"Windows can’t be installed on disk 0, partition 1" is an error message that can occur when installing Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 10. In this article I will tell you why and how to solve this problem. At the same time, I will recommend you a partition software: AOMEI Partition Assistant.
by Hannah / Last updated 28.09.2021
About the error message "Windows cannot be installed on disk 0 partition 1"
Some users have problems with the installation of Windows 7 or Windows 8. The installation is canceled during disk selection due to the error message "Windows can not be installed on disk 0 partition 1".
In the following I explain this with a concrete example:
There are three partitions on disk 0:
– Disk 0 Partition 1 – 100 GB System
– Disk 0 Partition 2 – 296 GB Primary
– Disk 0 Partition 3 – 60 GB Primary
If you choose one of them, you will see the boring message "Windows can’t be installed on drive 0 partition 1". On partition 1 (System) are the details:
Windows cannot be installed on the disk. The selected disk matches the GPT partition style. Windows cannot be installed on this disk space. The partition is an EFI system partition (ESP).
On partition 2 (primary) are the details:
Windows cannot be installed on this disk. The selected disk to the GPT partition style.
On partition 3 (primary) are the details:
Windows cannot be installed on the disk. The selected disk corresponds to the GPT partition style. Windows cannot be installed on this part of the hard disk. Windows must be created on a NTFS formatted partition. Windows cannot be installed on this disk partition. The type of the partition is unknown.
Solutions for "Windows cannot be installed on disk 0 partition 1"
In fact, each error message has tips behind it. If your partition is GPT, you should make sure that your motherboard supports UEFI/EFI so that system can be booted from GPT partition. Otherwise you need to convert GPT to MBR. GPT is one of the partition styles, NTFS is a file system. When prompted to install the system on an NTFS partition, select NTFS when formatting. Of course you can also try to convert FAT to NTFS.
The main problem is that many users don’t know that their partitions is very good, so they keep solving each different problem. This spends a lot of time. Is there a solution that will help them solve all at once? Yes, some have already figured out practical methods and spread them on internet.
Initially, the main reason is that users want to reinstall Windows or install a second operating system as a dual-boot system. This means that its partitions are already used before.
Solution 1:
If it is not necessary to keep these partitions, you can remove them from the installation disk using Windows Disk Management, as follows:
Click on a partition to select it. Click on "Drive Options (Advanced)". Select the "Delete" option.
Repeat this procedure for each listed partition.
When all are done, you should see only one entry, which is displayed as "Unallocated space on disk 0".
Click the "Next" button to continue installing Windows 7.
Note that Windows 7 will also create an approximately 100 MB hidden "system-reserved" partition that contains startup files and recovery environment. Back up your important data before deleting.
Solution 2:
On the "Where do you want to install Windows" screen press [SHIFT+ F10] and a DOS window will pop up.
– Type: diskpart
– Type: list disk (you can see only disk 0)
– Type: select disk 0
– Type: clean
Tip: you have to press Enter every time after typing the command sequence.
Close the DOS window, click "Refresh", select the listed disk, and then click "Next".
Further solution with Partition Manager – AOMEI Partition Manager for Windows 11/10/8/7
The above Disk Management and Diskpart are two different tools. But between them there is a point of contact: they both work on disk and partition. If you think that you can only use these two tools to run partition options when your operating system is running normally, you are wrong. Thanks to the development of technology some third party partition software appear. Here I recommend you to try AOMEI Partition Assistant.
To get the error "Windows cannot be installed on disk 0 partition 1" to fix, you can quickly remove it, then create a primary NTFS partition as active with the bootable CD from AOMEI Partition Assistant. Besides, with AOMEI Partition Assistant, you can convert file system between NTFS and FAT, convert disk between GPT and MBR, migrate OS from GPT hard disk to GPT/MBR SSD or hard disk, or allocate free space from one partition to another.
AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional is comprehensive software that integrates easy-to-use disk and partition management options. It is an alternative to the Windows program for these types of tasks.
The above methods also correspond if Windows 7 cannot be installed on the disk, or Windows 10 cannot be installed on disk 0 partition 1.
Summary
Who is interested in "create partitions" and "resize partition", "enlarge partition", "merge two or more partitions", he can choose the FREE AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard in Windows 7/8/10/11. It carries quick orders and has a queue for applying multiple operations at once.