Windows 10: "We couldn’t create a new partition or locate an existing one."

boot - Installing Windows 10 after installing Ubuntu - Ask Ubuntu

I tried asking the question over at AskUbuntu, but a user said it would be better if I asked here instead.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

:)

 

We couldn't create a new partition or locate an existing one.

When I create the new partition, I didn't see a system reserve section get created as it did in your pictures.

So I formatted the partition as fat32 because my system is uefi based. However, when I return to install windows 10, I get an error that says "windows cannot be installed on this hard disk. Windows must be installed to a partition formatted as NTFS"

However, when I format the partition as NTFS, I get the same error.

 

We couldn't create a new partition or locate an existing one.

 

Hi, assuming the only space on your drive is one existing 50Gb partition, that won't work. Why? Because Windows - if it's an EFI installation- creates this:



- 4 partitions.

So best to install to unallocated space.

Another problem may be that you haven't removed the previous Windows installation - perhaps there are left-over partitions. Use a 3rd party partition manager to delete any unwanted Win 10 partitions.

Please note that in that example, installed programs are not on C: (I manually install to D: ) and the paging file is on another drive. Thus you might want to allocate more space if you have user data and programs to consider.

Bear in mind that upgrading Windows - which is annual or bi-annual- effectively duplicates the Windows folder, deleted now after 10 days- more space.

Note I make no comment about dual booting.

If still in difficulty, please post a screenshot of the partitions on your disk.
(E.g. boot from Kyhi's boot disk at the top of the Software and Apps section, utility Minitools Partition Wizard).

 

Yes, I didn't format it with the GParted tool, I left it as unallocated space, but it displays the same error. I did try to format it as NTFS the attempt before that, and yes, it was unable to create more partitions because there is no more free space.

I honestly don't know how I can identify the problem because the error message is so generic. How do I access the setup log?

 

If still in difficulty, please post a screenshot of the partitions on your disk.
(E.g. boot from Kyhi's boot disk at the top of the Software and Apps section, utility Minitools Partition Wizard).

Logs:
Resolve Windows 10 upgrade errors - Windows IT Pro | Microsoft Docs

Trying to find out why it failed from the Windows update logs is not straightforward. Here are some guides.
Generating the Log Files for Troubleshooting Windows Updates for Windows 10 | Windows 10 content from Windows IT Pro
Windows 10, WindowsUpdate.log and how to view it with PowerShell or Tracefmt.exe Charles Allen’s Blog
http://www.thewindowsclub.com/read-w...-in-windows-10

This may be useful once you have readable logs as a indication of what to look for. As to accessing them,the info at the start is out of date. See above.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...pdate.log-file

 

I'm pretty sure I wiped my whole SSD clean & formatted it when I installed Ubuntu, since I didn't want anything of the sort to happen. My other drive is the hard drive that came with the laptop, and I only use it for non-OS files.

Will do that tomorrow, thank you for the prompt responses! I really appreciate it. *Smile

 

You need to make sure this does not have any left-over Windows partitions on it.

 

Why did you enable CSM? Go back and disable it.

 

I wiped the drive clean after replacing it with a SSD *Biggrin

I disabled it to install graphics drivers for my Ubuntu installation, I guess it's not needed now. Will do that ASAP. Do I need to re-enable Secure Boot & Fast Boot in case?





Will Kyhi's boot disk show different results? I don't have another flash drive to use or a DVD *Sad Sorry

 

So assuming that's your disk, supposedly with no Win 10 installed, you have an EFI partition present.

I'll have to assume the sda2 & sda3 partitions are to do with Linux.

(For comparison with what Minitool/Windows PM shows - see e.g. my #2 above).

My guess is you'd need to delete the EFI partition, then try reinstalling.
50Gb's not a lot of space... but some run Win 10 on 32Gb on tablets.

 

Will deleting the EFI partition break my Ubuntu installation? Sorry, I'm kinda new to all this, never really had problems with installation before *Smile

I was told that after installing Ubuntu, it would break GRUB and make my laptop boot to Windows straight, so I need to run this utility called boot-repair on a live CD. Maybe that will be able to fix the EFI partition being deleted?

I'm planning to use it for emergency purposes only though, like when I need something that's available in Windows only (Adobe products) or I'm trying to do something that takes a lot of effort in Linux and takes only 1 click in Windows, hahahaha. I hope it fits, my laptop can only take a 256GB SSD the most *Sad

Also, afterwards, since my Windows 10 Home license is connected to my Microsoft account, do I just log in and it automatically activates itself?

 

Sorry, no expert on dual boot I'm afraid, so I'd hesitate to give a definitive answer.

However:
The EFI system partition (ESP) is a partition on a data storage device (usually a hard disk drive or solid-state drive) that is used by computers adhering to the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI). When a computer is booted, UEFI firmware loads files stored on the ESP to start installed operating systems and various utilities. An ESP needs to be formatted with a file system whose specification is based on the FAT file system and maintained as part of the UEFI specification; therefore, the file system specification is independent from the original FAT specification.[1][2]

An ESP contains the boot loaders or kernel images for all installed operating systems

If you have had Win 10 activated on that PC before, it should activate automatically.

 

Always install Linux after Windows

If you do want to dual-boot, the most important time-honored piece of advice is to install Linux on your system after Windows is already installed. So, if you have an empty hard drive, install Windows first, then Linux. If you already have Windows installed, you’re clear to install Linux.
[ Further reading: 4 Linux projects for newbies and intermediate users ]When you install Linux after Windows, the Linux installer knows how to deal with Windows, resize its partition, and set up a boot loader with an option allowing you to choose Windows at boot time.

Dual-booting Linux with Windows: What you need to know | PCWorld