No keyboard / Mouse in Windows 7 installer on 2014 Mac mini

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Level 1

4 points

No keyboard / Mouse in Windows 7 installer on 2014 Mac mini

Hey everyone,

I'm trying to install Windows 7 on a Mac mini, but once I get booted into the windows installer, both mouse and keyboard are completely unresponsive.

Because of that I am unable to complete the installation.

Here's a few technical facts I've collected:

I'm trying to install from a USB drive I have created with Bootcamp assistant.

The Mac is of model Macmini7,1 I have tried the exact same USB drive with a Macmini5,1 in my possession. The older mac has no problem allowing me to install windows from this USB drive, without any changes made to the installer. Only the newer Mac has issues.

I'm using a USB 2.0 device, specifically a kingston datatraveler 101 g2.

I've downloaded and added the bootcamp support software from Boot Camp Support Software 5.1.5769 as specified by Install Windows 7 and earlier on your Mac using Boot Camp - Apple Support.

I'm not using Bootcamp assistant to start the installation, I'm creating the USB drive, rebooting the mac, and holding down the option key to boot into the USB drive.

If I start the installation from Bootcamp assistant, it seems like keyboard and mouse work.

The keyboard is a wired apple numerical keyboard, and the mouse is a logitech b100. There's nothing plugged into the mac except those two, and the USB drive I am trying to use.

I hope some of you fine people can think of a reason for all this, that I haven't been able to work out yet.

It seems to me like the firmware doesn't like my USB drive or something like that.

Thanks!

Mac mini, OS X Yosemite (10.10.5)

Posted on Sep 1, 2015 8:50 AM

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Answer 1

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Sep 1, 2015 9:37 AM in response to Hanse00

Hanse00 wrote:

I'm trying to install Windows 7 on a Mac mini, but once I get booted into the windows installer, both mouse and keyboard are completely unresponsive.

If I start the installation from Bootcamp assistant, it seems like keyboard and mouse work.

Why not use the second method?

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Answer 2

Hanse00 Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 1, 2015 12:35 PM in response to Loner T

Primarily because I'm a curious person with a problem to solve.

It seems like it should work, sure I could just give up, but now I'm curious to find the source of the issue. It could be helpful for other to know.

Dodging a problem is not solving a problem.

Secondly because the requirement is for these computers to allow the user to select operating system at boot. This is not classically doable with bootcamp (You have to hold alt, or let the computer boot into the last used OS, and reboot in the new one).

I've found a program called rEFInd, which will do this for me. However due to the plan of using this, I do not want bootcamp to alter any partitions for me, I need to configure them manually.

For the record, the version of Windows I'm trying to install is Windows 7 Professional SP 1 64 bit.

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Answer 3

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Sep 1, 2015 1:05 PM in response to Hanse00

Using the Alt/Option key is not the same as allowing BC Assistant to start the BC/Windows installer. BCA sets NVRAM variables that are not set by the Alt/Option key method. For example, Windows requires 4-5 reboots. NVRAM and the Boot Manager work together to manage the NVRAM and states so that this is a seamless set of reboots.

Here is an example on a fully installed BC/Windows and the information stored in nvram.

nvram -p | grep BootCamp

BootCampProcessorPstates %09%00

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

There is also a BIOS emulation layer that is exposed when using BCA which exports devices properly on preUEFI systems,

If you do not want users to switch OSes, use a Virtualization layer on top of Bootcamp based on the need for hardware access being a factor, and you can leave both OSes running at the same time.

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Answer 4

Hanse00 Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 1, 2015 1:28 PM in response to Loner T

I don't quite see how that would explain the old model working though.

I've successfully installed Windows on the older mac mini, by creating the windows install USB, rebooting, holding alt, and starting up the USB drive.

Why should that not work on the new model?

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Answer 5

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Sep 1, 2015 1:51 PM in response to Hanse00

1. A Mini 5,1 (2011) is a preUEFI machine, while a 7,1 (Late 2014) is a UEFI machine. The EFI versions 1.1 and 2.0 are significantly different in handling of devices.

2. Is your USB a USB2 device?

3. The Bootmanager is significantly different between the two Minis.

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Answer 6

Hanse00 Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 1, 2015 11:05 PM in response to Loner T

The drive I'm attempting to use is a USB 2.0 device.

I also have USB 3.0 devices available to me, which I have attempted to use. However when I create the Windows installer on those, the mac is completely unable to boot into the windows installer, and indicates that no valid boot disk exists on the usb device.

Is there any way I could perhaps use bootcamp assistant to initialise the installation, without using it to edit the partitions?

By default if I choose to start the installation from bootcamp, I am prompted to resize my OS X partition to create space for windows. Can I simply point it to a partition I've already made instead?

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Answer 7

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Sep 2, 2015 5:41 AM in response to Hanse00

Hanse00 wrote:

The drive I'm attempting to use is a USB 2.0 device.

I also have USB 3.0 devices available to me, which I have attempted to use. However when I create the Windows installer on those, the mac is completely unable to boot into the windows installer, and indicates that no valid boot disk exists on the usb device.

USB3 does not work because the Windows Installer does not have USB3 drivers. They can be added to the WIM file, but it takes a bit of work.

Is there any way I could perhaps use bootcamp assistant to initialise the installation, without using it to edit the partitions?

By default if I choose to start the installation from bootcamp, I am prompted to resize my OS X partition to create space for windows. Can I simply point it to a partition I've already made instead?

Yes. On the 2014 Mini, my recommendation is to use EFI Boot and Install Windows. It is much more flexible and pliable compared to the rigid MBR/BIOS solution. This can be done using a Free Space partition and using Alt/Option to point this chunk. It will be split into MSR and MSD parts. This is the fastest solution. BCA needs to be used for Create USB Installer and Download Software only. Skip the partition step.

This can also be done on the 2011, which requires additional steps. The is a bit more rigid. Use DU to create a FAT32 partition, and I can provide steps for the Hybrid MBR. We also would need to reset SMC and NVRAM before we get started.

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Answer 8

Hanse00 Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 2, 2015 7:02 AM in response to Loner T

It's not necessary to get the 2011 mini working.

I was simply using it as a test device to check if it was a device specific problem, or something wrong with the USB drive I made.

I want to make sure I am understanding correctly what I should be doing with the 2014 mac mini.

I've used disk utility to resize the OS X partition, and leave some as free space (In this case I've made it 50-50, the drive on this model is 1 TB large).

I've then used BCA with the options to create a windows 7 install USB, and add the additional software (I cannot deselect the second option anyway).

I am not selecting that BCA should help me install windows.

I'm not entirely clear however on your instructions regarding EFI boot.

Should I simply be restarting the mac, holding down the option key, and selecting to boot from the USB drive?

Or is there some other specific step I need to take?

Thank you for your help so far 🙂

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Answer 9

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Sep 2, 2015 7:11 AM in response to Hanse00

You are trying to install W7 on a 2014 Mini. Is there a specific reason to run an old OS on a more recent platform? W7 is not very good at EFI boot as compared to W8.1 or W10.

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Answer 10

Hanse00 Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 2, 2015 7:22 AM in response to Loner T

Simply because it's the version my employer has specified that they want on the computers.

I work in education, and we're attempting to set up a situation for our MediaLab where the students can use multiple operating systems, as they want.

I've been told that we want Windows 7, OS X, and Ubuntu.

As I mentioned previously, I've found a way for me to be able to toggle between the operating systems, and I've tested it on the 2011 model that I currently have available. However as they wish to purchase the 2014 model, I've gotten hands on one of those, so I can test the setup.

As with many larger institutions, we like to stay on what is considered a "stable" platform. We've only within the last couple of years moved from Windows XP.

8.1 and 10 will likely not be an option for us before a few years down the road.

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Answer 11

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Sep 2, 2015 10:19 AM in response to Hanse00

This is an observation of the dichotomy in organizations who deal with technology and IT resources. They will accept an older OS (W7 - released 2009 an last updated in 2011) because the remainder of environment is certified for a specific version, but at the same time, they want to use a Mac (2014) which is a five year newer. This is not directed at you personally, but at the mind-set of such organizations.

They will most likely run into driver issues with W7 certified drivers on a 2014 Mac.

Running Ubuntu, Windows and OSX on a GPT-only using EFI is much cleaner than running on a modified BIOS/MBR set-up which is fragile at best. Each software upgrade will most likely break such an environment.

Will your employer let you use 2011 Macs, which have better integration with the OS?

To the problem at hand, please use EFI boot on 2014 Minis, but use non-EFI on the 2011 for your testing. You may see some driver issues.

Also be aware that 2014 Minis will download BC v6 drivers, which do not install properly on W7. Please see [urgent]get "appleSSD.sys" error when installing windows 7 through bootcamp as a reference.

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Answer 12

Hanse00 Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 3, 2015 1:05 AM in response to Loner T

They probably would let me use 2011 Macs, if I can find them in bulk. They're not too easy to come by these days (The only reason I have one is because I've had it since 2011).

I'm going to try to take up the issue with the people above me, and see what I can sort out.

Ideally I understand that I want to get 8.1 or 10 on these computers instead, as those versions of Windows have native support for EFI rather than forcing me to try some MBR hack to get it all working together, and I can use a clean GPT setup instead.

Also I would have a better time trying to get any driver issues resolved, with the newer versions.

Is that correct?

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