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issue: bootcamp - windows 8 - fusion drive

I have an iMac 3.4GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 with 1TB Fusion drive since early January this year. I have added 2 extra 4Gb of memory bringing it to 4x4.

I installed Windows 8 without any issue back then but it crashed recently and it was impossible to start it up so I decided to remove the partition and re-install it.

However, after 15 days and 15 hours spent on the phone with senior advisers, I am still stuck. Any help would be much appreciated.

Here are the steps I followed:

create an iso image in Documents using Windows 8 dvd.
create a partition using bootcamp (350Gb) plugging in a 1TB external hard drive
Once in Windows set-up, I choose 'Drive 1 Partition 4 BOOTCAMP'. As expected, it can't go further as 'Windows must be installed to a partition formatted as NTFS'
Instead of clicking 'Format' (which won't work), I press shift+F10 and end up in a terminal.
Type DISKPART>list disk>select disk 1>list partition>select partition 4> format fs=NTFS label 'Windows8' (I tried using the option 'quick' as well)
Back to windows setup, I hit 'refresh'. The first time I tried it was saying 'We couldn't create a new partition or locate an existing one. For more information, see the Setup log files'. The second and subsequent times I tried I got 'Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected disk is of GPT partition style'
Back to OS X and Disk Utility, I can see 2 parttions in Internal Drive>Partition: MacintoshHD and Windows8 which is a 350Gb partition of format 'Windows NT File System (NTFS)'

Questions:

Any idea what is going on? The partition seems to be in the correct format (NTFS)!
If GPT style partition is not the right partition style, what style should it be and how do I convert it into it?
Is it an issue related to Fusion? There are many discussions out there around this issue but haven't found anything that worked for me. It seems Windows expect an MBR style partition but Fusion provides an hybrid MBR/EFI partition, No idea what it means so I am just repeting what I read.
It also seems that having my external usb drive plugged in doesn't help. However, how can I unplug it while I am using it to install windows?

Thanks a lot for your help.

iMac, null

Posted on Feb 27, 2015 2:08 AM

30 replies

m_CD Author

Level 1

0 points

Mar 3, 2015 10:34 AM in response to Loner T

Hi Loner T

So I tried exactly as you said (at least, I think so) and got:

Last login: Tue Mar 3 18:07:39 on ttys000

charles-pc:~ Charles$ sudo gdisk /dev/disk1

GPT fdisk (gdisk) version 0.8.10

Warning: Devices opened with shared lock will not have their

partition table automatically reloaded!

Partition table scan:

MBR: hybrid

BSD: not present

APM: not present

GPT: present

Found valid GPT with hybrid MBR; using GPT.

Command (? for help): P

Disk /dev/disk1: 1953525168 sectors, 931.5 GiB

Logical sector size: 512 bytes

Disk identifier (GUID): 00009009-148E-477E-8A0E-4F581BB1031D

Partition table holds up to 128 entries

First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 1953525134

Partitions will be aligned on 8-sector boundaries

Total free space is 2573 sectors (1.3 MiB)

Number Start (sector) End (sector) Size Code Name

1 40 409639 200.0 MiB EF00 EFI System Partition

2 409640 1248195463 595.0 GiB AF05 Internal Drive

3 1248195464 1249465223 620.0 MiB AB00 Recovery HD

4 1249466368 1953523711 335.7 GiB 0700 BOOTCAMP

Command (? for help): R

Recovery/transformation command (? for help): H

WARNING! Hybrid MBRs are flaky and dangerous! If you decide not to use one,

just hit the Enter key at the below prompt and your MBR partition table will

be untouched.

Type from one to three GPT partition numbers, separated by spaces, to be

added to the hybrid MBR, in sequence: 2 3 4

Place EFI GPT (0xEE) partition first in MBR (good for GRUB)? (Y/N): Y

Creating entry for GPT partition #2 (MBR partition #2)

Enter an MBR hex code (default AF): af05

Set the bootable flag? (Y/N): N

Creating entry for GPT partition #3 (MBR partition #3)

Enter an MBR hex code (default AB): ab00

Set the bootable flag? (Y/N): N

Creating entry for GPT partition #4 (MBR partition #4)

Enter an MBR hex code (default 07): 0c

Set the bootable flag? (Y/N): Y

Recovery/transformation command (? for help): P

Disk /dev/disk1: 1953525168 sectors, 931.5 GiB

Logical sector size: 512 bytes

Disk identifier (GUID): 00009009-148E-477E-8A0E-4F581BB1031D

Partition table holds up to 128 entries

First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 1953525134

Partitions will be aligned on 8-sector boundaries

Total free space is 2573 sectors (1.3 MiB)

Number Start (sector) End (sector) Size Code Name

1 40 409639 200.0 MiB EF00 EFI System Partition

2 409640 1248195463 595.0 GiB AF05 Internal Drive

3 1248195464 1249465223 620.0 MiB AB00 Recovery HD

4 1249466368 1953523711 335.7 GiB 0700 BOOTCAMP

Recovery/transformation command (? for help): W

Final checks complete. About to write GPT data. THIS WILL OVERWRITE EXISTING

PARTITIONS!!

Do you want to proceed? (Y/N): Y

OK; writing new GUID partition table (GPT) to /dev/disk1.

Warning: Devices opened with shared lock will not have their

partition table automatically reloaded!

Warning: The kernel may continue to use old or deleted partitions.

You should reboot or remove the drive.

The operation has completed successfully.

charles-pc:~ Charles$

Then I switched the computer off, started again and hold 'option'. I then selected the windows boot (not EFI).

Ended up in the windows set up as usual and got the same error. Please see below. I hit 'format' (while I checked in Disk Utility before-hand and the partition is of format NTFS). The same error appeared.

Shouldn't it be a 'Primary' rather than a 'System' ?

Anticipating your question (maybe), here is what I get when I run the usual command lines:

Last login: Tue Mar 3 18:20:20 on console

charles-pc:~ Charles$ 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 638.9 GB disk1s2

3: Apple_Boot Recovery HD 650.1 MB disk1s3

4: Microsoft Basic Data 360.5 GB disk1s4

/dev/disk2

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: Apple_HFS Macintosh HD *754.0 GB disk2

Logical Volume on disk0s2, disk1s2

5AF6F133-EDD1-4A59-98D9-6398F79F408D

Unencrypted Fusion Drive

/dev/disk3

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: FDisk_partition_scheme *15.6 GB disk3

1: DOS_FAT_32 WININSTALL 15.6 GB disk3s1

charles-pc:~ Charles$ sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk1

Password:

gpt show: /dev/disk1: mediasize=1000204886016; sectorsize=512; blocks=1953525168

gpt show: /dev/disk1: Suspicious MBR at sector 0

gpt show: /dev/disk1: Pri GPT at sector 1

gpt show: /dev/disk1: Sec GPT at sector 1953525167

start size index contents

0 1 MBR

1 1 Pri GPT header

2 32 Pri GPT table

34 6

40 409600 1 GPT part - C12A7328-F81F-11D2-BA4B-00A0C93EC93B

409640 1247785824 2 GPT part - 53746F72-6167-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC

1248195464 1269760 3 GPT part - 426F6F74-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC

1249465224 1144

1249466368 704057344 4 GPT part - EBD0A0A2-B9E5-4433-87C0-68B6B72699C7

1953523712 1423

1953525135 32 Sec GPT table

1953525167 1 Sec GPT header

charles-pc:~ Charles$ sudo fdisk /dev/disk1

Disk: /dev/disk1 geometry: 121601/255/63 [1953525168 sectors]

Signature: 0xAA55

Starting Ending

#: id cyl hd sec - cyl hd sec [ start - size]

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

1: EE 0 0 2 - 25 127 14 [ 1 - 409639] <Unknown ID>

2: AF 25 127 15 - 1023 254 63 [ 409640 - 1247785824] HFS+

3: AB 1023 254 63 - 1023 254 63 [1248195464 - 1269760] Darwin Boot

*4: 07 1023 254 63 - 1023 254 63 [1249466368 - 704057344] HPFS/QNX/AUX

charles-pc:~ Charles$ sudo dd if=/dev/rdisk1s4 count=1 2>/dev/null | hexdump -C

00000000 eb 52 90 4e 54 46 53 20 20 20 20 00 02 08 00 00 |.R.NTFS .....|

00000010 00 00 00 00 00 f8 00 00 3f 00 ff 00 00 58 79 4a |........?....XyJ|

00000020 00 00 00 00 80 00 80 00 ff 0f f7 29 00 00 00 00 |...........)....|

00000030 00 00 0c 00 00 00 00 00 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|

00000040 f6 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 66 aa 81 e0 e1 81 e0 b4 |........f.......|

00000050 00 00 00 00 fa 33 c0 8e d0 bc 00 7c fb 68 c0 07 |.....3.....|.h..|

00000060 1f 1e 68 66 00 cb 88 16 0e 00 66 81 3e 03 00 4e |..hf......f.>..N|

00000070 54 46 53 75 15 b4 41 bb aa 55 cd 13 72 0c 81 fb |TFSu..A..U..r...|

00000080 55 aa 75 06 f7 c1 01 00 75 03 e9 dd 00 1e 83 ec |U.u.....u.......|

00000090 18 68 1a 00 b4 48 8a 16 0e 00 8b f4 16 1f cd 13 |.h...H..........|

000000a0 9f 83 c4 18 9e 58 1f 72 e1 3b 06 0b 00 75 db a3 |.....X.r.;...u..|

000000b0 0f 00 c1 2e 0f 00 04 1e 5a 33 db b9 00 20 2b c8 |........Z3... +.|

000000c0 66 ff 06 11 00 03 16 0f 00 8e c2 ff 06 16 00 e8 |f...............|

000000d0 4b 00 2b c8 77 ef b8 00 bb cd 1a 66 23 c0 75 2d |K.+.w......f#.u-|

000000e0 66 81 fb 54 43 50 41 75 24 81 f9 02 01 72 1e 16 |f..TCPAu$....r..|

000000f0 68 07 bb 16 68 52 11 16 68 09 00 66 53 66 53 66 |h...hR..h..fSfSf|

00000100 55 16 16 16 68 b8 01 66 61 0e 07 cd 1a 33 c0 bf |U...h..fa....3..|

00000110 0a 13 b9 f6 0c fc f3 aa e9 fe 01 90 90 66 60 1e |.............f`.|

00000120 06 66 a1 11 00 66 03 06 1c 00 1e 66 68 00 00 00 |.f...f.....fh...|

00000130 00 66 50 06 53 68 01 00 68 10 00 b4 42 8a 16 0e |.fP.Sh..h...B...|

00000140 00 16 1f 8b f4 cd 13 66 59 5b 5a 66 59 66 59 1f |.......fY[ZfYfY.|

00000150 0f 82 16 00 66 ff 06 11 00 03 16 0f 00 8e c2 ff |....f...........|

00000160 0e 16 00 75 bc 07 1f 66 61 c3 a1 f6 01 e8 09 00 |...u...fa.......|

00000170 a1 fa 01 e8 03 00 f4 eb fd 8b f0 ac 3c 00 74 09 |............<.t.|

00000180 b4 0e bb 07 00 cd 10 eb f2 c3 0d 0a 41 20 64 69 |............A di|

00000190 73 6b 20 72 65 61 64 20 65 72 72 6f 72 20 6f 63 |sk read error oc|

000001a0 63 75 72 72 65 64 00 0d 0a 42 4f 4f 54 4d 47 52 |curred...BOOTMGR|

000001b0 20 69 73 20 63 6f 6d 70 72 65 73 73 65 64 00 0d | is compressed..|

000001c0 0a 50 72 65 73 73 20 43 74 72 6c 2b 41 6c 74 2b |.Press Ctrl+Alt+|

000001d0 44 65 6c 20 74 6f 20 72 65 73 74 61 72 74 0d 0a |Del to restart..|

000001e0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|

000001f0 00 00 00 00 00 00 8a 01 a7 01 bf 01 00 00 55 aa |..............U.|

00000200

charles-pc:~ Charles$

Any idea what could be wrong? Is 'Suspicious MBR at sector 0' expected?

Thank you!!

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Mar 3, 2015 11:39 AM in response to m_CD

You have entered the following information...

Creating entry for GPT partition #4 (MBR partition #4)

Enter an MBR hex code (default 07): 0c

Set the bootable flag? (Y/N): Y

yet you end up with

*4: 07 1023 254 63 - 1023 254 63 [1249466368 - 704057344] HPFS/QNX/AUX

Can you run a SMC Reset and PRAM reset?

Also, instead of using Option key, can you use BCA and choose only the last option 'Install...' and test?

m_CD Author

Level 1

0 points

Mar 3, 2015 12:01 PM in response to Loner T

In which order shall I do these?

If I go to BCA now, the last option is 'Remove Windows 7 or later version'

Could you please confirm:

SMC RESET

Shut down the computer.
Unplug the computer's power cord from both the wall and computer.
Wait 15 seconds.
Attach the computers power cable.
Wait another 5 seconds and press the power button to turn on the computer.

PRAM RESET

Shut down the computer.
Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
Turn on the computer.
Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
Release the keys.

Thanks

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Mar 3, 2015 12:04 PM in response to m_CD

1. SMC Reset

2. PRAM Reset

m_CD Author

Level 1

0 points

Mar 3, 2015 12:17 PM in response to Loner T

done!

I still see 'Remove Windows 7 or later version' as the last option of BCA.

What should I do? Try booting from 'Windows' or should I do something else (like removing the partition and start everything from scratch using gpt etc.)?

Thanks a lot for your help ... it goes far beyond 'much appreciated'

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Mar 3, 2015 12:25 PM in response to m_CD

Before you start all over again, try the following steps. These change the MBR to be FAT rather than NTFS. Ignore the i386 boot warning.

sudo fdisk -e /dev/disk0

setpid 4

Reboto and test.

m_CD Author

Level 1

0 points

Mar 3, 2015 12:32 PM in response to Loner T

disk1 you meant?

test by booting to 'windows'?

sorry for all these questions ... I am so used to mess this computer up ...

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Mar 3, 2015 12:41 PM in response to m_CD

Yes, disk1, not disk0.

Test booting both OSX and Windows.

m_CD Author

Level 1

0 points

Mar 3, 2015 12:43 PM in response to Loner T

Trying now ... I didn't hit 'format' and it went through! Installation has started, I hope it won't fail.

I'll keep you posted!

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Mar 3, 2015 12:45 PM in response to m_CD

Very nice. 🙂

m_CD Author

Level 1

0 points

Mar 3, 2015 3:02 PM in response to Loner T

It worked! I managed to boot into windows and do some stuffs so I can quite safely say at the issue is solved!

Thanks a lot! I am amazed by your responsiveness and kindness.

Bottom line, what was the issue? I will surely contact Apple support so that the next person getting this issue won't spend 2 weeks trying to solve it.

If I understood correctly (maybe what I am saying doesn't make any sense):

- I used a USB3 external hard drive instead of USB2 flash drive

- Bootcamp failed to create an MBR partition

- we forced the creation of such a partition by using GPT FDisk

- we reset the SMC and PRAM (but I am not sure why)

- then we change the format to FAT as the NTFS partition wasn't recognised

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Mar 3, 2015 3:15 PM in response to m_CD

Excellent.

The USB3 external HD causes BCA problems. This is where it failed with proper partitioning (missing MBR). The GPT Fdisk recreated the Hybrid MBR, as the Windows GPT entry already existed (BCA should not have done this step either, but it uses asynchronous dm callbacks, leaving the setup in a mixed state).

The SMC and PRAM reset is done to tell the Mac to remove any entries that are incomplete. Here is an entry for the completed BC installation

nvram -p | grep -i bootcamp

BootCampHD %02%01%0c%00%d0A%03%0a%00%00%00%00%01%01%06%00%02%1f%03%12%0a%00%00%00%00%00%00 %00%7f%ff%04%00

The Apple Bootmanager interprets this string-value and has data that it can use.

The NTFS-to-FAT change was done to tell BCA that the partition was ready for use. 0x07 (aka NTFS) is the final state. The NVRAM and this MBR entry are used by BCA.

TomK21

Level 1

6 points

Jul 19, 2015 7:42 PM in response to Loner T

First and foremost, Loner, your voluntary support here has been nothing short of phenomenal. My problem mirrors almost exactly between this and another bootcamp thread you were heavily involved in: Bootcamp worked great for a while, had to erase for whatever reason, second time through, run into the dreaded "we couldn't create a new partition or locate an existing one"

I've finally built up the courage to download gdisk and try my hand at your solution. One question before getting started (I realize this is an old thread) -- whenever, in my troubleshooting, I've needed to reboot to try installing again, and have held "alt/option" and selected the "Windows" usb option ... i get a blank screen -- the only way out of this appears to be hitting Esc a few times (which reboots the machine) or force-hard-booting the machine myself (this happens as well if i select the EFI boot option).

I'm fearful after trying your gdisk commands and having to boot, i will run into this issue. I will report back if that is the case, but have decided to write here in case this is a familiar problem that you may know a way around.

Thank you for all your efforts in this! I have a late 2014 Mac mini 2TB fusion drive. Had Win 10 flawlessly installed via bootcamp for weeks, wanted to run an updated build & so wiped my current bootcamp and the problems began.

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Jul 19, 2015 7:54 PM in response to TomK21

1. May I suggest a new thread to avoid confusion between older solved discussions and a new problem. It avoids future confusion. Find answers and ask new questions should help in starting a new discussion.

2. Please post the output of the following Terminal commands on the new discussion..

diskutil list

diskutil cs list

sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk0

sudo fdisk /dev/disk0

sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk1

sudo fdisk /dev/disk1

The "sudo" commands will prompt for your password, and it will not be echoed back. You may also see a warning about improper use of "sudo" and potential data loss due to "abuse" of the command.

3. Please disconnect any external storage USB/FW/TB.

4. Please use a USB2 flash drive, because the current Windows installers do not have a USB3 driver.

5. If you have any USB hubs, you should disconnect them, prior to installation. You can connect them after the BC drivers are fully installed.

TomK21

Level 1

6 points

Jul 19, 2015 8:45 PM in response to Loner T

Thank you so much, Loner! The quickness of your replies is uncanny.

I have started a new thread here.

issue: bootcamp - windows 8 - fusion drive