Q: Can't install Windows 8 x64 on late 2013 MBP with1TB SSD
Just got my new MBP and I'm trying to install Windows 8 using Bootcamp. I've tried using the DVD (with the thumb drive bootstrapper created by Bootcamp) and also an image written to the thumb drive by Bootcamp. In both cases, the install seems to go fine -- files copied, files "readied" (whatever that means) and so forth, all the way to 100%. Right after this step, though, the installation quits with the popup error message:
"Windows could not update the computer's boot configuration. Installation cannot proceed."
The installation quits right there, and tells me "The installation was canceled" and "Any changes to your computer won't be saved." Then it reboots.
I have tried repairing the installation using a Windows 8 repair disk, and I've tried (using the command prompt from the repair disk) to fix the MBR. Nothing works.
My best guess is that the x64 drivers for this model are not working properly, but I really have no idea. Searching the 'net has yielded nothing helpful. I suppose I'll have to bring it in to the Genius Bar, but I'd really rather save that couple of hours if I can avoid it.
MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Mavericks (10.9), Late 2013, 2.6 GHz, 1TB SSD
Posted on Oct 23, 2013 9:24 PM
SOLVED!
I haven't gotten anything useful back from Apple yet, but I found something on another thread that seemed worth a try. I managed to install Windows 8.0 x64 without any third-party tools or other foolishness. Here are my steps:
1. Use Bootcamp to create EFI-bootable USB drive with the Windows ISO file.
2. Uninstall any previous installations of Bootcamp, restoring the partition table to one big Apple partitition.
3. Use Disk Utility in OS X to create empty space of the size I want my Windows partitition to be.
4. Reboot the machine to the USB drive.
5. Using the Windows Advanced partition options, create a new partition in the empty space. Windows will also create a small (128 MB or so) partition alongside it.
6. Format the new partition using the Windows Advanced partition options.
7. Proceed with installation onto that NTFS partition as before.
8. Windows 8 installs!
9. After installation, run the setup.exe inside the Bootcamp folder on the USB drive. This will install all the necessary device drivers.
So, apparently, the problem is the partition created by Bootcamp. Maybe Windows setup wants to create its little extra partition but can't because the disk is fully allocated. I'm not sure, but I am happy to have it working.
I hope that this will work for the rest of you!
Posted on Oct 27, 2013 10:12 AM