The error with the description “Failed to create a new partition” is mostly typical for the tenth version of Windows. The saddest thing is that the installer may simply not see the available disks and partitions, although sometimes there are situations when everything is fine with them, but the operating system does not want to install on the selected volume. To deal with such failures can be quite simple. But in making a decision, it is necessary to clearly understand what exactly this error is associated with, and in which specific case it arose.
What does the error “Failed to create a new partition” mean?
To begin, let's figure out how to interpret such a message. If you give the simplest and most understandable explanation, we can say that the installer of the system itself or the tool for updating it does not have the ability to create a system area for loading. This is often observed if the installation is done on a new or already used hard disk, which has its own structure created by the user, or when the system partition present on it occupies the entire disk area. That is, Windows cannot change the structure of the partition using its own means, since it could be created manually, for example, through the command line or using special third-party programs.
When and why error 0x80070017 ("Failed to create a new partition") may appear?
As for the possible situations in which such a failure is manifested, there are mainly several main cases. Very often, the error “Failed to create a new disk partition” can be triggered by damage to the external media on which the installation distribution is recorded (for the most part this refers to optical disks). In the case of flash drives, when the system is installed from them, removable media in the parameters of the primary BIOS I / O and UEFI input systems can have higher boot priorities than a disk with a system boot area (even the order of disks in the installation program not displayed correctly). Finally, strangely enough, a message stating that the system was unable to create a new partition may appear even when trying to install updates for the system itself (here the main problem is on the disk and the crowded SoftwareDistribution folder, which cannot be deleted manually).
The easiest way to resolve upgrade failures
Based on the foregoing, we can propose several basic methods for eliminating the described failure. And let's start with the simplest - with update errors.
As already clear, the above directory should not be touched in any case, since its removal can lead to the most unpredictable consequences. But you can rename and replace it with a new one. For this, the usual renaming in the "Explorer" will not work (the system may simply not allow you to do this). To perform such actions, you need to use the command line, which should initially be run as administrator, and then alternately execute the following commands:
- net stop wuauserv;
- CD% systemroot% \ SoftwareDistribution;
- Ren Download Download.old;
- net start wuauserv.
Naturally, there is no need to put punctuation marks after each entered command.
The simplest steps when installing the system from a flash drive
Now let's see what to do if the installer was unable to create a new system partition during the installation process for which an external USB device was used. The simplest solution is to remove the USB flash drive from the corresponding port at the stage of the message, then return to the main installation start window, wait for a message indicating that there are no drivers, then reinsert the USB flash drive into the port and complete the installation.
In some cases, exposing a flash drive in the BIOS settings helps not the first boot device, but the second. But how then to choose the right device with the installation distribution? To do this, in almost all modern computers and laptops, you can use the special boot manager or a similar menu, which is most often called up by pressing F8, F12, etc. Why should boot area priority be higher? Yes, only because installing the system into an existing partition cannot be carried out if Windows does not use a hard drive as the main device. This problem has been known to Microsoft specialists for a long time in Windows 10, but so far it has not been resolved on their part.
Actions with sections in the installation program
Now suppose that we were unable to create a new partition even after performing the above steps. In this case, you can apply another simple solution.
At the installation stage, however, if there is no important information on the disk to be stored, you can delete the corresponding partition (s), which is usually located on disk 0. After that, the unoccupied area that appears after the removal can be re- split into the required number of logical volumes or leave all the space under one partition.
Using the command line with standard tools
If there is a failure with a message stating that the installation program could not create a new partition, you can also use the command line, in which by using DISKPART tools you can fix the problem.
To do this, you need to enter the commands shown in the image above, assuming that we have a hard drive as the zero drive, and the drive marked with the unit corresponds to the flash drive displayed earlier in the "Explorer" under the letter "D". Upon completion of the basic steps, without leaving the console, you need to enter two more commands:
- xcopy d: c: / e / h / k (it will copy important files to disk “C”);
- bootsect / nt60 c: (this command will make the C drive bootable).
After restarting the computer, installation will begin (or continue) already from the hard drive.
When it is completed, it remains only to call the configurator (msconfig) and remove the Windows Setup (Windows) installation item on the boot tab so that at startup the window for selecting the installed OS or its installer does not appear.
Manual reservation of space for system partitions
Finally, at the stage of installing the system, you can omit the partitioning and formatting of the partition, if it is the only one, if it contains the files the user needs (installation with saving data).
In this case, it is enough to execute the commands shown in the image above, which will allow you to "pinch off" the space for creating system ones from the main section, only as the main section you will need to select the unallocated space that will already be reserved, namely the one whose size has been reduced .