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 nicimini,

    nicimini nicimini Jan 24, 2015 7:48 AM in response to Mazzerac
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 24, 2015 7:48 AM in response to Mazzerac

    hi mazzerac,

    have been having my own nightmare with this issue. loner has been very patient and generous with advice, but i still can't get it to run.

    i'd like to replicate exactly what you did, and although i've downloaded iso's from various places and made my own from a windows c.d. i thought i'd ask if you could give a link to the site from which you downloaded your iso...

    then i'll buy a new 32 gb sandisk ( i've been using 8gb sandisk, 2 of them)

    and see if finally it works.

     

    many thanks

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Jan 24, 2015 9:18 AM in response to nicimini
    Level 7 (24,611 points)
    Safari
    Jan 24, 2015 9:18 AM in response to nicimini

    East coast of US has been snowy.

     

    A Suspicious MBR is expected, because of the us of a mixed configuration. Alt Boot does not provide the CSM-BIOS environment that the Windows Installer needs. Alt/Boot makes sense during an EFI installation. 

     

    In BCA there are three options, and if you use the last one which is either 'Install Windows...' or 'Remove Windows...' it should provide further details. If you get stuck at a black screen, it is because you may have a USB3 device (but you have USB 8GB disks). You should try all USB ports on the back of the Mini to try the Windows installer.

  • by nicimini,

    nicimini nicimini Jan 24, 2015 10:05 AM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 24, 2015 10:05 AM in response to Loner T

    hi there again, thanks,

    well, i ran bca, got to the 'remove windows', let it re-make the partition and boot.

    it has gone to black screen with something i've never seen before, a white circle with a diagonal line across it at 45 degrees.

    like a 'no entry' road sign here in the uk.

    so i took out the usb stick, reset NVRAM and SMC ; tried again just to get to yosemite, apple logo came up, time bar got about quarter of the way then black screen with same no entry sign.

     

    just trying to boot into recovery now.

  • by nicimini,

    nicimini nicimini Jan 24, 2015 11:56 AM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 24, 2015 11:56 AM in response to Loner T

    hmm tricky,

    booting into either mac hd or mac hd recovery (alt boot) leads to black screen and no entry sign.

    booting into apple recovery (alt cmd r)  leads to globe (fixed not spinning) and frozen mouse.

    nothing conected into back of mini except usb for keyboard and usb dongle for wireless mouse and ethernet cable.

     

    NVRAM and SMC reset, then reboot, leads to black screen and no entry sign.

     

    reboot in cmd s

    lots of text, updates and scrolls down. then stops, much of the text becomes illegible and the no entry sign pops up.

    one legible bit says MAC framework successfully initialized

    last bit of semi-legible text seems to say 'waiting for root device'

     

    any idea what is going on? !!

  • by nicimini,

    nicimini nicimini Jan 24, 2015 12:10 PM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 24, 2015 12:10 PM in response to Loner T

    ran same thing again. just before the no enry sign appeared it was saying

    'iousbfamily having trouble enumerating a usb device'.

    it repeated 10 times then

    pci pause :sxdc

    then no entry sign

     

    next time i disconnected the keyboard as soon as it started to boot up and got no more 'iousbfamily' issue.

    it went straight to

    pci pause : sxdc

    waiting for root device

    no entry

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Jan 24, 2015 12:41 PM in response to nicimini
    Level 7 (24,611 points)
    Safari
    Jan 24, 2015 12:41 PM in response to nicimini

    You have two separate issues.

    usb dongle for wireless mouse

    This will not work with the Windows/BC installer. Either you need a straight BT mouse, or a USB-wired one. This should be removed prior to the next Windows installation attempt.

     

    like a 'no entry' road sign here in the uk.

    Please install http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202796 on an external volume. This would happen if the GPT was corrupted (intentionally) or the incorrect Windows destination partition was picked. Once it boots from an external disk, please post the output of

     

    sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/diskN (where N points to your internal disk).

  • by nicimini,

    nicimini nicimini Jan 25, 2015 6:39 AM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 25, 2015 6:39 AM in response to Loner T

    that took a while, but i'm now booted on a sandisk  stick and here is the sudo output

     

    Last login: Sun Jan 25 13:48:59 on ttys000

    nics-iMac:~ sandisk$ diskutil list

    /dev/disk0

       #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER

       0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *121.3 GB   disk0

       1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk0s1

       2:          Apple_CoreStorage                         121.0 GB   disk0s2

       3:                 Apple_Boot Boot OS X               134.2 MB   disk0s3

    /dev/disk1

       #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER

       0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *1.0 TB     disk1

       1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk1s1

       2:                  Apple_HFS                         999.3 GB   disk1s2

       3:                 Apple_Boot Recovery HD             650.1 MB   disk1s3

    /dev/disk2

       #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER

       0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *15.9 GB    disk2

       1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk2s1

       2:                  Apple_HFS Untitled 1              15.0 GB    disk2s2

       3:                 Apple_Boot Recovery HD             650.0 MB   disk2s3

    nics-iMac:~ sandisk$ sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk0

    Password:

    gpt show: /dev/disk0: mediasize=121332826112; sectorsize=512; blocks=236978176

    gpt show: /dev/disk0: PMBR at sector 0

    gpt show: /dev/disk0: Pri GPT at sector 1

    gpt show: /dev/disk0: Sec GPT at sector 236978175

          start       size  index  contents

              0          1         PMBR

              1          1         Pri GPT header

              2         32         Pri GPT table

             34          6        

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

         409640  236306352      2  GPT part - 53746F72-6167-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC

      236715992     262144      3  GPT part - 426F6F74-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC

      236978136          7        

      236978143         32         Sec GPT table

      236978175          1         Sec GPT header

    nics-iMac:~ sandisk$ sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk0s1

    gpt show: /dev/disk0s1: mediasize=209715200; sectorsize=512; blocks=409600

    gpt show: /dev/disk0s1: MBR at sector 0

       start    size  index  contents

           0       1         MBR

           1  409599        

    nics-iMac:~ sandisk$ sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk0s2

    gpt show: /dev/disk0s2: mediasize=120988852224; sectorsize=512; blocks=236306352

    gpt show: /dev/disk0s2: MBR not found at sector 0

          start       size  index  contents

              0  236306352        

    nics-iMac:~ sandisk$ sudo gpt --v -r show /dev/disk0s2

    gpt: illegal option -- -

    usage: gpt [-rv] [-p nparts] command [options] device ...

    nics-iMac:~ sandisk$ sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk0s2

    gpt show: /dev/disk0s2: mediasize=120988852224; sectorsize=512; blocks=236306352

    gpt show: /dev/disk0s2: MBR not found at sector 0

          start       size  index  contents

              0  236306352        

    nics-iMac:~ sandisk$ sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk0s3

    gpt show: /dev/disk0s3: mediasize=134217728; sectorsize=512; blocks=262144

    gpt show: /dev/disk0s3: MBR not found at sector 0

       start    size  index  contents

           0  262144        

    nics-iMac:~ sandisk$

     

    Untitled.png

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Jan 25, 2015 7:28 AM in response to nicimini
    Level 7 (24,611 points)
    Safari
    Jan 25, 2015 7:28 AM in response to nicimini

    The red Macintosh HD means something happened to the CoreStorage volume. Can you post the output of diskutil cs list? There used to be a CS volume which included disk1s2, but somehow has been corrupted. The output of the command will show what OS X thinks the CS volume is. The corrupted CS LV/LVG can be fixed using Disk Utility.

     

    There is no GPT for disks of type disk0sN since they are parts of a larger disk. The only disks which have GPT are disk0 and disk1.

  • by nicimini,

    nicimini nicimini Jan 25, 2015 7:30 AM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 25, 2015 7:30 AM in response to Loner T

    hi, yes i thought the red looked ominous,

     

    Last login: Sun Jan 25 13:48:59 on ttys000

    nics-iMac:~ sandisk$ diskutil list

    /dev/disk0

       #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER

       0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *121.3 GB   disk0

       1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk0s1

       2:          Apple_CoreStorage                         121.0 GB   disk0s2

       3:                 Apple_Boot Boot OS X               134.2 MB   disk0s3

    /dev/disk1

       #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER

       0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *1.0 TB     disk1

       1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk1s1

       2:                  Apple_HFS                         999.3 GB   disk1s2

       3:                 Apple_Boot Recovery HD             650.1 MB   disk1s3

    /dev/disk2

       #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER

       0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *15.9 GB    disk2

       1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk2s1

       2:                  Apple_HFS Untitled 1              15.0 GB    disk2s2

       3:                 Apple_Boot Recovery HD             650.0 MB   disk2s3

    nics-iMac:~ sandisk$ sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk0

    Password:

    gpt show: /dev/disk0: mediasize=121332826112; sectorsize=512; blocks=236978176

    gpt show: /dev/disk0: PMBR at sector 0

    gpt show: /dev/disk0: Pri GPT at sector 1

    gpt show: /dev/disk0: Sec GPT at sector 236978175

          start       size  index  contents

              0          1         PMBR

              1          1         Pri GPT header

              2         32         Pri GPT table

             34          6        

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

         409640  236306352      2  GPT part - 53746F72-6167-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC

      236715992     262144      3  GPT part - 426F6F74-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC

      236978136          7        

      236978143         32         Sec GPT table

      236978175          1         Sec GPT header

    nics-iMac:~ sandisk$ sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk0s1

    gpt show: /dev/disk0s1: mediasize=209715200; sectorsize=512; blocks=409600

    gpt show: /dev/disk0s1: MBR at sector 0

       start    size  index  contents

           0       1         MBR

           1  409599        

    nics-iMac:~ sandisk$ sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk0s2

    gpt show: /dev/disk0s2: mediasize=120988852224; sectorsize=512; blocks=236306352

    gpt show: /dev/disk0s2: MBR not found at sector 0

          start       size  index  contents

              0  236306352        

    nics-iMac:~ sandisk$ sudo gpt --v -r show /dev/disk0s2

    gpt: illegal option -- -

    usage: gpt [-rv] [-p nparts] command [options] device ...

    nics-iMac:~ sandisk$ sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk0s2

    gpt show: /dev/disk0s2: mediasize=120988852224; sectorsize=512; blocks=236306352

    gpt show: /dev/disk0s2: MBR not found at sector 0

          start       size  index  contents

              0  236306352        

    nics-iMac:~ sandisk$ sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk0s3

    gpt show: /dev/disk0s3: mediasize=134217728; sectorsize=512; blocks=262144

    gpt show: /dev/disk0s3: MBR not found at sector 0

       start    size  index  contents

           0  262144        

    nics-iMac:~ sandisk$

  • by nicimini,

    nicimini nicimini Jan 25, 2015 7:31 AM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 25, 2015 7:31 AM in response to Loner T

    sorry, previous output was still in memory

    here's the new

     

    Last login: Sun Jan 25 14:04:31 on ttys000

    nics-iMac:~ sandisk$ diskutil cs list

    CoreStorage logical volume groups (1 found)

    |

    +-- Logical Volume Group E5679389-004F-483A-9EA6-A817BDF88F4B

        =========================================================

        Name:         Macintosh HD

        Status:       Offline

        Size:         120988852224 B (121.0 GB)

        Free Space:   -none-

        |

        +-< Physical Volume BA168C26-2BAA-4F04-90B9-8CDCE4D22456

        |   ----------------------------------------------------

        |   Index:    0

        |   Disk:     disk0s2

        |   Status:   Checking

        |   Size:     120988852224 B (121.0 GB)

        |

        +-< Physical Volume 5E890DC7-BF52-4FB3-982E-C04886278E63

            ----------------------------------------------------

            (No properties)

    nics-iMac:~ sandisk$

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Jan 25, 2015 7:35 AM in response to nicimini
    Level 7 (24,611 points)
    Safari
    Jan 25, 2015 7:35 AM in response to nicimini

    You can first try Disk Utility and click on the read Macintosh HD and check if you are allowed to Repair and Verify the CS LV/LVG. If not, then make sure you have an available TM backup that you can use to erase the internal disk and do a full restore from TM, and then retry your BC/Windows installation.

  • by nicimini,

    nicimini nicimini Jan 25, 2015 7:49 AM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 25, 2015 7:49 AM in response to Loner T

    latest output; it only offered me 'ignore' or 'repair' when i selected the red hd.

     

    Last login: Sun Jan 25 15:11:55 on ttys001

    nics-iMac:~ sandisk$ diskutil cs list

    CoreStorage logical volume groups (1 found)

    |

    +-- Logical Volume Group 0462B505-E160-44E4-978E-77AD19EA0708

        =========================================================

        Name:         Macintosh HD

        Status:       Online

        Size:         1120849764352 B (1.1 TB)

        Free Space:   0 B (0 B)

        |

        +-< Physical Volume 539D4882-A8D9-4E4A-83BC-9F48434FDC2C

        |   ----------------------------------------------------

        |   Index:    0

        |   Disk:     disk0s2

        |   Status:   Online

        |   Size:     120988852224 B (121.0 GB)

        |

        +-< Physical Volume 1A9A9A2F-2177-4027-9270-81BC9DB877B7

        |   ----------------------------------------------------

        |   Index:    1

        |   Disk:     disk1s2

        |   Status:   Online

        |   Size:     999860912128 B (999.9 GB)

        |

        +-> Logical Volume Family 1A5CBDC4-AD8C-433E-A19B-5CB6C6FBF2C8

            ----------------------------------------------------------

            Encryption Status:       Unlocked

            Encryption Type:         None

            Conversion Status:       NoConversion

            Conversion Direction:    -none-

            Has Encrypted Extents:   No

            Fully Secure:            No

            Passphrase Required:     No

            |

            +-> Logical Volume 0CF4FE87-5308-41E6-A4E4-2A8EA3DE638F

                ---------------------------------------------------

                Disk:                  disk3

                Status:                Online

                Size (Total):          1114994507776 B (1.1 TB)

                Conversion Progress:   -none-

                Revertible:            No

                LV Name:               Macintosh HD

                Volume Name:           Macintosh HD

                Content Hint:          Apple_HFS

    nics-iMac:~ sandisk$

    i guess that's a whole lot better(?)

    i'll do the TM back-up although there's not much on it.

    do i then run a straight bca install or am i likely to encounter the same issues as before.

    i.e should i run the sudo gdisk terminal commands as well?

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Jan 25, 2015 7:59 AM in response to nicimini
    Level 7 (24,611 points)
    Safari
    Jan 25, 2015 7:59 AM in response to nicimini

    This looks much better. The 'Repair' rebuilt your CS volume as disk1s2 is back in the CS volume. Can you now try and boot from the internal Fusion disk?

     

    If you can boot from the internal disk, try the BC/Windows installation again.

  • by nicimini,

    nicimini nicimini Jan 25, 2015 9:05 AM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 25, 2015 9:05 AM in response to Loner T

    no luck. the mini booted into yosemite just fine, all the back-up was there.

    ran bca with an 8gb sandisk. all went as you'd expect, downloaded windows support software, auto reboot, the light on the sandisk is 'breathing' but the screen (23" alloy apple cinema 2005 viintage) is black.  when i did the test bca install of the windows cd on my old mac pro last week the screen came up fine (that was a 20" alloy cinema display).

    !

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Jan 25, 2015 9:12 AM in response to Loner T
    Level 7 (24,611 points)
    Safari
    Jan 25, 2015 9:12 AM in response to Loner T

    Loner T wrote:

     

    You have two separate issues.

    usb dongle for wireless mouse

    This will not work with the Windows/BC installer. Either you need a straight BT mouse, or a USB-wired one. This should be removed prior to the next Windows installation attempt.

    Did you switch to a regular wired USB or a straight BT mouse?

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