Windows server 2008 boot camp Mac Mini server (Late 2012) installation keyboard problem

Hi, do you mean alt key doesn't show boot choices?

Migh you have set this up...

Firmware password protection in Mac OS X ...

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1352

It would block usage of all the startup keys, like C, N, T, D, CMD+s, CMD+Option+p+r, CMD +v, Option boot will show a lock, and Shift, as well as booting from anything but the Hard Drive.

I have this too.

Insert USB Optical drive, hold alt to boot from Windows Server DVD, keyboard works fine up until the point where it asks you to choose a language (i.e. the actual GUI, presumably when the Windows kernel is loaded).

This is not firmware password protection.

Is this a wired or wifi KB?

Wired.

Keyboard and mouse works fine inside OSX.

Also both works fine inside Windows 7, and Windows Server 2011 and 2012 setup screens. Just not SBS 2008 or server 2008 screens.

Seems to need some sort of driver or something to understand what the keyboard is plugged in to.

Numlock lights go off and then stay off as soon as the gui screen loads.

So I've replaced the boot.wim file from a Windows 7 distribution and yes, the keyboard and mouse light up and everything works fine now. So it's definitely drivers.

Just got to figure out how to do one of the following:

1. get it to recognise storage (even though I've presented it with the AHCI driver from boot camp)
2. get the win7 install files to install the sbs08 image
3. bundle the keyboard drivers into the preinstall environment

oh the joys...

Great work, thanks for the report! 🙂