Windows 8 Bootcamp Errors

When you booted from the USB media, it booted in (native) EFI mode, instead of using the CSM-BIOS Apple provides for Windows support via Boot Camp. Did you create the USB bootable media using Boot Camp Assistant or using some other method?

Windows booted CSM-BIOS mode only installs to MBR partitioned disks.

Windows booted EFI mode only installs to GPT partitioned disks. It's complaining about the presence of an MBR, which was created by Boot Camp Assistant.

I can't tell you whether you're better off installing Windows 8 in EFI or CSM-BIOS mode. Ideally, EFI, because that will get you the best performance and reliability since you won't have to depend on flakey hybrid MBRs. But, it's possible Apple's collection of Boot Camp drivers for Windows, won't all work when Windows is booted in EFI mode vs CSM-BIOS mode. Most often video drivers are affected by this. So you're sorta in uncharted territory, but you knew that already by trying to install Windows 8 for which there's still no official support for yet.

From where did you download the W8 ISO? I haven't found it and I want to install it on my MB 😟

Thank you.

Try it with the latest Boot Camp Assistant, released with the OS X 10.8.3 update, which explicitly supports Windows 8. I can't tell you why two different Macbook Pro models exhibit different behavior when installing Windows 8, but Apple uses different firmware between models so that's a plausible explanation. And also, your USB stick clearly seems to have booted Windows 8 in EFI mode, not with the CSM and I doubt this is by design.

I'm very curious if the Windows 8 support in the latest Boot Camp Assistant is installing Windows 8 in EFI or BIOS mode; and also curious how they're supporting 3TB drives when it's not strictly possible to do that with BIOS and MBR partition schemes.

From here.

Purchase Windows 8

I'll purchase it, but I need the ISO file to install it. I can't insert CD's in the MBP RD...

It is available as a downloadable ISO at that site.

Sorry, all of these seem to be upgrade versions.

@RohithP even i am getting same errors 😟 I hope you found out solution by now ! plz... can u share it ! i need it urgently
Thanks in advance 🙂

I too am having massive issues with this. I have a MBP 8,3 with two hard drives. I'm tempted to actually put my optical drive back in & see if that helps.

My USB version is also EFI and is giving the same error. I've even purchased win 8. This s rediculous just to have quicken home & business.

A VM like VirtualBox would make it a piece of cake and avoid dual booting (you could buy Parallels and have both the VM and dual boot if/when you needed to). For light office apps and even running IE8+ you're better off without Boot Camp.

I'm having exactly the same problem on a 27" iMac late 2012 with 1TB fusion. I created the ISO from the original Windows 8 disk, had Bootcamp make the partition and the bootable USB and then, during the drive selection for the install I get the MBR partition table message. What can we do?

(And please don't just say to do VM because some of us need to actually dual boot).

Have you tried to remove the EFI (backitup first) folder on the USB, it would then be forced to boot in bios mode.

As it turns out if you have removed your optical drive and installed a second drive you must re-install your optical and install from there. I think you might be able to remove the EFI and use the stick however you will still need to disconnect the second hard drive as this is what was giving the installer errors on my end.

Bingo! removing all extra drives besides what I need to install Windows to is a solution.

It's not bootcamp issue though. Windows 7 and 8 installers are very buggy and have same behavior on PC hardware.

I have an iMac 27" late 2010. Bootcamp install of windows 7 works as it should untouched. After i install an extra SSD in it bootcamp wont boot windows 7, i just get that blinking cursor in top left that never goes away. I have also tried to remove the mechanical drive and only use the SSD and optical drive in my system and installed windows 7 on the SSD, install works but it wont boot from the SSD. To get my system to boot into windows 7 i have to leave the windows 7 cd in the optical drive and then start computer with ALT key pressed and then choose to start from windows CD, but when the "press any key to boot from the cd..." appears i do nothing which will get it to boot from the SSD and then windows boots up fine.

Its an Intel 330 SSD and according to intel they do not have iMac on the compability list so i cant replace the drive on warranty. Maybe its not problem with the SSD, maybe it works fine on a regular PC.

Anyone got any other tips on what to do ?