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I have a Western Digital DS5100 media server. I want to install a fresh copy of Windows Server 2016 on this machine from a USB boot key. I used rufus to burn this from the ISO I downloaded from MSDN.

When I boot to this key I get the Windows install screen. However, when I try to specify where it should be installed, there are no drives listed.

This machine has an SSD boot disk and 2 RAID disks, though I have the RAID disks unplugged for now. I suspect this is BIOS related, such as the "security boot", AHPCI, ACPI options. I've spent hours of guessing, but so far have had no luck. I'm kind of at wits end trying to figure this out. Any suggestions on how to proceed? Do you need more information from me such as the BIOS version or anything else?

rufus settings

phuclv
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Mike Forman
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1 Answers1

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The most common reason why Windows installer doesn't see a drive is that the machine is using an unknown SATA controller. In other words, Windows doesn't have the driver for the disk controller and can't communicate with it. Check the Western Digital support site and download the drivers. The Windows installer has the ability to add the drivers in during the installation.

Keltari
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