• The hardware on your computer may not support it. Error: Windows cannot be installed on this disk. Windows cannot be installed on this disk. Check your BIOS setting

    Computers are complex devices that rely on many different elements to operate. One of them is a SATA controller. What is this device? How to work with it? How to take care of its performance? Here is an incomplete list of questions that will be considered as part of our article.

    It is a technology by which storage devices such as hard drives and optical cables can communicate over a high-speed cable with the motherboard. It is optimal to use the connector with the lowest number. SATA0 or SATA1 are considered ideal. It is possible to use other ports.

    When working with hard drives, you must initially use SATA0. It is installed on system media. Each subsequent one must have a number one more and so on. If you have multiple hard drives and use RAID mode to increase storage space, one wire is connected to the connector, and then everything else is connected to the controller.

    Operating modes

    Controllers determine how the hard drive will communicate with the motherboard. There can be three principles of interaction:

    1. Operating mode of the SATA IDE controller. The simplest option. With it, the hard drive functions as IDE or PATA. In this case, it has limited potential and is also not very fast. But this mode is very valuable if it is necessary to ensure compatibility of interaction with equipment that is already outdated. It can also be used in cases where the computer has only one hard drive and there is no need to use various drive functions.
    2. Operating mode of the SATA AHCI controller. In this case, the use of advanced drive functions becomes possible. An example is Native Command Queuing and hot swapping. Also a significant advantage is the high speed of interaction (when compared with the previous option).
    3. RAID controller operating mode. With this setup, you can create a single storage array from several separate hard drives. It is characterized by redundancy of information, as well as higher performance. The first is achieved by creating a backup copy of the hard drive, and the second by striping the disk space. When this mode works, AHCI also functions together with it.

    Notes

    Initially, you need to set the operating mode in which the SATA controller for a laptop or computer will function correctly, and only then deal with the operating system. After all, if you do this later, the OS may not work correctly, even to the point of failure. So, this may happen because the disk driver is disabled or the wrong BIOS setting is used.

    Causes of malfunctions

    Let's say your PC stops working with its hard drive. This malfunction may have several reasons:

    1. Cables are loose.
    2. The hard drive has failed.
    3. The SATA controller does not work or is very slow.

    In the first option, you need to check the tightness of the cable. In the second case, the device most likely needs to be replaced. And in the third - set the correct settings. Administrator rights are required for such changes. If they are, then you can begin to solve the problem.

    How to enable the SATA controller in the computer BIOS?

    First you need to go into the BIOS. There is no single standard - each machine uses a separate special key for this. To find out, you need to read the instructions on the screen that appear immediately after turning on the computer. Moreover, for a guaranteed result it must be pressed more than once.

    After logging in successfully, you need to find the Integrated Peripherals item. If it is not there, then any one that is consonant in meaning will do. It contains all the parameters that relate to the internal capabilities of the motherboard. Now you need to find the Onboard SATA Controller. If it's not there, just look for any entry that says "SATA controller." This parameter can only be set to Disabled and Enabled (disabled and enabled, respectively). You need to make sure that it is activated.

    To save changes, you can press F10 and the enter button. If you do not do this, the system itself will offer to perform these actions. After this, you should restart the computer and go into the BIOS again to make sure that the hard drive has been detected. You can understand this thanks to the Standard CMOS Features item. Now we know how to enable the SATA controller. Let's look at the modes.

    AHCI connection

    This is done using the same BIOS. To make changes, go to the control window. After that you need to look for IDE, AHCI or RAID. They must come with SATA. Also, on some devices, the word “MODE” is used additionally. We disable the mode that we do not need, and, on the contrary, enable the necessary one (this is also done by changing Disabled to Enabled and vice versa).

    If, when you try to change the mode, a message is displayed stating that no disk is located, it means that the necessary drivers are missing. Therefore, you will need to log into the operating system and install them with administrator rights first. This can also be done using the OS installation disc. But still, the first option is less time-consuming. Also remember that changes you make to the basic I/O system must be saved for them to take effect. How to do this was discussed in the previous paragraph.

    In general, here's how to switch the SATA controller to AHCI mode or another mode that is necessary. In this case, it is important to strictly follow the instructions so as not to touch anything unnecessary. Now let's take a look at two options that may come in handy when setting up your computer. Moreover, the main topic of the article has already been revealed, and we will now deepen our knowledge.

    SATA Controller Mode

    This option is used to specify the operating mode. We have already discussed this. Now let's pay attention to how and what works in this case. If you set the IDE mode, there will be no need to use additional drivers when working with equipment that uses this technology. The RAID mode is compatible with all operating systems starting from Windows 2000. The only peculiarity is that outdated media for drivers will be required here (if the equipment is of the same year as the operating system). Otherwise, their role can be successfully performed by a Flash drive or CD. But it makes sense to talk about creation only if there are at least two hard drives. Their work will be positively influenced by the same brand and volume. And if the parties and firmware match, these are already ideal conditions for using this mode.

    ANSI is a newer technology and is not compatible with (relatively) older systems. Due to the fact that this mode has a positive effect on the performance of the equipment, it is recommended to focus on it. Moreover, although RAID and ANSI can still be launched on representatives of operating systems and computers starting from the 2000 generation, they will not help with Windows 9x: there are simply no drivers that would combine the operation of software and hardware. Please note that changes must be made before the OS is installed. If you change the mode when the operating system is already installed, you can find a “blue screen of death” on your computer, which will display information about an error and the impossibility of correct operation. If you don’t want to see him and demolish the OS, then you should forcibly change the controller driver to one that will work with the new settings.

    History of development

    The first of the family of controllers is rightfully considered SATA 150. It is an interface that uses a serial data bus. It operates at a frequency of 1.5 GHz, thereby providing a throughput of 150 Megabytes per second. The standard has spread due to a number of advantages that previous developments did not have. Thus, the architectural advantages of the bus, the small size of connectors and cables, ease of use and overall reliability of the connection played a role. Also, when connecting two devices to one port, there are no conflicts or problems.

    The second generation of SATA 300 provides operation at speeds of 300 Megabytes in one second. In theory, both options are compatible, but problems cannot be ruled out. But, in fairness, it is worth saying that even the most modern hard drives have not yet learned to operate faster than 130 Megabytes per second, so there is no particular point in chasing numbers in this case. So there is no difference when using controller types. All that matters is which one connects first.

    Conclusion

    The SATA controller is, of course, an important part of any computer. It is a device that allows us to access data that is valuable. Also worthy of special attention is the success the developers of this part were able to achieve in terms of performance. In addition, this suggests that there is significant reserve for increasing the capacity of hard drives without improving the data transfer technology, which makes it unlikely that it will become obsolete and unnecessary in the next few decades.

    How to enable a disk in BIOS?

    If a new drive is not detected on your computer or the old one is no longer detected, there are several ways to enable the hard drive in the BIOS or enable the disk controller. Today we will tell you how to do this.

    How to enable disk in BIOS

    First you need to enter Bios. To do this, you need to press a certain key while the computer is booting, in most cases it is the “del” button, but there may be another key or a combination of them.

    Immediately after turning on the computer, the message “Press DEL to enter SETUP” or similar usually appears at the bottom of the screen, at which point you need to press the required key.

    In the window that opens, you need to find the “MAIN” or “Standard CMOS Features” tab, where a list of connected optical and hard drives is displayed and make sure that the disk is not detected. That is, it is not in the list of connected devices, or if this is the only disk, all items say “none”.

    • If the drive is Sata, you can check whether the sata interface controller is enabled. In the "SATA configuration" tab, in the controller line, the "enable" item must be selected; if not, you need to select it. After this, you need to go to the previous tab and if there is still no device, select the required sata connector and select auto, after which the device should be detected.
    • In the event that the disk disconnection was preceded by someone's intervention in the BIOS settings, i.e. it was disabled (read how to do it here:), you can return the BIOS settings to default by selecting "Load Defaults BIOS", or something similar depending on the BIOS version, for example: "Load Safe-Fail Defaults", etc.
    • If this is a new disk and it is detected in the BIOS, but not detected in the operating system, perhaps it is not partitioned or has a file system not supported by your OS, then it needs to be formatted. Read how to do this correctly in this article - be careful, formatting will destroy all data on the hard drive.

    If the above doesn't help you, especially if you have older hardware and multiple hard drives connected, the problem is most likely not in the BIOS. Try this:

    1. Turn off the computer and check the position of the jumper on the hard drive; if this is the second hard drive, it should be in the “slave” position, if the first is “master”. Information about the position of the jumpers is usually located on the cover of the device.
    2. If you have an old ide disk and it is not detected even in the “slave” position, you can try removing the jumper.

    All actions must be performed with the computer turned off and without power. After each change, of course, you need to go into the BIOS and check for the presence of the device.

    Sometimes when installing Windows, including version 10, an error message is displayed on the screen. The text of the message is: “Windows cannot be installed on this disk.” In this case, the hard drive is displayed in the BIOS. It is also visible at the stage of installation of the operating system, where it could be divided into sections.

    This problem occurs for two reasons:

    • the controller is disabled in the BIOS (AHCI mode);
    • The hard drive has a GPT volume.

    Problem with AHCI mode

    In addition to an error message informing you that it is impossible to install Windows 7 or 10 on this disk, if there are difficulties with the AHCI mode, the computer cannot boot from the selected disk. The reason is that the controller may be disabled in the BIOS.

    The problem is solved as follows:

    Problem with GPT format

    Another reason for the impossibility of installing Windows 7 or 10 versions with the display of a similar message may be GPT - the hard drive partition format.

    Until recently, all hard drives were the same type. The only partition style was MBR. Over the past few years, manufacturers have been gradually switching to producing hard drives with the GPT format. But the boot files from the OS are not modified for the new formats, and as a result, the error described above appears during installation.

    The MBR (master boot record) is the program code and data required to pre-start the computer. They are located in the initial marked sector of the hard drive. The MBR starts after the initial BIOS analysis of the performance of all devices. Its main function is to determine the location of the files that are needed to boot the OS.

    GPT is a new standard for the volume table layout format. A standard firmware interface for computers was also developed, replacing the BIOS. It is called UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface).

    The problem occurs because the OS installer cannot install Windows on the specified partition due to the fact that the partition table does not suit it.

    There are 2 methods to solve the problem:

    • installing the system on a similar disk;
    • Converting a partition to MBR.

    The choice of method should be determined by the following rules:

    • if your computer supports the UEFI interface and you need to install a 64-bit OS (for example, Windows 10), then it is recommended to use the first option. Checking the presence of a UEFI interface is very simple. Graphics mode with mouse control indicates the presence of UEFI;
    • If the computer was manufactured several years ago, has a BIOS and requires installing a 32-bit operating system from MicroSoft, then you should convert GPT to MBR.

    Using MBR limits some features, such as:

    • their volume cannot exceed 4 TB;
    • The maximum number of volumes on the HDD is limited to 4.

    Installation of Windows 7, 8 and 10 on GPT

    Problems when installing an OS on a GPT volume usually arise for those who want to install Windows 7, 8 and 10.

    To install the OS on a GPT volume, you must meet 2 conditions:

    • install a 64-bit system (for example, Windows 10);
    • boot in EFI mode.

    If the first condition is not met, you must prepare a bootable UEFI drive.

    But in most cases, only the second condition is not met. Therefore, it is better to immediately go into the BIOS and check the settings.

    There are two parameters to set in the BIOS:

    • enable UEFI boot;
    • switch the operating mode SATA to AHCI.

    After saving the settings, you can install the OS on your computer. The mistake will not happen again.

    Converting GPT volumes to MBR

    There are several options for converting volume style. Let's look at them in more detail.

    Converting to MBR when installing Windows via the command line

    This method is optimal for use in situations where installing an OS such as Windows 7, 8, 10 is not feasible due to the GPT volume type. It can also be useful not only when installing the OS, but also during the normal operation of the OS for converting non-system partitions.

    It should be remembered that when converting partitions, all information from them will be lost. Therefore, it is recommended to save everything important on an external storage device in advance.

    To change the style of volumes from GPT to MBR via the command line:

    • run the command line in Windows as a user with administrator rights;
    • to display a list of hard drives connected to the computer, enter the commands “diskpart” and “list disk” in sequence;
    • select the disk to change the style with the command “select disk D”, where D is the disk number;
      Then two scenarios are possible.
      1. perform a complete disk cleanup using the “clean” command. In this case, all HDD volumes will be deleted;
      2. You can delete HDD volumes one at a time using the commands “detail disk”, “select volume” and “delete volume”;
    • start converting the disk to MBR with the “convert mbr” command;
    • exit Diskpart by selecting “Exit”. Close the command prompt. After this, it is recommended to continue installing the operating system. This error message will no longer appear.

    You can create volumes on the HDD by selecting “ Set up disk».

    The volume style change is complete.

    Change partition style from GPT to MBR using Windows Disk Management

    An alternative method for converting volumes requires a normally functioning Windows 7, 8 or 10 operating system on a personal computer. You can only convert a disk volume that is not a system one.

    The sequence of steps to convert a HDD volume is as follows:


    Utilities for changing partition style

    In addition to the standard methods for converting HDD volumes provided by Microsoft developers, you can use third-party hard drive volume management utilities, such as


    Video on the topic

    You may encounter the message “Windows cannot be installed on this disk” at the stage of selecting an operating system installation partition if not supported download from the selected storage medium. The reason that caused this obstacle is stated in the installer's message.

    Reasons There may be several such problems:

    • worn out or damaged SATA cable;
    • disabled hard drive controller in BIOS;
    • malfunctions the storage medium itself;
    • absence AHCI driver included in the Windows distribution;
    • does not match the format BIOS - UEFI or Legacy - disk partition style - GPT and MBR, respectively.

    Let's talk about the last two problems in more detail.

    Problem with AHCI

    The appearance at one time of the connection mode for the SATA storage media controller AHCI, which replaced the old IDE, entailed additional requirement to the composition of the Windows distribution kit - the presence of the corresponding drivers. AHCI driver support is announced in OS versions starting with Vista.

    But Windows 7 does not always want to be installed on a computer with active mode SATA AHCI controller. There are two ways out here - change of distribution(AHCI drivers can be cut by packagers of pirated assemblies) and AHCI switching to old IDE mode. In the latter case, you need to enter the BIOS, find the section for setting the parameters of the SATA controller (sections may be called “Integrated Peripherals”, “Storage Configuration”, etc.) and change the preset AHCI to IDE.

    Convert MBR to GPT

    Windows will not install if the disk has wrong style sections:

    • GPT, while the UEFI interface in the BIOS is disabled;
    • MBR, while UEFI mode is active and Windows is installed from UEFI bootable media.

    The last case is the most common: everyone who either replaced a new motherboard with BIOS UEFI support, or connected HDDs or SSDs with MBR partitioning for PC assembly. There may also be two options for getting out of the situation:

    • refuse from the advantages of UEFI, disable this interface in the BIOS (switch to Legacy) and continue installing Windows on an MBR disk;
    • convert it in GPT.

    If there is no important data on the hard drive, transformation from MBR to GPT will be carried out automatically Windows installer. To do this, at the stage of choosing the OS installation location, you need to delete all existing partitions.

    And as an installation location indicate whole unoccupied space.

    You need to complete the Windows reinstallation process, return to the old system and install this program. Or boot up with LiveDisk with AOMEI Partition Assistant included, if you already have access to the old Windows impossible. Program developer - AOMEI company - provides the ability to create emergency bootable media with your products on board. To create such media, you need to use another product of the company - AOMEI PE Builder. Also, AOMEI Partition Assistant, among other software for system engineers, is included in LiveDisk AdminPE.

    To convert disk from MBR to GPT, follow the steps as in the screenshots below.

    After converting the section style again launch Windows installation.

    Convert GPT to MBR

    If the question is the opposite - for example, the motherboard does not support BIOS UEFI, but the assembly of components includes an HDD or SSD with GPT partitioning, there will be nothing left but convert it in the MBR. This can be done in the same ways as described above for the reverse process:

    • by removal all partitions using the Windows installer, if there is no need for the data stored on the disk;
    • by using programs AOMEI Partition Assistant.

    To convert a disk from GPT to MBR, follow the same steps as in previous section article, with the only difference that this time we launch, accordingly, the reverse operation.

    This instruction describes in detail what to do if, when installing Windows, you are told that it is impossible to install Windows on the disk partition, and in detail - “Installing Windows on this disk is not possible. Your computer hardware may not support booting from this disk. Make sure that the controller for this drive is enabled in the computer's BIOS menu."

    If you do select this section and click "Next" in the installer, you will see an error stating that we were unable to create a new or find an existing section with a suggestion to view additional information in the installer log files. Below we will describe ways to fix this error (which can occur in Windows 10 - Windows 7 setup programs).

    As users' computers and laptops become more and more diverse in disk partition tables (GPT and MBR), HDD operating modes (AHCI and IDE) and boot types (EFI and Legacy), errors when installing Windows 10 are also becoming more frequent. 8 or Windows 7 caused by these settings. The described case is just one of these errors.

    Note: If the message that installation to the drive is not possible is accompanied by error information 0x80300002 or the text “This drive may soon fail,” this may be caused by a poor connection of the drive or SATA cables, as well as damage to the drive itself or the cables. This case is not considered in the current material.

    Fixing the error “Installation on this disk is not possible” using BIOS settings (UEFI).

    Most often, this error occurs when installing Windows 7 on old computers with BIOS and Legacy boot, in cases where AHCI mode (or any RAID, SCSI modes) is enabled in the BIOS in the operating parameters of SATA devices (that is, hard drive).

    The solution in this particular case is to go into the BIOS settings and change the hard drive operating mode to IDE. As a rule, this is done somewhere in the Integrated Peripherals - SATA Mode section of the BIOS settings (several examples in the screenshot).

    But even if you don't have an "old" computer or laptop, this option can also work. If you are installing Windows 10 or 8, then instead of enabling IDE mode, I recommend:

    1. Enable EFI booting in UEFI (if supported).
    2. Boot from the installation drive (flash drive) and try the installation.

    True, in this option you may encounter another type of error, the text of which will inform you that the selected disk contains an MBR partition table (correction instructions are mentioned at the beginning of this article).

    I myself do not fully understand why this happens (after all, AHCI drivers are included in images of Windows 7 and higher). Moreover, I was able to reproduce the error for installing Windows 10 (the screenshots are from there) - simply by changing the disk controller from IDE to SCSI for the “first generation” Hyper-V virtual machine (that is, with BIOS).

    I couldn’t check whether the specified error will appear during EFI booting and installation on a disk operating in IDE mode, but I assume this is the case (in this case, we try to enable AHCI for SATA drives in UEFI).

    Third-party AHCI, SCSI, RAID disk controller drivers.

    In some cases, the problem is caused by the specific hardware of the user. The most common option is to have caching SSDs on a laptop, multi-disk configurations, RAID arrays and SCSI cards.

    If you have reason to believe that hardware features are the cause of the error “Windows cannot be installed on this drive,” the first thing you should do is go to the official website of the laptop or motherboard manufacturer and see if there are any drivers there (usually presented as an archive, not an installer) for SATA devices.

    If there is, download, unpack the files onto a USB flash drive (inf and sys driver files are usually present there), and in the window for selecting a partition for installing Windows, click “Load driver” and specify the path to the driver file. And after installing it, it becomes possible to install the system on the selected hard drive.

    We hope that this material will help you solve your problem. If you have any questions or additions, write in the comments.

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