Boot from USB Drive on Windows 10 PC  

Page 5 of 5 FirstFirst ... 345

  1. Posts : 68,668
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #40

    Philip Rayment said:
    Hello Brink,

    Thanks for the reply.

    I tried both, and neither worked. And no, there were no error messages, just the circle of dots going on and on and on... all night in one attempt. I could have worked with error messages, but zip.

    But I have since solved the problem.
    In making my original comment, I wondered if it would only work if I disconnected the SSD, and sure enough, I had a catch 22! I could run the Windows installer (up to the point of it asking for a drive) if I didn't have the drive connected that I wanted it installed on!
    I had fired up my late father's old Windows 7 computer stored in the garage to check out the SSD drive and create the USB installer.
    I thought of trying to install Windows on the drive in the Windows 7 computer, booting to the USB in that. I don't recall precisely what happened after that, but somehow in that computer CHKDSK ran, which proceeded to find huge numbers of problems (it went on for maybe 20 minutes or more), and fixed them. Well, not to the point of restoring Windows, and I think that computer refused to run the installer, but I think I tried it again in my computer (after managing to get the BIOS to recognise it again), and this time the installer was able to run properly.
    (It turned out that it was formatted for Legacy BIOS, although, as I mentioned, I had tried that earlier, and that wasn't the problem.)
    Now I have days of work ahead of me reinstalling applications, reinstating my preferences and settings, and so on. Arrgh! But at least it's usable again.

    (Incidentally, it wasn't practicable to connect the Windows 7 computer, which didn't have wifi, to my modem, but I had used my Android tablet to download the files, and then connected the tablet to that computer to transfer the downloaded files, and discovered, almost by accident, that I could use USB tethering give the Windows 7 computer internet access via the tablet connecting to the wifi from my modem.)
    It sounds like the SSD may be failing. I would recommend to check the health of the drive to verify.

    How to Check Drive Health and SMART Status in Windows 10
    Last edited by Brink; 20 Sep 2021 at 08:40. Reason: added tutorial link for more info
      My Computers


  2. Posts : 5
    Windows 10
       #41

    I have now used the SanDisk Dashboard to check my SSD and it says that it is healthy. Spare Blocks Remaining is at 100%. The only figure that suggests to me that something may be wrong is the Media Wear Out Indicator which shows 29.73%.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 68,668
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #42

    Philip Rayment said:
    I have now used the SanDisk Dashboard to check my SSD and it says that it is healthy. Spare Blocks Remaining is at 100%. The only figure that suggests to me that something may be wrong is the Media Wear Out Indicator which shows 29.73%.
    That is a low Media Wear Out Indicator percentage.

    If the drive is old and/or has been heavily used, it may be best to replace it to be safe.

    Does anything else report low or suspicious for the SSD? What does it show for its estimated remaining life?

    How to Check Drive Health and SMART Status in Windows 10
      My Computers


  4. Posts : 5
    Windows 10
       #43

    Nothing else looks suspicious to me, although I'm not that familiar with this aspect of hard disks. I can't see anything about estimating remaining life, and nothing in your link has anything useful for me on that particular question. (Did the Manage Disks and Volumes option not make it into normal releases yet? I don't have that option.)
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 42,737
    Win 10 Pro (22H2) (2nd PC is 22H2)
       #44

    If you try using Hard Disk Sentinel (applies to SSDs too, excellent, functional trial) you will immediately get a useful report, including estimated remaining lifetime.
    Boot from USB Drive on Windows 10 PC-1.jpg
      My Computers


  6. Posts : 5
    Windows 10
       #45

    Thanks dalchina. That tool says that my SSD's performance and health are both 100%, and the estimated remaining lifetime is "more than 961 days".
      My Computer


 

Tutorial Categories

Boot from USB Drive on Windows 10 PC Tutorial Index Network & Sharing Instalation and Upgrade Browsers and Email General Tips Gaming Customization Apps and Features Virtualization BSOD System Security User Accounts Hardware and Drivers Updates and Activation Backup and Restore Performance and Maintenance Mixed Reality Phone


  Related Discussions
Our Sites
Site Links
About Us
Windows 10 Forums is an independent web site and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Microsoft Corporation. "Windows 10" and related materials are trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

© Designer Media Ltd
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:16.
Find Us




Windows 10 Forums