BOOTCAMP ERROR MESSAGE: NO BOOTABLE DEVICE - INSERT BOOT DISC AND PRESS ANY KEY

I am also running into this issue trying to install Windows 7 on a 13" Macbook Pro late-2011 running Yosemite 10.10.4. I have a bootable USB drive that was made with BootCamp from a Windows 7 ISO file. From this ISO file I opened Bootcamp Assistant, checked all three boxes, selected my Windows partition and allowed BCA to run. It rebooted into the same error message: "No Bootable Device" etc.

I have edited the Info.plist file in BCA to allow it to create and use USB drives for bootcamp. I have also installed rEFInd, (version 0.8.7 I believe) because the OS X native bootloader would not detect my Windows installer USB drive. rEFInd does detect the drive but boots into the same error message. No solutions proposed in other threads have been successful.

I am aware that there is a potential solution using programs like VMWare Fusion to mess with virtual machines, but given this SHOULD work natively I would prefer not to. I am also aware that others have had success with Mavericks, and Yosemite is a particularly tricky issue. And yes, I am also aware that my particular macbook model (MacBookPro8,1 or whatever) resists this kind of bootcamp installation on a level that the user supposedly cannot edit. I would like to find a way around this. I have no optical drive (removed it for SSD like other users) nor a Windows installer DVD, and would like to install Windows 7 using the resources I currently have at hand. What can I do?

You are in a very tight corner with very few options. Win clone or CampTune and another Mac seem to be your only solutions as you have ruled out using the Virtual machine route. If you do not need access to hardware directly, is running Windows in a VM and option for you?

Not really, I would like Windows to access the hardware directly, as I would prefer to get the best performance possible. I'm open to the virtual machine solution, but it seems tedious and I'd only consider it as a last resort. Would that be my only option?

Also, do you know why this has to be so difficult, and why there are these restrictions and constraints in place?

achtung_etc wrote:

Not really, I would like Windows to access the hardware directly, as I would prefer to get the best performance possible. I'm open to the virtual machine solution, but it seems tedious and I'd only consider it as a last resort. Would that be my only option?

Do you have a built-in Optical drive?

Also, do you know why this has to be so difficult, and why there are these restrictions and constraints in place?

The restrictions are more due to Windows licensing, rather than Mac. Mac's only (rather painful) restriction is that hardware modifications or Bootcamp info.plist modifications lead to the Gates of Hades and back.

I did have a built in optical drive, but I removed for an SSD.

The other idea I had would be to take another SSD, use a Windows computer to install Windows on it, then plug it into the SATA port in my Macbook and tell it to boot from that drive. I have no idea if that will work though - is there a chance I could run windows on my Macbook that way, without having to go through bootcamp?

On a Mac, the disk which has Windows can be a GPT-Hybrid MBR or a pure MBR disk. As long as no PC-hardware specific hidden partitions show up on the disk, you should be able to run Windows which was built on a PC. Depending on your Mac year/model, it may or may not work properly due to SATA speed issues when a HD is used in the Optibay. SSD further aggravates this issue.

Thanks for the help. I'll give it a shot and see how it goes. I might also try switching the OS X/Windows drives so the Windows one is in the main SATA bay.

Okay, some progress was made. I used a friend's computer to install windows on my second SSD, then tried to boot through my Macbook. I have a SanDisk Ultra II 128GB running Windows 7 in the main SATA bay, and in the optical drive bay I have my Samsung 850 EVO 250GB running Yosemite. Windows now boots, however I have two additional problems: firstly, my MacBook's fan now runs extremely loud, and secondly, Windows hangs on the "Starting Windows" screen indefinitely. So, it boots, but does not start. Any ideas, or is this outside of the realm of this forum?

So I reset the SMC to fix the fan problem, but now all I get from Windows is bluescreen errors.

Specifically, BSOD STOP 0x0000007B

(Apologies for the quadruple post)

I am not exactly sure, but if i remember correctly, it is more advisable to have macOSX on the main drive bay. Also, make sure that you did not install the bootcamp drivers through your friend's computer. You should do the installing of drivers once on your computer. (in fact, some people suggest that you dont let windows boot up after install... in other words, after the "Windows will restart to complete the installation" screen, turn off the computer and transfer the drive to your pc, then boot into it to finish the installation. i'm not quite sure tho).

Yeah, I presume it's a driver issue, since I didn't get the chance to download the Apple drivers via bootcamp during installation. I have since downloaded the drivers (which are just bluetooth and IntelHDGraphics, the former I never use and the latter obviously necessary) but I am not sure how to install them from the OS X side of things, since I can't boot into Windows at all.

Alternatively I read it could be an issue with the SATA connector being in AHCI mode rather than IDE mode, when it should in the latter (for some reason). Is there a way to change this?

Loner T I have searched the internet for ways to install Windows 7 on my 2010 MacBook Air with no luck. I really don't understand how this works as I am a new MacBook user. When I first started BootCamp Assisstant it only gave me the 2 options until I edited the file (Even though it's a MacBook Air and should have the "Install onto USB"). So I set it all up on my SanDisk 2.0 USB and still get the no bootable device message. It's really frustrating because I have tried so many methods and you seem to be on a roll with helping people so you're my best hope. I've tried a Virtual Machine and still get the same error. Please help!!

Please start a new discussion. Have you made any hardware modifications to your Mac? Does your built-in Optical drive function normally and properly? (You can post answers on the new discussion).

Sorry I don't really know how to create a discussion, can we continue it here please? No hardware modifications have been made and yes my optical drive does function correctly.