Windows 11 usb installation looping

Question

Hi there. I wanted a fresh start since I upgraded my system to a msi motherboard i realised my windows had deactivated. I installed the media creation key on a usb, wiped both ssd / HDD, and tried to install windows 11 again however it will never surpass 10% before looping back to the start. My mouse causes resets to happen with just a movement and without it plugged in it’ll still stop at 10%. I flashed my bios and checked my ram. Any help please and thanks x

Answer 1

Hi hudson hebert,

Thanks for your post. Have you already tried the Q&A Assist suggestions? In addition, please try the following.

1, Use a different USB port type for the installer

During early setup, Windows uses very basic USB drivers.

• Plug the Windows 11 USB into a rear motherboard USB 2.0 port (black port if available), not USB‑C or USB 3.x
• Plug the mouse into a different USB 2.0 port or temporarily do the install without a mouse (keyboard only)

2, Check two BIOS settings related to USB initialization

On MSI boards, these settings directly affect setup stability:

• Set “Fast Boot” = Disabled
• Ensure “USB Legacy Support” = Enabled (sometimes under Advanced > USB)

These ensure USB devices stay active while Windows Setup switches phases.

3, Clean the target disk using DiskPart

Even after deleting partitions in Setup, metadata can remain.

At the drive selection screen:

• Press Shift + F10
• Run (confirm this is the correct drive):

diskpart
list disk
select disk 0
clean
exit

• Close Command Prompt > click Refresh > install to the unallocated space

Warning: This permanently deletes all data on the selected disk.

4, Remove the USB installer at the first automatic restart

When Windows reaches its first reboot during installation:

• Remove the USB installer immediately
• Let the system boot from the internal drive

If the USB remains connected, the firmware can restart Setup instead of continuing the install phase

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