Clean Installing / Re-installing Windows 10 using a Bootable USB — 02 Things Good to Know
This article covers the things you should probably know before and during Windows installation using Bootable USB, which will reduce the hassle if you face similar issues.
Hello everyone, I hope you all doing good :)
I guess, we could all agree that most of us at some point might have to re-install windows due to various reasons. Today, I thought to share 02 tips based on my own experience had while re-installing Windows 10 21H2 on my machine.
**It is always recommended to take proper backups whenever you perform changes on a machine to rollback if anything goes wrong.
Background of the Problem
I was having problems updating the PC through Windows Update service. Tried to rectify the issue through multiple attempts but ended always with error code 0x800f0831 without any success. Similarly, CBS.log showed huge number of Store corruption, manifest missing for package errors. Additionally, the “Windows features” dialog box also went blank. It didn’t show anything at all. DISM didn’t work either. Tried many online resources initially and decided to install Windows to settle all these issues once and for all. I didn’t go with Windows built-in Reset option because I opted for a clean install. Again, it was my preference :)
Downloading the Official Windows ISO Image —Media Creation Tool OR Rufus?
Now, this time I was directly looking for Windows 10 Home 21H2. I found that besides Media Creation Tool (MCT), the latest version of Rufus currently supports downloads as well. I chose Rufus over MCT because it allows to select the versions directly and also works for any of the officially released Windows 10 builds or even for Insider Preview Builds whereas MCT works only for the official Windows 10 general release build.
How to download Windows ISO via Rufus
To begin, you need to download the latest version of Rufus from https://rufus.ie/en/
If you already have an earlier version do the following to get it updated.
- Open Rufus and click Show Application Settings
2. Select Daily (Default) from the Check for Updates drop-down. Click Check Now to update. Check back after it finishes updating.
Okay now we are all set to proceed further to download Windows ISO.
- Click the down arrow next to the SELECT drop-down and select DOWNLOAD. Once you selected DOWNLOAD click on it again.
2. Next steps are pretty straight forward where you have to select required Version, Release, Edition, Language, Architecture and click DOWNLOAD. **Download using a browser opens default browser and continue the download through it. Keep it unchecked.
3. Next, Plug in USB device and click SELECT to pick the downloaded ISO and click START to begin creating the bootable USB. Leave the default settings just as they are.
That’s all. Now you can go ahead and clean install Windows using the selected release.
How to Fix Missing Drives Error During Windows Installation
I faced an issue soon after starting the installation. My drives were missing for selection at the time of Where do you want to install Windows prompt.
Error: We couldn’t find any drives. To get a Storage Driver click Load Driver.
I was able to successfully overcome the issue by following the below steps on a machine with 11th Gen. Intel® Core™ Processor-based platform.
- Go to Intel® Rapid Storage Technology Driver Installation Software with Intel® Optane™ Memory (10th and 11th Gen Platforms)
- Download F6flpy-x64 — VMD.zip and extract the content.
- Copy the Extracted folder and paste it inside the bootable USB’s root.
4. Now, boot the system with the disk and start the installation process.
5. Click Load Driver inside the Where do you want to install Windows dialog box.
6. Browse to the F6flpy-x64 (Intel® VMD) folder and click OK.
7. Select Intel RST VMD Controller (Usually the top one) and click Next.
8. Voila. It shows the drives now. We can select and proceed with installation.
Okay, it’s time to wrap the things up. In this article I tried to explain how I downloaded official Windows 10 release 21H2 from Rufus and how I managed to solve the missing drive error during the installation.
In conclusion, I sincerely hope this article will help you at some point when you encounter a similar issue.
Thank you for reading and stay safe!
