I was previously using Windows 10 on my SSD, while older Windows 7 and Windows 8 installations were on my HDD. I ran Disk Cleanup on the SSD and selected options related to removing older Windows installations. After restarting, the computer stopped booting properly: it briefly shows the motherboard logo, then hangs on a black screen.
I have tried Safe Mode, startup repair, changing the BIOS boot order, and several other recovery options. The best result so far is booting Windows 8 from the HDD, although that installation appears incomplete and cannot detect an internet connection even though the computer is connected by Ethernet.
I created Windows 11 installation media on a USB drive, but the boot options produce different failures. One option flashes a black screen and returns to BIOS, another shows a blinking white cursor, and booting from the SSD now produces the same blinking cursor. Running the installer from Windows 8 either says the computer needs an internet connection, reports error 0x8007007E - 0x40008, or says it cannot download the required files. I also briefly reached the partition-selection screen, chose a fresh installation, and then received a message saying the installation could not continue.
What hardware, disk, partition, and boot-configuration details should I provide to figure out whether the problem is the bootloader, the drive layout, or the installation media?
1 Answer
Could you list the system configuration first? The motherboard or computer model, CPU, amount of RAM, which drive contains each Windows installation, and whether the firmware is set to UEFI or Legacy/CSM would help narrow this down. It would also be useful to know how the SSD and HDD are partitioned and exactly which USB boot entry you selected.
Can you clarify what information you need most? I can provide the drive layout and BIOS boot settings, but I’m not sure which details matter for diagnosing the failed installation.