Windows 11 Installation on 2nd Drive and Partition Error
yoyocestmoi Posted messages 12 Registration date Status Membre Last intervention -
Hello,
I had a 1st SSD on my PC where I installed W11.
Then I just installed W11 on a 2nd SSD that I acquired later. Each time through a installation from a USB drive (rufus...)
It boots perfectly, whether on the 1st installation or the 2nd.
When I tried to remove my 1st SSD, the boot does not work anymore on the 2nd SSD.
I attempted to reinstall W11 on this 2nd SSD (still from the USB drive)
And then, I get the "famous error": "We couldn't create a partition or locate an existing partition" (see screenshot below)
What can I do to install my Windows 11 on this disk, without having to format it?
Thank you.
PS: When I reinsert my 1st SSD, both boots work again. So it’s not a case of corrupted files.
5 réponses
So, I'm okay to reinstall Windows on this 2nd SSD, having disconnected the 1st one. (and without erasing my data)
But then I run into the error mentioned at the very beginning of the post.
After looking into it a bit, it seems possible that it's because Windows has no space left at all to create other technical partitions (I'm not sure about what I'm saying but it makes sense)
If I hadn't encountered this error and had been able to reinstall Windows, I would have done it without seeking your help.
Thank you.
1st SSD (which will be removed): 500GB
2nd SSD (which must remain): 2TB (of which 1TB is free)
In monolithic mode on the 2nd (apart from a 15MB MSR partition, see screenshot above)
The theory suggests that we either keep the first disk hosting Windows and the second one for data, or just the second one, which is more spacious, hosting Windows, and do I don't know what with the first one.
If I understand correctly, the boot sector is on the first disk, which was the first to be installed, and since the second one doesn't start without it.
The first hypothesis is simple. We boot from the first disk, download Easy BCD
https://www.malekal.com/easybcd-editeur-bcd-configurer-demarrage-windows/
we remove the entry related to the second disk: now nothing prevents us from deleting all the system files from the second one while keeping the data, unless they are themselves hosted in system folders (My Documents...), in which case they need to be moved beforehand.
The second option is less straightforward, we can try to simply move the boot partition, I haven't read it all and I don't know if it involves formatting, see here:
https://answers.microsoft.com/fr-fr/windows/forum/all/tutoriel-d%C3%A9placer-remplacer-ou-cr%C3%A9er-une/77186ff2-3f89-49d9-9f97-cd4d0ff77416
The alternative is to unplug the first disk, the second one obviously won't start, we will have prepared an installation USB that should normally detect Windows and, with a bit of luck, offer to repair without loss.
If not, the only option left is to format and reinstall on the second disk, the annoying part being that you have to find a way to back up the data on another disk first.
Thank you for this post. It perfectly summarizes my situation :)
Regarding the solution with EasyBCD, how will Windows agree to install on the second disk? Will it find enough space? Because the existing partition already occupies 100% of the space.
Windows repair: it doesn't work. No reason or error given.
And otherwise, yes, I will have to go through the reformatting of the second disk, with an intermediate transfer of the data.
If I had to do it again, I would have installed Windows after removing the first SSD from the laptop. But it's quite inconvenient because it's my telecommuting tool and an installation takes several hours before it's operational.
A big thank you to both of you.
In the EasyBCD framework, we initially leave the 2 disks as they are: we simply remove the dual boot from the second disk.
Windows already exists on the second one; we won't add anything to it, but rather, from the first disk, we will remove all system files, leaving only the data (except possibly for a system reserved partition and a recovery partition that will need to be removed with the Windows Disk Management tool if it works, AOMEI Partition Assistant, or equivalent otherwise).
Is repairing the second disk without data loss, once the first is disconnected, from an installation USB drive not working?
No, the repair after removing the first disk yields nothing.
But I have high hopes with the Microsoft article you provided, namely creating the 2 partitions before the main partition with GParted.
Following that, I will attempt a repair (since I didn't understand the end of the article and chapter 5 with WinRE). I'm not sure I'll find the time to do this tonight as I will only be available late...
Well, the result of the operation is that it worked without issues thanks to the Microsoft link you gave me.
In summary:
1/ thanks to diskpart, I moved my 2TB partition by 116MB (30 minutes though, despite my drive being ultra fast)
2/ I created 2 partitions: 1 EFI partition of 100MB and 1 MSR partition of 16MB
3/ I executed the following boot sector command:
bootrec /fixboot
bcdboot C:\windows /s R:
And then, a simple restart worked. I didn't lose anything.
Thank you very much!
In fact, the problem comes from the BIOS of your PC.
-> from the UEFI to be exact.
The UEFI is meant to store (among other things) the boot information:
Which disk contains the boot partition?
Through which channel? (SATA1 / SATA2 / M2...)
You need to inform your UEFI that your computer is multi-boot, and it will then ask you which disk you want to boot from.
Otherwise, you will have to run the repair tool at startup every time.
In the background, WinRE will correct your UEFI so that it changes its pointer to the disk you have left connected.
Hello,
I'm not following you.
Obviously, both disks have a Windows 11 installation, so UEFI.
For them to boot, the BIOS must not only be UEFI, but at least, as you mentioned, one of the disks must host the EFI partition (which explains why the system doesn't boot if we remove disk 1 that contains it).
If we are not doing a multiboot but an independent installation of Windows on each disk connected separately, there will always be a way, when the BIOS supports it, to select the Boot Manager at startup when both are connected. The question now is, now that "the damage is done," whether to keep the boot on disk 1 by turning disk 2 into a data disk, or to move the EFI partition from disk 1 to disk 2 if we intend to stop using disk 1, all without data loss on disk 2.
Yes indeed, I saw an EFI partition on disk 1 but not on disk 2.
I will therefore follow the procedure given yesterday, using GParted, to create what is needed on disk 2.
I don't know if it's safe to move the EFI partition from disk 1 to disk 2?
I was rather thinking of creating an EFI partition and then letting Windows repair work (because I believe it will know how to fix the EFI boot partition).
My real problem is to be able to use my laptop with disk 2 only and, if possible, without having to reinstall everything.
I want to get rid of disk 1. Because disk 2 is faster and bigger and also because I don't want to waste energy unnecessarily. I will recycle disk 1 as a "USB key."
The situation is not ordinary and it is not without risk in either case.
The advantage of the move may be that the bcd is already correct if only the existence of the first disk and the boot order need to be removed from the command line or, more simply, via EasyBCD.
You see (Of course, if I move the boot sector or create one on the second disk, the first one will no longer boot but will still be system; if I want to reuse it, I need to format or at least delete the reserved partitions and system files from the second one).
Hello,
A dual boot, by definition, starts from a boot sector common to both disks and stored on one.
In other words, for your setup to work, you would need a third disk solely for booting the other two.
The only solution is to independently install Windows on each disk when the other is removed.
When they are connected, the only way to choose the boot disk will not be the normal boot process, but the BIOS function key that displays the different bootable disks and allows you to choose which one.
Thank you. That makes sense and explains the symptoms.
This is what Windows 11 did when it saw that I was installing it on the second disk while it was present on the first.
Can I recover from this without reinstalling (and/or formatting) the second disk (which is now on its own)?
In my opinion, and I've already done it. Remove the SSD (the second one) from your PC and format it in an external enclosure.
Exactly, my goal is not to format it but to use it as it is installed (I have 1TB of data and installation on it, and I would have a hard time finding something to store all this in an intermediate location)
However, it will need to be formatted. A single session with one Windows 11 is sufficient. You can use this second SSD without installing a second OS on it.