I'm trying to perform a clean installation of Windows 11 Pro on a 256GB Lexar NVMe SSD. I created the installer with Microsoft's Media Creation Tool on an older 16GB SanDisk Cruzer Blade flash drive and deleted all existing partitions from the SSD. The installation repeatedly fails with a "Windows 11 installation has failed" message. The progress also jumps from around 15% to 75% before failing. Afterward, the USB drive sometimes disappears from the BIOS entirely and only becomes visible again after I unplug and reconnect it. The system uses an Asus B550M-K ARGB motherboard. Could the flash drive or USB port be causing this, or should I investigate the SSD, BIOS settings, or installation logs?
3 Answers
Try another flash drive and another USB port first. A direct rear motherboard port is preferable. If a freshly created installer still fails with a different drive, then check whether TPM 2.0 and the required UEFI settings are enabled, and consider testing the NVMe drive for faults.
You can inspect the installer logs when the error appears. Press Shift+F10 to open a command prompt, then use Notepad to open X:$WINDOWS.~BTSourcesPanthersetupact.log. Look near the end of the file and search for “error” or “fail” to find what caused the setup process to stop.
The old SanDisk drive is the first thing I’d replace. Older USB 2.0 sticks can be extremely slow and may disconnect or overheat during sustained installation activity. That would explain both the sudden progress jump and why the drive disappears from the BIOS until it is reconnected. Recreate the installer on a newer, reliable USB 3.x drive and try again.
Changing to a different USB port fixed the same kind of installation failure for me, so that’s definitely worth trying before blaming the SSD.
The older drive may still work, but it can be much slower and less reliable for this job. If you keep using it, connect it directly to a rear USB 2.0 port on the motherboard rather than a front-panel or hub-connected port.