Windows fails to start after Boot Camp Assistant USB Install

Question

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013)          Microsoft ISO image of Windows 7 Home Premium          OS X 10.10.5          16 GB Sandisk USB FAT 32I have tried at least twenty times to install Windows via Boot Camp Assistant (BCA) but always end with the error message in the title.  I have burned this image to DVD and installed it on my old MBP, with an internal optical drive, and had no problems.BCA always partitions my SSD as "Untitled" and read only.  I have tried doing this manually but, of course, lose the NTFS format and have no way of proceeding other than to start all over again.  Having trawled the web I noticed someone suggesting that they found USB 2 worked rather than USB 3.  I tried this on my last attempt and, at least, received a different error message: "could not install the required files, please make sure they are available and start the install procedure again".I have tried every option I can find, such as repairing, restoring etc but all to no avail.  I may be wrong but it seems to me that the problem lies with the way in which BCA is preparing the USB drive.Perhaps the US military could learn something from this and use it to replace "water-boarding"!!!!!!!!

Loner T · Answer

1. It is possible that your downloaded ISO is corrupted. Can you verify the MD5sum of the ISO with the source where you got it from?2. USB2 will work, but USB3 does not, because the Windows Installer does not have native USB3 drivers. They will get installed when the BC Drivers package is fully installed.3. BCA has no license to create NTFS, but creates FAT32, which the Installer will then format to NTFS. You will be prompted, and then the error message requires you to click on Format after selecting the FAT32 partition and then click on Next and continue. Your screens will look similar to

db49er · Answer

1     As stated at the top of my question I am using a Microsoft image although, I have also purchased a second image from a reputable software reseller.  This has been used, successfully, on an old MBP with internal drive.  The probability of both images being corrupt is beyond the realms of probability.2     Clearly I have been fighting a losing battle using USB 3.  It would be helpful if this was included in BCA Help.3     All understood and being followed but the resulting NTFS partition is still "untitled" and "read only".I will continue to try the USB route and come back with the results.Thank you for your help so far.

Loner T · Answer

The FAT32 volume created by BC Assistant is named BOOTCAMP, which when formatted by Windows Installer should stay the same. Do you have any third-party NTFS software?The USB2 flash drive should be directly connected to the Mac, not via any hubs. External displays should be connected after Windows and BC drivers are fully installed, if using an iMac/Macbook/MBP/MBA.Every failed attempt at instilling Windows will leave the NVRAM in an unknown state. It is recommended that you run the following two procedures after each such attempt.Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac - Apple SupportHow to Reset NVRAM on your Mac - Apple Support

db49er · Answer

Unfortunately not in my case.......it creates a volume named "untitled" which is read only.  I do not have any NTFS software but I do not think it would make any difference if I had because as soon as I invoke BCA it will change the volume.  Oddly, I copied all the installation files to the USB 2 drive this morning in an attempt to save time.  On that occasion it created the volume correctly but the USB drive was not bootable so I had to start from scratch with BCA.The drive is connected directly with nothing else running.I have reset NVRAM and SMC but not necessarily after every failure so have just done it all again by the book.  The installation ran normally until the restart and then the dreaded "Windows Boot Manager" screen with "Windows failed to start". Esc does not work and the only way out is the power button.It goes against my nature but I think I am going to have to give up.

Loner T · Answer

Can we try one more iteration? Please post the output of the following OSX Terminal commands.diskutil listdiskutil cs listsudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk0sudo fdisk /dev/disk0The "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.

db49er · Answer

Last login: Fri Aug 28 16:23:03 on consoleB124499415:~ Dickie$ diskutil list/dev/disk0   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *500.3 GB   disk0   1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk0s1   2:          Apple_CoreStorage                         499.4 GB   disk0s2   3:                 Apple_Boot Recovery HD             650.0 MB   disk0s4/dev/disk1   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER   0:                  Apple_HFS Yosemite               *499.0 GB   disk1                                 Logical Volume on disk0s2                                 5CD74150-BFA0-45EB-BEF4-56CC90D0C213                                 Unencrypted/dev/disk2   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER   0:     FDisk_partition_scheme                        *31.5 GB    disk2   1:                 DOS_FAT_32 WININSTALL              31.5 GB    disk2sB124499415:~ Dickie$ diskutil cs listCoreStorage logical volume groups (1 found)|+-- Logical Volume Group 50D2BB1E-B339-4964-B05E-830C746622FE    &#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;&#x3D;    Name:         Yosemite    Status:       Online    Size:         499418034176 B (499.4 GB)    Free Space:   18903040 B (18.9 MB)    |    +-&lt; Physical Volume 04A70EBB-1014-4366-9D95-78660E764827    |   ----------------------------------------------------    |   Index:    0    |   Disk:     disk0s2    |   Status:   Online    |   Size:     499418034176 B (499.4 GB)    |    +-&gt; Logical Volume Family 6BF01D5D-5D0C-4F8D-BFC8-2C44D9C1A58C        ----------------------------------------------------------        Encryption Status:       Unlocked        Encryption Type:         None        Conversion Status:       NoConversion        Conversion Direction:    -none-        Has Encrypted Extents:   No        Fully Secure:            No        Passphrase Required:     No        |        +-&gt; Logical Volume 5CD74150-BFA0-45EB-BEF4-56CC90D0C213            ---------------------------------------------------            Disk:                  disk1            Status:                Online            Size (Total):          499046809600 B (499.0 GB)            Conversion Progress:   -none-            Revertible:            Yes (no decryption required)            LV Name:               Yosemite            Volume Name:           Yosemite            Content Hint:          Apple_HFSB124499415:~ Dickie$ B124499415:~ Dickie$ sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk0Password:gpt show: /dev/disk0: mediasize&#x3D;500277790720; sectorsize&#x3D;512; blocks&#x3D;977105060gpt show: /dev/disk0: PMBR at sector 0gpt show: /dev/disk0: Pri GPT at sector 1gpt show: /dev/disk0: Sec GPT at sector 977105059      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  975425848      2  GPT part - 53746F72-6167-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC  975835488    1269536      3  GPT part - 426F6F74-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC  977105024          3           977105027         32         Sec GPT table  977105059          1         Sec GPT headerB124499415:~ Dickie$ B124499415:~ Dickie$ sudo fdisk /dev/disk0Disk: /dev/disk0 geometry: 60821/255/63 [977105060 sectors]Signature: 0xAA55         Starting       Ending #: id  cyl  hd sec -  cyl  hd sec [     start -       size]------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1: EE 1023 254  63 - 1023 254  63 [         1 -  977105059] &lt;Unknown ID&gt; 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      B124499415:~ Dickie$ There you go.......I dearly hope you find a solution in there.

Loner T · Answer

1. Just a clarification, you mention a 16GB USB, but currently you have a 32GB Wininstall USB.2. You currently do not have a Windows partition. Can you run BCA, and let it fail, and then we can check the partitions from the OSX side?3. If the Installer starts and fails at some point an there are logs in the Bootcamp volume, they can read from the OSX side.

db49er · Answer

OK, will do.  I went out and bought a new USB 2 this morning....waste of money.

Loner T · Answer

It may help. If the 32Gb USB2 does not work, try a 16GB USB2. Large storage USB2 devices can lead to some issues.

db49er · Answer

Ok, you are just not going to believe this.......it has just installed successfully.I was so ******-off with it earlier, I went out for a long walk and thought "What have I not tried".  The only thing I could think of was using the old files which have a link to them in BCA Help.  I thought they were just drivers that were used after Windows installed and remember seeing a comment from someone saying do not use them as BCA will download the very latest.  Anyway, I downloaded them and copied and replaced the newer ones on the USB. Hey Presto they work!!!!Do you want me to run any more diagnostics in order to help you fault-find this?

Loner T · Answer

I thought they were just drivers that were used after Windows installed and remember seeing a comment from someone saying do not use them as BCA will download the very latest.  Anyway, I downloaded them and copied and replaced the newer ones on the USB.These drivers are used to setup the PreBoot environment and are also silently installed. Windows 7 will not use newer drivers, but the older drivers work. Please make a backup of OSX and Windows. Check Device Manager and ensure that you do not have any unknown devices or devices with yellow triangles and exclamation mark.

db49er · Answer

OK, thank you so much for all of your help.I think BCA instructions should be re-writen to clarify this issue.

Loner T · Answer

The confusion is due to the W10 vs older W7/W8 and BCA is not doing a good job.Please see my response on [urgent]get "appleSSD.sys" error when installing windows 7 through bootcamp to SwedishMeatball .