Q: Windows 8.1 install fails on new 2013 Retina MacBook

Hi Shodan_Cat - yup, I downloaded the ISO from MS using their download tool - it's a UK ISO, downloaded from my MSDN account.

Whatever the problem is, it's all centered around the fact that the Windows Installer can't write the BCD files. It can definitely write to the EFI partition (the ESR) as it writes the EFT boot loader to the /EFI/Boot folder, and it creates the /EFI/Microsoft/Boto folder and creates an empty BCD file, but the error during setup relates to the fact that it can't copy across any boot resources.

If I manually create all the BCD resources, and manually create a BCD database, then windows boot, but fails right at the end of setup (in the Sysprep Respecialize stage), with a BCD error - again it can't update the BCD files.

So who knows!

Interestingly, I'm wondering if what you've done is recreateable (I'm not asking you to try!).

There was someone else (on this thread?) who managed to get Win8.1 installed via EFI, but then found when they retried it, they got the same error as a lot of us have had.

I just wish I knew if the difference in results was because of:

1) Faulty hardware

2) Faulty firmware

3) Difference in method

4) Difference in Windows ISO files

5) A completely random event

Thans for your reply anyway!

I'm going to look back at the steps you followed I think...

I'm going to be in the states this week, so may go into an Apple store and ask them about it.

Hi Dourn,

Did you try rebuilding the BCD using the procedure here?

http://superuser.com/questions/460762/how-can-i-repair-the-windows-8-efi-bootloa der

After that procedure, I have everything working fine with a full Windows 8.1 EFI install. I didn't have to go through any of the rigamorole steps others are reporting here.

IE: I installed, got the same error that everyone else did, then did the procedure above. Now, I have a fully working setup going in EFI mode. I had previously done some other mucking about adding and removing partitions, but I'm doubtful that any of that made a difference. It really seemed like all it needed was the BCD rebuild instructions above.

Yup, I tried that.

When I ran:

bcdboot c:\Windows /l en-gb /s b: /f ALL

I got an error about updating the BCD.

So I dunno.

I might try one more time... :-)

With adding/removing partitions, can you remember where you did it? i.e. in Windows, or via Disk Utility?

It's quite possible that's the source of the problem, as I know that once I let BootCamp create my hybrid-MBR partitions, I was unable to delete them from DiskUtility.

Try Re: Windows 8.1 install fails on new 2013 Retina MacBook

I ended up installing Windows in BIOS fully before fixing EFI boot and booting up in EFI...

However,

#24

Makes me wonder whether I should go back to BIOS install... I think I only get 2:30 with MBP 11,3 under windows 8. Anybody got any benchmarks?

Thanks.

It worked fine for me. Great!! Thanks.

Alessandro

Hi, quite new round here but If someone could answer my following questions I would appreciate it.

So the 8.1 installer fails to install windows in efi as it is unable to write the BCD files. However the windows 7 installer can write BCD files to the macbook in efi yet the 8.1 installer cannot. Does this not suggest there is something wrong with the 8.1 installer and not the laptop if the windows 7 can do it but 8.1 can't? If this is the case then do we not have to wait for microsoft to issue another installation package?

So I would really appreciate it If someone could explain this to me or correct me here.

I've tried numerous attemps at installing it and have had no success. I just downloaded the 8.1 installer in the last few hours from microsoft again to see if they issued an updated one now. I used the windows iso usb burning tool to burn the iso to usb. Once I did this I cut all the files from the USB to my windows PC hard drive, I had to reformat the USB to fat32 as the windows burning tool formats it in NTFS which macbooks will not let you boot from efi. So once formatted to fat32 I put all the files from the windows pc hard drive to the USB. I let bootcamp assistant resize the partitions. Then instead of booting into the installer I held down option and booted into mac, went into disk utility and refortmatted the partition at exfat. Then shutdown the macbook and held down option chose efi boot, The setup was slightly different to normal as I had windows burn the iso not bootcamp assistant. And still got the same error so the exfat workaround does not work for me . I will be so happy when I can get windows on this laptop.

Just have to keep waiting for either microsoft or apple to fix the problem.

Please release a BootCamp update for this, This is my first mac and so far i am loving it,

but i need Windows for MS Development

I have tried the various workarounds listed in this thread with dubious success. Once I landed up with a Widows partition that I could not delete: obviously created with my various attempts. Then I landed up with 2 Windows partitions: one of which actually worked. So I figured I'd do a clean install of Mavericks and use that one workaround (where you inturrupt BootCamp intaller and reformat with Disk Utility), but that time it didn't work. So I am using my old laptop with BootCamp and Windows 7 until we get a real fix. Like Wbiggy I hope Apple acknowledges/fixes this issue.

I admittedly haven't read through the whole thread, but I can't help but wonder if some of the issues detailed by various posters are caused by their Windows 8 installation media not supporting UEFI boot as documented below:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_8-windows_install/anybo dy-gotten-the-dvd-to-boot-uefi/82677329-a861-4060-866b-3eacb60a8b38

Thank you for your input and suggestion. But users of previous generation MBPr computers have had no problem whatsoever. So if this were it, I contend they would have had the same issue.

It appears as though Boot Camp on the newest gen MBPr supports or maybe even defaults to UEFI.

Was this the case in the previous generation MBPr?

It appears as though we only started seeing Boot Camp with UEFI support in 2013 and I'm wondering if the combination of Windows 8 install ISOs without UEFI baked in and 2013 Apple products with UEFI Boot Camp is a bad combination.

The issue is actually in the boot camp assistant for mavericks. The fix is to just use mountain lion to create the boot amp partition. I used an old installation of  I had on USB to boot and create a boot amp partition. It works fine. It might be possible it just copy over the boot camp assistant from ml, but I have no tried it personally.

im gonna try copying the assistant over but how did you run ML on the 2013 MBPR? The new MBPR doesnt allow me to boot ML on it

I tested on a 2012, all macs with a fresh install of mavericks are having this problem so I just posted it as a generic fix. I just observed that it wont allow booting ML on a 2013. Alternatively, shrink your mavricks drive to whatever size you want for windows and clone/backup it to an external drive. then boot to recovery and completely erase/re-partition the internal ssd. Now you can boot into ML. run boot camp, create the partition, install windows and then restore the backup.

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-6161

Got idea from here.

Yes, I just got a late 2013 MBP 11,3 and it seems the default for bootcamp assistant is to install Windows 8 to use boot via UEFI. I just used bootcamp assistant to make a bootable installer on a USB flash drive using my windows 8 ISO and it finished up, restarted my computer, and booted into the installer.