Solved: Setup was unable to create a new system partition or locate an existing system partition 

Seriously thank you for the tutorial.... It took me a couple of tries so I want to clarify what helped me in case I can help anyone else: 1) as many comments point out, after "clean" , type another command "convert gpt". The next step "active" won't work but you can skip it. 2) My partition at 8000 was too small, 15000 worked. 3) at the xcopy step, "xcopy e: c:/e/h/k " The first letter is the usb or dvd that you are booting the files from (e), and (c) is the partition you want to move them to. But if the drive where you are booting from is a different letter, like F, do "xcopy f: c:/e/h/k". Do not replace the second 'e' with f as well. the second e means something different lol. 4) after you create the partition and copy the files there, restart the computer and REMOVE YOUR USB OR DVD DEVICE. Then try again to finally install in the partition with the unallocated space. When I tried to do it without removing the usb, it was telling me I couldn't use that partition.

For anyone on a older system you might have to convert the SSD to gpt by the following you need to convert SSD to GPT via CMD during Windows installation, you need to use the Windows installation CD: 1. Boot your computer from the Windows installation CD. 2. At the Windows setup window, press the Shift+F10 key combination to launch Command Prompt Window. 3. At the CMD window, input the above commands: diskpart->list disk->select disk#->clean->convert gpt. These steps can apply to converting boot disk to GPT, but the "clean" command will erase the system and you will need an OS reinstallation. Besides, you can follow the steps to convert the disk to GPT without an operating system.

Beautifully done. Leaving tags here so people can find this video for MULTIPLE problems this fixed: "Setup was unable to create a new system partition or locate an existing system partition" "We couldn't create a new partition or locate an existing one." "MBR2GPT Disk layout validation failed" "ASRock B650 PG doesn't recognize old ssd as a boot option" "BIOS/PC not detecting M.2 SSD" Once again, I thank you very much. Bless your days.

Do not do the xcopy part here are the proper steps Diskpart List disk Select disk x Clean Convert gpt Create partition primary size=15000 Format fs=ntfs quick Assign Then exit and restart select the unallocated space and wallah

Your knowledge is supreme. I've deployed Windows on hundreds of machines, but had not encountered this particular issue before. I was dead in the water, until I encountered your 5 minute video. Thank you a million times.

Peeps! At 3:08 of the video... DON'T make the mistake of replacing the 'e' in e/h/k bit of 'xcopy e: c:/e/h/k' with a different letter. I (like others here) saw that my OWN dvd drive was not named as E (but rather D)... So I figured ''Ohh ok, so for this line here, I just have to replace ANY instance of 'E' with 'D''.... Which is true, EXCEPT for the e/h/k bit! So lets say your DVD / USB is labled as Z.... You could write... xcopy z: c:/e/h/k Hope that helps! It won't copy across all the files otherwise! If you caught this and need to start over.... Just literally repeat the process of this video from the start again and you'll be ok :)

Definitely a solid video. All i needed to do was convert the drive (m.2 NVME) to GPT. I didn't need to do any other steps. You do that by completing the following commands in CMD: 1) Shift + F10 (gets you to CMD) 2) diskpart 3) list disk 4) select disk (select drive here you want to convert) 5) clean 6) convert GPT Done! You may need to refresh so installation see the changes but this worked for me in less than 2 minutes. Great video!

If you use UEFI boot, add "convert gpt" after the "clean" command, and omit the "active" command at the end of the sequence. Otherwise Windows will refuse to install on a MBR disk with the UEFI boot

Thank you! this worked for me. Thanks to commenters for pointing out that after step 5, I needed to "convert gpt" to avoid a later error message, and that once converted to GPT, step 9 "active" no longer applies. Also, for anyone who gets thrown like I did by different drive letters in xcopy: the first letter is the source drive, the second letter is the destination drive, and the next three letters are all parameters for xcopy. In other words, change the first two letters to match your actual drive letters, but leave the last three letters alone.

I can't thank you enough for this simple and clear step-by-step tutorial. I was pulling out what little hair I had left until I found your video. You have a new fan and follower today. Have a great day ahead with much happiness.

So thankful for this. I spent all day trying to get Win10 installed on my new PC build, only to be stymied at every turn by the USB installer's refusal to play with my M.2 NVME drive. This was the solution! Thank you! Note: I did need to run the "convert GPT" command after the "clean" command to change drive from MBR to GPT. Also upsized the partition from 5 to 8gb for safe measure.

7 years later this is still saving people, thank you very much

A 4 year old video saving your life 2020. Thank you.

When I select the Unallocated space it says The drive has an MBR partition table and that Windows can only be installed to GPT disks FIXED: after you do the 'clean' command at the start, type: 'convert gpt' and it fixes the future issue :)

Finally someone straight to the point with accurate info

Man this is how all tutorials should look like! Step by step information from start to finish, very clear explanation. Thank you!

Thanks for this. Some tips for 2021: - you may have to make your partition bigger cuz Windows has gotten bigger - if you get the error "windows cannot install required files. make sure all files required for installation are available", then don't unplug your original install media. Windows can still use that to install on the Unused partition.

I was about ready to punch my monitor in frustration, typical bloody windows releasing an update that breaks more than it fixes. You're a life saver Miguel, and a monitor saver!

PSA: When assigning a size for your partition, DO NOT make the partition any larger than 20GB. This partition is only going to hold the install files, so it doesn't need to be any larger than 20GB. I made this partition 900GB the first time around and had to repeat the process.

THANK YOU! I fought with an SSD for a full day before attending this route, and it was 95% effective! Only thing I had to do different was to convert the disk from MBR to GPT after cleaning it and BEFORE creating the partition to copy the install files. Your tutorial was absolutely the smoothest part of this whole process haha thank you again!!

Very well done guide.. Saves the day! Applicable to windows 10 installation specially when you encounter the error of being unable to install windows on a MBR disk. This guy is a champion!

i cannot explain the amount of pure relief this video has given me with installing a clean windows 11 on my new computer. literal tears streaming down my face thank you so much.

I have watched at least 15 videos claiming to help you through this error and all failed. This one took it step by step, no fluff. Unreal how good this is. Thanks for making this video.

7 years later this video is still helping people. Many thanks!

Logged in just to comment on this to say thanks. I was having issues installing windows 10 on my new SSD and this fixed the issue easily

I cant thank you enough for your simple yet effective tutorials. Literally with every error I encountered, I watched your videos and they all helped PERFECTLY. Once again, thank you!

You saved me a lot of time. After wasting three full days and not achieving anything, this simple and clear tutorial let me do it in a few minutes. I'm impressed!

I always tell my friends that RU-vid tutorials are a second University and you just proved that. Thank you so much for the detailed help.

I would have killed my pc if i didnt find this youtuber ...my life was full of troubles but this youtuber ...he changed my life now i love my pc....and just salute to this great youtuber...

Another good tutorial from the man that saves his RU-vid friends from tech errors. Thanks again friend.

Thanks - had this error on an older laptop where I was trying to install win10, this solution solved the " unable to create a new system". It was driving me crazy, almost gave up until I found your post.

Dude - this SAVED me. My boot drive died and I got stuck in a "Preparing Automatic Repair" loop and NONE of the "solutions" were working. Even installing a new windows on a different drive wasn't working the way it was supposed to. I had to use this solution by going into the command prompt and forcing a partition that way. What a nightmare it was until I found this video after 5 hours of troubleshooting. As others mentioned in the comments, I also had to convert the MBR drive to a GPT, which was easy (found another video explaining it). Thank you sir! Subscribed and liked! I work from home, so I HAD to get this fixed asap. You're my hero.

Thank you for the video. it was helpful. If you happen to run into the issue I had with the disk format being in mbr, here are the steps to convert to gpt. Reopen command prompt using shift +f10 and type the following - diskpart list disk select disk 1 (choose the disk you want to install Windows on) clean - (this will not delete the windows files previously transferred) convert gpt exit Another thing I ran into was with the boot loader identifier. I am unsure of what to do because I don't have an alpha numeric sequence as shown in the video. Mine just says {current}. If you know what I should do here please let me know.

Wow, my computer hasn't been working for over a year and I just found your video and it's fixed now. Thank you SO much!

2:48 is really confusing, what do I need to input if I don't have a cd?

The best teacher on RU-vid. His English is perfect and he’s able to make you understand with ease.

I bought my friend an ssd for his birthday and we spent 6 hours trying to install windows on it because of not having the correct usb drivers, after mounting them to the installation folder we got the error seen in the vid, finally because of you we got it to work! Thank you !!!

you may have to type in 'convert GPT' after cleaning the drive or 'convert MBR' depending on your computer

Wow. Just wow. I have never experienced a guide so transparent and easy to follow, props to you, good sir.

Took several hours to install WIN 11 and finally figured out with the help of the video. I had to change a few commands: > clean > convert gpt > create partition primary size=8000 ... > xcopy c: e: /e/h/k (the one in the video had the wrong order) Upon the installation is completed, to prevent the installer from auto starting, I had to delete the installation partition after following the installer prompts and then re-start.

Absolute legend! As Derrick monroe said below you might need to convert the disk from MBR to GPT. Follow the tutorial above and then after cleaning it and before creating the partition to copy the install files, type in "convert GPT". Should get you across the line :)

Of all the RU-vid video's that I've seen, your tutorial helped me the most, nothing worked until I tried this out. Thank you!

Been struggling with Win 10 failed upgrades for weeks. Ended up in a deep dark spiral of ISOs, installation media, boot drives, ending up with this error. Was pulling my hair out, but your video literally had everything needed step by step. I’m now reinstalling Windows 10 - thank you!

Thanks for the helpful video! For anyone who has the same issue, do check the simpler options in the description. It turns out all I needed to do was unplug my installation USB key and plug it back in.

Miguel you're the man! Thank you!!! Just used this method to install Windows 10 after creating a bootable USB using the Media Creation Tool. Worked perfectly! 👍

Cannot use the unallocated space because the disk has a MBR partition table ??

This is an amazing video. I followed it by word and got my issue solved. The only thing to note is that when you create the primary partition make sure it is atleast the minimum size of the windows. (In case of windows 10, create atleast 25gb or 25600 instead of 5000. Rest is amazing Miguel. Cheers

FIVE years later - STILL valid - STILL saving asses :) - Thank you sir

This is the most clear and understandable tutorial ever. Thank you

2020 and I'm installing W7!!!?! Good video, helped me install from USB to HDD.

you won a new subscribed!!!! I fixed my problem following your instructions. thanks a lot!!!!

Oh my GOD, I spent HOURS going through everybody else's solutions to this problem. Bless you, sir! I finally got windows to install using your instructions.

Awesome mate, this was the only way to make our Windows Server 2019 work in our HP proliant gen 8

When I select the Unallocated space it says The drive has an MBR partition table and that Windows can only be installed to GPT disks. How to fix this issue?

I’ve been trying to fix my pc for 2 days, you finally helped me thank you so much you absolute legend

Coming from.the future , 7 years later , after multiple problems trying to install win 10 onto an older desktop , this was the only solution that worked. Thank you !

Thanks for this easy to follow video. Was trying to get an old laptop setup for my son’s online classes because of COVID-19 and couldn’t get it going until this. 👍🏾

This was awesome. I tried everything else I could find too fix this issue, and nothing worked. This did, Windows 10 is installing as I write this!

This tuto was insane ! In my case after installation, it reboots in loop in the partition were installation files were installed. I just removed that partition and it boots on the right one. Later on windows I concat the 2 partitions with diskmanager to avoid to have an "empty and unused partition" on the disk. Thx a lot for this dude !

Thank you. Not often I find a tutorial like this that is clear and easy to follow and it works! I skipped the 'convert gtp' command that some recommend and completed all the way through copying files to the new partition. The only bump I hit was when rebooting, it didn't automatically start the windows install. Legacy boot was disabled in the BIOS & when I enabled it & restarted the pc again, I was able to choose boot from HDD and installation began. Thank you again!

I watch instructional videos like this daily on RU-vid. This is the first one that worked EXACTLY Step by Step as described! EXCELLENT! Thank you very much! New subscriber :-)

Dear, thank You so much for this video! Clear step-by-step tutorial is perfect even for not computer pros! Many thanks!

5 years later, still works on new systems like Windows Server 2022, thanks mate!

My husband and I would like to thank you very much! We were about to take a gun to our laptop, but your video saved it!! We appreciate your concise and expert guidance in helping us through this error. Thank you so much!

Hello! For Me it says "the selected disk contains MBR,, and in the EFI-based systems the windows can only be installed on GPT

Yes BUT, then you need to disconect your usb drive or remove instalation CD, an THEN you need to reboot PC, and THEN while rebooting pres F9 multiple times to select boot option, and FINALY select hard drive as a boot drive

I ran into this problem today in 2022, man, after 6 years of posting this video it solve the problem for me,you are the best and your way is the only way worked for me,seen alot of videos explaining that method but the way you did it is the right way,thank you from Iraq

This was a lifesaver after several days of frustration. Thank you!

6 years later edit: make sure to "convert gpt" after running "clean"

This is great. I would like to add a couple of items though. If you are installing Win10, you will need to make the partition larger than 5000 (more like 15000), otherwise there will not be enough space to copy the install files to the new partition. Win10 USB is 13GB. Secondly, you will probably have to delete both the 32 bit and 64 bit entries from the boot loader before rebooting the computer or it will keep loading the install screen. Other than that, this is a great tutorial video! @avoiderrors thank you for posting this!

You saved my life!! I was reformatting and reinstalling my computer and I could just get past this error, searched everywhere online and none of them worked except yours, thank you so much!

Man, you don't know how much I thank you.

Create partition primary.........disk part has encountered an error:data error (cyclic redundancy check)

I try after active my volume then I enter exit and when I type usb:c there is error that it is not recognised internal or external command can you help in that

Thank you! I've been building PCs, and doing computer-tech work for the past 20 years. I bought a PC from someone whom told me he couldn't figure out the problem with it. I ended up give it the name Lucy...for Lucifer. This thing's been giving me problems from the start; and, I was able to solve all of them...but, then it gave me THIS "unable to create a new system partition or locate an existing system partition" problem. Thankfully...it's the last problem Lucy gave me. She works, now. Thank you, AGAIN, for the excellent tutorial. It was just about as perfect as anyone can make it. Have a beautiful day. And, best of luck/skill on all your future builds/repairs.

Just thank you for this - I was stuck adding an SSD - this totally wroked - subscribed -

Thank you sooo much my man. This was clearly the best tutorial i found. I struggled with this for like 5 hours and your like gods gift. Thank you very much :)

"The Selected disk has an MBR partition table On EFI Systems. Windows Can Only be installed to GPT Disks". thx for solution

Thanks to your video I was able to install Windows 10 on an old MacBook Pro Early 2011 (8.1) with MacOS High Sierra. I tried pretty much any other method out there, and since I replaced my optical drive with a secondary hdd I had pretty much given up. Thank you a thousand times.

Help i get invalid drive specification

Clean will Erase all data right? What if I don't want to remove all data and use the partition drive to install the OS?

You my friend, are a HERO!

Also from my side.. BIG THX for this tutorial! I had several times this issue with multiple PCs the 20years or so, and I always ended up sending the devices to the Manufacturer-Support, and waisted my money. Your tutorial on this case is gold! THX Sir!

You're a hero! Salute to you

This will destroy the data on hard drive. We want not to lose it

THANK YOU SO MUCH MATE! SAVED MY DAY! GREETINGS FROM FINLAND, i used Dell Precision T3400.

This might be late, but it's after watching this video that I tried something a bit different from it and it worked. I simply deleted one empty partition (and it became "unallocated"). After I just selected that "unallocated" partition and hit next ... then the installation went on. Thanks again for this video though. If not for your video I wouldn't have tried what I did. Cheers guys

I highly recommend this youtube channel! Thank you so much!

Thanks a lot man. Greetings from India.

Miguel, you are an angel: the Archangel!

I don't understand where those dislikes come from! Thank you very much

Amazing but right now i need to access the system install partition and can't do so because I deleted it from Bootloader. You should backup the Bootloader before deleting an entry!

i couldn't clean my disk its say an error called I/O device please help man...

When u enter (create partition primary size=5000) then gives me error

It says that I didn't select a volume format

After installing it just goes back to the windows installation

I watched this video thrice and got my laptop recovered with all instructions given by you. And let me tell you this is wonderful.

Thank a lot ,mate☺!!!

Thank you man! You saved me from depression :D i was close to throw my computer throw the window.

Worked perfectly on Windows Server 2019, thanks bro