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Install a boot-start driver

A boot-start driver is a driver for a device that must be installed to start the Microsoft Windows operating system. Most boot-start drivers are included in driver packages that are "in-the-box" with Windows, and Windows automatically installs these boot-start drivers during first boot of the system. If a boot-start driver for a device isn't included in a driver package "in-the-box" with Windows, a user can install another vendor-supplied driver package for the device.

Driver packages that contain boot-start drivers should be added to the image offline before the image is deployed to a system, whenever possible. For more information, see Add and remove drivers to an offline Windows image.

If Windows setup can't locate the target disk or partition to install Windows, then the installation media and Windows image are missing a driver for the disk. You can update the installation media to include a driver package that provides a driver for that disk. For more information, see Add device drivers to Windows during Windows Setup. If you run Windows setup manually, during the disk selection step, you can select Have Disk and choose a disk or file location that contains a driver package for the disks.

If Windows fails to start, the error message can indicate that a boot-start driver is missing. The following table describes several error messages and the possible causes.

Error message Possible cause
Inaccessible boot device The boot disk is a non-Microsoft mass-storage device that requires a driver that isn't included with Windows.
Setup could not determine your machine type A new Windows Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) driver is required. This error doesn't occur on most machines, but it can occur on a high-end server.
Setup could not find any hard drives in your computer The required boot device drivers for the hard drives aren't loaded.