Tech

How to fix the “unrecognized storage” error on a Windows installation

There is a bug that is repeated with some frequency when performing a Windows installation from scratch on a PC, either using a DVD optical media or a pen drive connected to USB. And it is the one that occurs when the installer is unable to recognize internal storage drives and partitions, which prevents the installation from completing.

The error mainly occurs on personal computers with Intel processors of the latest generations where an installation of Windows 10 or 11 is attempted. For example, 11th generation processors that use the new technology Intel Volume Management Device, aimed at optimizing data processing and energy consumption of storage units.

This option is usually activated by default in the BIOS of modern laptops or motherboards and it is the one that prevents recognizing the storage units in new installations from scratch if the installer does not have a specific driver for its support, which in this case corresponds to that of the technology Intel Rapid Storage Technology (RST).

Successful Windows installation

We put ourselves in a situation. You buy a new laptop with no operating system or intend to do a ‘clean’ installation from scratch of an existing one. You create your installation media with the ISO image of Windows 10 or Windows 11 and when you get ready to install you find something like what the following image shows.

windows installation

Do not get tired of looking in the middle, because the image that we download by default and ‘burn’ from the Microsoft page you do not have the necessary drivers. We leave you the solution for this error that is repeated frequently and

Solution 1 (recommended)

Before using the installation media, for the example created with a USB pendrive, we must add the Intel drivers that are needed to support the technology Intel Volume Management Device (VMD).

To do this, we downloaded the Intel Rapid Storage Technology (IRST) driver from the official page. Any version of it usually works, although it is recommended to use the latest available 18x and specifically the F6flpy-64 – VMD.zip. Once downloaded, we do not install it, but we extract it to be able to copy it to the same USB that we will use as the installer. (If you use optical media as your installation media, you’ll need to copy this file folder to a separate USB. It’ll work just the same as we’ll see now.)

Once we have the drivers, we carry out the installation normally until we reach the screen that returned the commented error. From here, step by step:

  • Click on load driver.
  • Examine the USB where you have saved the Intel Rapid Storage drivers.

How to fix the error "unrecognized storage" on a Windows 32 installation

How to fix the error "unrecognized storage" on a Windows 34 installation

  • Select and load one of the supported drivers.

How to fix the error "unrecognized storage" on a Windows 36 installation

  • All ready. Now you can see all the drives and partitions.

How to fix the error "unrecognized storage" on a Windows 38 installation

Solution 2 (least recommended)

There is another solution that goes through ‘cut to the chase’. Bearing in mind that the original problem lies in the activation of the Intel Volume Management Device in BIOS, disabling it ends the problem, though you won’t be able to use that feature.

To do this, access the BIOS-UEFI of the computer and look for the “VMD” menu, which is usually found in its advanced options.

windows installation

Once located, simply put it in disabled mode. You will receive a warning when you do, although as it is a ‘clean’ installation the computer can work without this function activated.

How to fix the error "unrecognized storage" on a Windows 41 installation

Not all UEFIs allow the management of this technology, so you will have to use option 1. In any case, it is recommended. (especially on laptops) because VMD optimizes the data processing and power consumption of internal storage drives like modern M.2 PCIe SSDs.

Either of the two options will allow you to complete the installation of Windows without major difficulties and without an error that is often repeated when doing installations from scratch. If you don’t want to waste time later, include this folder with the Intel drivers once the ISO is burned on a USB as we recommend.

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