I'm trying to perform a clean Windows installation, but the setup repeatedly freezes at 42%—once it reached 54%—and never progresses, even after waiting several hours. Before reinstalling, Windows was behaving strangely: the Settings app was extremely slow, downloaded apps would not open, internet status was unreliable, Task Manager would not refresh live, and closing Task Manager caused it to crash repeatedly.
I created installation media multiple times and tried different USB drives. I deleted all partitions and used DiskPart to clean the drives before each attempt. I also tried different SSDs, including a Samsung 512GB NVMe drive and a new Lexar 470GB NVMe drive. I disconnected every other SSD and hard drive so only the target drive remained connected, but installation still stopped at 42%.
MemTest86 completed with no errors. I also reseated the CPU, GPU, and RAM, reapplied thermal paste, and checked the motherboard connections. The system uses an Intel Core i5-12500, ASUS PRIME H610M-E DDR5 motherboard, Radeon RX 6600 XT, and a single 8GB DDR5-4800 stick. I'm installing over wired Ethernet, and the BIOS date and time are correct. What else could be causing the installation to freeze?
1 Answer
Since the installation appears to be affected by connectivity, try ruling out the network completely. If possible, connect through a different wired network, such as another location, or temporarily use a phone hotspot. Also verify the BIOS date and time, since an incorrect clock can interfere with setup. If it still freezes on another network and with a genuinely new SSD, the issue is more likely hardware or installation media than the original Windows installation.
I’m already using wired Ethernet, and the connection works normally on my PlayStation. The BIOS date and time are correct. I also tried a brand-new NVMe drive, but setup still stopped at 42%.