Windows 7 Can't install Windows...HELP!

Impossible

New Member
Hello,

I am trying to install Windows 7 Professional onto a computer from an 8GB USB drive. I can boot from the USB fine but when it asks you choose where you want to install Windows it can't find any drives and it says I must load a driver. This is strange because if I put the hard drive into another computer it will install Windows perfectly.

I can see the HDD in the BIOS but it just can't see it when installing Windows. :zoned: I have a Western Digital 320GB HDD. Any ideas what's wrong, or perhaps where I can get a driver for it? I have looked on the WD website but couldn't find anything.

Thanks,

Impossible.
 
You should not need a driver.

Is there a possibility the drive might or might not be a GPT drive used for a UEFI bios system?

Have you tried changing the port the drive is plugged in to?

Is this a SATA III drive?
 
You should not need a driver.

Is there a possibility the drive might or might not be a GPT drive used for a UEFI bios system?

Have you tried changing the port the drive is plugged in to?

Is this a SATA III drive?

Sorry, I don't know what GPT or UEFI is. But I can install Windows onto the drive using my computer (new). I can't use the old computer to install Windows because it can't detect the drive, although it does detect it in the BIOS.

Yes, I have changed the port it is plugged in to - no difference.

It is just a SATA drive. It is quite old, but still works fine if I plug it into my computer (new) for extra storage.
 
If you plug it into the new computer, can you get a picture of it in Disk Management? Make sure and expand it so we can see the partition descriptions and the left end that refers to the type of drive.

UEFI is a new bios system that is being used on some newer computers. For Windows 7 to use it, a GPT drive configuration is necessary. The older computer may not recognize it. This situation may not be relevant, but other than that, I could only suggest cleaning the drive before using it in the old computer. Diskpart can do that as you install. Let us know if you want to go that direction.
 
If you plug it into the new computer, can you get a picture of it in Disk Management? Make sure and expand it so we can see the partition descriptions and the left end that refers to the type of drive.

Link Removed due to 404 Error

I doubt that it is the drive. If i put my hard drive (Seagate Barracuda 1TB) into the old computer, it still can't boot up. The same thing happens (restarts at "Starting Windows" screen). It must be something to do with the BIOS, because it can detect the drive in the BIOS, but when installing Windows 7 it says there are no drives detected and I must install a driver.
 

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