Mazzerac

Q: "Non-system disk Press any key to reboot"- Trying to install Win 7 on Mac Mini

Hello. I'm trying to install Windows 7 on a new-model Mac Mini ('Late 2012'), which I just bought from Apple. [Specs: 1 TB Fusion drive, 2.6 GHz intel Core i7, 16 GB RAM, OS X Mavericks (latest), Graphics: Intel HD graphics 4000, Screen: LG Flatron 24"].

 

After following instructions on Bootcamp, I tried installing it through my external USB Apple Superdrive (DVD), but for some reason as soon as the system finishes getting things ready and reboots to begin installing Windows 7, I get a black screen with an error message as follows: "No bootable device -- insert boot disk and press any key". Pressing the keys on my keyboard does nothing (even though it's a wired model, not a wireless one.) I'm forced to do a hard shutdown using the power button and hold down the Option key in order to get the system to show the Mac HD where OS X is. It also shows the Windows DVD as another option, but when I select it and the system boots, I just get the same error message again. So I go back to a hard shutdown and reboot to go into OS X again.

 

Not sure what to do, I did some online research and in one post in the Frequently Asked Questions for Bootcamp, it says for installing Win 7 and Win 8, the computer won't work with external USB drives (*totally nuts in my opinion - Apple has to fix this stuff if they want to entice Windows users into buying their sleek, quiet hardware). Instead, the post recommends creating a Windows 7 ISO file from my Windows 7 DVD and putting it on a USB thumbdrive that Bootcamp is going to use to put all the Apple/Windows drivers on for the installation process. I'm also told I have to unplug my Superdrive (no explanation given for why). So I do all this and get Bootcamp Assistant running again. Unfortunately, as soon as the system reboots after going through all the usual preparation steps, I get another black screen with a new error message: "Non-system disk Press any key to reboot". So I'm at a loss for what to do next.

 

(I've also have an iMac that I bought more than a year ago that I also put Windows 7 on, with no problems that time. Go figure.)

 

If anyone here has an good answer for how to proceed, I need to know. Thanks in advance!

Mac mini (Late 2012), OS X Mavericks (10.9.4)

Posted on Sep 14, 2014 11:20 PM

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Q: "Non-system disk Press any key to reboot"- Trying to install Win 7 on Mac Mini

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  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Jan 21, 2015 3:46 AM in response to nicimini
    Level 7 (24,611 points)
    Safari
    Jan 21, 2015 3:46 AM in response to nicimini

    BCA did not create a Hybrid MBR on the 1TB Fusion drive (that is what you have a - 120GB SSD/1TB HDD in a fusion setup).

     

    Please post the output of sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk1.

  • by nicimini,

    nicimini nicimini Jan 21, 2015 3:55 AM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 21, 2015 3:55 AM in response to Loner T

    here it is

    Last login: Wed Jan 21 08:10:45 on ttys000

    minic:~ minic$ sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk1

    Password:

    gpt show: /dev/disk1: mediasize=1000204886016; sectorsize=512; blocks=1953525168

    gpt show: /dev/disk1: Suspicious MBR at sector 0

    gpt show: /dev/disk1: Pri GPT at sector 1

    gpt show: /dev/disk1: Sec GPT at sector 1953525167

           start        size  index  contents

               0           1         MBR

               1           1         Pri GPT header

               2          32         Pri GPT table

              34           6        

              40      409600      1  GPT part - C12A7328-F81F-11D2-BA4B-00A0C93EC93B

          409640   647158336      2  GPT part - 53746F72-6167-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC

       647567976     1269536      3  GPT part - 426F6F74-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC

       648837512        1656        

       648839168  1304684544      4  GPT part - EBD0A0A2-B9E5-4433-87C0-68B6B72699C7

      1953523712        1423        

      1953525135          32         Sec GPT table

      1953525167           1         Sec GPT header

    minic:~ minic$

     

    it's way over my head!

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Jan 21, 2015 5:59 AM in response to nicimini
    Level 7 (24,611 points)
    Safari
    Jan 21, 2015 5:59 AM in response to nicimini

    Please download and install GPT Fdisk - http://sourceforge.net/projects/gptfdisk/. I can provide steps to correct the MBR on Disk1.

  • by nicimini,

    nicimini nicimini Jan 21, 2015 6:16 AM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 21, 2015 6:16 AM in response to Loner T

    o.k. done that.

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Jan 21, 2015 8:29 AM in response to nicimini
    Level 7 (24,611 points)
    Safari
    Jan 21, 2015 8:29 AM in response to nicimini

    Rebuild MBR to match the new GPT information thus resetting the Hybrid MBR.


    Use defaults for other questions (like partition codes).


    1. Sudo gdisk /dev/disk1
    2. P  (Print list of parts)
    3. R   (Recover)
    4. H (chooses Hybrid)
    5. Partitions numbers to be hybridized: 2 3 4
    6. Y (Good for GRUB question)
    7. N (part 2 boot flag)
    8. N (part 3 boot flag)
    9. MBR hex code for partition 4 should be '0B' or '0C'. Try one at a time and test.
    10. Y  (part 4 boot flag make NTFS bootable partition)
    11. W  (Write the new MBR)
    12. Y    (Yes! write the new MBR)
    13. Reboot

     

    Re-try your Windows installation.

  • by nicimini,

    nicimini nicimini Jan 21, 2015 9:15 AM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 21, 2015 9:15 AM in response to Loner T

    look forward to attempting that.  earlier today i was trying different formats for the bootcamp partition to see if it made any difference and ended up with a partition of 800gb of free space (duh!) that i'm now trying to reclaim via disk utilities having booted to apple recovery on line.  the globe is up but not spinning. not sure how long it will take; but will try your command lines as soon as i'm back and running. very many thanks.

  • by nicimini,

    nicimini nicimini Jan 22, 2015 4:00 AM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 22, 2015 4:00 AM in response to Loner T

    hi, i'm worried i'm going down the wrong route.  terminal looks like this at the moment.

     

    Last login: Thu Jan 22 11:29:56 on ttys000

    minic:~ minic$ sudo gdisk /dev/disk0

    Password:

    GPT fdisk (gdisk) version 0.8.10

     

    Warning: Devices opened with shared lock will not have their

    partition table automatically reloaded!

    Partition table scan:

      MBR: protective

      BSD: not present

      APM: not present

      GPT: present

     

    Found valid GPT with protective MBR; using GPT.

     

    Command (? for help): r

     

    Recovery/transformation command (? for help): h

     

    WARNING! Hybrid MBRs are flaky and dangerous! If you decide not to use one,

    just hit the Enter key at the below prompt and your MBR partition table will

    be untouched.

     

    Type from one to three GPT partition numbers, separated by spaces, to be

    added to the hybrid MBR, in sequence: 4

    Place EFI GPT (0xEE) partition first in MBR (good for GRUB)? (Y/N): y

     

    GPT partition #4 does not exist or is too big; skipping.

     

    No partitions converted; original protective/hybrid MBR is unmodified!

     

    Recovery/transformation command (? for help):

     

    how to proceed or should i go back/ quit?

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Jan 22, 2015 4:31 AM in response to nicimini
    Level 7 (24,611 points)
    Safari
    Jan 22, 2015 4:31 AM in response to nicimini

    nicimini wrote:

     

    hi, i'm worried i'm going down the wrong route.  terminal looks like this at the moment.

     

    Last login: Thu Jan 22 11:29:56 on ttys000

    minic:~ minic$ sudo gdisk /dev/disk0

    This is incorrect. You need to use sudo gdisk /dev/disk1.

  • by nicimini,

    nicimini nicimini Jan 22, 2015 5:09 AM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 22, 2015 5:09 AM in response to Loner T

    of course, thank you!

  • by nicimini,

    nicimini nicimini Jan 22, 2015 5:23 AM in response to nicimini
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 22, 2015 5:23 AM in response to nicimini

    think i'm getting there; just not quite.

     

    Last login: Thu Jan 22 13:16:10 on ttys001

    minic:~ minic$ sudo gdisk /dev/disk1

    GPT fdisk (gdisk) version 0.8.10

     

    Warning: Devices opened with shared lock will not have their

    partition table automatically reloaded!

    Partition table scan:

      MBR: hybrid

      BSD: not present

      APM: not present

      GPT: present

     

    Found valid GPT with hybrid MBR; using GPT.

     

    Command (? for help): p

    Disk /dev/disk1: 1953525168 sectors, 931.5 GiB

    Logical sector size: 512 bytes

    Disk identifier (GUID): 3B4522DB-D1B2-4795-BE37-DB4B853F215D

    Partition table holds up to 128 entries

    First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 1953525134

    Partitions will be aligned on 8-sector boundaries

    Total free space is 1837 sectors (918.5 KiB)

     

    Number  Start (sector)    End (sector)  Size       Code  Name

       1              40          409639   200.0 MiB   EF00  EFI System Partition

       2          409640       637802087   303.9 GiB   AF05  Macintosh_HD2

       3       637802088       639071847   620.0 MiB   AB00  Recovery HD

       4       639072256      1953523711   626.8 GiB   0700  BOOTCAMP

     

    Command (? for help): r

     

    Recovery/transformation command (? for help): h

     

    WARNING! Hybrid MBRs are flaky and dangerous! If you decide not to use one,

    just hit the Enter key at the below prompt and your MBR partition table will

    be untouched.

     

    Type from one to three GPT partition numbers, separated by spaces, to be

    added to the hybrid MBR, in sequence: 2 3 4

    Place EFI GPT (0xEE) partition first in MBR (good for GRUB)? (Y/N): y

     

    Creating entry for GPT partition #2 (MBR partition #2)

    Enter an MBR hex code (default AF): n

    Set the bootable flag? (Y/N): n

     

    Creating entry for GPT partition #3 (MBR partition #3)

    Enter an MBR hex code (default AB): n

    Set the bootable flag? (Y/N): n

     

    Creating entry for GPT partition #4 (MBR partition #4)

    Enter an MBR hex code (default 07): OB

    Set the bootable flag? (Y/N): y

     

    Recovery/transformation command (? for help):

  • by nicimini,

    nicimini nicimini Jan 22, 2015 5:32 AM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 22, 2015 5:32 AM in response to Loner T

    ignore that last post.

    i think i've finally got it.

  • by nicimini,

    nicimini nicimini Jan 22, 2015 6:32 AM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 22, 2015 6:32 AM in response to Loner T

    hi, i thought i was there. did two versions, one with OB and one OC.  both appeared as icons when 'alt' booted, but neither booted when selected, just went to black screen.  here are the terminal logs, in case, yet again, i did a wrong input.

     

    minic:~ minic$ sudo gdisk /dev/disk1

    Password:

    GPT fdisk (gdisk) version 0.8.10

     

    Warning: Devices opened with shared lock will not have their

    partition table automatically reloaded!

    Partition table scan:

      MBR: hybrid

      BSD: not present

      APM: not present

      GPT: present

     

    Found valid GPT with hybrid MBR; using GPT.

     

    Command (? for help): p

    Disk /dev/disk1: 1953525168 sectors, 931.5 GiB

    Logical sector size: 512 bytes

    Disk identifier (GUID): 3B4522DB-D1B2-4795-BE37-

    DB4B853F215D
    Partition table holds up to 128 entries
    First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 1953525134
    Partitions will be aligned on 8-sector boundaries
    Total free space is 1837 sectors (918.5 KiB)

     

    Number  Start (sector)    End (sector)  Size       Code  Name
       1              40          409639   200.0 MiB   EF00  EFI System Partition
       2          409640       637802087   303.9 GiB   AF05  Macintosh_HD2
       3       637802088       639071847   620.0 MiB   AB00  Recovery HD
       4       639072256      1953523711   626.8 GiB   0700  BOOTCAMP

     

    Command (? for help): r

     

    Recovery/transformation command (? for help): h

     

    WARNING! Hybrid MBRs are flaky and dangerous! If you decide not to use one,
    just hit the Enter key at the below prompt and your MBR partition table will
    be untouched.

     

    Type from one to three GPT partition numbers, separated by spaces, to be
    added to the hybrid MBR, in sequence: 2 3 4
    Place EFI GPT (0xEE) partition first in MBR (good for GRUB)? (Y/N): Y

     

    Creating entry for GPT partition #2 (MBR partition #2)
    Enter an MBR hex code (default AF): AF
    Set the bootable flag? (Y/N): N

     

    Creating entry for GPT partition #3 (MBR partition #3)
    Enter an MBR hex code (default AB): AB
    Set the bootable flag? (Y/N): N

     

    Creating entry for GPT partition #4 (MBR partition #4)

    Enter an MBR hex code (default 07): OC

     


    Set the bootable flag? (Y/N): Y

    Recovery/transformation command (? for help): W

    Final checks complete. About to write GPT data. THIS WILL OVERWRITE EXISTING
    PARTITIONS!!

    Do you want to proceed? (Y/N): Y
    OK; writing new GUID partition table (GPT) to /dev/disk1.
    Warning: Devices opened with shared lock will not have their
    partition table automatically reloaded!
    Warning: The kernel may continue to use old or deleted partitions.
    You should reboot or remove the drive.
    The operation has completed successfully.
    minic:~ minic$


    Last login: Thu Jan 22 13:18:55 on ttys001

     

    minic:~ minic$ sudo gdisk /dev/disk1

     

    Password:

     

    GPT fdisk (gdisk) version 0.8.10

     

     

     

    Warning: Devices opened with shared lock will not have their

     

    partition table automatically reloaded!

     

    Partition table scan:

     

      MBR: hybrid

     

      BSD: not present

     

      APM: not present

     

      GPT: present

     

     

     

    Found valid GPT with hybrid MBR; using GPT.

     

     

     

    Command (? for help): p

     

    Disk /dev/disk1: 1953525168 sectors, 931.5 GiB

     

    Logical sector size: 512 bytes

     

    Disk identifier (GUID): 3B4522DB-D1B2-4795-BE37-DB4B853F215D

     

    Partition table holds up to 128 entries

     

    First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 1953525134

     

    Partitions will be aligned on 8-sector boundaries

     

    Total free space is 1837 sectors (918.5 KiB)

     

     

     

    Number  Start (sector)    End (sector)  Size       Code  Name

     

       1              40          409639   200.0 MiB   EF00  EFI System Partition

     

       2          409640       637802087   303.9 GiB   AF05  Macintosh_HD2

     

       3       637802088       639071847   620.0 MiB   AB00  Recovery HD

     

       4       639072256      1953523711   626.8 GiB   0700  BOOTCAMP

     

     

     

    Command (? for help): r

     

     

     

    Recovery/transformation command (? for help): h

     

     

     

    WARNING! Hybrid MBRs are flaky and dangerous! If you decide not to use one,

     

    just hit the Enter key at the below prompt and your MBR partition table will

     

    be untouched.

     

     

     

    Type from one to three GPT partition numbers, separated by spaces, to be

     

    added to the hybrid MBR, in sequence: 2 3 4

     

    Place EFI GPT (0xEE) partition first in MBR (good for GRUB)? (Y/N): y

     

     

     

    Creating entry for GPT partition #2 (MBR partition #2)

     

    Enter an MBR hex code (default AF): AF

     

    Set the bootable flag? (Y/N): n

     

     

     

    Creating entry for GPT partition #3 (MBR partition #3)

     

    Enter an MBR hex code (default AB): AB

     

    Set the bootable flag? (Y/N): n

     

     

     

    Creating entry for GPT partition #4 (MBR partition #4)

     

    Enter an MBR hex code (default 07): OB

     

    Set the bootable flag? (Y/N): y

     

     

     

    Recovery/transformation command (? for help): w

     

     

     

    Final checks complete. About to write GPT data. THIS WILL OVERWRITE EXISTING

     

    PARTITIONS!!

     

     

     

    Do you want to proceed? (Y/N): y

     

    OK; writing new GUID partition table (GPT) to /dev/disk1.

     

    Warning: Devices opened with shared lock will not have their

     

    partition table automatically reloaded!

     

    Warning: The kernel may continue to use old or deleted partitions.

     

    You should reboot or remove the drive.

     

    The operation has completed successfully.

     

    minic:~ minic$

  • by nicimini,

    nicimini nicimini Jan 22, 2015 6:39 AM in response to nicimini
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 22, 2015 6:39 AM in response to nicimini

    just re-reading Mazzeracs post.  should i re-run bootcamp? wouldn't that just overwrite and set up the partition as before with a suspicious MBR..?

  • by nicimini,

    nicimini nicimini Jan 22, 2015 6:47 AM in response to nicimini
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 22, 2015 6:47 AM in response to nicimini

    oh, it's still got a suspicious MBR anyway

     

    Last login: Thu Jan 22 14:19:28 on console

    minic:~ minic$ sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk1

    Password:

    gpt show: /dev/disk1: mediasize=1000204886016; sectorsize=512; blocks=1953525168

    gpt show: /dev/disk1: Suspicious MBR at sector 0

    gpt show: /dev/disk1: Pri GPT at sector 1

    gpt show: /dev/disk1: Sec GPT at sector 1953525167

           start        size  index  contents

               0           1         MBR

               1           1         Pri GPT header

               2          32         Pri GPT table

              34           6        

              40      409600      1  GPT part - C12A7328-F81F-11D2-BA4B-00A0C93EC93B

          409640   637392448      2  GPT part - 53746F72-6167-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC

       637802088     1269760      3  GPT part - 426F6F74-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC

       639071848         408        

       639072256  1314451456      4  GPT part - EBD0A0A2-B9E5-4433-87C0-68B6B72699C7

      1953523712        1423        

      1953525135          32         Sec GPT table

      1953525167           1         Sec GPT header

    minic:~ minic$

     

    more confusion (for me anyway)

  • by nicimini,

    nicimini nicimini Jan 23, 2015 11:57 AM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 23, 2015 11:57 AM in response to Loner T

    hi there,

    shame it didn't work out but i'd just like to say thank you for your engagement in the whole thing, and trying to get me there.

    i really did appreciate your help.

    best wishes and have great weekend... bet it's sunnier where you are than here.

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