Fixes / Windows · Checked September 30, 2026

Windows "We couldn't create a new partition": causes and fixes

Short answer

Windows Setup shows this when it cannot build the partitions it needs (EFI System, MSR and Windows) on the drive you picked. It is usually caused by another drive or USB device confusing Setup, or by the target disk having no unallocated space. Unplug every drive except the installer USB and the target disk. Then delete the target disk's partitions in Setup so only Unallocated Space is left, and click Next.

What this message means

During a clean install, Windows Setup needs to create an EFI System Partition (at least 200 MB, FAT32), a 16 MB Microsoft Reserved partition and an NTFS Windows partition on the disk you selected. It can also reuse existing ones. This message means Setup could do neither. Your files and the disk are usually not damaged. What trips Setup up is the environment: extra drives or card readers, a disk that is already fully partitioned, a partition table left over from cloning or another OS, or the PC booting the installer in a different mode (UEFI or legacy) from the one the disk is set up for.

Common causes

Cause	How to tell
Other drives, SD cards or USB storage are connected	The disk list in Setup shows more than one drive (Drive 0, Drive 1 and so on), or a card reader or external disk is plugged in. The error goes away when only the target disk and the installer USB are attached.
No unallocated space on the target disk	The target drive shows existing partitions (an old Windows install, a recovery partition, data partitions) and no "Unallocated Space" row. Selecting one of the existing partitions and clicking Next gives this error.
The installer USB is treated as the first boot disk	The USB stick is listed as the first boot device in the UEFI/BIOS boot order, or the internal drive is not in the boot list at all. Forums also report that the error disappears when the stick is moved to another port (often a USB 2.0 port).
Leftover or mismatched partition table	The disk was cloned, previously used by Linux or a Mac, or came from another PC. Setup may also say the disk is the wrong partition style (MBR or GPT) for the boot mode, or show odd small partitions you did not create.
Firmware storage or boot settings	In UEFI/BIOS the SATA mode is RAID or Intel RST/VMD instead of AHCI, CSM/Legacy boot is enabled, or the boot menu entry for the USB does not start with "UEFI:". This is common on newly built PCs and after a BIOS reset.
Damaged or badly created installation media	The USB was made with a third-party tool or an old ISO, or other Setup steps have also misbehaved. A freshly made stick from Microsoft's Media Creation Tool installs without the error.

How to fix it

1. Disconnect every drive except the target disk and the installer

Shut down the PC completely.
Unplug external hard drives, extra USB sticks, USB hubs and phones, and remove any SD or memory card from the card reader.
On a desktop with more than one internal drive, disconnect the SATA or power cable of every drive you are not installing to (or remove extra M.2 drives).
Leave only the installer USB plugged in, preferably straight into a rear motherboard port rather than a hub or front-panel port.
Boot from the USB again and repeat the install. Reconnect the other drives after Windows is up and running.

2. Delete the target disk's partitions in Setup and install to Unallocated Space

Erases everything on the selected disk. Back up first. The button is labelled "Delete" in the classic Setup and "Delete partition" in the newer Windows 11 (24H2 and later) Setup.

On the "Where do you want to install Windows?" screen ("Select location to install Windows 11" in newer Setup), find the rows for the disk you want to install to, for example Drive 0 Partition 1, Drive 0 Partition 2.
Check the Total size column so you do not touch a different disk.
Select each partition on that drive and choose Delete (in Windows 10 Setup, click "Drive options (advanced)" first to reveal Delete).
Repeat until the drive shows a single "Drive 0 Unallocated Space" row.
Select the Unallocated Space row and click Next. Do not click New first, because Setup creates the EFI, MSR and Windows partitions itself.

3. Fix the boot order and boot the USB in UEFI mode

Enter UEFI/BIOS setup (usually Del, F2 or F10 at power-on, depending on the maker).
Set the internal target drive as the first boot device, above the USB stick.
Save, then boot the installer once through the one-time boot menu instead (commonly F12, F11, F8 or Esc).
Pick the entry that starts with "UEFI:" followed by your USB stick's name, not the plain or legacy entry.
If it still fails, move the stick to a different USB port (a USB 2.0 port if the PC has one) and try again.

4. Wipe the disk with DiskPart and convert it to GPT

Erases the whole selected disk. Use "convert gpt" for UEFI boot (required for Windows 11). Use "convert mbr" only if you deliberately boot the installer in legacy BIOS mode.

On the Setup screen where the error appears, press Shift+F10 (Fn+Shift+F10 on some laptops) to open Command Prompt.
Type diskpart and press Enter, then type list disk and press Enter.
Find the target disk by its size and type select disk N, where N is that disk's number. Double-check it, because the next command erases it.
Type clean and press Enter, then convert gpt and press Enter.
Type exit twice to close DiskPart and Command Prompt.
Back in Setup, click Refresh, select the Unallocated Space on that drive and click Next.

5. Check SATA mode and boot settings in UEFI/BIOS

Enter UEFI/BIOS setup and load the default settings if you have been changing things.
Under Storage, SATA Configuration or similar, set SATA mode to AHCI unless you are deliberately using RAID. On Intel systems with VMD enabled, either load the Intel RST/VMD driver in Setup via Load driver, or turn VMD off.
Set Boot mode to UEFI and disable CSM or Legacy support (Windows 11 needs UEFI).
Update the UEFI/BIOS firmware from the PC or motherboard maker's support site if an update is available.
Save, reboot from the USB and try the install again.

6. Recreate the installation media

On a working Windows PC, go to Microsoft's Windows 11 or Windows 10 download page and select Download Now under "Create Windows installation media".
Run MediaCreationTool.exe and choose USB flash drive. Use a blank stick of at least 8 GB, because its contents are erased.
Use a different stick than before if you can.
Boot the problem PC from the new stick through its UEFI boot entry and repeat the install.

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Still not fixed?

Read the Setup log. Press Shift+F10, type notepad and press Enter, then use File > Open to browse to X:\$Windows.~bt\Sources\Panther\setupact.log (or X:\Windows\Panther\setupact.log). Search for "partition" or "error" near the end of the file. If DiskPart's clean or create commands fail with an I/O device error, the drive itself may be faulty. Check it with the maker's diagnostic tool or try another drive. For a PC under warranty, or a server with a RAID controller (Dell PERC, HPE Smart Array), contact the hardware maker. They can supply the correct storage driver and tell you whether an internal SD module has to be removed.

Questions people ask

Will deleting the partitions erase my files?

Yes. Deleting partitions in Setup, or running DiskPart's clean command, erases everything on that disk. Copy your files off first, or install to a different, empty disk.

Can I fix this without wiping the drive?

Often, yes. Disconnecting extra drives and SD cards and fixing the boot order changes nothing on the disk, so try those first. If the disk has no free space, Setup still needs some unallocated space for its system partitions, so you must shrink or delete at least one partition.

Why does it happen on a brand new SSD?

New or cloned SSDs often have no partition table, or one that does not match the boot mode, and new PCs often have RAID/VMD enabled or a card reader present. Running clean and convert gpt in DiskPart, or setting SATA mode to AHCI, fixes most cases.

Should I click New to create a partition before clicking Next?

No. Select the Unallocated Space and click Next. Setup then creates the EFI System, Microsoft Reserved and Windows partitions it needs in the correct layout.

Does this error mean my hard drive is broken?

Usually not. It is almost always a setup, device or boot-mode problem. Suspect the hardware only if DiskPart reports I/O device errors or the drive disappears from list disk.

Sources

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