Windows 7 installer

GoFigureItOut · Nov 7, 2015

Does the Windows 7 installation has the option to create a partition table on a hard drive? I bought a new PC yesterday, and it didn't come with a HD so I purchased one separately. During the installation process, Windows couldn't find the hard drive. I had to take it out and create and format the drive with Gparted. If Windows does not allow such things, why limit it like that?

rtwjunkie · Nov 7, 2015

Did you identify the HDD as the boot drive in BIOS first?

Aside from that, yes, W7 does allow that, and I've done so many times. I'm not sure other than the BIOS question I posed what the problem could be, but I'm glad you sorted it. Putting an HDD on another PC to see it and to format is always a good check/follow up.

GoFigureItOut · Nov 7, 2015

It was found in the BIOS but it was set to RAID. I assumed that's why Windows wasn't able to find the single drive. So, I went back into the BIOS and changed it to: RAID Autodetect /AHCI; still no go. That's when I used gparted and after that it was enabled to install the drive. I remember the guy telling me that he used Dban or a similar program to wipe the drive clean.

silentbogo · Nov 7, 2015

That's a glitch in a built-in Windows installer partitioning mechanism. I had similar issue with a 2.5" laptop drive.
It was visible in BIOS, but not during Windows 7/8/10 installation.

If you encounter this problem in the future, you can solve it using diskpart - a command line partitioning software.
When you get to the installation screen either launch "Recovery tools" and select Command Prompt, or simply hit SHIFT+F10 and re-partition the drive by running diskpart.

If you are not comfortable with CMD, then just make 1 partition using diskpart, and then (once your disk becomes visible in installer), re-partition it the way you like using GUI.

P.S. There is one thing you need to know: if you try to use clean all command, it may take a few hours to complete. It performs NULL-formatting and takes approximately 1 hour per 320GB on mechanical HDD.

Pill Monster · Nov 7, 2015

GoFigureItOut said:
It was found in the BIOS but it was set to RAID. I assumed that's why Windows wasn't able to find the single drive. So, I went back into the BIOS and changed it to: RAID Autodetect /AHCI; still no go. That's when I used gparted and after that it was enabled to install the drive. I remember the guy telling me that he used Dban or a similar program to wipe the drive clean.

It's because you don't have any drivers for the RAID controller. Set it to AHCI.

Edit, just noticed your very old board....might have to use SATA/IDE mode unless u can slipstream the AHCI drivers.

Edit 2: Is this a fresh install or OEM reinstall?
You don't need to format the drive before installing a new OS from scratch, it's done automatically.

Processor	Core i5 3470 (3.20 GHZ)
Cooling	Intel OC27vv
Memory	16 GB DDR3 667mhz
Video Card(s)	XFX Radeon HD 5670
Storage	Seagate - 500GB \| 7200RPM \| 32MB Cache \| Sata-3G
Display(s)	BenQ RL2455
Case	Dell Tower
Audio Device(s)	On-board
Power Supply	Corsair 600w

System Name	Bayou Phantom
Processor	Core i7-8700k 4.4Ghz @ 1.18v
Motherboard	ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 6
Cooling	All air: 2x140mm Fractal exhaust; 3x 140mm Cougar Intake; Enermax T40F Black CPU cooler
Memory	2x 16GB Mushkin Redline DDR-4 3200
Video Card(s)	EVGA RTX 2080 Ti Xc
Storage	1x 500 MX500 SSD; 2x 6TB WD Black; 1x 4TB WD Black; 1x400GB VelRptr; 1x 4TB WD Blue storage (eSATA)
Display(s)	HP 27q 27" IPS @ 2560 x 1440
Case	Fractal Design Define R4 Black w/Titanium front -windowed
Audio Device(s)	Soundblaster Z
Power Supply	Seasonic X-850
Mouse	Coolermaster Sentinel III (large palm grip!)
Keyboard	Logitech G610 Orion mechanical (Cherry Brown switches)
Software	Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (Start10 & Fences 3.0 installed)

Processor	Core i5 3470 (3.20 GHZ)
Cooling	Intel OC27vv
Memory	16 GB DDR3 667mhz
Video Card(s)	XFX Radeon HD 5670
Storage	Seagate - 500GB \| 7200RPM \| 32MB Cache \| Sata-3G
Display(s)	BenQ RL2455
Case	Dell Tower
Audio Device(s)	On-board
Power Supply	Corsair 600w

System Name	WS#1337
Processor	Ryzen 7 3800X
Motherboard	ASUS X570-PLUS TUF Gaming
Cooling	Xigmatek Scylla 240mm AIO
Memory	4x8GB Samsung DDR4 ECC UDIMM
Video Card(s)	Inno3D RTX 3070 Ti iChill
Storage	ADATA Legend 2TB + ADATA SX8200 Pro 1TB
Display(s)	Samsung U24E590D (4K/UHD)
Case	ghetto CM Cosmos RC-1000
Audio Device(s)	ALC1220
Power Supply	SeaSonic SSR-550FX (80+ GOLD)
Mouse	Logitech G603
Keyboard	Modecom Volcano Blade (Kailh choc LP)
VR HMD	Google dreamview headset(aka fancy cardboard)
Software	Windows 11, Ubuntu 20.04 LTS

Windows 7 installer

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