My SSD has Windows 11 installed on it, but it seems to be corrupted and isn't booting up anymore. I'm not sure how this happened, but I don't want to lose the files on the drive. Right now, I can access the content of my PC's SSD using another SSD that I have on my laptop. My goal is to perform a clean install of Windows 11 onto the corrupted SSD, but since it won't boot, I'm a bit confused about how to proceed. I really need a solution quickly because I'm relying on my laptop's SSD for now. Any advice?
2 Answers
If your SSD doesn’t boot anymore, the installation process can get tricky. Make sure you have a bootable USB with Windows 11 ready. When you boot from this USB, you can select the option to install Windows and then choose the corrupted SSD. Just remember to format it during that process to clear out any errors. This way, you'll get a clean OS, but make sure you've got everything backed up first!
You might want to try connecting your corrupted SSD to your laptop as an external drive, if possible. Once connected, you can back up all the important files to another drive or cloud storage. After that, you can do a clean install of Windows 11 using a bootable USB. Just be sure to format the SSD during the installation process to ensure everything is fresh. That way, you should retain your personal files before starting afresh with Windows.
Definitely back up everything you can access. I've had a similar issue before, and it was a lifesaver! After backing up, the fresh install worked perfectly for me.
Formatting is key! I learned that the hard way. But once you've done that, you should be good to go for a clean install!