Hey everyone! I'm in the middle of helping my spouse out with a tech issue. They've recently upgraded to a new 2TB SSD to replace their old hard drive, but things have gone a bit sideways. Their previous Windows installation is all messed up—links don't click, and they've been copying and pasting URLs instead. We wanted to do a clean install, but when using an ISO on a flash drive, we hit a wall. It gets almost to the finish line and then throws an error saying, "this computer is not compatible with Windows 11," which can't be right since that's what they were running before. To add to the chaos, the SSD doesn't even show up in the BIOS boot menu now. We're hoping to wipe the old Windows files off the SSD and start over, but I'm unsure how to go about it. I've got a SATA to USB cable connected to my computer and I'm not super tech-savvy—just good at following instructions. Any tips or help would be greatly appreciated!
4 Answers
To really wipe everything and start fresh, download Windows onto a USB stick that has nothing but the installation files. Boot from that USB directly, and when it prompts you, choose to delete the old partitions on the SSD. It might sound tricky, but it's usually the simplest way to ensure a completely clean slate for the new install. After it’s done, don’t forget to change your BIOS back to boot from the SSD without the USB.
For the best chance at a smooth installation, you should only have the new SSD and the USB installer connected when starting the install process. Before you begin, I'd suggest using Rufus to create the installation media instead of the built-in tool. It can help bypass some compatibility hurdles. Once you're booted up from the USB, select 'Custom installation' and delete all existing partitions associated with the SSD. If that doesn't work, use 'diskpart' in Command Prompt to clean the drive before you install. Just make sure you follow the process carefully!
If your SSD is connected, you can format it directly through your computer. Just right-click on it and select 'Format.' It needs to be set up as GPT for Windows 11 compatibility, though. Make sure you create the Windows 11 installation media correctly using Microsoft's tools—this could fix the installation issues you're facing.
First off, I recommend starting over with the installation media. When you boot from the USB, make sure to delete any existing partitions during installation—that's where the problem might be happening. If you still have the option, you can try running an in-place repair on the current drive before switching to the new SSD. That could help fix any quirks without having to wipe everything.
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