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I recently decided to switch over to an SSD in my custom rig from my old HDD, installing Windows 10 from a hard drive onto said SSD. Upon completing the installation, as my computer reboots, it simply re-initiates the Windows installation process from the hard drive.

Spending the bulk of yesterday afternoon and tonight, here are some different techniques I've tried but to no avail:

  • Before even starting, the SSD was selected as Boot Option #1, I chose #2 to be the hard drive install.
  • I've moved around from MBR to GPT in the cmd prompt and vice versa with my SSD to achieve utilizing UEFI and/or Legacy in my BIOS, successfully installing Windows 10 either way without ever attaining a successful OS boot.
  • I tried pulling the hard drive after installation upon reboot and I'm left with the same error along the lines of "Insert bootable media device and press any key to continue."
  • I've tried moving SATA cables around in different plug-ins on my motherboard, all the while it is worth noting that my SSD is the only storage device plugged into SATA and power.
  • I successfully flashed my BIOS to the latest version and reattempted my procedure above.
  • I also enabled/disabled a "Windows 8/8.1/10 Configuration" feature in my advanced settings both enabling and disabling the fast boot feature. When the Windows feature is enabled and only UEFI is available, I cannot seem to boot from my SSD even though it is GPT in that case, in fact, it does not even appear in the boot order, and I simply enter the UEFI shell.

If anyone happens to have a better idea or understanding of some troubleshooting process/solution, I'm open to trying anything before purchasing other products. Thanks!

hemsine
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    Try installing Windows 10 on the SSD without the hard drive in the machine (that is, just one drive in the computer). – John Jun 28 '21 at 10:21
  • I did still the same result. Could it be the motherboard does not support SSD? – hemsine Jun 28 '21 at 14:25
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    That or try updating BIOS on the the computer to support SSD. – John Jun 28 '21 at 14:26
  • Thanks John that really worked, I'm now able to boot from the ssd drives:) – hemsine Jun 29 '21 at 12:45
  • I will post this as a solution and perhaps you can acknowledge it. – John Jun 29 '21 at 12:48
  • @hemsine Why do folks not research what CSM Mode is for prior to enabling it (this is around the fifth question/answer I've commented on regarding this in the past week): CSM [Legacy] Mode should never be enabled, as its sole purpose was to support distros that didn't support EFI boot circa <2017 (Windows has supported EFI boot since Win7), emulating BIOS' 16bit architecture within a 32bit environment, and it will cause performance degradation (boot times increase, GPT can't be used, etc.). – JW0914 Jun 29 '21 at 12:57
  • Windows boot issues are easy to resolve via BootRec (see Step 5 in the last section of this answer - Windows should always be installed with CSM Mode: disabled) The issue is either the BCD store or that the HDD containing Windows Setup is still configured as the first boot device, else it's listed in the BCD store and BootRec will resolve that (if the WinPE listing [Windows Setup HDD] is found, choose N to not add it to the BCD Store) – JW0914 Jun 29 '21 at 13:57

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First I always install Windows (10) with just one drive in the computer. This is just a suggestion on my part and may not be necessary for you or others.

Then update BIOS on the the computer in order to support using an SSD drive.

John
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  • There's no reason to disconnect HDDs Windows isn't being installed to prior to installation, as Windows Setup only modifies the harddrive selected for install, or only modifies the partition it's being installed to if the WinRE and Boot partitions have already been created manually or were pre-existing. All Windows setup does is use Dism /Apply-Image to apply the captured master WIM/ESD [sources\install.wim||sources\install.esd] to the partition selected for the install, then it customizes the offline Windows OS partiition via the master answer file [Windows\Panther\unattend.xml] – JW0914 Jun 29 '21 at 13:10
  • I always just have one drive to avoid issues. Just a suggestion on my part. But updating BIOS worked for the OP. – John Jun 29 '21 at 13:11
  • I'm unsure why you believe issues would come up, as there's no way for Windows Setup to modify partitions other than the WinRE, Boot, and OS partitions (MSR as well if EFI boot). Windows Setup is completely controlled via the answer file (if wanting to modify, use Windows SIM [System Image Manager], which is a part of MDT [Microsoft Deployment Tools]), so there's literally no way it can modify any but the aforementioned partitions. – JW0914 Jun 29 '21 at 13:18
  • Sometimes two drives have caused issues. Not usually, but sometimes. I work to avoid issues . Answer edited to belt and suspender. – John Jun 29 '21 at 13:19
  • The only way issues could result is from the user - it may provide a better understanding if you check out the contents of the unattend.xml answer file within a text editor that has XML syntax highlighting to show there's no way for Windows setup to modify any other partitions unless the user directs it to. – JW0914 Jun 29 '21 at 13:22