Windows – Why is the WIndows 8 installation stuck in a loop

installationwindowswindows 8

On my computer build, I'm trying to install a OEM WIndows 8 (Not blue: I'm going to upgrade…).

When I first started the installation, I did the normal language options, hit install, entered my product key, and agreed to the terms. It went through the installation pretty fast (~10 minutes for the first installation screen), and then it mentioned rebooting. However, when my PC started back up, it brought me to the installation screen. I tried doing it again this time it had two partitions. (I now know it is normal to have this). I also tried going to "repair" on the main screen to try to see if it could detect any errors and I tried formatting my hard drive again and "uninstalling" Windows (in case something was left over), all which did nothing.

Then I realised that I forgot to plug in ethernet, so I did that and tried a third time, but it didn't help. What should I do? I just want to install Windows without any corrupted data left behind. How can I wipe my drive and continue with installation Widnows?

AMD FX 6100 CPU

M5A78L-M LX PLUS Motherboard

Best Answer

To address the looping installation, it does sound like the machine is trying to boot from the DVD drive first, before booting from the hard disk. This is okay when you first need to install the operating system from a cd/dvd, but if you leave that disk in there it will forever try to boot from it.

To stop this from happening;

  1. Remove the dvd from the drive tray, once the initial phase of the installation is finished and it prompts you to reboot.
  2. Go into the machine's BIOS settings and make sure that the cd/dvd drive is not at the top of the boot list.

If you leave the disk in there, when the machine boots and you see Press any key to boot from the dvd..., let it skip that and continue with the installation.

As far as wiping the drive clean and starting fresh, choose the custom installation option (or something to that effect) when you boot from the installation dvd. When the drive configuration option appears, simple delete all the unwanted partitions and then create the new partition. Continue to install from that point.

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