System HDD hard failed, need to know how to format a replacement HDD

[gcates9898]

My step grand daughter's  laptop HDD failed. She did not have any recovery media. I have created a USB thumb drive with Windows 10 22H2 install media. The install can not continue as the replacement HDD is not formatted correctly with an MBR. The replacement HDD is only 430 GB vs the original 2 TB.

Can I force the UEFI to correctly format the new HDD? 

[Paul_Tikkanen]

See if this works:

There should be two sets of boot options--Legacy and UEFI.

Boot the USB installation media from the (U)EFI USB flash drive, not the legacy one.

[gcates9898]

i built te installation USB thumb drive as a UEFI bootable device. I have tried the straight up replace everything install and the OS Repair install. In both cases I answer the the 1st 3 questions and click on Install now. Within seconds I get a Can't install Windows error and a device partition table. I have tried deleting and modifying partition 0 size. The can't install Windows on this device followed by the partition table. I have tried the Format option without success. 

I should note that when clicking on the i bubble I get the device is not formatted with an MBR explanation.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

When you are in the Windows Setup script and you are at the screen where you can't install Windows, follow these steps:

• 1. Press Shift+F10 to open a command prompt window.
• 2. Type diskpart and press the enter key
• 3.Type list disk (look for your disk number, check the size of the disk)
• 4. Type select disk <disk number>. example: select disk0 (select the disk you want to format)
• 5. Type clean
• 6. Type convert gpt
• 7. Close the command prompt window.

Now try and install Windows.

[WAWood]

I had to do this last week when reinstalling Windows on an old desktop -- and Paul is right -- the target drive has to be empty of all partitions for the installer to continue.  I first created an NTFS partition on the drive, expecting the installer to use it -- but I got the error message that it could find no partitions on the drive.  I then had it reformat the partition -- but got the same message again.  So I removed the drive and, as Paul says, I blanked it -- and then, the installer continue -- as it knows how to format the drive properly and will do that.

[gcates9898]

Paul,

Thanks for hanging with me. I have been dealing with a fractured humerus and have been slowed significantly. In reply to your message on 04/05 late evening, the install media was built for UEFI. I was booted up into the UEFI bios not Legacy. I have yet to try the boot device/boot disk configuration changes. I hope to do that today if my shoulder gives me enough time to do so.

[gcates9898]

WaWood: Thanks for the response. The target device is a brand new WD Blue 430 GB SATA HDD and has never been used before so it should be clean with no previous partitioning configuration. Right?