During the installation of the Windows 10 operating system, various errors may occur. As a rule, they are associated with incorrect BIOS settings or incorrect operation of computer or laptop components. One of the most common errors is: “Windows cannot be installed to this disk. Your computer's hardware may not support booting from this disc. Make sure the controller for this drive is enabled in the computer's BIOS menu." Yes, there are troubles when the disk is really cut off and no longer works. But most often the reason is something else.
The most common reason why this malfunction occurs is in the settings of the SATA controller when working with old hard drives. Try to start when you turn on the PC, enter the BIOS and change the controller mode from ACHI to IDE.
On more modern motherboards with UEFI instead of the regular BIOS, changing to Legacy mode may help.
If none of these manipulations help, then return everything as it was. The reason is most likely something else.
Sometimes the error “Make sure that the controller of this disk is enabled in the computer’s BIOS menu” may appear because the boot record of the hard disk has crooked and needs to be restored. To do this, when starting the installation of the Windows 10 operating system, click on the "System Restore" button and go to the "Diagnostics">>"Advanced Options">>"Command Prompt" menu, or simply press the key combination Shift + F10. A black Windows console window will appear:
We type commands in turn:
Bootrec /fixmbr bootrec /fixboot bootrec /RebuildBcd
Each of them must complete successfully. After that, restart the PC and try to run the installation again. Usually, this error of the disk controller in the computer's bios menu is solved, and then everything goes on without problems.
set-os.ru
During the installation of the operating system, at the stage of formatting disks and creating partitions, the user may encounter the error “Windows cannot be installed to this disk. Your computer hardware may not support booting from this disc. Make sure the controller for this drive is enabled in the computer's BIOS menu."
Why does this error occur and how to fix it?
Also Read: Windows 10 Error Codes and Troubleshooting Methods
Often, an error when it is impossible to create a partition to install a new operating system occurs on older PCs with Windows 7. However, other operating systems, from XP to Windows 10, are also not immune from this problem.
This error can be caused by the following factors:
Method number 1. Via BIOS settings
To fix this error, you should boot into the BIOS and set the hard drive mode to IDE. To do this, do the following:
If your PC has a new BIOS firmware, then instead of IDE mode, you should enable EFI boot. To do this, do the following:
It is worth noting that with this change, it is possible that a new error will appear, which is associated with MBR or GTP partitions.
See also: How to install Windows 10 on a GPT and MBR disk?
If an additional cached SSD or other drive is installed on your PC or laptop, the problem may be due to it. To fix the problem, perform the following steps:
Method number 3. If the error is related to the GPT or MBR format
If during the installation of Windows 7, 8 or 10 you get the error “Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected disk has the GPT partition style, you should change the GPT format to MBR. To do this, perform the following steps.
After formatting the partition, it is worth restarting the PC and trying to install the OS again.
You can also perform the same steps in an easier way. In the BIOS, in the "Boot" section, in the "UEFI / Legacy Boot" item, and set Enabled, and in "Secure Boot" - Disabled. After that, delete all partitions and create new ones. The format will be automatically changed.
SoftikBox.com
Comments on the entry: 4
Hi all! When installing Windows on a laptop, I got an error: Windows cannot be installed on this disk. Your computer's hardware may not support booting from this disc. Make sure that the controller of this drive is enabled in the BIOS menu of the computer.
I read on the Internet, someone says that you need to switch from achi to ide. Switched - did not help. I looked at the bios settings, well, in the laptop it’s so simple that there’s almost nothing to choose at all ... I reset Bios, it didn’t help ... Then I put the Windows disk back in and pressed system restore during installation (this is where the install button is). Selected command building. By the way, you can run it with Shift + F10.
We write bootrec / fixboot . Then we try to install. Helped me.
The fact is that Windows could not find the bootloader and did not understand what to do. This is how the error is solved installing windows on this disk is impossible.
AlexZsoft.com
When reinstalling Windows 7 on a laptop, an unexpected problem arose - the BIOS and the Windows installer saw the hard drive, it was allowed to mark it, add / remove partitions, but it didn’t go any further, giving out a strange-looking message:
Windows cannot be installed to this drive. Your computer's hardware may not support booting from this disc. Make sure that the drive's controller is enabled in the computer's BIOS menu.
Why is it weird? In general, support for the AHCI (Advanced Host Controller Interface) mechanism has been announced since Windows Vista and the Windows 7 installation disk is licensed.
Well, God bless him, you can look for the guilty for a long time and hard, but it's easier to get into the BIOS and switch the AHCI Mode Control mode from c to . After that, it will become possible to disable Native AHCI Mode. Subsequently, you can return the settings back by installing the system and all drivers.
If you find the article useful, do not be lazy to like and share with your friends.
mdex-nn.ru
Windows cannot be installed on this drive (solution)
This manual details what to do if, when installing Windows, you are told that it is impossible to install Windows to a disk partition, and in detail - “Windows cannot be installed to this disk. Your computer hardware may not support booting from this disc. Make sure the controller for this drive is enabled in the computer's BIOS menu."
If you do select this section and click "Next" in the installer, you will see an error stating that we could not create a new one or find an existing one, with a suggestion to view additional information in the installer log files. The following will describe ways to fix such an error (which can occur in the Windows 10 - Windows 7 setup programs).
As more and more often on computers and laptops of users there is a variety in partition tables on disks (GPT and MBR), HDD operating modes (AHCI and IDE) and boot types (EFI and Legacy), errors are also becoming more frequent when installing Windows 10, 8 or Windows 7 caused by these settings. The described case is just one of such errors.
Fixing the error "Installation to this disk is not possible" using BIOS settings (UEFI)
Most often, this error occurs when installing Windows 7 on old computers with BIOS and Legacy boot, in cases where AHCI mode (or any RAID, SCSI modes) is enabled in the BIOS in the operating parameters of SATA devices (i.e. hard disk ).
The solution in this particular case is to go into the BIOS settings and change the hard drive mode to IDE. As a rule, this is done somewhere in the Integrated Peripherals - SATA Mode section of the BIOS settings (a few examples in the screenshot).
But even if you don't have an "old" computer or laptop, this option can also work. If you are installing Windows 10 or 8, then instead of enabling IDE mode, I recommend:
True, in this option you may encounter another type of error, in the text of which it will be reported that the selected disk contains an MBR partition table (correction instructions are mentioned at the beginning of this article).
Why this happens, I myself did not fully understand (after all, AHCI drivers are included in the images of Windows 7 and higher). Moreover, I was able to reproduce the error for installing Windows 10 (screenshots are just from there) - simply by changing the disk controller from IDE to SCSI for the "first generation" Hyper-V virtual machine (i.e. with BIOS).
Whether the specified error will appear during EFI boot and installation on a disk running in IDE mode, I could not check, but I admit this (in this case, we try to enable AHCI for SATA disks in UEFI).
Third party disk controller drivers AHCI, SCSI, RAID
In some cases, the problem is caused by the specificity of the user's equipment. The most common option is the presence of caching SSDs on a laptop, multi-disk configurations, RAID arrays and SCSI cards.
I have already mentioned SSD drives more than once in my articles, saying that they are faster than ordinary ones and you can upgrade your computer with them. And it would seem that installing them is a trivial thing, what could be easier, remove the old hard drive, install a new SSD , install Windows on it and rejoice, but in reality everything is not so simple. The fact is that in order to squeeze the maximum speed from an SSD drive (otherwise why use it), you need to switch to AHCI (Advanced Host Controller Interface) mode in the BIOS. And this is where the surprises begin...
So, I have an old computer that decided to upgrade and install an SSD drive. Switched to AHCI mode in BIOS. To do this, I went into the BIOS (press the Del or F2 button (there may be other keys depending on the model of the motherboard), when you turn on the computer) in the "Main" menu, select "Sata Configuration".
And in "Configure Sata as" chose "AHCI"
Saved the settings, restarted the computer and started installing Windows. But that was not the case, an error occurred:
Started changing BIOS settings, even updated his version
, the result was one - this error constantly appeared. As a result, I decided to select IDE mode in BIOS and install Windows.
The installation was successful, then I decided to try to switch back to AHCI mode in the BIOS, but this trick failed and Windows simply did not boot (in principle, I expected a similar result). Then I decided to do this - switch back to IDE mode, go to Windows and change the mode to ACHI in the registry editor.
Having returned the IDE mode, Windows has successfully booted, now you need to make changes to the registry. To do this, open the registry editor - press the key combination "Win" + "R" and type regedit.
In the registry editor, go to the path "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Msahci", find the "Start" parameter, open it with a double click. Enter "0" in the "Value" field.
Everything, the system can be rebooted and set to AHCI mode in BIOS. As a result, everything worked, the SSD worked in ACHI mode. Windows booted up successfully and worked many times faster than with a regular hard drive.
So, if your old computer has ceased to please you with the speed of its work, installing an SSD drive, in my opinion, is the ideal solution. But do not forget about the minimum size of RAM - 2GB, and the processor is preferably 2 cores at least 2 GHz each.
I hope this article helped you avoid the error:
Installing Windows on this drive is not possible. Your computer's hardware may not support booting from this disc. Make sure that the drive's controller is enabled in the computer's BIOS menu.
And it helped to upgrade your computer and increase its performance and speed.
Computers are complex devices that are powered by many different elements. One of them is a SATA controller. What is this device? How to work with him? How to take care of its speed? Here is an incomplete list of questions that will be considered as part of our article.
It is a technology by which storage devices such as a hard drive and optical wire can communicate over a high-speed cable with the motherboard. It is optimal to use the connector with the smallest number. SATA0 or SATA1 are considered ideal. It is possible to use other ports.
When working with hard drives, SATA0 must be used initially. It is installed on the system media. Each subsequent one should have a digit one more and so on. If there are multiple hard drives and a RAID mode is used to increase the storage space, one wire is connected to the connector, and then everything else is connected to the controller.
The controllers determine how the hard drive will communicate with the motherboard. In total, there can be three principles of interaction:
Initially, it is necessary to set the operating mode in which the SATA controller for a laptop or computer will function correctly, and only then deal with the operating system. After all, if this is done later, then the OS may not work correctly until failure. So, this can happen because the disk driver is disabled or the wrong BIOS setting is used.
Let's say the PC has stopped working with the hard drive. This error can have several reasons:
In the first option, it is necessary to check the tightness of the cable. In the second, most likely, you need to replace the device. And in the third - set the correct settings. Administrator rights are required for such changes. If they are, then you can start solving the problem.
First you need to go into the BIOS. There is no single standard here - each machine uses a separate special key for this. To find out, you need to read the instructions on the screen, which appears immediately after turning on the computer. Moreover, for a guaranteed result, it must be pressed more than once.
After the login is successfully completed, you need to find the Integrated Peripherals item. If not, then any one that is consonant in meaning will do. It contains all the parameters that relate to the internal capabilities of the motherboard. Now you need to find the Onboard SATA Controller. If it's not there, just look for any entry that says "SATA controller". This parameter can only be set to Disabled and Enabled (disabled and enabled, respectively). You need to make sure it is activated.
To save the changes, you can press F10 and the enter button. If this is not done, the system itself will offer to perform these actions. After that, you should restart the computer and go into the BIOS again to make sure that the hard drive was detected. You can understand this thanks to the item Standard CMOS Features. Now we know how to enable the SATA controller. Let's take a look at the modes.
This is done using the same BIOS. To make changes, go to the control window. After that, you need to look for IDE, AHCI or RAID. They must go along with SATA. Also additionally on some devices the word "MODE" is used. We turn off the mode that we do not need, but on the contrary, we turn on the necessary one (this is also done by changing Disabled to Enabled and vice versa).
If, when you try to change the mode, a message is displayed stating that no disk is found, then the necessary drivers are missing. Therefore, you will need to log into the operating system and, with administrator rights, first install them. This can also be done using the OS installation disk. But still less time-consuming is the first option. Also, keep in mind that changes made to the basic I/O system must be saved in order for them to take effect. How to do this was discussed in the previous paragraph.
In general, here is how to switch the SATA controller to AHCI mode or another one that will be necessary. At the same time, it is important to follow the instructions exactly so as not to touch anything superfluous. Now let's focus on two options that may come in handy when setting up a computer. Moreover, the main topic of the article has already been disclosed, and we will now deepen our knowledge.
This option is used to specify the operating mode. We have already discussed this. Now let's pay attention to how and what works in this case. If you set the IDE mode, then there will be no need to use additional drivers when working with equipment that uses this technology. The RAID mode is compatible with all operating systems since Windows 2000. The only difference is that outdated driver media will be needed here (if the equipment is the same year as the operating system). Otherwise, their role can be successfully performed by a Flash drive or CD. But talking about creation makes sense only if there are at least two hard drives. The same brand and volume will positively affect their work. And if the batches and firmware match, these are already ideal conditions for using this mode.
ANSI is a newer technology and is not compatible with older (relatively) systems. Due to the fact that this mode has a positive effect on the speed of technology, it is recommended to stop on it. Moreover, if RAID and ANSI can still be run on representatives of operating systems and computers starting from the 2000 generation, they will not help with Windows 9x: there are simply no drivers that would combine the operation of software and hardware. Please note that changes must be made before the OS is installed. If you change the mode when the operating system is already installed, you can find a "blue screen of death" on your computer, which will display information about the error and the inability to work correctly. If there is no desire to see him and demolish the OS, then you should forcibly change the controller driver to one that will work with the new settings.
SATA 150 is rightfully considered the first of the family of controllers. It is an interface that uses a serial data bus. Operates at a frequency of 1.5 GHz, thereby providing a throughput of 150 megabytes per second. The standard has spread due to a number of advantages that previous developments did not have. Thus, the architectural advantages of the bus, the small size of the connectors and cable, the ease of use and the overall reliability of the connection played a role. Also, when two devices are connected to the same port, there are no conflicts and no problems.
The second generation of SATA 300 provides a speed of 300 megabytes per second. Theoretically, both options are compatible, but problems are not ruled out. But, in fairness, it is worth saying that even the most modern hard drives have not yet learned to operate faster than 130 megabytes per second, so there is not much point in chasing numbers in this case. So there is no difference when using controller types. The only thing that matters is what connects first.
The SATA controller is, of course, an important part of any computer. It is a device that allows us to access data that is of value. Also, special attention deserves what success the developers of this part managed to achieve in terms of speed. In addition, this suggests that there is a significant reserve for increasing the capacity of hard drives without refining data transfer technology, which makes it unlikely that it will become obsolete and unnecessary in the next few decades.
Sometimes when installing Windows, including version 10, an error message is displayed on the screen. The text of the message is: "Windows cannot be installed to this drive." In this case, the hard drive is displayed in the BIOS. It is also visible at the stage of installing the operating system, where it could be divided into sections.
This problem occurs for two reasons:
In addition to an error message informing you that Windows 7 or 10 cannot be installed on this drive, if you have problems with AHCI mode, the computer cannot boot from the selected drive. The reason is that the controller may have been disabled in the BIOS.
The problem is solved in the following way:
Another reason for the impossibility of installing Windows 7 or 10 versions with the display of a similar message may be GPT - the hard disk partition format.
More recently, all hard drives were of the same type. The only partition style was MBR. Over the past few years, manufacturers have been gradually switching to the production of hard drives with the GPT format. But the boot files from the OS are not modified for new formats, and as a result, the above error appears during installation.
The MBR (Master Boot Record) is the program code and data required to prestart a computer. They are located in the initial marked sector of the hard drive. The start of the MBR begins after the initial BIOS analysis of the health of all devices. Its main function is to locate the files that are needed to boot the OS.
GPT is a new standard for the volume table layout format. A standard firmware interface for computers has also been developed to replace the BIOS. It is called UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface).
The problem occurs due to the fact that the OS installer cannot install Windows to the specified partition, due to the fact that the partition table does not fit it.
There are 2 methods to fix the problem:
The choice of method should be determined by the following rules:
Using the MBR limits some features such as:
Problems installing the OS on a GPT volume usually arise for those who want to install Windows 7, 8 and 10.
To install an OS on a GPT volume, 2 conditions must be met:
If the first condition is not met, it is necessary to prepare a bootable UEFI drive.
But in most cases, only the second condition is not met. Therefore, it is more advisable to immediately go into the BIOS and check the settings.
There are two options to set in the BIOS:
After saving the settings on the computer, you can install the OS. The error won't happen again.
There are several options for converting volume styles. Let's consider them in more detail.
This method is optimal for use in a situation where installing OS such as Windows 7, 8, 10 is not feasible due to the type of GPT volumes. It can also be useful not only when installing the OS, but also during the regular operation of the OS to convert non-system partitions.
It should not be forgotten that when converting partitions, all information from them will be lost. Therefore, it is recommended to save everything important in advance on an external storage medium.
To change the style of volumes from GPT to MBR through the command line, you must:
You can create volumes on the HDD by selecting the item " Customize Disk».
The volume style change is complete.
An alternative volume conversion method requires a properly functioning Windows 7, 8 or 10 operating system on a personal computer. You can only convert a disk volume that is not a system disk.
The sequence of steps for converting an HDD volume is as follows:
In addition to the standard HDD volume conversion methods provided by Microsoft developers, you can use third-party hard disk volume management utilities, such as
» » Error "Windows cannot be installed to this drive"
Sometimes when installing Windows 7, 8 or 10, you may encounter a problem, which is that when you try to install the system on a hard drive, the system displays a warning: “Windows cannot be installed to this drive. Your computer's hardware may not support booting from this disc. Make sure that the drive's controller is enabled in the menu computer BIOS".
The problem, as a rule, is characteristic of old computers and laptops, but occasionally it also appears on new hardware. This usually happens if the computer's BIOS settings in the hard disk operation parameters enable the mode AHCI or any other than IDE. So let's go to BIOS computer and set the mode of operation of our disk as IDE. This setting is usually located under integratedPeripherals or Advanced, and is usually called SATARAID/AHCImode, SATAmode, SATAAHCImode,ConfigureSATA or another name with a similar meaning.
I also met this way to deactivate the mode:
