[phillpower2]

Correct and the USB drive needs to be in, just be sure that you format the correct partition.

 

No worries, best to be safe than sorry.

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reporting...

 

- highlighted "Drive 1 Partition 3: OS" ; USB is IN;

- clicked on Format;

 

in a few seconds, formatting sopped (aborted??);

 

same space allocation shown (221.7GB total, 133.4GB free space);

 

same error msg: " Windows can't be installed on Drive 1 Partition 3"

 

"Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected disk is of the GPT partition style"

 

Windows cannot be installed to this disk. This Computer's h/w may not support booting to this disk. Ensure that the disk's controller is enabled in the BIOS menu."

[BerDov]

reporting...

 

- highlighted "Drive 1 Partition 3: OS" ; USB is IN;

- clicked on Format;

 

in a few seconds, formatting sopped (aborted??);

 

same space allocation shown (221.7GB total, 133.4GB free space);

 

same error msg: " Windows can't be installed on Drive 1 Partition 3"

 

"Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected disk is of the GPT partition style"

 

Windows cannot be installed to this disk. This Computer's h/w may not support booting to this disk. Ensure that the disk's controller is enabled in the BIOS menu."

[phillpower2]

Try using diskpart to format the partition as ntfs.

 

It may look complicated but it`s not really and I find the easiest thing to do is to write down the commands in the order that you need to do them.

 

See guide here which tells you how to list the partitions and format them as ntfs.

 

As an asides, I've never encountered such a problematic install of Windows before, I hope the drive doesn`t turn out to be bad.

[BerDov]

Thank you!

 

A small problem. I cannot login to Windows to activate diskpart, probably because several BIOS parameters were changed. Should I go back to BIOS and try change back the parameters?

 

HDD bad? Maybe. I started suspecting a memory chip, maybe because there was once this error msg: "Stop code: MEMORY_MANAGEMENT"

 

Back 20-25 years ago, I did not think twice about formatting the C drive, but computers were sold with real OS on CDs, not this "make yourself USB recovery" stuff.

[phillpower2]

You could try restoring the BIOS but before you do see if you can get the OS to reinstall using your flash drive and the Dell steps here

 

Fully agree about having the OS on disk, big business penny pinching again at the expense of the consumer.

[BerDov]

phillpower,

 

I hate to do this to you first thing in the morning, but I am in need of another word of wisdom.

 

Here is the chronology, as short as possible.

 

As per your last suggestion, went to https://www.dell.com...#Recovery-media

 

and selected option 6.

 

There was a difference in syntax between the Dell web page and what was on my screen, but I managed. Used "USB1 - UEFI OS ( PMAP)", recorded every step, ended on a screen displaying 2 restore points, dated 3/29/2021 and 3/20/2021. Selecting either date ended in the following error msg:

 

System Restore did not complete successfully. Your computer's system files and settings were not changed.

Details:

System Restore fauiled to extract the original  copy of the directory from the restore point.

Source: %ProgramFiles%\WindowsApps

Destination: AppxStaging

You can try System Restore again from a different restore point. If you continue to see this error, you can try an advanced recovery method.

 

[Close], reboot.

 

I then decided to restore the BIOS settings to what was before. Managed to do almost all, except "Legacy option ROMs" which became [Disabled] and in black letters, i.e. cannot change.

 

Repeated the same procedure as per the section 6 from the dell.com. Ended up with the same error message.

 

Rebooted windows without the USB drive, logged in. Found the diskpart app, read the instructions, understood almost all. Nice utility.

 

Here is the report:

 

DISKPART> list disk

 

  Disk ###  Status         Size     Free     Dyn  Gpt

  --------  -------------  -------  -------  ---  ---

  Disk 0    Online          931 GB      0 B

  Disk 1    Online          238 GB    17 MB        *

 

DISKPART> select disk 0

 

Disk 0 is now the selected disk.

 

DISKPART> list volume

 

  Volume ###  Ltr  Label        Fs     Type        Size     Status     Info

  ----------  ---  -----------  -----  ----------  -------  ---------  --------

  Volume 0     F                       DVD-ROM         0 B  No Media

  Volume 1     D                NTFS   Partition    931 GB  Healthy

  Volume 2     C   OS           NTFS   Partition    221 GB  Healthy    Boot

  Volume 3         ESP          FAT32  Partition    500 MB  Healthy    System

  Volume 4                      NTFS   Partition    533 MB  Healthy    Hidden

  Volume 5         Image        NTFS   Partition     14 GB  Healthy    Hidden

  Volume 6         DELLSUPPORT  NTFS   Partition   1061 MB  Healthy    Hidden

 

DISKPART> select disk 1

 

Disk 1 is now the selected disk.

 

DISKPART> list volume

 

  Volume ###  Ltr  Label        Fs     Type        Size     Status     Info

  ----------  ---  -----------  -----  ----------  -------  ---------  --------

  Volume 0     F                       DVD-ROM         0 B  No Media

  Volume 1     D                NTFS   Partition    931 GB  Healthy

  Volume 2     C   OS           NTFS   Partition    221 GB  Healthy    Boot

  Volume 3         ESP          FAT32  Partition    500 MB  Healthy    System

  Volume 4                      NTFS   Partition    533 MB  Healthy    Hidden

  Volume 5         Image        NTFS   Partition     14 GB  Healthy    Hidden

  Volume 6         DELLSUPPORT  NTFS   Partition   1061 MB  Healthy    Hidden

 

I do not understand why Disk 0 and Disk 1, which are of different size, contain identical 6 volumes?

 

Should I believe the "Healthy" Status of the Volume 2? What will happen when I "FORMAT VOLUME 2"? It contains the OS which will then be erased, right? What's next?

 

BTW, while in Windows, I started Photoshop (which started this mini-nightmare if you remember). It opened and froze as before. So I pressed the power button.

Edited by BerDov, 11 April 2021 - 08:13 PM.

[phillpower2]

Sorry about the delay, only just in from work and running errands 

 

Put the reinstall on the back burner for now if you will.

 

Disk 0 and Disk 1 are one and the same, the 931GB is the total capacity of Disk 0 and the 238GB Disk 1 is actually the C: partition/boot drive.

 

 

Have something to check and then something for you to do once we have done our check; 

 

 

Can you upload an expanded screenshot of Disk Manager for us.

 

Access Disk Management via Run.

 

Press the Windows+R keys to open Run, type diskmgmt.msc in the empty box then press OK.

 

 

To capture and post a screenshot;

 

Click on the ALT key + PRT SCR key..its on the top row..right hand side..now click on start...all programs...accessories...paint....left click in the white area ...press CTRL + V...click on file...click on save...save it to your desktop...name it something related to the screen your capturing... BE SURE TO SAVE IT AS A .JPG ...otherwise it may be to big to upload... then after typing in any response you have... click on browse...desktop...find the screenshot..select it and click on the upload button...then on the lower left...after it says upload successful...click on add reply like you normally would.
 

Screenshot instructions are provided to assist those that may read this topic but are not yet aware of the “how to”.

[BerDov]

no problem; I appreciate everything you do more than can be expressed in words.

 

File <2021-0412_DovBer_dskmgmt.jpg> is attached

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[phillpower2]

Thanks for the above which shows that all partitions are healthy which is good news, you will note that Windows was installed using Legacy BIOS and not UEFI, we can tell this because the partition is labelled as NTFS.

 

Lets see if the Windows AIO repair tool helps any, if it does, we will help you uninstall and then reinstall Photoshop.

 

Download then run the Windows All in One Repair tool from here, disregard the malware guidance but follow the other steps to the letter and in particular ensuring that you first create a new restore point and perform a proper Windows clean boot before running the repair, details for the clean boot here.

[BerDov]

could not create restore point for the OS (C:) (System).

see <2021-04-12_restore_pt_error.jpg>

 

Should I proceed to "proper Windows clean boot before running the repair"?

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[phillpower2]

If you are sure that you had selected the C: drive to create the restore point on you can only try it again and if still no joy continue with the rest of the steps.

[BerDov]

Thanks!

I tried to create a restore point again, got the same error message.

 

I'd like to double check a couple things before starting other steps:

 

The article is titled Performing a Proper Windows Clean Boot on XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 8.1 » Page 1.

Since there is no mention of Win 10, I assume the same procedure applies. Correct?

 

In addition to disabling Avast, they recommend turning off the Windows Defender. If the Ethernet cable is disconnected for the duration of the procedure, will it create a problem?

 

Once repair-all-in-one is downloaded and installed, I suppose it will guide me.

[phillpower2]

Same procedure.

 

Get rid of Avast first, as to why below;

 

Avast is no longer widely recommended by any forum as it has become a monster, it foists all sorts of stuff on folk without them knowing and causes various problems by installing browser plug ins that cause conflicts etc, it can also be a nightmare to uninstall as it leaves traces here there and everywhere if you are not careful, you don`t need any third party AV or Firewall as Windows own Defender and Firewall are more than up to the task of protecting your computer.

 

Avast was also found to be passing on users web browsing activity to marketers through a subsidiary named Jumpshot.

 

You can uninstall Avast in the Control Panel but should you have any problems see Avast clean removal info here

 

 

Yes follow the on screen instructions, no rush here as I am calling it a day now, up at 5am for work 

[BerDov]

Good morning Sir,

 

If you think "not again!" - you will be right.

 

I could not perform a Clean Boot because I could not get rid of Avast because I could not start the PC in Safe Mode.

 

Removing it through Control Panel did not work.

 

The first two steps on the https://www.avast.co...install-utilitypage are:

 

·  Download avastclear.exe on your desktop

·  Start Windows in Safe Mode

 

I downloaded avastclear.exe and then used this web page as a guide to Start Windows in Safe Mode: https://support.micr...e4-b3e5e56fe234

 

Everything went well through the last, 4th, screen shot in pt. 4. I clicked on [Restart] but this did not work for me:

 

"5.          After your PC restarts, you'll see a list of options. Select 4 or press F4 to start your PC in Safe Mode. Or if you'll need to use the Internet, select 5 or press F5 for Safe Mode with Networking."

 

No list of options, just a screen to enter my PIN.

 

(As an aside note, these three lines disappeared on restart, perhaps because of my playing with BIOS settings:

 

>> Checking media presence...

>>Media Present.....

>>Start PXE Over IPv4. Press ESC to abort PXE boot.)

 

I was back on the desktop, from which avastclear.exe mysteriously disappeared.

 

Incidentally, four screens on my machine differed slightly from the screen shots in ... start-your-pc-in-safe-mode-in-windows... page. One of them gave an option to start a PC from a USB drive but I wanted to ask for your blessing first.

 

To summarize, the SOP would be:

 

1. Download avastclear.exe;

2. Start PC in Safe Mode; - I was stuck here;

3. Uninstall Avast;

4. Execute Clean Boot;

5. Use the tweeking.com tool to repair computer.

 

I feel I am wasting more and more time, mine and yours...

[phillpower2]

Did you happen to misread my reply #58 perhaps;

 

You can uninstall Avast in the Control Panel but should you have any problems see Avast clean removal info here

 

 

Try getting into Safe Mode from the Recovery Environment options "how to" here

 

See if Avast has been or can be uninstalled from the Control Panel.

 

Stick with addressing these two things for now.