Windows 7 and Crucial SSD

[facecard]

I have a Crucial v4 ssd 64gb drive. I want to install it in an Optiplex 755 computer obviously using SATA. I want to install Windows 7 Pro sp1 on the ssd drive. By default, I am using AHCI but I did try AHA and Legacy which neither of those worked.

The drive is recognized in the BIOS and the drive is controlled by AHCI BIOS. After I launch WIN 7 installer, three partitions appear:

Disk 0 Partition 1 OEM Reserved
Partition 2 System Reserve
Partition 3 Primary

I will choose Primary as the partition to install Windows 7. At the beginning of the installation, Step 2 "Expanding Windows Files", the installation fails and this message appears "Windows cannot install required files. The file doesn't exist. Error code 0x80070002". I click OK and try the installation again. However, this time the partitions are missing and nothing is there. At the bottom, it says "No drivers were found".

I am not sure what "file" is missing or doesn't exist. I don't know if the "file" is the driver or something related to that. I can't proceed until I know what "file" is missing and how do I manually install this missing file.

Perhaps, I need to update the BIOS firmware or update the ssd firmware?

[rogfanther]

Have you tried to zero the ssd first ? If it came from some other computer, it may have some strange values in boot sectors.
Also, can you try with another win7 disk, or make a bootable usb drive ? Maybe your disk is corrupted.

[LarrySabo]

... or try installing to a HDD then cloning the HDD to the SSD.

[HaQue]

Hi, I've put SSD's in a number of the 745's and 755's, and the PC I am using right now is a 745 with a SanDisk 128GB SSD. What version BIOS is it? this one 2.6.6.

I would first, reseat the RAM and make sure BIOS is latest.
second, check your install media. Had an issue with a win 7 install that was created with a faulty ISO.

But - these actually run win 10 pretty good, any reason not to?

[facecard]

Just an update. I upgraded the BIOS from A09 to A22 and I tried to install Windows 7 on SSD drive. FAILED. After the BIOS upgrade, Windows did not want to install and I still got an error message.

I have used the same DVD to install on a regular SATA hard drive with no problems. In fact, I have used the same computer to install Win 7 on SATA drives and I don't have any problems.

My final test will be to create a Windows 7 bootable USB drive and try to install Win 7 from that instead of using a DVD.

I will post my results.

[HaQue]

Have you tried loading any F6 drivers?

[rogfanther]

If the bios allows, set the mode of the port to IDE, not AHCI .

Also, connect the ssd to another computer and zero out the first couple of sectors ( I think dmde can do that )

[HaQue]

I had similar issue with an SSD, failed install but I was able to get it installed in another PC. Didn't take long before it failed to boot. suspect Faulty SSD.

If there are any tools available to manage the SDD and check health from Crucial, or any firmware updates I would look into it.

Do other SSD's work ok in this PC?

also change RAM to rule it out, and check for bulging Caps on the mainboard near the power supply.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague as these babies are getting a bit long in the tooth.

[fzabkar]

I doubt that there is any problem with the DVD.

The following file should contain a list of the files required by setup.exe together with their target directories.

LAYOUT.INF

The following commands, when executed from within a CMD window, will list all the files on the installation DVD and save this list to the corresponding file (X: is the drive letter of the DVD).

dir X:\ /s /b > dvdfil_b.lst
dir X:\ /s > dvdfils.lst

The following command should read each file on the DVD and copy it to the NUL device. This should test the integrity of the DVD.

echo f| xcopy X:\*.* nul /f /c /e /h > \temp\xcopy.log

It shouldn't be too difficult to write a batch routine to confirm whether each file called for by LAYOUT.INF exists on the DVD.

If any files are compressed and need to be expanded, it should be possible to test them via another batch routine.

[facecard]

I am able to install Windows 7 on the same computer and using the DVD to 3.5 sata hd. I don't think there is anything wrong with the DVD or computer. There is something I am missing when I install Win 7 on a Crucial SSD.

Again, during the installation, Windows is looking for a driver or some type of file which it doesn't find or is missing which prompts it to fail. I just don't know what driver or file it needs to complete the installation.

Again, I am using the default AHCI when I install Win 7 on a 3.5 sata hd and I have no problems. Obviously, I can't use AHA or Legacy because the computer doesn't boot and gets stuck at a command prompt.

There is nothing wrong with the DVD or computer itself. I don't know if I need to install a separate SSD driver made by Crucial.

[fzabkar]

@facecard, have you tried rogfanther's advice?