Can't install Windows, probably cause of wrong SATA setting

[PearlDiver]

Hi all,

It's been a while I was unsuccesfully trying to install Windows 7 Home 32b using a USB stick.

Configuration:

• HP Compaq dc7800 Small Form Factor
• Intel Core Duo E6550 2.33GHz
• 2048 MB DDR2/667MHz
• System BIOS: 786F1 v01.04

Story:

1. The former copy of Windows7 got corrupted by a virus
2. I tried to reinstall it completely (not upgrading), got stuck at "Windows is loading files"
3. I installed Ubuntu, used it for a couple of weeks
4. I would rather need Windows, tried but failed again
5. I ran DBAN wipe on both HDDs

After this, I could get to Win7 installer's partition selecting section, but none of the HDDs are available for installation, it's asking me to check BIOS settings in order to access them.

Given the following Storage Options in the BIOS:

Removable Media Boot: Enable

Legacy Diskette Write: Enable

SATA Emulation: IDE

In this case, highlighting any of the disks at partition select, I get this warning when I click Next:

"Windows cannot be installed to this disk. This computer's hardware may not support booting to this disk. Ensure that the disk's controller is enabled in the computer's BIOS menu."

The other SATA option is RAID and if I choose this, the 250GB disk seems to be available for the install, but I get the error message:

"Setup was unable to create a new system partition or locate an existing system partition. See the Setup log files for more info."

 - sadly, I couldn't find any log viewing possibility in the setup.

I ran a DPS self-test on both HDDs, everything passed.

This is the point where I gave up trying by myself, don't know, the BIOS may be outdated or there is something else I am not aware of, but Google hasn't helped me out yet so I hope some of you guys can help grab the root of this problem.

[erico]

It is likely that the disk partition type is the issue.

Use a windows install disk or usb installer to boot to a command prompt. at the X:\ prompt type in diskpart..Follow the tutorial in the video.

[PearlDiver]

Thank you for the idea, I did exactly the same as shown in the video, but nothing changed.... I'm afraid there's no problem with the drives themselves, i suspect some hiding BIOS setting 😕

[erico]

Format the disk to FAT32 by using diskpart. The tutorial in the previous video should show you how to do that.

 Check in security tab to see if all is as in the following image, specifically SATA0 and SATA1

[PearlDiver]

Thank you for your efforts,

I've double checked every setting where any hard drives could be disabled in any way, including the one specified on your simulator screenshot.

And FAT32 formatting doesn't solve it either, because Windows can only be installed on NTFS file system.

I also tried to disconnect one of the disks, then the other, but also no result...

[erico]

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@PearlDiver wrote:

Thank you for your efforts,

I've double checked every setting where any hard drives could be disabled in any way, including the one specified on your simulator screenshot.

And FAT32 formatting doesn't solve it either, because Windows can only be installed on NTFS file system.

I also tried to disconnect one of the disks, then the other, but also no result...

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"Windows can only be installed on NTFS file system." That is not so. Windows can also be installed to FAT32. As part of the advanced features during installion, you can format the hard disk as FAT32 or NTFS.

There may be a problem with the Windows installer you are using.

Is it a DVD, USB installer or have you tried a recovery disk set or usb recovery media?

[Onlyinsider]

I had this exact same issue - thankfully a little Google searching helped me find the solution!

The issue is caused by the "Data Execution Prevention" setting in the PC BIOS settings.  Follow the instructions at this link, and disable that feature, and you will be able to install Windows with no issues.

https://support.symantec.com/en_US/article.TECH88021.html

[erico]

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@Onlyinsider wrote:

I had this exact same issue - thankfully a little Google searching helped me find the solution!

The issue is caused by the "Data Execution Prevention" setting in the PC BIOS settings.  Follow the instructions at this link, and disable that feature, and you will be able to install Windows with no issues.

https://support.symantec.com/en_US/article.TECH88021.html

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This thread is over a year old. 

It is a good idea to try and keep the threads timely, so I will be blocking any new replies to this thread.