needs to."
If only it were so easy.

In Ubuntu I can't write to the SSD. For example, when I try to paste something, a message window says : "Could not paste files. Permissions do not allow to paste files in this directory."

I tried checking the disk's health in Ubuntu, but apparently the demonstration version is too barebone for that.

I try again METHOD 1 from post 28. (The internal HDD is connected.) It is about removing write protection via the command prompt.
This time I type chkdsk C: /f /r /x

and a miracle happens. Something actually works ! It says the fle system is NTFS (suggesting C is the right drive letter) and that the volume label is reserved by the system (that's the name C I suspect).
Some checking was done in 5 stages and no problems were found. "No further action is required."
Great. Now the write protection is supposed to have been removed.

deaning with diskpart still doesn't work.

If I give the command
chkdsk /f then I get the previous error from post 26, where I said "Cannot exit current drive", which should have been "Cannot lock current drive.", happens.

@ Rustys :
Trying to delete the primary partition of the SSD (now again with internal HDD disconnected) produces the message Window titled "Windows Setup" with message in Dutch : "We cannot delete the selected partition. [Error: 0x80070017]."

In Ubuntu I tried copying and deleting stuff fo/from a few locations on the SSD. Moving stuff to on the SSD doesn't work either.

@ PeterOz :
The problem seems to be broader than the SSD. Why else can't I install Windows on the free partition of the internal HDD ?
I don't have any other computer to fit the SSD in. If it is fine I might as well use it as a slave on the main PC with Windows on the HDD, if that ever works.
I'll try to format the SSD with Ubunto tomorrow afternoon.
Tonight I am copying more files from the internal to the external HDD.

I don't have time to check now and I don't know.
UEFI is mentioned in the BIOS and I have stated before there is an UEFI version of the Windows USB-installer, the one that can't boot. It is in hope to solve that that I updated the BIOS. It didn't solve it.

Some of the error messages indicate the HDD is partitioned MBR. Why can't the Windows installer change it to whatever it needs ?

So the BIOS would have to work in legacy mode. I'll try to find that setting this afternoon.

WHy doesn't the UEFI version of the installation-USB-stick boot ?

"Many computers with UEFI firmware will allow you to enable a legacy BIOS compatibility mode. In this mode, the UEFI firmware functions as a standard BIOS instead of UEFI firmware. This can help improve compatibility with older operating systems that weren't designed with UEFI in mind — Windows 7, Ubuntu, Linux, for example. In this article I walkthrough how to disable UEFI and enable Legacy/CSM boot support. "
The article mentions older operating systems as the reason for the legacy mode. It doesn't mention Windows 10 and it doesn't mention MBR partition. Moreover, if legacy or gpt paritionng is a requirement, why did it work before ?


The 'Advanced options' in the installer vary. The UEFI settings are now missing, both for the DVD and the USB installer. So I disconnect the internal HDD, but that doesn't make any difference. I had already tried that option before I posted here to see what it did, and as far as I remember it didn't work.

I managed to make my phone and old computer talk. Here is a picture of a BIOS tab :



So it would seem it is already set to legacy BIOS, which would explain why the UEFI boot options don't work, but doesn't explain why the MBR partitioned disks don't work.

I set 'Storage Boot Option Control to 'UEFI Only' and test what happens.
The computer can still boot from SanDisk Extreme Pro 0. Deleting primary partition of SSD still doesn't work. (The HDD is disconnected.)

Booting from the UEFI version still doesn't work. So changing that setting does not seem to have made a difference. What settings should I try ?

I set 'Storage Boot Option Control' to 'Disabled' and conntect the internal HDD.
I try to format the SSD with Ubuntu by following the article PeterOz referred to in post 29. Writing on the SSD still doesn't seem to work.
Ubuntu says the SSD has an MBR partitioning.
I select NTFS formatting.

"Error formatting volume
Error synchronizing after initial wipe: Timed out waiting for object (udisks-error-quark, 0)"

The article recommends trying GPartted.
I start GParted from the Dash. I immediately get a window with the message : "Error fsyncing/closing /dev/nvme0n1p1: No data available" with the buttons 'Retry' and 'Ignore'. Both reproduce the same Window. I can't even quit the program.
In 'On this Computer' both the SSD and the internal HDD are gone.

I restart the computer and load Ubuntu again Both drives are back and nothing seems to have changed. I try GParted again and get the same.

What can I try next ?
- I can try wiping the internal HDD to install Windows there. However, Windows will be slower, but maybe I can repair the SSD from there.
- By a new SSD. However, I have no use for the 'old' SSD and it may not even work.

I don't have another computer that can accomodate an SSD. Any suggestions ?

Trying to boot from 'UEFI: SanDisk Extreme Pro 0, Partition 1' produces this :


So you don't understand the behaviour of the PC either.

As far as I know I got what is relevant, but of for some things it is only when they are gone that I will know that I needed them, so perhaps I should copy seemingly superflous stuff like 'Program Files' as well.