media creation tool Win 10 doesn't complete clean install

x509 · 19 Apr 2023

I created an install USB for 22H2 Win 10 using the Media Creation Tool. For once this install USB failed to install Windows. I selected the Custom install option and I also selected do not have a product key, since I have a digital license for this system.

When I ran the install, I expected that after finishing the install my system would boot into the new win 10 install. Instead it booted back into the install USB, so I re-ran the install. Two more times. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. So I was gripped by temporary insanity.

Each time I did the re-install I deleted the previous install partitions. Here is the issue. There were only two partitions created. 16 MB reserved and 400 MB primary partition. No 100 MB partition. No recovery partition.

What happened and what do I do now? I couldn't find any useful answers using Google search. I tried.

idgat · 19 Apr 2023

x509 said:

When I ran the install, I expected that after finishing the install my system would boot into the new win 10 install. Instead it booted back into the install USB, so I re-ran the install. Two more times. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. So I was gripped by temporary insanity.

Because that's what it's supposed to do, seeing you set (changed) the boot option to the USB device. During the install process, the computer needs to restart, and naturally, according to the BIOS boot settings, it goes looking for a USB ... and finds one.

When it does this, all you need do is remove the USB and reboot. It will find the Windows setup installation and continue on it's merry way.

This sometimes depends on the boot settings, and may not be a problem if you use a separate boot menu option, usually a different Fx key during startup, which is only valid for the current boot session. It doesn't chnage the BIOS boot order. And always there's an exception ... I have a desktop that has that very same access to a boot menu with a differnt key to the BIOS access. But, if I use that boot menu it changes the BIOS boot order anyway. Experience will out.

Ghot · 19 Apr 2023

@x509

This is the reason that I use the "Boot Menu" (F8 on ASUS boards), instead of setting USB as the first boot device in the BIOS.
The "Boot Menu" is just a one-time setting. In the BIOS however, it will keep booting from the first device on the list until you enter the BIOS again, and change it.

Here are the Boot Menu and BIOS keys for every computer and motherboard type...

media creation tool Win 10 doesn't complete clean install-0000000-boot-menu-bios-keys.jpg

This is a really large pic. You need to click on it 3 times to get full size.

Megahertz · 19 Apr 2023

Windows can be installed in two ways: Legacy-MBR or UEFI-GPT
To install as Legacy-MBR you must boot the installation drive as Legacy
To install as UEFI-GPT you must boot the installation drive as UEFI.

If you have a UEFI BIOS, you should install as UEFI-GPT
Detach any other drives (SATA or Power cable) from the MB.

During POST, press F8 to launch the boot menu. You will see two options for the USB drive. USB UEFI (Name) and USB (Name). Select USB UEFI (Name) if you want to install as UEFI-GPT or select USB (name) if you want to install as Legacy-MBR.
Go to install and delete ALL partitions on the main drive till you have one and only one unallocated space and then proceed.
If you don't want to use MS account, don't enable updates or connect to the internet during installation.

NavyLCDR · 19 Apr 2023

The simple solution is to watch for the message that pops up saying the system will reboot in 10 seconds. Pull out the flash drive. If you miss it and it boots back into the USB flash drive, simply pull it out, and reboot the computer.

Pretty easy eh? I went to the doctor and said "Doctor, my shoulder hurts when I put my arm over my head." The doctor replied, "Don't put your arm over your head and your shoulder won't hurt."

x509 · 19 Apr 2023

A reply to all the responses to my OP. Let me note that for several days, I was doing a clean install of Win 11, until I decided not to proceed with Win 11 at this time. Why I decided against a Win 11 clean install for now

During each of many, many reinstalls of Win 11, the system automatically booted into Win 11, even if I had not removed the USB installer drive. And each time I did a re-install I had to clear out 4 partitions so the entire drive would be unallocated space. Contrast this with the fact that my system continued to boot into the Win 10 installer USB and I had to delete only 2 partitions to clear out the entire drive.

Several times I did remove the Win 10 installer before reboot, and each time my system booted into UEFI BIOS, with NO boot partitions available, either the normal HDD (NVMe) or a USB stick. So after thinking more about this process, I have to assume that the Win 10 22H2 updater is just that, an updater and not designed for a full install. Maybe Microsoft wants to coerce us into using Win 11?

So that leads to the question: What is a safe and reliable website from which I can download a full Win 10 ISO, which I can either burn to a DVD or convert to a USB drive with Rufus?

Megahertz · 19 Apr 2023

x509 said:

Several times I did remove the Win 10 installer before reboot, and each time my system booted into UEFI BIOS, with NO boot partitions available, either the normal HDD (NVMe) or a USB stick. So after thinking more about this process, I have to assume that the Win 10 22H2 updater is just that, an updater and not designed for a full install.

I don't think it is the case as an update is a single file. A Win 10 USB installer drive is a multi files and folders. Also if it said it was going to reboot it has just copied / expanded the Win 10 files to your drive.

I suggest you build the USB Win 10 22h2 installation drive using MCT
As you have a UEFI BIOS you should boot the Win 10 22h2 installation drive as UEFI. See my last post.

NavyLCDR · 19 Apr 2023

The problem is that you were booting the Windows 10 USB flash drive in MBR (legacy BIOS) @Mode and not UEFI mode, See @Megahertz post #4. Windows setup partitioned and formatted the internal disk as MBR with an NTFS system reserved partition marked as active to boot from. When the computer rebooted, it expected to see a FAT32 EFI System Partition to boot from. It could not find one, so it could not boot from the internal disk.

The problem is not the USB flash drive created by the MCT which is completely capable of doing a clean install for either legacy BIOS (MBR) or UEFI. The problem is operator error. That being said, I believe that Rufus has the capability of downloading the Windows 10 ISO file built into it, but I never use Rufus, I am only going by what I have read on the forums.

EDIT:
Yes, I just verified Rufus has the built-in ability to download the ISO file. I do not know where it gets the ISO file from, though.

Try3 · 19 Apr 2023

x509 said:

What is a safe and reliable website from which I can download a full Win 10 ISO, which I can either burn to a DVD or convert to a USB drive with Rufus?

1 Download the ISO - You can use one of the sources identified in Download Windows 10 ISO File -TenForumsTutorials [one of them, the MS MCT tool, achieves both steps 1 & 2]
2 Make the InstallUSB - You will only ever need to consider making an InstallUSB [or DVD] if you want to run a clean install [or to carry out specific repairs such as Startup repairs] - Create Bootable Installation USB - TenForumsTutorials

You do not need Rufus to make an InstallUSB.
I don't remember anything about DVDs.

Best of luck,
Denis

x509 · 19 Apr 2023

Ghot said:

@x509

This is the reason that I use the "Boot Menu" (F8 on ASUS boards), instead of setting USB as the first boot device in the BIOS.
The "Boot Menu" is just a one-time setting. In the BIOS however, it will keep booting from the first device on the list until you enter the BIOS again, and change it.

On my last two ASUS board, ROG Strix-E x570 and Strix-E x670a I can't set the BIOS to automatically boot from a USB device. (Am I missing something?) I always have to select the USB drive from the Override list.