Installing windows 7 from a flash drive asks for drivers. The required driver for the drive was not found. Where can I find the driver for the floppy drive? Installing the drive. Wrong connector

When installing Windows 10, 8 and Windows 7 on a computer or laptop, the user may encounter errors “The required media driver was not found. It could be a DVD drive, USB drive, or hard drive driver" (during installation of Windows 10 and 8), "The required driver for the optical drive was not found. If you have a floppy disk, CD, DVD, or USB flash drive with these drivers, insert this media" (when installing Windows 7).

The text of the error message is not particularly clear, especially for a novice user, because it is not clear what kind of media we are talking about and one can assume (incorrectly) that the problem is in the SSD or the new hard drive on which the installation is taking place, but this is usually not the case and the point is different.

Basic steps to fix the “Required media driver not found” error, which will be described in detail in the instructions below:

  1. If you are installing Windows 7 and doing it from a flash drive, connect the USB drive to the USB 2.0 connector.
  2. If the distribution disk is recorded on DVD-RW, or has not been used for a long time, try re-burning a boot disk with Windows (or better, perhaps, try installing from a flash drive, especially if you have doubts about the full functionality of the drive for reading disks).
  3. Try burning the installation flash drive using another program. For example, relatively often (for unclear reasons) the error “The required driver for the optical drive was not found” is seen by users who have burned a USB drive in UltraISO.
  4. Use another USB drive, delete partitions on the current flash drive if it contains several partitions.
  5. Download the Windows ISO again and create an installation drive (the problem may be a damaged image).

The root cause of the error The required media driver was not found when installing Windows 7

The error “The required media driver was not found” during the installation of Windows 7 is most often caused (especially recently, as users update computers and laptops) by the fact that the bootable flash drive for installation is connected to the USB 3.0 connector, and the official OS installation program does not have built-in support for USB 3.0 drivers.

A simple and quick solution to the problem is to connect a flash drive to a USB 2.0 port. Their difference from 3.0 connectors is that they are not blue. As a rule, after this the installation occurs without errors.

More complex ways to solve the problem:

  • Write drivers for USB 3.0 to the same flash drive from the official website of the laptop or motherboard manufacturer. Provided that these drivers are there (they may be part of the Chipset Drivers), and they must be written in unpacked form (i.e. not as an exe, but as a folder with inf, sys and, possibly, other files). During installation, click “Browse” and specify the path to these drivers (if the drivers are not on the official websites, you can use the Intel and AMD websites to search for USB 3.0 drivers for your chipset).
  • Integrate USB 3.0 drivers into the Windows 7 image (this requires a separate guide, which I don't have at the moment).

"The required optical drive driver was not found" error when installing from DVD

The main cause of the error “The required driver for optical disks was not found” when installing Windows from a disk is a damaged disk or a DVD drive that does not read disks well.

At the same time, you may not see any damage, but on another computer installation from the same disk occurs without problems.

In any case, the first thing you should try in this situation is to either burn a new Windows boot disk or use a bootable USB flash drive to install the OS. The original images for installation are available on the official Microsoft website (instructions on how to download them were given above).

Using other software to burn a bootable USB drive

Sometimes it happens that a message about a missing media driver appears when installing Windows 10, 8 and Windows 7 from a flash drive recorded by a specific program and does not appear when using another one.

Try:

Problems with bootable USB flash drive

If the points indicated in the previous section did not help, the problem may be in the flash drive itself: if possible, try using another one.

And at the same time, check whether your bootable flash drive contains several partitions - this can also lead to such errors during installation. If it does, delete these sections.

Additional Information

In some cases, the error can be caused by both a damaged ISO image (try downloading again or from a different source) and more serious problems (for example, malfunctioning RAM can lead to data corruption when copying), although this rarely happens. However, if possible, it is worth trying to download the ISO and create a drive to install Windows on another computer.

The official Microsoft website also contains its own instructions for fixing the problem:

Installing the Windows operating system is becoming easier every year, and Microsoft provides all the necessary tools so that users can independently burn its image to a drive and carry out the installation process. During installation, you must follow the instructions that are displayed on the screen, but the installation does not always go smoothly, and sometimes you may encounter various errors. One of the problems that may arise when installing Windows from a flash drive or disk is the lack of the necessary driver. Depending on the version of Windows that is being installed, various errors are displayed:

  • Windows 7: "A required driver for the optical drive was not found." If you have a floppy disk, CD, DVD or USB flash drive with these drivers, insert this media";
  • Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10: “A required media driver was not found. This could be a driver for a DVD drive, USB drive, or hard drive."

These errors are identical and differ only in description. Accordingly, their elimination methods are also the same. Let's look at what to do if the required media driver is not found when installing Windows.

The required media driver was not found when installing from a flash drive

The most common problem that causes the “Required driver not found” error to appear is connecting a flash drive to a motherboard connector with USB 3.0 protocol. This is due to the fact that the Windows 7 operating system installation program cannot work with the USB 3.0 connector. This problem is not relevant for installation programs for Windows 8 and Windows 10.

There are three ways to solve this problem that will allow you to install Windows 7 when you receive a message that a required driver is missing:


Required media driver not found when installing from disk

If the Windows operating system is installed from a disc - CD or DVD, then the error in question may also occur. Here the reason is also trivial - damage to the drive from which the installation is taking place. This could be a crack, scratch, chip or other defects that make the information from the disk difficult to read.

Important: This error does not depend on the version of Windows recorded on the disk, and it can occur when installing any variation of the operating system.

It is worth noting that in some cases the error “The required media driver was not found” when installing from a disk may not occur on all computers. This is most often due to the speed of the drive. By rotating the disk faster, in some cases it is possible to read information from it without errors, even if it has some damage.

To solve the problem, you will need to burn the image of the Windows operating system to another disk or flash drive.

What to do if the required media driver is not found when installing Windows

If the tips above did not help solve the problem, and an error occurs when you try to install the operating system from a flash drive or disk, we recommend trying the following steps:

It is extremely rare that an error may occur when writing data to the drive if there are problems with the computer's RAM. If none of the above tips help, try recording a system image from another computer.

When trying to install Windows OS on your computer, a user may encounter the error “The required driver for the optical drive was not found.” At the same time, it very often happens that there is no “optical drive” on the PC at all, and the OS installation itself is done from a flash drive. In this article I will tell you what the required CD/DVD drive device driver is missing error is, why it occurs and how to fix it.

The main reason for the problem in question “the required driver was not found” is the inability of the Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE - Windows Preinstallation Environment) to recognize the external USB drive from which Windows is installed. The Windows PE preinstallation environment itself is built into the kernel of the Windows 7 operating system and is used to prepare the installation of this operating system. Therefore, if it is impossible to recognize the USB drive, the system generates an error with the above text and the installation of the operating system is terminated.

Therefore, among the reasons for this problem, I would name the following:

  • using a USB 3.0 connector instead of USB 2.0 to connect a flash drive;
  • poor-quality recording of the Windows OS installation image on CD (DVD);
  • use of custom operating system builds;
  • sudden removal of the installation disk from the drive;
  • damage to the ISO file itself;
  • low quality of the CD (DVD) disc itself (often in the case of a “no name” manufacturer);
  • The CD (DVR) drive is inoperative (in particular, dust on the drive lens, problems with the device board, and so on).

How to fix the "required optical drive driver not found" error

The algorithm for how to get rid of the problem “the required driver for the optical drive was not found” is as follows:


Video instructions for fixing the error

Above, I discussed the reasons and solutions to the problem of the lack of necessary drivers for CDs (DVDs). In most cases, the main reason for the dysfunction “The required driver for the drive was not found” is the use of a USB 3.0 connector instead of the usual USB 2.0. To fix this problem, you just need to insert your installation flash drive into the appropriate USB 2.0 connector. After this, in most cases, the problem is effectively resolved.

In contact with

Good day my dear readers!

I recently decided to install an operating system from scratch and ran into a problem that left me confused. For some reason, when installing Windows 7, it requires a driver.

First actions

If you encounter such a problem, do not despair, I will tell you what to do. First, let me explain why this could happen. Almost all users use distributions that they downloaded from the network and burned onto a flash drive or disk themselves. No one can guarantee that the downloading of files took place without incident. Maybe some part was not downloaded, and now Windows is asking for a driver for the optical drive. Plus, perhaps the disk image itself was broken or infected with a virus (you can check the image for viruses using the same Comodo Internet Security). You can't know that, right?

The first thing to do is to find another image with the distribution and burn it again to removable media. It is also important to be sure that your storage device is in full working order. Otherwise, you can suffer like this for more than one hour. Try changing the USB port when connecting a flash drive. Maybe it got loose and started to malfunction.

If this does not help, move on to the next step.

Errors due to components

While you are trying to install an operating system from other distributions, pay attention to which device drivers your computer requires. For example, if the system needs software for the hard drive, and every time, then it is quite possible that the problem is in the BIOS or in the hard drive connection.

If the OS requires a driver for the drive during installation, then it is quite possible that the BIOS settings have also gone wrong. It happens that, if handled carelessly, the SATA cable that powers the components from the motherboard shorts. Because of this, the BIOS settings become confused and require adjustment.

In order to enter its settings, you must immediately hold down one or more keys after restarting the laptop. Depending on the laptop model, the required buttons vary. I will give a sign that will help you find these keys.

If everything is done correctly, a sign like this will appear.

Next, in the section with hard drives, find your device and change its priority to Disable or None. There are two types of hard drives - SATA and IDE. If you don’t know which model you have, check both HDD tabs in the BIOS. Reboot and reverse the changes. Then restart the PC again and try installing the system again. If the PC again requires a driver for the hard drive, then the problem is hardware.

The same goes for your drive. Only in BIOS you no longer disable the hard drive, but the drive.

Solving hardware problems

If everything described above does not help, then you will have to disassemble your car. By and large, there are no problems with this on laptops. Turned it over, untwisted it, assembled it. But I will describe everything step by step.

Initially, you turn off the PC, unplug the power cable and remove the battery. Necessarily! Otherwise, you can burn all the components, since the battery has a charge and it can lead to a short circuit! You need to solve the problem with the drivers, and not buy a new computer.

Then, you need to unscrew all the bolts, but do not lose them. Remove the panel and part of the housing. You will see almost the same picture as in the image below.

The hard drive itself is located here.

It needs to be disconnected and reconnected, but first remove the fasteners, otherwise they will prevent you from doing this. Just slide it to the side, pull it out, and blow out the contacts just in case. It will be better if you wipe them with a regular pen eraser. Then reconnect the device. Also install the mount. Just in case, you can watch a video online showing how this is done.

If the system required a driver for the floppy drive, then you need to remove your drive accordingly. Then you collect everything, restart the PC and try to install the system again.

If everything went well, the system was installed without errors, then the first thing to do is install the drivers for Wi-Fi. You will need to go online and download a program to diagnose your hard drive. For example, HDD Regenerator for Windows. Download you can here. Install the software and conduct a full test. The program itself will tell you what to do and what condition your device is in.

If all indicators are normal, then you need to update the drivers for the HDD itself. Where can I download them? The best place is on the manufacturer's website. If this is difficult, use the Driver Booster Free utility. You can download it from here. Launch the scan and it will do all the necessary actions. All that remains is to restart the laptop. Thus, the problem with driver errors is completely resolved.

Always handle your laptop carefully. Do not drop or hit it, especially in the hard drive area. This is a fragile component that can be easily damaged. In it, the reading head is located a hair's breadth away from the magnetic dies. If they get scratched, you'll have to buy a new device!

Conclusion

I have given you all the methods that will help you solve this kind of error problem. In most cases, it occurs precisely because of a previously broken system image file or due to errors in the bootloader program. This problem does not occur with licensed operating system disks. It can often be found in distribution builds. I don’t recommend you install these.

Home-grown programmers can stick whatever they want in there, but you will have to suffer. Read user comments before downloading. If the distribution is broken, those who have already tried it will write about it.

With this I say goodbye to you, my dear readers. Share the link to the article with your friends on social networks and subscribe to blog updates! I wish you no problems with your computers! See you again in my articles!