Level 1

9 points

Bootcamp installation on Big Sur 11.1

I have a MacBook Pro A1398. i7 2.5ghz, 500gb SSD, Big Sur V11.1 installed with all updates.

I’m attempting to bootcamp Windows 10 Home on a 128gb created partition on the main volume using Bootcamp assistant.

Downloaded Windows 10 iso from Microsoft website.

Used Bootcamp assistant to create bootcamp USB disk. Usb 16gb capacity formatted with MS-DOS file format (I did previously try exFat as well incase this was a factor).

Decrypted filevault prior to bootcamp. No firmware password on the machine.

BootCamp assistant creates Windows 10 boot usb and then progresses to partition wizard as normal; 128gb windows partition created, machine reboots (boot usb still in machine), but never boots into windows setup, always goes back into Mac Os, where the bootcamp assistant tells me I can remove the partition and start again if I wish, so stuck in a loop every time.

Checked on disk utility and bootcamp partition is showing with correct size, mounted, and 128gb NTFS partition. I don’t see the Bootcamp partition through the Startup disk option and pressing ALT on startup only gives me the MAC OS and I’m presuming the Windows USB boot device, which gives me the ‘non system disk’ error and to reboot.

I have read on similar articles even on this community that Big Sur has issues with installing Bootcamp, but have been unable to find one that specifically says that it never manages to get to Windows Setup. Is this something that Apple are still planning to address in an update or is there a workaround? Thanks in advance.

Diskutil list on my machine is as follows, and all looks normal as far as my knowledge goes:

/dev/disk0 (internal, physical):

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: GUID_partition_scheme *500.3 GB disk0

1: EFI ⁨EFI⁩ 209.7 MB disk0s1

2: Apple_APFS ⁨Container disk1⁩ 372.0 GB disk0s2

3: Microsoft Basic Data ⁨BOOTCAMP⁩ 128.1 GB disk0s3

/dev/disk1 (synthesized):

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: APFS Container Scheme - +372.0 GB disk1

Physical Store disk0s2

1: APFS Volume ⁨Macintosh HD - Data⁩ 23.0 GB disk1s1

2: APFS Volume ⁨Preboot⁩ 317.9 MB disk1s2

3: APFS Volume ⁨Recovery⁩ 1.1 GB disk1s3

4: APFS Volume ⁨VM⁩ 1.1 GB disk1s4

5: APFS Volume ⁨Macintosh HD⁩ 15.0 GB disk1s5

6: APFS Snapshot ⁨com.apple.os.update-...⁩ 15.0 GB disk1s5s1

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 10.14

Posted on Jan 10, 2021 4:19 AM

Top-ranking reply

paul_smith30 Author

Level 1

9 points

Posted on Jan 14, 2021 2:35 PM

Hello Loner T. That was the issue. The USB being used was a USB 3.0 device. Managed to get hold of a USB 2.0 and installed. What is the reason why USB 3 will not work?

The Windows Assistant still didn't start up automatically however, had to 'alt' on startup and this time I could select EFI boot and Windows 10 installed without any issue.

Thank you for your assistance on this, it's really appreciated.

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30 replies

Feb 23, 2021 2:00 PM in response to Loner T

Hello, I have the same problem. Mid-2014 MBP. Bootcamp installer goes through the process, restarts the Mac but it never boots into the Windows Installer, just into MacOS.

If I restart and press Alt, I get: MacOS, EFI Boot and Windows, similar to previous users.

If I choose Windows, I get a no bootable device error. In MacOS, I see the Bootcamp partition.

I am using a USB2.0 SanDisk USB drive I just bought for this reason. Here is the product.

Speed in System report for the USB drive is: Up to 480 Mb/s. See image below for full report.

Any advice on how to proceed and get Bootcamp installed?

Feb 23, 2021 2:32 PM in response to Loner T

Thank you for the quick reply. Tried resetting SMC, NVRAM, plugging in USB with Windows installer and booting into the Windows USB drive - no luck. Still getting the no bootable drive message.

I now removed the bootcamp partition, will repeat SMC and NVRAM reset and will restart the bootcamp installation process from the start to see if it helps. Will report back if successful.

Feb 23, 2021 6:47 PM in response to Loner T

I tried again from scratch. Removed BootCamp partition with BootCamp assistant. Turned off. SMC + VRAM reset. Created new USB Windows installer with SanDisk USB2.0 drive and Bootcamp assistant. Went through BootCamp assistant steps. After partitioning, Mac rebooted automatically, I heard the startup sound twice, then it booted into macOS. Rebooting and pressing Alt revealed again: Macintosh HD, EFI Boot, Windows. Booting into Windows results in "no bootable device" error. Booting into EFI Boot gives black screen, then it boots automatically into macOS. I tried using both USB ports on my Mac with the same result.

Is there anything I can do differently? A different installer for Windows to burn on the USB drive? I'm using the latest iso from the Microsoft website, 64 bit. Should I be formatting the USB drive differently before using Bootcamp assistant to burn the USB drive with the installer? Can Apple Support help me with this?

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Jan 11, 2021 11:09 AM in response to paul_smith30

With the USB connected, if you reboot and hold Alt/Option, what are the available selections?

paul_smith30 Author

Level 1

9 points

Jan 11, 2021 1:32 PM in response to paul_smith30

Displaying hard disks in Big Sur does display the following, but Bootcamp shows no content.

Feb 2, 2021 8:05 PM in response to Loner T

yep. I bought a Sandisk flash drive and it worked just like Paul's Mac. Thank you both for getting this resolve.

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Feb 2, 2021 8:56 PM in response to SunDevil_TX

Excellent!

Feb 23, 2021 2:02 PM in response to SunDevil_TX

Do you mind sharing which model you got? I got a SanDisk USB2 drive too and I'm getting same problem.

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Feb 23, 2021 2:55 PM in response to jasonfweb

If you use Alt/Option during reboot, do you see any selections from the USB?

Feb 23, 2021 2:59 PM in response to Loner T

I see Machintosh, UEFI and Windows - I assume Windows is the USB, it has the bootcamp logo. I don't see the Bootcamp partition itself.

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Feb 23, 2021 4:42 PM in response to jasonfweb

A 2014 MBP will support either UEFI or legacy BIOS installation of Windows. The Bootcamp partition does not have an OS yet.

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Feb 23, 2021 7:02 PM in response to jasonfweb

Start a new discussion, and post the current macOS version. Big Sur is known to have issues.

Feb 24, 2021 8:29 PM in response to jasonfweb

This is what I bought from amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007YX9O9O/

Hope this helps.

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Feb 25, 2021 12:56 AM in response to SunDevil_TX

These USB2 Flash drives have proven to be very reliable.

faris206

Level 1

4 points

Apr 11, 2021 1:48 PM in response to jasonfweb

i'm having the same issue, did you have any luck to solve it?

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Bootcamp installation on Big Sur 11.1