# Need Storage Drivers - Clean install of Win 8.1



## DzTech (Feb 11, 2016)

Hello-
I am really in a pickle. The short story is that I'm trying to do a clean install of Win 8.1 with a bootable USB and the first attempt, where I created partitions, failed. I'm trying again and it can't find a storage driver to even see the hard drive. I can see the install medium and the files stored there. Where do I look for a storage driver so I can see the hard drive again?

The long story-
Windows 8.1 drove me crazy. Every time it updated, it forced me to reinstall the OS. I went to Win 10, which worked great for a month or so, then an update crashed it and while trying to reinstall it, it reset to Win 8.1. I was so fed up I went to Ubuntu, which worked very well. Then I foolishly tried a workaround to run Skype on it and I messed up my system. I can't reload Ubuntu so I'm back to installing Win 8.1. See above notes for what happened from there.

Please help!


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## etaf (Dec 28, 2008)

> I can't reload Ubuntu


 why can you not install Ubuntu - what happens ? can you see the harddrive ?

does that not see the harddrive 

goto into the bios/uefi 
when the PC first starts you should see the option to goto setup
and see if the bios can see the harddrive at all


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## medab1 (Jan 8, 2013)

I waited a while before responding to this.

All you need to do is use the Media Creation Tool for 8.1-

Create installation media for Windows 8.1 - Windows Help

& download the iso file to your desktop & extract it to a 64 GB usb drive & explore it & click on the setup.exe file in it & it will be installed.
You can do this while your computer is running.
No need to boot from a usb. 

I've done this myself & know it will work.

No need to mess with partitions.
Needed partitions will be created during the install process.

Once 8.1 is installed you can redo partitions.
If you do it wrong 8.1 will fail.

Like I said, I have done this myself & everything went well. 

edit--
You can use another computer to download the Media Creation Tool & download the iso file & extract it to a usb drive.


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## medab1 (Jan 8, 2013)

Off topic---

I have tried to update my system specs under my stuff on the left in posting windows but it still says Windows 8 Pro instead of 8.1.1 Pro.


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## jcgriff2 (Sep 30, 2007)

Storage drivers are on the Windows 8.1 DVD.

Maybe the installation media is corrupt.

Where did you get the W8 ISO from?


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

Boot into Setup (Bios) Go to *Hard Drive mode* and if it is set to IDE or Legacy, change it to *AHCI* or *RAID*. Save and Exit. Your HDD now should be recognized in the Windows install. If not try this:
1– Boot from the Windows Disc/USB
2- Go to *Repair Your Computer, *Or Press* Shift + F10* to go directly to the Command Prompt
3- In the *RE* (recovery environment) choose *command prompt* and type following commands pressing Enter after each bold command:
i)* diskpart*
ii) *list disk*
it will show the list of your drives, with the information:
- status 
- total space
- free space
status would probably be "*invalid*" and free space would be "*0 bytes*" 
you have to select the drive next with
iii) *select disk* <disk number>
_disk number_ = as listed in previous command, normally *disk* *0
*iv) *clean *(this erases all data on the Disk, so be sure you choose the correct one)
now for verification of disk status and free space type
v) *list disk*
the status should be "*online*" and free space should be "*disk size*"

Now Boot to the Windows install and it should show your drive as *Unallocated Space*, press next to Install and Windows will automatically create Partitions and Format them during the Windows Install.


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