Windows Setup Sees the Drive but Shows 0 MB or Errors
A listed drive with 0.0 MB capacity is not asking for a driver — it is reporting its own failure. Learn to read the signs so you stop fighting setup and start saving data.
🎥 Watch the video — the missing drive fix and the RST VMD RAID settings shown live
A nastier variant of the missing drive problem: the disk is listed in Windows Setup, but its size reads 0 MB, or selecting it produces errors, or it vanishes halfway through copying files. This is rarely a settings problem. A drive that reports no capacity is a drive whose electronics cannot read its own firmware area — in plain words, it is dying or dead. This page teaches you the signs, the two checks worth doing, and when to stop.
Windows Setup — drive list with a failing disk
Drive 0 Unallocated Space 0.0 MB
Setup error when selected:
Windows cannot be installed to this disk (0x80300024)
or the drive disappears from the list entirely.
A healthy drive always reports its real capacity. 0.0 MB means the controller answered but the drive itself could not — a hardware verdict, not a driver issue.
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Read the Signs Correctly
0.0 MB size: the classic signature of a failed SSD controller or a hard disk that cannot read its service area
Appears and disappears: the drive drops off the list between refreshes, or setup freezes when it is selected — intermittent power or a failing board on the drive
Errors mid-install: file copy failures and codes like 0x80300024 after installation starts normally
BIOS warnings: some BIOSes announce a SMART failure at boot — believe them
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The Two Checks Worth Doing Before Condemning It
Change the physical path: move a SATA drive to a different cable and port; reseat an M.2 drive and try another slot if the board has one. A bad cable can imitate a bad drive
Ask the drive about its health: boot a Linux live USB or a WinPE tool and read the SMART data. Reallocated sectors, a pending count above zero, or an SSD health percentage near the bottom confirm the diagnosis
If the drive reports 0 MB in a second machine too, the checks are over — no software on earth negotiates with a dead controller.
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What Not to Do
Do not run DiskPart clean rituals repeatedly hoping the capacity returns, do not force the install attempt after attempt, and do not put a fresh Windows on a drive that passes today but shows SMART warnings — it will fail again, usually with your files on it. And if the dying drive holds data you need, stop writing to it entirely: data recovery works on the data that is still there, and every install attempt overwrites more of it.
🔴 Honest note: it is tempting to blame the installer, the USB stick, or a BIOS setting — they are cheaper than a new drive. But 0 MB plus errors is the drive's own testimony. Replace it, and if the budget allows, let this be the moment the machine moves from a hard disk to an SSD; the price gap is small and the speed gap is enormous.
🎥 Watch the Complete Fix in the Video
Watch the video for the driver and mode fixes — then use this page to be sure your problem is not dying hardware instead.
Because the storage controller answered setup's queries but the drive could not report its capacity — its controller board or firmware area is unreadable. It is a hardware failure signature. Confirm by reseating the drive and trying another port or machine; if it still shows 0 MB, the drive needs replacing, not another setting.
Setup gives error 0x80300024 when I select the drive — is that the same problem
Often, yes. That error means setup could not write to or prepare the selected disk. It can also appear when setup is confused by multiple drives and media, so remove extra USB devices and other drives first. If the error persists on a single-drive machine, treat the disk itself as failing and check its SMART health from a live USB.
Can I install Windows on a drive that shows SMART warnings if it still works
You can, and it will probably install — that is the trap. SMART warnings mean the drive has already started failing; a fresh Windows on it is a countdown, not a repair. Replace the drive first. If it holds data, copy the data off before any install attempt overwrites it.
This guide is based on the Technical Anshu video linked above • Stuck on a step? Ask in the video comments — you will get a reply 🙏