Trying to do a clean install - totally stumped

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  1. Posts : 16
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #21

    idgat said:
    Have you tried the Linux option mention - this will just be the test to see if a boot USB (of any flavour) will work.

    ...

    Did that work? {Insert X-fingers emoticon here}

    This should test whether it's flash drive(s)/USB port(s)/computer hardware related.
    It DID work! I don't known what to do with myself now, but I'm in Cinnamon (64-bit).

    So it's apparently not a hardware problem? This gets even more confusing...
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 4,594
    Windows 10 Pro
       #22

    Set your Bios to Default F5, save and exit, F10.

    Create a W10 USB installer.

    Boot from the USB installer by bringing up the boot menu, usually F8, do not make any changes in the Bios. The only thing that should be listed in the Bios, is the drive you want to install windows on.

    Choose the USB installer and the install will begin.

    When you get to the window that shows your SSD/Hard Drive, delete the entire drive to unallocated space, then hit next.

    When the PC reboots, remove the USB stick, the install will proceed as normal.

    Clean Install Windows 10 | Tutorials (tenforums.com)

    If you are having trouble making a USB stick installer with the Media Creation Tool, use Rufus instead, after you have downloaded the W10 Iso file.

    Download Windows 10 (microsoft.com)

    Rufus - Create bootable USB drives the easy way
    Last edited by AddRAM; 11 Sep 2021 at 16:39.
      My Computers


  3. Posts : 16
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #23

    AddRAM said:
    Set your Bios to Default F5, save and exit, F10.

    Create a W10 USB installer.

    Boot from the USB installer by bringing up the boot menu, usually F8, do not make any changes in the Bios. The only thing that should be listed in the Bios, is the drive you want to install windows on.

    Choose the USB installer and the install will begin.

    When you get to the window that shows your SSD/Hard Drive, delete the entire drive to unallocated space, then hit next.

    When the PC reboots, remove the USB stick, the install will proceed as normal.

    Clean Install Windows 10 | Tutorials (tenforums.com)

    If you are having trouble making a USB stick installer with the Media Creation Tool, use Rufus instead, after you have downloaded the W10 Iso file.

    Download Windows 10 (microsoft.com)

    Rufus - Create bootable USB drives the easy way
    I believe that I've addressed all of these ideas previously. I've used both the Windows Media Creation tool to make an install drive and Rufus for burning the ISO onto a USB stick, and neither makes anything happen. There simply isn't any prompt for them.

    I went into BIOS and tried all sorts of configurations. I've also reset to optimized default settings multiple times. I tried leaving Windows as the only option, then hit F12 to change the boot order. There were 3 different options and none of those 3 did anything. The most that happened is a flashing underscore would appear on a black screen. After it tries, it gives up and boots into Windows again.

    I've tried with multiple different USB sticks. A stick that can't do a Win. Recovery or an ISO boot is able to boot into Linux. None of it makes sense.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 56,806
    Multi-boot Windows 10/11 - RTM, RP, Beta, and Insider
       #24

    I've skimmed thru all 23 posts and this one sticks out.

    I just did a fresh instance of 'Create installation media', restarted the computer, and it just booted Windows as usual.

    This sounds suspiciously like you have Secure Boot enable in the BIOS. Go into BIOS and disable it. Press F12 or your key for boot options. Choose the USB device .
      My Computers


  5. Posts : 16
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #25

    f14tomcat said:
    I've skimmed thru all 23 posts and this one sticks out.

    I just did a fresh instance of 'Create installation media', restarted the computer, and it just booted Windows as usual.

    This sounds suspiciously like you have Secure Boot enable in the BIOS. Go into BIOS and disable it. Press F12 or your key for boot options. Choose the USB device .
    Yep, I've tried with secure boot on and off. I tried a variety of other settings in the BIOS, reset all the defaults, tweaked things in different ways, and still nothing happens. I have booted into safe mode and had to create a localuser to try using cmd.exe (because there's a bug where it won't accept non-local passwords). I have run all the disk check programs and tried all the steps in this article.

    I'm now making a new MCT recovery stick, using the one that worked previously with loading Mint from USB. Maybe that'll do something...

    One thing I've seen is that with the particular way things fail when trying to reset the PC, it may indicate security or encryption issues. This is the BSOD error info:

    We couldn't install Windows 10
    We've set your PC back to the way it was right before you started installing Windows 10.
    0xC1900101 - 0x20017
    The installation failed in the SAFE_OS phase with an error during BOOT operation


    With that in mind, System Information says this in the Device Encryption Support section:
    Reasons for failed automatic device encryption: TPM is not usable, PCR7 binding is not supported, Hardware Security Test interface failed and device is not Modern Standby, Un-allowed DMA capable bus/device(s) detected, WinRE is not configured, TPM is not usable

    Anyone have any insights on that?
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 56,806
    Multi-boot Windows 10/11 - RTM, RP, Beta, and Insider
       #26

    If this just started happening, I would suspect a hardware error on the MB with the TPM module. If the TPM is software, the "Firmware TPM", perhaps it got mess up in BIOS. Without reading back everything, have you reset the BIOS to factory? Not just with the BIOS F-key option, but by popping the CMOS Bat and re-inserting. Some MBs have a jumper next to the CMOS or a button switch to do the same.
      My Computers


  7. Posts : 16
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #27

    f14tomcat said:
    If this just started happening, I would suspect a hardware error on the MB with the TPM module. If the TPM is software, the "Firmware TPM", perhaps it got mess up in BIOS. Without reading back everything, have you reset the BIOS to factory? Not just with the BIOS F-key option, but by popping the CMOS Bat and re-inserting. Some MBs have a jumper next to the CMOS or a button switch to do the same.
    No, I haven't done that yet. I read about it and it's not something I'm familiar with, so I've been leaving it as a desperate absolutely-out-of-ideas move. The MB is a Gigabyte AB350M-Gaming 3 in case that's of use. I'm definitely not familiar with messing around with motherboards physically.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 41,412
    windows 10 professional version 1607 build 14393.969 64 bit
       #28

    Please find a camera or smartphone camera to take pictures and post images into this thread.
    Post images for any error message or code.
    If there are problems posting images please use share links: one drive, drop box, or google drive

    What problems are you having with the computer that you want to reset or clean install?
    What was the error message when a reset remove files was attempted?

    Do you have more than one disk drive in which you can install Windows?
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 16
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #29

    zbook said:
    Please find a camera or smartphone camera to take pictures and post images into this thread.
    Post images for any error message or code.
    If there are problems posting images please use share links: one drive, drop box, or google drive

    What problems are you having with the computer that you want to reset or clean install?
    What was the error message when a reset remove files was attempted?

    Do you have more than one disk drive in which you can install Windows?
    I'll start taking pictures as I run into these issues.

    This is the info from my first post about why I need to fix the OS:

    It all started because of being unable to run windows update - it just kept saying "Your device is missing important security and quality fixes" and the Power options always said "Update and restart" or "Update and shut down" but never actually updated. Here's a breakdown of most of what I've done so far...

    I'm not sure what you mean by "What was the error message when a reset remove files was attempted?"

    There is only one HDD (no SSD or hybrid) in this PC.

    edit: Oh, one other thing that I JUST discovered is that the version of Windows currently installed is Windows 10 Home N. From everything I've read that shouldn't make a difference, but it might be useful info.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 41,412
    windows 10 professional version 1607 build 14393.969 64 bit
       #30

    So the only problem is failure to upgrade Windows?
      My Computer


 

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