Cannot install Windows on NUC7I5BNK

[minipc2018]

Hello everyone,

I had Windows 10 installed on the NVME drive of my NUC.

One day, Windows was trying to update. The process got up to 90-ish something percent and then the nuc would freeze. Tried several times by force shutting down the nuc with same results.

Anyway, the thing is that now I cannot make a clean install of Windows 10 to the NVME drive anymore. Everytime I got to the part to select the drive to install Windows, the drive doesn't show up (though it appears on the Bios).

I also think I messed up the GRUB from Windows since I've been trying to install several distributions of linux without success, after not being able to install Windows 10 in the first place.

My setup is:

- NUC: NUC7i5bnk (slim version)
- OS: Windows 10 Pro latest version
- Storage: Samsung 970 EVO 250GB - NVMe PCIe M.2 2280 SSD (MZ-V7E250BW)
- Memory: 2 x Crucial 4GB Single DDR4 2400 MT/S (PC4-19200) SR x8 Unbuffered SODIMM 260-Pin Memory - CT4G4SFS824A (8GB Total)

Drivers:
BIOS: BNKBL 357.86 A (latest)

If anyone can help me I´ll be forever grateful!

[LeonWaksman]

Hi @minipc2018 

The image attached to your post is unreadable (and also not in English, so, I can't understand what is written).  I suggest that you try the following:

1. Boot from your Windows 10 installation USB.
2.  Select your language preferences and click/tap on Next.
3.  Click/tap on Repair your computer at the bottom.
4.  Click/tap on Troubleshoot.
5.  Click/tap on Advanced options.
6. Click on Command Prompt
7. Run Diskpart
8. Run List disk
9. Run sel disk n (where n is the number of your  Samsung 970 EVO 250GB drive)
10. Run clean all , your drive will be wiped.

Leon

[n_scott_pearson]

Also, verify that UEFI Boot has remained enabled in BIOS. 

...S

[minipc2018]

Hi Leon,

Thank you for your super quick response! Sorry for the quality from the first image, it was the only one I had saved from months ago.

Now, I'm trying to follow your steps but I have these questions:

1) I made my Windows 10 installation flash drive using Rufus. When I power on my nuc and press F10, should I select the 4th option from the top to boot? (1. boot devices.jpg)

2) I think my nvme drive is not showing when I run "list disk". As you can see in the image I have 2 items listed, the 1st one has 0 B of space and the 2nd one has 14 GB of space, which is the flashdrive with the Windows 10 image. (2. diskpart.jpg)

3) Assuming the first drive is my nvme drive, for the sake of testing I selected it and then I ran the "clean all" command. When I run the clean all command I got the message: “DiskPart has encountered an error: a device which does not exists was specified. See the system event log for more information” . (2. diskpart.jpg).

Am I missing something?

[n_scott_pearson]

Leon is likely still sleeping, so I will attempt to cover.
If using NVMe SSD, you must UEFI boot. If selecting device to boot, you must select entry for the flash drive that starts with "UEFI: ".
When you get to the scene in the Windows installer wherein you select the partition to install to, delete *all* partitions on the NVMe SSD and then tell the installer to install to the unallocated space. This causes installer to replace partition table with proper GPT partition table. It also lets the installer choose the most appropriate partition layout.
Hope this helps,
...S

[LeonWaksman]

Thank you Scott. I'm awake now. @minipc2018 , please follow Scott's instructions. I'm attaching image of Boot Menu, showing in two last option the same USB stick created by Microsoft Media Creation tool. To correctly install Windows you should boot from the UEFI entry (the last option), while in BIOS the UEFI boot is enabled too.

Leon

 

[minipc2018]

Hello again Leon,

So I did as you and Scott recommended, same results, I reach to the screen that says "Where do you want to install Windows?" (see 1.jpg).
If I hit "Next", it says I don't have enough space. If I hit "Refresh" the only item from the list disappears (see 2.jpg).

Now, the crazy thing is that the ONLY way I got to see the disk (apart from being listed on the Bios) is with a 32 bit linux distribution called Linux Lite 3.6 booting from a live usb (see 3.jpg).

On this distribution I can see the 250 GB nvme drive, navigate, create files, delete them, go the partition manager, etc (see 4,5 and 6.jpg).

Do you have any other advice?

Thank you!

[n_scott_pearson]

You are seeing this issue because you are NOT booting the Windows installer in UEFI mode. If you are not seeing an entry like Leon's, there is something wrong in either your BIOS configuration or the setup of your Windows installation flash disk. Did you use the Microsoft Windows Media Creation tool to download the image and setup your flash disk? If not, do so now. Here is like: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10.

...S

[minipc2018]

Hi Scott,

Thank you for your quick response.

I DID boot from the UEFI entry as per Leon's instructions. And yes, I used the Microsoft Windows Media Creation tool to download the image and setup my flash (before I was trying Rufus but just to be extra sure I ended up using Microsoft's official tool).

The problem appears when I reach to the screen that says "Where do you want to install Windows?" (see 1.jpg).
If I hit "Next", it says I don't have enough space. If I hit "Refresh" the only item from the list disappears (see 2.jpg).

So I guess:
a) My nvme drive is not being detected at all by the Windows installer.
b) My nvme drive reports having zero space for some reason (0.0 MB).

PS: I also tried making the Windows USB with 3 different usb flash drives.

[LeonWaksman]

When you reach the place "Where do you want to install Windows?", select your drive and then click on Delete. Once you see one Unallocated space, click on Next.

Leon

[n_scott_pearson]

Leon, for some reason, he isn't getting to that scene in a working state. IDK why this is occurring; if he is properly booting in UEFI mode this shouldn't happen.
A thought: Samsung has their own NVMe driver. Try loading it at this scene and see if the drive shows up properly then.
...S

[minipc2018]

Hi @LeonWaksman ,

I can´t click on Delete because that option is greyed out:

PS: I´m attaching all the steps that I followed in the pdf file.

[LeonWaksman]

Hi @minipc2018 

It looks to me that you did all correct. I'm not expert for Linux, however, I thing that all drive is occupied by Linux partitions and there is no place for Windows. So, try to free this drive from Linux. Please read: How to Remove Linux and Install Windows on Your Computer

This article describes methods how to wipe your drive from Linux using Fdisk tool.

Hope this will work (I never did this yet)

Leon

[minipc2018]

Thank you Leon, I´m also no expert at Linux, but I wil give it a try and let you know!

In the meantime, I´m curious about @n_scott_pearson  proposal about trying to load the NVME driver and see if the drive shows up properly then, do you know how would that work?

[n_scott_pearson]

This is fairly straightforward,

1. Download the NVMe driver package from Samsung's site.
2. Place the files in the package into the root folder of the Windows installer flash disk (this is after the  Media Creation tool has set up by the flash drive).
3. When you get to the scene where you select the partition to install Windows to, load the driver from the flash disk.

That's it.

...S

[LeonWaksman]

I don't think that driver is missing in this case, since NVMe driver is included in Windows 10 installation. In case of missing driver you should see message: "No signed device drivers were found.   Make sure the installation media contains the correct drivers. . ."  In case that you came to the same conclusion,  ensure that the SATA mode in BIOS is set to AHCI and wipe your disk using the Linux boot disk (see my other post).  BTW,  I installed Windows 10 on few NUCs with Samsung Evo 970 Plus SSD, without need to add any driver to the installation media.

Leon

[n_scott_pearson]

That's the point; Samsung says their NVMe driver will provide improved support and performance that the generic Windows NVMe driver. I agree that this is likely NOT the cause of this issue, but doing this eliminates one more variable from the picture.

...S

[LeonWaksman]

One thing more: If you receive a "Windows can't be installed on drive 0" warning, you will still be able to as long as you can click/tap on the Next button. Windows Setup will automatically create the 4 partitions below on the drive, and install Windows 10 on the primary partition.

Leon

[minipc2018]

Hello again,
These are my results so far.

1. Remove everything from the disk using Linux live CD. I followed these instructions. Same result, the nvme ssd doesn't show up on the windows installer.
2. Manually copy the driver to the root of the flash drive. When I did this, VOILA the disk FINALLY appears in the Windows installer assistant! I even deleted the partitions from cmd (shift+F10 and then the commands from disk part). However after the assistant finishes the installation and reboots, the machine would freeze

Should I run some command from cmd to see if the nvme disk have errors and fix them?

Thank you.

PS: I'm attaching some images.

[Jose_V_Intel]

Hi minipc2018,

Thanks for your response.

I appreciate you provide to us with the screenshots and the outcome after the steps performed.

Is important to always check or inspect any errors on the disk to avoid issues on futures partitions or installations.

In case of errors, please check directly with your original equipment manufacturer for more information.

I'm glad to know you were able to install Windows.

Regards.

Jose V.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[minipc2018]

Hi Jose,

The screenshots are attached on my last post.

No, I´m still not able to install Windows.