TomK21
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: Reinstalling Windows though BOOTCAMP yields "We couldn't create a new partition or locate an existing one. Form more information, see setup log files"

Like a few other users have posted, I have successfully installed a Windows installation (in this case Windows 10) using BootCamp.  In the desire to install a later build, I removed the Windows installation using BootCamp, and restarted the BootCamp/Wininstallation process, recreating a USB installer (USB 2.0 thumb drive to avoid known issues w/ USB 3.0.  as well, to note, i do not have any external storage drives attached to my machine as well - as they are known to cause problems), and repartitioning my hard drive.  I have a late-2014 Mac mini with a 2TB fusion drive.

 

As others have reported, in this second go-around, when they come to the part of the Windows installation to select a partition (after selecting to 'Format' it for NTSF), they receive the error noted in the title of the thread "We couldn't create a new partition or locate an existing one. Form more information, see setup log files."

 

At this point, I have rebooted back into OS X (10.10.4 Yosemite)

 

Below is the output, as others have done, of the following commands:

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

 

Last login: Sun Jul 19 23:36:21 on console

Toms-Mac-mini:~ tomkenna$ 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                        *2.0 TB     disk1

   1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk1s1

   2:          Apple_CoreStorage                         1.9 TB     disk1s2

   3:                 Apple_Boot Recovery HD             650.0 MB   disk1s3

   4:       Microsoft Basic Data                         93.7 GB    disk1s4

/dev/disk2

   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER

   0:                  Apple_HFS Macintosh HD           *2.0 TB     disk2

                                 Logical Volume on disk0s2, disk1s2

                                 26493756-E96B-4291-ACE5-8FAF1978953B

                                 Unencrypted Fusion Drive

/dev/disk3

   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER

   0:     FDisk_partition_scheme                        *8.0 GB     disk3

   1:                 DOS_FAT_32 WININSTALL              8.0 GB     disk3s1

Toms-Mac-mini:~ tomkenna$ diskutil cs list

CoreStorage logical volume groups (1 found)

|

+-- Logical Volume Group A8C0E7D2-BB5D-48D7-8A5F-CF9E42E80255

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

    Name:         Macintosh HD

    Status:       Online

    Size:         2026855456768 B (2.0 TB)

    Free Space:   245760 B (245.8 KB)

    |

    +-< Physical Volume C289FE68-0EED-495C-9641-A7CCAEBD13D6

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

    |   Index:    0

    |   Disk:     disk0s2

    |   Status:   Online

    |   Size:     120988852224 B (121.0 GB)

    |

    +-< Physical Volume 2BCFBB85-3EF5-4102-B92A-AC06BB4C19DC

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

    |   Index:    1

    |   Disk:     disk1s2

    |   Status:   Online

    |   Size:     1905866604544 B (1.9 TB)

    |

    +-> Logical Volume Family 56628B04-17AA-40E8-81B5-BB3F6A96A681

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

        Encryption Status:       Unlocked

        Encryption Type:         None

        Conversion Status:       NoConversion

        Conversion Direction:    -none-

        Has Encrypted Extents:   No

        Fully Secure:            No

        Passphrase Required:     No

        |

        +-> Logical Volume 26493756-E96B-4291-ACE5-8FAF1978953B

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

            Disk:                  disk2

            Status:                Online

            Size (Total):          2020999954432 B (2.0 TB)

            Conversion Progress:   -none-

            Revertible:            No

            LV Name:               Macintosh HD

            Volume Name:           Macintosh HD

            Content Hint:          Apple_HFS

Toms-Mac-mini:~ tomkenna$ sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk0

Password:

gpt show: /dev/disk0: mediasize=121332826112; sectorsize=512; blocks=236978176

gpt show: /dev/disk0: PMBR at sector 0

gpt show: /dev/disk0: Pri GPT at sector 1

gpt show: /dev/disk0: Sec GPT at sector 236978175

      start       size  index  contents

          0          1         PMBR

          1          1         Pri GPT header

          2         32         Pri GPT table

         34          6       

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

     409640  236306352      2  GPT part - 53746F72-6167-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC

  236715992     262144      3  GPT part - 426F6F74-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC

  236978136          7       

  236978143         32         Sec GPT table

  236978175          1         Sec GPT header

Toms-Mac-mini:~ tomkenna$ sudo fdisk /dev/disk0

Disk: /dev/disk0 geometry: 14751/255/63 [236978176 sectors]

Signature: 0xAA55

         Starting       Ending

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

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

1: EE 1023 254  63 - 1023 254  63 [         1 -  236978175] <Unknown ID>

2: 00    0   0   0 -    0   0   0 [         0 -          0] unused    

3: 00    0   0   0 -    0   0   0 [         0 -          0] unused    

4: 00    0   0   0 -    0   0   0 [         0 -          0] unused    

Toms-Mac-mini:~ tomkenna$ sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk1

gpt show: /dev/disk1: mediasize=2000398934016; sectorsize=512; blocks=3907029168

gpt show: /dev/disk1: PMBR at sector 0

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

gpt show: /dev/disk1: Sec GPT at sector 3907029167

       start        size  index  contents

           0           1         PMBR

           1           1         Pri GPT header

           2          32         Pri GPT table

          34           6       

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

      409640  3722395712      2  GPT part - 53746F72-6167-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC

  3722805352     1269536      3  GPT part - 426F6F74-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC

  3724074888         120       

  3724075008   182953984      4  GPT part - EBD0A0A2-B9E5-4433-87C0-68B6B72699C7

  3907028992         143       

  3907029135          32         Sec GPT table

  3907029167           1         Sec GPT header

Toms-Mac-mini:~ tomkenna$ sudo fdisk /dev/disk1

Disk: /dev/disk1 geometry: 243201/255/63 [3907029168 sectors]

Signature: 0xAA55

         Starting       Ending

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

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

1: EE 1023 254  63 - 1023 254  63 [         1 - 3907029167] <Unknown ID>

2: 00    0   0   0 -    0   0   0 [         0 -          0] unused    

3: 00    0   0   0 -    0   0   0 [         0 -          0] unused    

4: 00    0   0   0 -    0   0   0 [         0 -          0] unused    

Toms-Mac-mini:~ tomkenna$

Mac mini (Late 2014), iOS 8.4, 2TB Fusion Drive

Posted on Jul 19, 2015 8:43 PM

by Loner T,Solvedanswer
Loner T Loner T
Level 7 (24,825 points)
Safari
A:

Once you choose the partition, there are two things the Windows Installer will check.

 

1. If the chosen partition is on a GPT-only disk, it will attempt to use that partition to create a MSR (Microsoft System Reserved - typically 128MB) and MSD (formatted as NTFS) to continue installation. In your case, it finds a GPT-only disk1 (no Hybrid MBR), but has no way to create an MSR because there is already a FAT partition. It expects the GPT partition to be unformatted (Free Space in OS X parlance). The inability to create the MSR results in

 

"We couldn't create a new partition or locate an existing one. For more information, see setup log files."

If there is already an MSR on the disk, it will use it but a GPT-only disk MUST have the type of E3C9E316-0B5C-4DB8-817D-F92DF00215AE for the MSR, but you only have the highlighted values

          40      409600      1  GPT part - C12A7328-F81F-11D2-BA4B-00A0C93EC93B (Apple EFI)

      409640  3722395712      2  GPT part - 53746F72-6167-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC (Apple Core Storage aka Fusion partition)

  3722805352     1269536      3  GPT part - 426F6F74-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC (Apple Boot aka Recovery HD)

  3724074888         120     

  3724075008   182953984      4  GPT part - EBD0A0A2-B9E5-4433-87C0-68B6B72699C7 (FAT/exFAT/NTFS/Microsoft Basic Data)

 

 

2. If it finds a Hybrid MBR, then it is a legacy BIOS installation and does not require an MSR and the chosen partition is rejected with an error saying it is FAT, and the user clicks on Format and Next to allow installation to proceed.

 

GPT Fdisk using the following steps, will map the GPT to a Hybrid MBR that BC Assistant failed to create. I have not tested the new upcoming OS to see if BCA (6.0.0) works any better.

 

Rebuild MBR to match the new GPT information thus resetting the Hybrid MBR. Use defaults for other questions (like partition codes). The only values that need modifications are the Boot flags and step 10. Accept all other defaults that Gdisk offers. Please see the sample Q&A as an example. These steps can be repeated if you make a mistake before you get to Step 12, otherwise start from Step 1 for these steps. Step 6 has numbers which are typed with a space between the numbers.

  1. Sudo gdisk /dev/rdisk0
  2. P  (Print list of parts)
  3. R  (Recover)
  4. O (print current Hybrid MBR)
  5. H (chooses Hybrid)
  6. Partitions numbers to be hybridized: 2 3 4
  7. Y  (Good for GRUB question)
  8. N  (part 2 boot flag)
  9. N  (part 3 boot flag)
  10. Y  (part 4 boot flag make NTFS bootable partition)
  11. O  (print current Hybrid MBR)
  12. W (Write the new MBR)
  13. Y (Yes! write the new MBR)
  14. Reboot

 

Here is sample Q&A for this section. Please notice the Press Enter/Return.

 

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): Press Enter/Return

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

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

Enter an MBR hex code (default AB): Press Enter/Return

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

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

Enter an MBR hex code (default 07): Press Enter/Return

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

 

Please try these and test.

Posted on Jul 19, 2015 9:18 PM

Close
TomK21

Q: Reinstalling Windows though BOOTCAMP yields "We couldn't create a new partition or locate an existing one. Form more information, ... more

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by Loner T,Solvedanswer

    Loner T Loner T Jul 19, 2015 9:18 PM in response to TomK21
    Level 7 (24,825 points)
    Safari
    Jul 19, 2015 9:18 PM in response to TomK21

    Once you choose the partition, there are two things the Windows Installer will check.

     

    1. If the chosen partition is on a GPT-only disk, it will attempt to use that partition to create a MSR (Microsoft System Reserved - typically 128MB) and MSD (formatted as NTFS) to continue installation. In your case, it finds a GPT-only disk1 (no Hybrid MBR), but has no way to create an MSR because there is already a FAT partition. It expects the GPT partition to be unformatted (Free Space in OS X parlance). The inability to create the MSR results in

     

    "We couldn't create a new partition or locate an existing one. For more information, see setup log files."

    If there is already an MSR on the disk, it will use it but a GPT-only disk MUST have the type of E3C9E316-0B5C-4DB8-817D-F92DF00215AE for the MSR, but you only have the highlighted values

              40      409600      1  GPT part - C12A7328-F81F-11D2-BA4B-00A0C93EC93B (Apple EFI)

          409640  3722395712      2  GPT part - 53746F72-6167-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC (Apple Core Storage aka Fusion partition)

      3722805352     1269536      3  GPT part - 426F6F74-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC (Apple Boot aka Recovery HD)

      3724074888         120     

      3724075008   182953984      4  GPT part - EBD0A0A2-B9E5-4433-87C0-68B6B72699C7 (FAT/exFAT/NTFS/Microsoft Basic Data)

     

     

    2. If it finds a Hybrid MBR, then it is a legacy BIOS installation and does not require an MSR and the chosen partition is rejected with an error saying it is FAT, and the user clicks on Format and Next to allow installation to proceed.

     

    GPT Fdisk using the following steps, will map the GPT to a Hybrid MBR that BC Assistant failed to create. I have not tested the new upcoming OS to see if BCA (6.0.0) works any better.

     

    Rebuild MBR to match the new GPT information thus resetting the Hybrid MBR. Use defaults for other questions (like partition codes). The only values that need modifications are the Boot flags and step 10. Accept all other defaults that Gdisk offers. Please see the sample Q&A as an example. These steps can be repeated if you make a mistake before you get to Step 12, otherwise start from Step 1 for these steps. Step 6 has numbers which are typed with a space between the numbers.

    1. Sudo gdisk /dev/rdisk0
    2. P  (Print list of parts)
    3. R  (Recover)
    4. O (print current Hybrid MBR)
    5. H (chooses Hybrid)
    6. Partitions numbers to be hybridized: 2 3 4
    7. Y  (Good for GRUB question)
    8. N  (part 2 boot flag)
    9. N  (part 3 boot flag)
    10. Y  (part 4 boot flag make NTFS bootable partition)
    11. O  (print current Hybrid MBR)
    12. W (Write the new MBR)
    13. Y (Yes! write the new MBR)
    14. Reboot

     

    Here is sample Q&A for this section. Please notice the Press Enter/Return.

     

    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): Press Enter/Return

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

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

    Enter an MBR hex code (default AB): Press Enter/Return

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

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

    Enter an MBR hex code (default 07): Press Enter/Return

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

     

    Please try these and test.

  • by TomK21,

    TomK21 TomK21 Jul 19, 2015 9:16 PM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 19, 2015 9:16 PM in response to Loner T

    Thank you for your amazing explanation!

     

    Prior to your response, I have gone through the gdisk command-set as you have posted for other threads. (The only change is the non-default for gpt partition 4 where I have entered '0c' ... as well, i didn't always see an appropriate prompt for when you asked to hit 'O - print the current Hybrid MBR')

     

    Here are the results of this sequence:

    Last login: Mon Jul 20 00:03:41 on ttys000

    Toms-Mac-mini:~ tomkenna$ sudo gdisk /dev/disk1

    GPT fdisk (gdisk) version 1.0.0

     

    Warning: Devices opened with shared lock will not have their

    partition table automatically reloaded!

    Partition table scan:

      MBR: protective

      BSD: not present

      APM: not present

      GPT: present

     

    Found valid GPT with protective MBR; using GPT.

     

    Command (? for help): P

    Disk /dev/disk1: 3907029168 sectors, 1.8 TiB

    Logical sector size: 512 bytes

    Disk identifier (GUID): E84C0D3F-7F5F-4192-B4BC-A656CA1C3A6A

    Partition table holds up to 128 entries

    First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 3907029134

    Partitions will be aligned on 8-sector boundaries

    Total free space is 269 sectors (134.5 KiB)

     

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

       1              40          409639   200.0 MiB   EF00  EFI System Partition

       2          409640      3722805351   1.7 TiB     AF05  Macintosh HD

       3      3722805352      3724074887   619.9 MiB   AB00  Recovery HD

       4      3724075008      3907028991   87.2 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): AF

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

     

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

    Enter an MBR hex code (default AB): AB

    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: 3907029168 sectors, 1.8 TiB

    Logical sector size: 512 bytes

    Disk identifier (GUID): E84C0D3F-7F5F-4192-B4BC-A656CA1C3A6A

    Partition table holds up to 128 entries

    First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 3907029134

    Partitions will be aligned on 8-sector boundaries

    Total free space is 269 sectors (134.5 KiB)

     

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

       1              40          409639   200.0 MiB   EF00  EFI System Partition

       2          409640      3722805351   1.7 TiB     AF05  Macintosh HD

       3      3722805352      3724074887   619.9 MiB   AB00  Recovery HD

       4      3724075008      3907028991   87.2 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.

    Toms-Mac-mini:~ tomkenna$

     

    I'm going to reboot now and see how things go ... crossing fingers!

  • by TomK21,

    TomK21 TomK21 Jul 19, 2015 9:33 PM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 19, 2015 9:33 PM in response to Loner T

    So, unfortunately, it doesn't appear I am able to test.  This has happened to me in earlier troubleshooting of this problem.  The only time it ever boots into the installation screen is RIGHT AFTER BootCamp partitions the drive and reboots the machine itself.

     

    When I reboot, I'll hold down the Alt key and see the usual: "Macintosh HD", "Windows", "EFI Boot"(or something similar).  If I select either 'Windows' or 'efi boot', the screen will go pitch-black and not seem to recover. (When I select 'Windows', I *do* see the Windows logo for a few seconds, then when the 'circle-beeds' new-fanged hourglass just starts to come up, the whole screen goes black.  During one bout, I let this go for 40minutes and did not see a change.  I usually will just hard-boot out of it, but I can also hit the Esc key once or twice and it will reboot as well.

     

    One time, I rebooted and forgot to hold the Alt key and it went right into the windows installation.  That time, obviously, i didn't get the black screen, but i have not been able to recreate this.  Without holding Alt, it goes right to OS X.

     

    For the heck of it, here are the sudo command results for disk1:

     

    Last login: Mon Jul 20 00:24:38 on console

    Toms-Mac-mini:~ tomkenna$ sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk1

    Password:

    gpt show: /dev/disk1: mediasize=2000398934016; sectorsize=512; blocks=3907029168

    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 3907029167

           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  3722395712      2  GPT part - 53746F72-6167-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC

      3722805352     1269536      3  GPT part - 426F6F74-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC

      3724074888         120        

      3724075008   182953984      4  GPT part - EBD0A0A2-B9E5-4433-87C0-68B6B72699C7

      3907028992         143        

      3907029135          32         Sec GPT table

      3907029167           1         Sec GPT header

    Toms-Mac-mini:~ tomkenna$ sudo fdisk /dev/disk1

    Disk: /dev/disk1 geometry: 243201/255/63 [3907029168 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 - 3722395712] HFS+       

    3: AB 1023 254  63 - 1023 254  63 [3722805352 -    1269536] Darwin Boot

    *4: 0C 1023 254  63 - 1023 254  63 [3724075008 -  182953984] Win95 FAT32L

    Toms-Mac-mini:~ tomkenna$

  • by TomK21,

    TomK21 TomK21 Jul 19, 2015 10:19 PM in response to TomK21
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 19, 2015 10:19 PM in response to TomK21

    [deleted - duplicate]

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Jul 19, 2015 10:23 PM in response to TomK21
    Level 7 (24,825 points)
    Safari
    Jul 19, 2015 10:23 PM in response to TomK21

    Can you change the last partition to be non-Bootable in the Hybrid MBR as test?

     

    Please run SMC Reset and NVRAM Reset after each failed attempt, before you try again.

     

    Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac - Apple Support

    How to Reset NVRAM on your Mac - Apple Support

  • by TomK21,

    TomK21 TomK21 Jul 19, 2015 10:51 PM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 19, 2015 10:51 PM in response to Loner T

    Reset SMC & NVRAM, ran gdisk (this time w/ second printout so you can see sector codes) and made part 4 non-bootable, here is the output:

    Last login: Mon Jul 20 01:45:23 on console

    Toms-Mac-mini:~ tomkenna$ sudo gdisk /dev/disk1

    Password:

    GPT fdisk (gdisk) version 1.0.0

     

    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: 3907029168 sectors, 1.8 TiB

    Logical sector size: 512 bytes

    Disk identifier (GUID): E84C0D3F-7F5F-4192-B4BC-A656CA1C3A6A

    Partition table holds up to 128 entries

    First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 3907029134

    Partitions will be aligned on 8-sector boundaries

    Total free space is 269 sectors (134.5 KiB)

     

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

       1              40          409639   200.0 MiB   EF00  EFI System Partition

       2          409640      3722805351   1.7 TiB     AF05  Macintosh HD

       3      3722805352      3724074887   619.9 MiB   AB00  Recovery HD

       4      3724075008      3907028991   87.2 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):

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

     

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

    Enter an MBR hex code (default AB):

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

     

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

    Enter an MBR hex code (default 07):

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

     

    Recovery/transformation command (? for help): O

     

    Disk size is 3907029168 sectors (1.8 TiB)

    MBR disk identifier: 0xF194F527

    MBR partitions:

     

    Number  Boot  Start Sector   End Sector   Status      Code

       1                     1       409639   primary     0xEE

       2                409640   3722805351   primary     0xAF

       3            3722805352   3724074887   primary     0xAB

       4            3724075008   3907028991   primary     0x07

     

    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.

    Toms-Mac-mini:~ tomkenna$

     

    rebooting now ... will let you know how it goes

  • by TomK21,

    TomK21 TomK21 Jul 19, 2015 11:12 PM in response to TomK21
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 19, 2015 11:12 PM in response to TomK21

    rebooted, selected EFIBoot -- black screen

    SMC & NVRAM reset

    rebooted, selected WININSTALL -- black screen (something a bit different this time -- it did NOT show the Windows icon for prior to going black ... just straight to a black screen)

     

    Is it possible the that Format to NTFS in the Windows install removes display drivers? I can't explain why, when I let BootCamp reboot the machine directly to the Windows installation after partitioning, there are no problems with the display.  The minimum event I've ever performed prior to rebooting was just the NTSF Formatting of Partition 4, but after which, a reboot and selecting WININSTALL or EFIBoot will always eventually get me a black screen.

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Jul 19, 2015 11:20 PM in response to TomK21
    Level 7 (24,825 points)
    Safari
    Jul 19, 2015 11:20 PM in response to TomK21

    I have seen issues on newer Minis (2014+), where the display monitor connection makes a difference. How is your screen currently connected to the display? At this stage of installation, WinPE should provide the correct Intel drivers from the USB, otherwise Generic VGA should be used. The Installer seems to be confused on which driver to use, which is why you keep seeing black screens. What options for display connections do you currently have? I suggest avoiding any TB/DP connections, if possible. Remove any TB devices completely.

  • by TomK21,

    TomK21 TomK21 Jul 20, 2015 1:59 PM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 20, 2015 1:59 PM in response to Loner T

    Thank you for your response, Loner.  Unfortunately, the late 2014 mini only has TB and an HDMI (presumably this is the same as DP?) connectors.  I can try hooking up my TV to the HDMI port if you think that would help, but I'm currently using the ThunderBolt direct connection to an Apple Display monitor, which, according to your experiences, could explain the issue.  Again, no issues whatsoever the first time I installed, but I understand that with whatever "changed" here, everything is off the table.

     

    I can try the HDMI port, or I'm willing to purchase an adapter and try an older vga/svga monitor i think i have hanging around. Thoughts?  (As always, thank you!!)

  • by Loner T,Helpful

    Loner T Loner T Jul 20, 2015 2:39 PM in response to TomK21
    Level 7 (24,825 points)
    Safari
    Jul 20, 2015 2:39 PM in response to TomK21

    Please try the HDMI connection first. If it does not work, try the TB-to-VGA adapter.

  • by TomK21,

    TomK21 TomK21 Jul 20, 2015 7:24 PM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 20, 2015 7:24 PM in response to Loner T

    99% there!

     

    So plugging in an HDMI cable from the mini to a TV, I was able to get to the install screen (first tried selecting EFI Boot, ran into a strange GPT/MBR error, tried again selecting Windows and was able to select Partition 4 and NO LONGER RECEIVE THE ERROR!)

     

    I was able to install Windows without a hitch!  When I got in, I made sure I installed the BootCamp display drivers and run Windows Update, I plugged back in my Apple Display through TB & it rendered perfectly ... all good!

     

    I thought I was homefree but I'm running into one (hopefully) final issue: When I reboot, i CONTINUE to get a black screen.  I can ONLY get windows to work by plugging in the HDMI cable between the mini and TV ... once I log into Windows and wait about a minute or two ... poof!  the Apple Display kicks in fine & I can remove the HDMI/TV connection.

     

    Any thoughts on this?

     

    THANK YOU A *THOUSAND* TIMES OVER!  You really have been beyond anything I've ever experienced in end-user/community forum support.

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Jul 20, 2015 7:55 PM in response to TomK21
    Level 7 (24,825 points)
    Safari
    Jul 20, 2015 7:55 PM in response to TomK21

    This is a known issue with TB Displays and Windows. The detection process is not as smooth as OSX.

     

    Do you have any unknown devices in Device Manager?

  • by TomK21,

    TomK21 TomK21 Jul 20, 2015 8:50 PM in response to Loner T
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 20, 2015 8:50 PM in response to Loner T

    So, by a miracle of miracles ... I'm now able to boot into Windows fine ... the screen still goes black, but now only for a moment ... then it goes "blank" (i would describe this different than 'black' as that the monitor is now "on" but not showing anything ... then, POOF! the circling beads "waiting" animation appears in all of its glory.

     

    I've rebooted a few times now, and the "fix" has seemed to have stuck, though honestly I have done, to the best of my recollection, nothing different.

     

    Loner -- you are the Batman of the Apple support community.  We don't deserve you -- but, man, do we need you

     

    I have spent almost 3 solid days on this issue.  It has been surreal, but I'm beyond exited to have found resolution and owe it 100% to you.  Thank you so much.

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Jul 20, 2015 9:19 PM in response to TomK21
    Level 7 (24,825 points)
    Safari
    Jul 20, 2015 9:19 PM in response to TomK21

    Thanks for the compliments. .

     

    The community as a whole is very supportive and brings a wealth of knowledge to bear upon problems. A single individual is just a drop in the ocean of such knowledge.

     

    Please create backups of OSX and Windows to separate external hard disks as a baseline for future recovery.