Windows 8.1 install fails on new 2013 Retina MacBook

Did any of you have success with installing Windows 8.1 on Bootcamp from DVD instead of iso file? Thanks.

junlin wrote:

Did any of you have success with installing Windows 8.1 on Bootcamp from DVD instead of iso file? Thanks.

Yes. I had the Boot Camp drivers on a USB drive and had to remove it before booting the Windows DVD in order to get the partition to format and proceed. Booted EFI.

I don't have a DVD drive at all. I didn't have USB-stick either so I used my 1 TB USB drive used as HDD on my TV.

But none of these changed during my attempts, so I believe in my case root cause was the original Maverics installation or actually it's inability to create working Windows installation media on my USB drive.

I have the same Problem. I tested all possible ways since thursday. I phoned an hour with my local dealers support and 3 hours with apple care support. But it doesn't work at all.

I tried it with usb Stick or Superdrive and with Win 7 and Upgrade, Win 8 and Win 8.1 and nothing work.

I hope Apple will fix the Problem fast, because I need Windows 8 or 8.1 for work.

PS: I have the 2.3GHZ 16GB RAM 750gt and 512 SSD Macbook Pro Retina 15 late 2013

Everyone: for what it's worth, there seems to be a solution that has worked for a number of people (including me), that entails launching the EFI boot into an empty partition (rather than a Bootcamp partition), and letting the EFI installer handle all the formatting. See discussion here:

discussions.apple.com/thread/5474614

Can you verify that windows 8.1 works on a external monitor with correct scale?

I don't have a external monitor, so I can't verify it. Windows 8.1 scales nicely on Macbook 15" Retina display, only installation menus are way too small.

All solutions so far does not work for me except the bios method. Since I don't want to use bios mode, waiting for an EFI solution.

I have a ME294LL/A

Windows does support per-monitor DPI setting from 8.1. I can confirm that windows 8.1 works on a external monitor with correct scale.

rasel_tr: have you tried: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=18280295#post18280295

Yes. Windows 8.1 works with external monitor. Mine is an old Acer 1920x1080.

I used some ideas from https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5490486?answerId=23548999022#23548999022. In case any one is interested, here are the steps I used to install Windows 8.1 on my MacBook Pro 15 inch, 16GB RAM, 500 GB SSD, GT 750M.

What you need:

Windows 8.1 (full version) DVD. One USB drive, One Apple USB SuperDrive (external DVD drive since MacBook Pro Retina does not have an internal DVD drive)

Steps:

1. If needed, remove existing (not properly installed) Windows by running Bootcamp Assistant.

2. Connect USB drive and Apple USB SuperDrive. Insert Windows 8.1 DVD into the SuperDrive. Run Bootcamp Assistant. Check “Download the latest Windows support software from Apple” and “Install Windows 7 or later version”. Leave the first option unchecked as we already have Windows install DVD.

3. When Bootcamp assitant reboots your machine you need to interrupt the installation. When you hear the startup sound, hold option key until it presents you with boot options.

4. Select your Macintosh HD to boot back into OSX.

5. Run Disk Utility, select the 500.28GB APPLE SSD (or the like) on the left pane, then choose the partitions tab on the right. The BOOTCAMP partition should be at the bottom. Select this partition by clicking on it. Ensure it is the highlighted partition then press minus to remove it. Drag the Macintosh HD partition so it occupies 100% of the SSD drive.

6. Click apply on the bottom right to make the changes.

7. Now press plus to add a new partition which will likely be named Macintosh HD2. Select this new partition. Rename the partition to BOOTCAMP. Change its type to ExFAT. Give it a proper size (I gave 290 GB because I mainly works with Windows).

8. Now click apply on the bottom right again to make the changes. Exit Disk Utility.

9. Reboot your Mac, press option key again during the boot and this time select the Windows device with the DVD image (not the orange USB drive) as the boot device.

10. Now it will start the install process. When it gets to the list of partition you should see four of them. You want to use the last one (BOOTCAMP) as Windows install partition. It will say it cannot install on this.

11. Make sure the fourth partition (BOOTCAMP) is selected then click format. When it is done, the error message should go away and you should be able to continue with the install.

12. When Windows install is finished, the computer will reboot a few times. You need to intervene each time by pressing option key during reboot. Select the Windows device with the picture of the hard drive as the boot device. It is silver in color.

13. During the Windows configuration process, turn off the automatic Windows update off until the bootcamp drivers are installed.

14. At the end of the installation, it will prompt you to install the Apple Bootcamp Drivers.

15. That is it. The whole process takes about one hour. You should not leave the installation unattended.

No. Bios way also does not support Iris graphics. For battery life, I'm looking for a solution with iris graphics also available.

I've tried all the solutions in this thread except for the one that required me to wipe my entire drive. So far none have worked. Not going in and mucking with Disk Utility. Not deleting the partition from the Windows 8 installer and recreated. The accepted answer did not work for me, nor did the answers above that didn't require wiping.

at the end it works with this solution after the third try.

The Problem is with the bios version you can't install parallels which use your bootcamp partition. That's realy bad for me. But better than no windows.

I hope Apple will bring soon an fix for this problem.