Dan Nagle
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: Bootcamp Windows 8 Partition Error

I'm trying to install 64-bit Windows 8 Pro on my mid-2012 Macbook Pro. There is only one internal drive in the computer, the optical drive broke and has been removed. The new OS is being installed from a 16GB USB key. I have followed the guide: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201468

 

Steps 1 to 4 have been completed - the partition has been formatted as NTFS. The following error messages prevent me from being able to install the new operating system.

 

Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected disk has an MBR partition table. On EFI systems, Windows can only be installed to GPT disks.

 

Windows cannot be installed to this disk.  This computer's hardware may not support booting to this disk. Ensure that the disk's controller is enabled in the computers BIOS menu.

 

Below is the output from the various disk utilities. Any help would be greatly appreciated as I've been going around in circles for the past few hours.

 

diskutil list

diskutil-list.jpg


sudo gpt -r -vv show /dev/disk0

gpt-r-vv.jpg

 

sudo gdisk /dev/disk0

gdisk.jpg

 

Partition Table:

partitions.jpg

MacBook Pro (15-inch Mid 2012), OS X Yosemite (10.10.3)

Posted on Jun 19, 2015 5:53 PM

Close
Dan Nagle

Q: Bootcamp Windows 8 Partition Error

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Jun 19, 2015 6:30 PM in response to Dan Nagle
    Level 7 (24,845 points)
    Safari
    Jun 19, 2015 6:30 PM in response to Dan Nagle

    1. Are you using the Alt/Option key to interrupt the installation and select EFI Boot?

    2. Your Mac is a preUEFI Mac and selecting EFI boot is not a valid option.

    3. The error message is correct if attempting an EFI Installation.

  • by Dan Nagle,

    Dan Nagle Dan Nagle Jun 21, 2015 10:24 AM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 21, 2015 10:24 AM in response to Loner T

    Yes I was using the EFI boot option. If I leave the boot process I get the black screen with the No Bootable Device message.

     

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

     

    I've read that the reason for this message is the type of USB key used. I've now tried the process with five different USB keys (Lexar 8GB, SanDisk 16GB, Realtek 16GB, TDK 16GB, Ours Technology 12GB) each of which is a USB2.0 device.

     

    I'm open to suggestions on how to proceed from here.

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Jun 21, 2015 11:18 AM in response to Dan Nagle
    Level 7 (24,845 points)
    Safari
    Jun 21, 2015 11:18 AM in response to Dan Nagle

    Please run the following two procedures and retry BCA without interrupting the process.

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201295

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204063

  • by Dan Nagle,

    Dan Nagle Dan Nagle Jun 21, 2015 2:27 PM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 21, 2015 2:27 PM in response to Loner T

    I borrowed a neighbour's MacBook Pro, swapped the hard drives and went through the process on their computer using my 8GB USB key - worked first time! Afterwards I swapped the hard drive back to my own computer.

     

    It was an extreme solution but I now have a working Windows 8 Bootcamp installation.

     

    When I get time during the week I'll swap an old hard drive into the machine and see if the SMC and NVRAM resets are the magic sauce to get the process working on my own hardware.