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User profile for user: adyf88
adyf88 Author
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Bootcamp/Yosemite Boot Issues

I have a setup where I have Windows 8.1 installed through bootcamp on a separate partition. I haven't booted into bootcamp natively for a while and have updated to Yosemite in the meantime. Now quite often when I try and boot into bootcamp it loads windows and I see the windows desktop for a few seconds and then it reboots automatically back into OS X. I have also had this behaviour when booting into OS X Utilities too.


I've tried everything from scanning partitions for errors in disk utility to deleting the bootcamp partition, recreating it and restoring a winclone image and also reinstalling windows afresh, yet the issue is still there. I can get into windows eventually after two or three attempts however.


I'm inclined to think it may be a Yosemite issue as I've tried most other things that I can think of with the exception of going back to Mavericks. Just wondered if anyone might have any ideas. Thanks in advance.

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Yosemite (10.10.1)

Posted on Dec 25, 2014 9:32 AM

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User profile for user: Loner T
Loner T
User level: Level 9
59,471 points

Jan 4, 2015 7:30 AM in response to adyf88

adyf88 wrote:


Restored winclone image, checked for Hybrid MBR and it is not present. Recreated Hybrid MBR, I could get windows to boot but not reliably every time. Seems as if there's no real difference to reliable booting if the Hybrid MBR is present or not.

If you do not have a traditional Hybrid MBR, Windows is not supposed to boot, but it seems to (albeit rather unreliably). This indicates NVRAM variables being corrupted. As a test, can you restore Winclone, create Hybrid MBR, reset SMC and NVRAM, and test reliability?


After recreating Hybrid MBR, two windows drives show up on the boot up screen. If I then use winclone and choose 'Make EFI Bootable' or 'Make Legacy Bootable' one of these drives disappear, however after doing this the Hybrid MBR disappears. Seem to be going round in circles.

One of them came from the Winclone restore, the other from the Hybrid MBR. After you choose either of the "Make...", can you recreate the MBR, before you test reliability? Does System Preferences -> Startup Disk show the same duplicitous behavior?

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User profile for user: adyf88
adyf88 Author
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Jan 10, 2015 3:33 AM in response to Loner T

Sorry I have responded for a few days, I'm back at work now after the Christmas break 😟.


A few more observations:


  • NVRAM and SMC resets appear to make no difference
  • I can recreate the Hybrid MBR after either 'Make EFI Bootable' or 'Make Legacy Bootable' options are used in Winclone. Interestingly after the Hybrid MBR has been recreated after choosing the 'Make EFI Bootable' option, when I finally boot into Windows and choose Run -> msinfo32, the Bios mode is set to Legacy. I don't know if that's strange or not. I cannot seem to have EFI boot with the Hybrid MBR intact. I can have EFI boot without the Hybrid MBR. I can have Legacy boot with the Hybrid MBR intact.
  • When I choose 'Make EFI Bootable' option and recreate the Hybrid MBR, when two windows drives show on startup screen, the duplicitous behaviour doesn't show on System Preferences -> Startup Disk. If I then choose 'Make Legacy Bootable' option and recreate Hybrid MBR, one of the windows disks on startup screen disappears.
  • Whichever combination I have, 'Make EFI Bootable' without Hybrid MBR or 'Make Legacy Bootable' with Hybrid MBR, booting into Windows is still unreliable. I can get into Windows after two or three attempts with either combination.
  • When my external G-Drive is connected it is on disk0 and Bootcamp is on disk1. When I disconnect G-Drive, Bootcamp moves to disk0. Is this behaviour correct?


I'm unsure as to how helpful the above will be and what we could try next.

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User profile for user: Loner T
Loner T
User level: Level 9
59,471 points

Jan 10, 2015 4:00 AM in response to adyf88

adyf88 wrote:


I can recreate the Hybrid MBR after either 'Make EFI Bootable' or 'Make Legacy Bootable' options are used in Winclone. Interestingly after the Hybrid MBR has been recreated after choosing the 'Make EFI Bootable' option, when I finally boot into Windows and choose Run -> msinfo32, the Bios mode is set to Legacy. I don't know if that's strange or not. I cannot seem to have EFI boot with the Hybrid MBR intact.

If there is a Hybrid MBR, Apple Bootmanager will use it.

I can have EFI boot without the Hybrid MBR. I can have Legacy boot with the Hybrid MBR intact.

This is the correct and expected behavior.

When I choose 'Make EFI Bootable' option and recreate the Hybrid MBR, when two windows drives show on startup screen, the duplicitous behaviour doesn't show on System Preferences -> Startup Disk. If I then choose 'Make Legacy Bootable' option and recreate Hybrid MBR, one of the windows disks on startup screen disappears.

This is where Apple Bootmanager and System Preferences differs. System Preferences, after building a list, has to bless the device, and it correctly removes the duplicate IO path for the device that came from two different routes (EFI Bootable and Hybrid MBR are the two separate routes to get to the same underlying device).

Whichever combination I have, 'Make EFI Bootable' without Hybrid MBR or 'Make Legacy Bootable' with Hybrid MBR, booting into Windows is still unreliable. I can get into Windows after two or three attempts with either combination.

What happens with the failed attempts? Do you go back to OS X? Can you check the Console log for any failures of the 'bless' command when this happens?

When my external G-Drive is connected it is on disk0 and Bootcamp is on disk1. When I disconnect G-Drive, Bootcamp moves to disk0. Is this behaviour correct?

Is your G-Drive a Thunderbolt drive?

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User profile for user: adyf88
adyf88 Author
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Jan 10, 2015 4:29 AM in response to Loner T

Yes failed attempts boot back into OS X. They fail at various points, sometimes almost straight away at the Windows logo, then sometimes at the Windows name/profile picture and then sometimes I get as far as the Windows desktop.


The G-Drive is a thunderbolt drive. As for the console log, is there a way of attaching files to a post?

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User profile for user: Loner T
Loner T
User level: Level 9
59,471 points

Jan 10, 2015 7:09 AM in response to adyf88

Looking at the messages (the time stamps are from you specific time zone). It seems you still have Tuxera and Apple NTFS contending for the volume. It is a race. It will work when Apple NTFS wins it. Can you uninstall Tuxera completely as a test? Please see http://www.tuxera.com/products/tuxera-ntfs-for-mac/faq/ for the Startup disk issues.



10/01/2015 11:15:47.816Winclone Pro[802]File Path: /Volumes/BOOTCAMP
10/01/2015 11:15:47.816Winclone Pro[802] Disk Name: BOOTCAMP
10/01/2015 11:15:48.107Winclone Pro[802] Device / Media Name: BOOTCAMP
10/01/2015 11:15:48.108Winclone Pro[802] Volume Name: BOOTCAMP
10/01/2015 11:15:48.108Winclone Pro[802] Mount Point: /Volumes/BOOTCAMP
10/01/2015 11:15:56.447Winclone Pro[802]Setting up legacy booting
10/01/2015 11:15:56.476mds[33](LSOF.Error:239) File '/Volumes/BOOTCAMP' (fd=8) left open on device 754974723
10/01/2015 11:15:56.599tuxera_ntfs[634]Unmounting /dev/rdisk0s4 (BOOTCAMP)
10/01/2015 11:15:57.291tuxera_ntfs[1326]Mounted /dev/rdisk0s4 (Read-Write, label "BOOTCAMP", NTFS 3.1)
10/01/2015 11:15:57.291tuxera_ntfs[1326]Mount options: native_xattr,fstypename=txantfs,fssubtype=0,iosize=1048576,local,nobrowse,rw,al low_other,nonempty,relatime,fsname=/dev/disk0s4,volname=BOOTCAMP
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User profile for user: Loner T
Loner T
User level: Level 9
59,471 points

Jan 10, 2015 7:16 AM in response to adyf88

adyf88 wrote:


I can't expire the Dropbox link on the unpaid version I don't think. Also, I can't edit the post to delete the link.

Just delete the file from DropBox.



What do the messages that you have quoted mean?

Winclone's restore runs into issues with Tuxera_NTFS. Tuxera also conflicts with the Apple NTFS driver. You have a three-way race between each of these, and whoever wins it controls you volume. Winclone's restore probably succeeds, but once the volume is released, before it can run the next step, Tuxera may take over, which leaves the restore in a partial state. Assuming this restore fully succeeds, the next race is between Apple NTFS and Tuxera for startup and whoever wins it controls the volume. If Apple controls it, it will show up in Startup Disk, otherwise not. My recommendation is to remove Tuxera completely, restore Winclone again, and test with Legacy first.

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User profile for user: adyf88
adyf88 Author
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Jan 10, 2015 7:25 AM in response to Loner T

I'll try your suggestion with regard to uninstalling Tuxera. However, I have noticed that when third party NTFS software is uninstalled I cannot 'Make Legacy Bootable' using Winclone. I guess that this is logical because Winclone cannot write to the Bootcamp partition without third party NTFS software. So, I believe that Winclone restores with EFI bootable (was EFI bootable all along before I had issues), therefore if I recreate the Hybrid MBR this will make Windows legacy bootable with having to install Tuxera to make Windows legacy bootable?

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User profile for user: adyf88
adyf88 Author
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Jan 10, 2015 8:09 AM in response to adyf88

Uninstalled Tuxera, restored Winclone image, recreated Hybrid MBR. Windows now won't boot and hangs, flashing cursor etc.


Had to reinstall Tuxera so that Winclone could 'Make Legacy Bootable'. Once I had done this, I uninstalled Tuxera. Managed to get Windows to boot but not every time. I'm sure you're right about the race for the Bootcamp volume, just how to solve it.

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Bootcamp/Yosemite Boot Issues

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