"Non-system disk Press any key to reboot"- Trying to install Win 7 on Mac Mini

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"Non-system disk Press any key to reboot"- Trying to install Win 7 on Mac Mini

Hello. I'm trying to install Windows 7 on a new-model Mac Mini ('Late 2012'), which I just bought from Apple. [Specs: 1 TB Fusion drive, 2.6 GHz intel Core i7, 16 GB RAM, OS X Mavericks (latest), Graphics: Intel HD graphics 4000, Screen: LG Flatron 24"].

After following instructions on Bootcamp, I tried installing it through my external USB Apple Superdrive (DVD), but for some reason as soon as the system finishes getting things ready and reboots to begin installing Windows 7, I get a black screen with an error message as follows: "No bootable device -- insert boot disk and press any key". Pressing the keys on my keyboard does nothing (even though it's a wired model, not a wireless one.) I'm forced to do a hard shutdown using the power button and hold down the Option key in order to get the system to show the Mac HD where OS X is. It also shows the Windows DVD as another option, but when I select it and the system boots, I just get the same error message again. So I go back to a hard shutdown and reboot to go into OS X again.

Not sure what to do, I did some online research and in one post in the Frequently Asked Questions for Bootcamp, it says for installing Win 7 and Win 8, the computer won't work with external USB drives (*totally nuts in my opinion - Apple has to fix this stuff if they want to entice Windows users into buying their sleek, quiet hardware). Instead, the post recommends creating a Windows 7 ISO file from my Windows 7 DVD and putting it on a USB thumbdrive that Bootcamp is going to use to put all the Apple/Windows drivers on for the installation process. I'm also told I have to unplug my Superdrive (no explanation given for why). So I do all this and get Bootcamp Assistant running again. Unfortunately, as soon as the system reboots after going through all the usual preparation steps, I get another black screen with a new error message: "Non-system disk Press any key to reboot". So I'm at a loss for what to do next.

(I've also have an iMac that I bought more than a year ago that I also put Windows 7 on, with no problems that time. Go figure.)

If anyone here has an good answer for how to proceed, I need to know. Thanks in advance!

Mac mini (Late 2012), OS X Mavericks (10.9.4)

Posted on Sep 14, 2014 11:20 PM

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Answer 1

Mazzerac Author

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5 points

Sep 14, 2014 11:39 PM in response to Mazzerac

I forgot to add that my USB stick drive is a 16 GB "Hi-Speed" model, meaning it's USB 2, not USB 3. Since apparently Windows doesn't like USB 3 for some reason. Though, it also begs the question: all the USB ports in the back of my Mac Mini (and in all Apple computers generall) are USB 3 ports so I wonder what, if anything, that does to things. And the USB thumbdrive has been formatted for the FAT 32 file system (using the Disk Utility in OS X), since apparently it's required (I wonder why it's not NTFS, since Windows hasn't used FAT32 for years now).

(It also begs another question: the Apple Superdrive is also a USB 2 drive, not USB 3, so why won't it work for the Windows 7 install? Sigh.)

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Answer 2

Csound1

Level 9

60,033 points

Sep 15, 2014 1:49 AM in response to Mazzerac

NTFS is Microsofts proprietary possession, so you use Fat32, and then let Windows make it NTFS

USB2 or 3 makes no difference, not to the drive, not to Windows, not to OSX.

What else isn't working right?

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Answer 3

Mazzerac Author

Level 1

5 points

Sep 15, 2014 8:25 PM in response to Csound1

Thanks for the info, hadn't known that (*I'm curious about these kinds of things, heh). All the symptoms my Mac Mini is suffering are the same as what jon.schneider (another poster here) has been reporting in his thread. (I posted there as well to add my 2-cents of problems.)

As soon as Bootcamp is finished its preparations of the Windows files/drivers and the computer reboots to begin the Windows 7 install, I get the error messages I reported. As far as any other problems with the Mac Mini to report, I have almost none. The machine works wonderfully in OS X, all peripherals work normally then (keyboard+mouse+trackpad). Both the keyboard and the mouse are wired models, not wireless, which has saved me since the trackpad won't work when I do the hard shutdown, restart, and hit the Option key to get the choice to go back into OS X again. Also, when the error messages appear on the black screen and I'm asked to hit any key to continue, I have no idea if the keyboard is working or not since there is never any response. I have to do the hard shutdown at that point. The only other external hardware I have, besides the Apple Superdrive, is a Vantec USB 3 hub and a Vantec 4-drive external tower, but I haven't been using the drive tower yet so it's a non-issue. As for the hub, since this problem erupted, I've avoided using it just in case to avoid complications.

Other than this, it's just the Bootcamp Assistant and my attempt to install Windows 7 which fails. I notice, when I get back into OS X after the failed install, that there is now a Bootcamp partition on my system (shown as a second hard drive) but it's totally empty of files. I wonder if it's possible to copy the entire Windows 7 system disc there and somehow get the computer to reboot and recognize this so that it goes into Windows install mode on its own. I doubt it, however, since someone else would have reported this solution already. If anyone knows what my Mac Mini's problem is and why the system won't see external drives and boot from them to begin the Win7 install, I'd really like to know. Thanks.

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Answer 4

Loner T

Level 9

59,526 points

Sep 16, 2014 2:14 AM in response to Mazzerac

Mazzerac wrote:

Hello. I'm trying to install Windows 7 on a new-model Mac Mini ('Late 2012'), which I just bought from Apple. [Specs: 1 TB Fusion drive, 2.6 GHz intel Core i7, 16 GB RAM, OS X Mavericks (latest), Graphics: Intel HD graphics 4000, Screen: LG Flatron 24"].

The "Fusion" drive make a significant difference. to how Bootcamp works. Bootcamp will not use the SSD at all. It will partition just the HDD. You can check that using diskutil cs list and disk list commands.

Can you post the output of commands that you have in the other article here?

USB2.0/3.0 makes a difference because of the drivers available on the DVD to bring up hardware during the install. The wired USB2.0 KB not working is a symptom of such behavior. I have a Sandisk Cruzer USB 2.0 which I have used for almost 2 years to install Windows 7/8+ with no issues on all kinds of macs.

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Answer 5

Mazzerac Author

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Sep 17, 2014 5:18 PM in response to Loner T

I've been using a Lexar USB 2.0 16GB thumbdrive. As for 'output of commands', which ones do you mean exactly? I'm no technical expert with this stuff, I just follow the instructions and hope I've got everything right. Do you mean the commands/info on the screen during the running of Bootcamp Assistant?

As for the output of error messages, I get variants of the following, depending on if I have my optical drive connected or not, after the computer reboots and it goes to black screen (this is with the thumbdrive connected):

"No bootable device -- insert boot disk and press any key"

"Non-system disk Press any key to reboot"

"CD Boot: Couldn't find BOOTMGR" (I tried using the built-in memory card slot as a boot device with the Windows drivers but it didn't work either — not that I expected it to, just grasping at straws).

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Answer 6

Mazzerac Author

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Sep 17, 2014 5:17 PM in response to Mazzerac

Another question: Would either of the programs, VMWare Fusion, or Parallels, be able to get around this problem and create the Windows 7 partition that I need? I'm not so much interested in having a 'virtual machine' of Windows running as much as being able to boot from Windows 7 exclusively when I want to (as Bootcamp was supposed to create for me).

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Answer 7

Loner T

Level 9

59,526 points

Sep 17, 2014 5:36 PM in response to Mazzerac

The Mini will use the ISO (or a DVD) and Bootcamp assistant to create a USB which contains both the Windows installer and the Bootcamp drivers.

1. Disconnect the Optical drive after the USB has been created. If the USB has been created, the CSM-BIOS layer is configured to use the USB.

2. You can use either a USB2 or an Optical Drive, but not both.

3. The first two messages indicate that either the USB has been formatted incorrectly (it should be FAT32) or the disk did not copy the necessary files from the DVD to the USB.

4. With the Optical drive and USB connected, it is unlikely to work.

Another question: Would either of the programs, VMWare Fusion, or Parallels, be able to get around this problem and create the Windows 7 partition that I need? I'm not so much interested in having a 'virtual machine' of Windows running as much as being able to boot from Windows 7 exclusively when I want to (as Bootcamp was supposed to create for me).

VMware Fusion and Parallels use virtual disks which become files on the disk. They cannot create a partition on the disk. Using an already installed Windows/Bootcamp, they can however bring up windows from it.

The commands I was referring are

1. diskutil list and diskutil cs list

2. sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/<Bootcampdisk> (where bootcamp disk is /dev/disk1 since you have two disks in the Fusion drive).

3. sudo fdisk /dev/disk1 (to see what state the MBR is in).

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Answer 8

Mazzerac Author

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5 points

Sep 17, 2014 5:50 PM in response to Loner T

Okay, I'll look into those. I haven't used the Terminal much so I'm inexperienced. Do you want this pre-Bootcamp Assistant, or after when the install fails and I have to do a hard reboot/Option key select into OS X again?

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Answer 9

Mazzerac Author

Level 1

5 points

Sep 17, 2014 5:55 PM in response to Mazzerac

Okay, first one (pre-Bootcamp), original settings, with both the optical drive and USB sticks installed:

cygnus-x1:~ LantS$ diskutil list

/dev/disk0

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: GUID_partition_scheme *121.3 GB disk0

1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB disk0s1

2: Apple_CoreStorage 121.0 GB disk0s2

3: Apple_Boot Boot OS X 134.2 MB disk0s3

/dev/disk1

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: GUID_partition_scheme *1.0 TB disk1

1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB disk1s1

2: Apple_CoreStorage 999.3 GB disk1s2

3: Apple_Boot Recovery HD 650.0 MB disk1s4

/dev/disk2

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: Apple_HFS Freedom (Mac HD 1 TB) *1.1 TB disk2

/dev/disk3

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: FDisk_partition_scheme *16.0 GB disk3

1: DOS_FAT_32 WININSTALL 16.0 GB disk3s1

cygnus-x1:~ LantS$ )Do

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Answer 10

Mazzerac Author

Level 1

5 points

Sep 17, 2014 5:58 PM in response to Mazzerac

This one is distil cs list:

cygnus-x1:~ LantS$ diskutil cs list

CoreStorage logical volume groups (1 found)

|

+-- Logical Volume Group DB9C188B-5B09-43DE-BA9A-1CBB53ED19C4

=========================================================

Name: Macintosh HD

Status: Online

Size: 1120333979648 B (1.1 TB)

Free Space: 114688 B (114.7 KB)

|

+-< Physical Volume 415AE4A2-2CDB-4C8B-AE00-7A14014B3EA0

| ----------------------------------------------------

| Index: 0

| Disk: disk0s2

| Status: Online

| Size: 120988852224 B (121.0 GB)

|

+-< Physical Volume 829492A1-0BC2-4358-A778-C008C03D00F7

| ----------------------------------------------------

| Index: 1

| Disk: disk1s2

| Status: Online

| Size: 999345127424 B (999.3 GB)

|

+-> Logical Volume Family C37DA9C0-00E7-46A4-90EC-548204BFB908

----------------------------------------------------------

Encryption Status: Unlocked

Encryption Type: None

Conversion Status: NoConversion

Conversion Direction: -none-

Has Encrypted Extents: No

Fully Secure: No

Passphrase Required: No

|

+-> Logical Volume B769E601-F56F-4F83-A5B5-4378159FF8B9

---------------------------------------------------

Disk: disk2

Status: Online

Size (Total): 1111826497536 B (1.1 TB)

Conversion Progress: -none-

Revertible: No

LV Name: Freedom (Mac HD 1 TB)

Volume Name: Freedom (Mac HD 1 TB)

Content Hint: Apple_HFS

cygnus-x1:~ LantS$

I think I have to do the rest after I've tried Bootcamp again.

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Answer 11

Mazzerac Author

Level 1

5 points

Sep 17, 2014 6:07 PM in response to Mazzerac

Just had another thought. What if I created the USB from my iMac instead of my Mac Mini and made another ISO off the Windows disc there, then transferred the redone USB with all the drivers to the Mac Mini? Might that fix things since I never had problems installing Win 7 on the iMac a year ago?

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Answer 12

Mazzerac Author

Level 1

5 points

Sep 17, 2014 6:11 PM in response to Mazzerac

Okay, the Bootcamp Assistant ran and the Windows 7 install failed as usual (I disconnected the optical drive). Rebooted and I'm now back in OS X. There's an empty Bootcamp volume on the desktop now. The USB is called 'Wininstall'. I'll do all the Terminal commands again as you requested.

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Answer 13

Loner T

Level 9

59,526 points

Sep 17, 2014 6:14 PM in response to Mazzerac

1. For any future Windows installs, please disconnect the Freedom external disk. It will cause problems.

2. The files that are copied to the USB contain the Windows ISO and Bootcamp drivers. The Bootcamp drivers are specific to your hardware. Please do not use the iMac. If the iMac has a built-in Optical drive, it behaves differently than a Mac mini that may not have an Optical drive.

3. If you check the Bootcamp downloads on Apple website, you will a System Requirements tab. It lists drivers that are specific to a set of Mac models. They are not interchangeable due to hardware differences. For example, your iMac may have an AMD/nVidia GPU, but your Mini has an Intel 4K/3K GPU, and drivers can cause problems.

4. Please use a USB Mouse/Keyboard rather than a BT set, because these can also cause problems.

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Answer 14

Mazzerac Author

Level 1

5 points

Sep 17, 2014 6:15 PM in response to Mazzerac

Here they are:

cygnus-x1:~ LantS$ diskutil list

/dev/disk0

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: GUID_partition_scheme *121.3 GB disk0

1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB disk0s1

2: Apple_CoreStorage 121.0 GB disk0s2

3: Apple_Boot Boot OS X 134.2 MB disk0s3

/dev/disk1

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: GUID_partition_scheme *1.0 TB disk1

1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB disk1s1

2: Apple_CoreStorage 443.3 GB disk1s2

3: Apple_Boot Recovery HD 650.0 MB disk1s3

4: Microsoft Basic Data BOOTCAMP 556.0 GB disk1s4

/dev/disk2

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: Apple_HFS Freedom (Mac HD 1 TB) *555.8 GB disk2

/dev/disk3

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: FDisk_partition_scheme *16.0 GB disk3

1: DOS_FAT_32 WININSTALL 16.0 GB disk3s1

cygnus-x1:~ LantS$ diskutil cs list

CoreStorage logical volume groups (1 found)

|

+-- Logical Volume Group DB9C188B-5B09-43DE-BA9A-1CBB53ED19C4

=========================================================

Name: Macintosh HD

Status: Online

Size: 564333961216 B (564.3 GB)

Free Space: 49152 B (49.2 KB)

|

+-< Physical Volume 415AE4A2-2CDB-4C8B-AE00-7A14014B3EA0

| ----------------------------------------------------

| Index: 0

| Disk: disk0s2

| Status: Online

| Size: 120988852224 B (121.0 GB)

|

+-< Physical Volume 829492A1-0BC2-4358-A778-C008C03D00F7

| ----------------------------------------------------

| Index: 1

| Disk: disk1s2

| Status: Online

| Size: 443345108992 B (443.3 GB)

|

+-> Logical Volume Family C37DA9C0-00E7-46A4-90EC-548204BFB908

----------------------------------------------------------

Encryption Status: Unlocked

Encryption Type: None

Conversion Status: NoConversion

Conversion Direction: -none-

Has Encrypted Extents: No

Fully Secure: No

Passphrase Required: No

|

+-> Logical Volume B769E601-F56F-4F83-A5B5-4378159FF8B9

---------------------------------------------------

Disk: disk2

Status: Online

Size (Total): 555826479104 B (555.8 GB)

Conversion Progress: -none-

Revertible: No

LV Name: Freedom (Mac HD 1 TB)

Volume Name: Freedom (Mac HD 1 TB)

Content Hint: Apple_HFS

cygnus-x1:~ LantS$

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Answer 15

Mazzerac Author

Level 1

5 points

Sep 17, 2014 6:24 PM in response to Loner T

The drive in question, Freedom, is the Mac Fusion drive. I simply renamed it along with adding its capacity for reference. And my iMac has no built-in optical drive. It requires an external one just like the Mac Mini. I also noticed that both of my machines require the same version of Bootcamp drivers, curiously enough.

By the way, the 'sudo' command keeps giving me syntax errors and such. Obviously I'm not inputting all the command-letters right.

Could the renaming of my boot drive be a problem for Bootcamp? I've never had a problem with this before. It was originally called Macintosh HD, I believe.

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