I've been struggling with my Lenovo laptop after encountering a blue screen issue. I attempted to repair it but had no luck, so I decided to clean the disk completely. Now, when I try to reinstall Windows, I run into a problem at the partition selection step: it says 'Windows can't be installed on this partition,' and there's only one partition available since I cleared everything earlier. I even tried installing Kali Linux, but it also failed at the same point, although the live version works fine. I've run several checks on the disk, but the installation keeps failing. Should I replace the SSD, or is there any hope for recovery? How can I go about recovering it?
3 Answers
It sounds like the installation issue might be due to how the disk is recognized by the installer. Make sure your SSD is showing up correctly; if the only disk detected is your USB drive, the installation won't work. If you're using Intel RST, try switching it to standard AHCI in your BIOS if that's an option. You could also check Lenovo's support page for the right drivers if needed. Good luck!
If you haven't already, boot into live Kali and check the disk health. Sometimes, SSDs can have issues that aren't immediately apparent. If they're fine, consider creating a bootable USB with a different Windows version to see if that makes a difference. If the SSD still causes issues, it might be time for a replacement.
That's good advice! Also, keep your eyes on those SMART checks. They can be a lifesaver when diagnosing SSD problems.
Have you taken a look at the dump files from your blue screen crashes? If you can boot into Safe Mode or Windows normally, check the 'C:WindowsMinidump' directory. Those files can give you clues about what's wrong. If you're able to get those files, you can upload them to a file-sharing site for more assistance. Check the documentation for configuring minidumps for better results.
I can't get into Windows anymore since I cleaned the disk, so I can't access those dump files.
I ran into a similar issue before. What worked for me was changing the SATA mode in the BIOS. Make sure you check that!