Forum Discussion
The installation of Windows 11 gets stuck and won't continue
I've been trying to clean install Windows 11 on my Acer Aspire A515-43 (Ryzen 3 3200U, 4GB RAM, 119GB storage), but I always get stuck at the same screen and can't move forward. I'm using a 32GB SanDisk Ultra USB drive with only the Windows 11 installation media on it, and I have basically zero experience with this kind of thing.
Is there a way to get past this screen? Do I need to convert the drive to GPT, and if so, how do I do that? Or is Windows 11 just not meant to run on this laptop? If anyone can explain it like I'm five, I'd really appreciate it.
2 Replies
Yes, you need to convert the drive to GPT.
Press Shift+F10 while you're on this screen.
In Command Prompt, execute these commands:
- dispart
- list disk
- select disk #
- clean
- convert gpt
- exit
- exit
Note: Replace # with actual disk number.
Then you can select your drive and continue installation.
The screenshot shows two blockers: Windows Setup was started in UEFI mode, but the internal target disk uses MBR, and Setup refuses installation to a disk connected through USB. If this is a clean installation and everything on the internal drive is backed up, select each partition on that internal disk and choose Delete until only unallocated space remains, then select that space and continue. Setup will create the required GPT layout. Do not delete the USB installer, and do not follow this procedure if you need files from the internal drive, because deleting its partitions erases them. If the 119 GB target is actually an external USB drive, move the installation target to the laptop’s internal storage. The GPT error does not mean the laptop cannot run Windows 11. Before continuing, run Microsoft PC Health Check or verify the processor, TPM 2.0, Secure Boot, memory, and storage requirements independently.
