Boot Camp Partition Not Shown on Boot Screen

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Boot Camp Partition Not Shown on Boot Screen

Hello, yesterday I purchased a new 2015 15" MBP Retina (running Yosemite 10.10.5) to replace my aging Early 2011 13" MBP. The old machine had two partitions on a 480GB SSD: 1 for OS X and 1 for Windows 7. I used Migration Assistant to successfully import all of my OS X files from my old computer, and I made an image of the existing Boot Camp partition using WinClone and the old computer in Target Disk Mode.

However, after creating a Boot Camp partition on the new computer (by using a friend's Windows 8 install disk) and loading the WinClone image onto the new partition, the Boot Camp partition does not show up on the boot screen (when holding the Option key); also, the recovery partition is not present. Also, if I try to set BOOTCAMP as the startup partition in System Preferences, I get a message that "The bless tool was unable to set the current boot disk."

I have already tried the solution in a similar thread (Re: Repairing Boot Camp after creating new partition), using 4 instead of 5 as the partition to be moved to the Hybrid MBR, to no avail.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can offer me a solution!

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015), OS X Yosemite (10.10.5)

Posted on Oct 20, 2015 7:13 PM

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Answer 1

Loner T

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Oct 20, 2015 7:44 PM in response to gtolj2

1. You have ELC on the 2015 which does not allow 'bless'. There is a new feature called System Integrity Protection.

2. Winclone between 2011 and 2015 Macs will not work as documented by TwoCanoes - https://twocanoes.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/204433039-Winclone-Image-Compati bility-with-512b-and-4K-Block-Size-on-2015-MacBooks . You should ask for a refund if 2015

3. You should consider instilling a new copy of Windows and migrate your files using Windows Migration Assistant. Be aware, that this will not get your applications.

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Answer 2

gtolj2 Author

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Oct 21, 2015 5:10 AM in response to Loner T

Thank you for the detailed response! I have some replies to your answers:

1. My computer actually came with Yosemite 10.10.5, so I don't think System Integrity Protection is included

2. I checked the device and allocation block sizes using the command in the link you provided, and this is what I got:

Device Block Size: 512 Bytes

Allocation Block Size: 4096 Bytes

It appears that the block size on my new computer should be compatible with the old one; please let me know if that is wrong.

3. I know that Boot Camp claims that Windows 7 is no longer supported on the MBPR 15", but does Windows 7 work if installed properly? I would really prefer to not have to buy a copy of 10.

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Answer 3

Loner T

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Oct 21, 2015 5:30 AM in response to gtolj2

Can you post the output similar to the following on the old and new Macs?

Pre-2015 Macs will generally show the device block size (or logical sector size) as 512 bytes and 2015 Macs 4096 bytes.
pre-2015_Mac$ diskutil info / | grep "Block Size"
Device Block Size: 512 Bytes
Allocation Block Size: 4096 Bytes
2015_Mac$ diskutil info / | grep "Block Size"
Device Block Size: 4096 Bytes
Allocation Block Size: 4096 Bytes

Can you verify that your MBP is a 2015 model by checking About This Mac? You are saying you bought it new, was it from Apple or from a reseller who may have Yosemite on a 2015 Mac from older stock. Normally Apple will not sell Macs with older OS versions. Please do not post the serial number of your Mac.

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Answer 4

gtolj2 Author

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Oct 21, 2015 5:36 AM in response to Loner T

I purchased this machine brand new from the Apple Store near my location (About This Mac: MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015), OS X Version 10.10.5 (14F27)).

Terminal outputs are exactly the same for both machines:

2011-MBP-13$ diskutil info / | grep "Block Size"

Device Block Size: 512 Bytes

Allocation Block Size: 4096 Bytes

2015-MBPR-15$ diskutil info / | grep "Block Size"

Device Block Size: 512 Bytes

Allocation Block Size: 4096 Bytes

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Answer 5

Loner T

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Oct 21, 2015 5:44 AM in response to gtolj2

1. When moving from 2011 to 2015 Mac, your Windows must be 'sys prepped' or generalized.

2. Windows 7 requires legacy boot (MBR and GPT, both are required).

3. The first boot of W7 will run a chkdsk.

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Answer 6

gtolj2 Author

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Oct 21, 2015 6:17 AM in response to Loner T

1. Would omitting this step single-handedly make the Windows partition unbootable? I've created WinClone images before without running sysprep and imported them without any issues. I can try running sysprep, erasing the BOOTCAMP partition and re-imaging.

2. Does this require any additional steps? I'm running 10.10.5 and Win7 on my 2011 MBP 13".

3. Seems pretty standard for WinClone, thanks.

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Answer 7

Loner T

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Oct 21, 2015 7:24 AM in response to gtolj2

If you are going between two different models of Mac, the SysPrep removes all hardware-specific elements, so new drivers can be installed on the target machine. Look at the following menu...

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Answer 8

gtolj2 Author

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Oct 21, 2015 2:09 PM in response to Loner T

I ran sysprep in Windows (generalization on) and re-imaged in WinClone, and the BOOTCAMP partition still does not appear on the boot screen. I tried both options to make it EFI- and legacy (MBR)-bootable, but neither have worked. I have no idea what else to try at this point.

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Answer 9

Loner T

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59,536 points

Oct 21, 2015 2:19 PM in response to gtolj2

From your new Mac, please post the output of the following commands?

sudo fdisk /dev/disk0

sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk0

diskutil list

diskutil cs list

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Answer 10

gtolj2 Author

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Oct 21, 2015 3:35 PM in response to Loner T

MacBook-Pro:$ sudo fdisk /dev/disk0

Password:

Disk: /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] <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

MacBook-Pro:$ sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk0

gpt show: /dev/disk0: mediasize=500277790720; sectorsize=512; blocks=977105060

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 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 620911728 2 GPT part - 53746F72-6167-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC

621321368 1269536 3 GPT part - 426F6F74-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC

622590904 1096

622592000 354512896 4 GPT part - EBD0A0A2-B9E5-4433-87C0-68B6B72699C7

977104896 131

977105027 32 Sec GPT table

977105059 1 Sec GPT header

MacBook-Pro:$ 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 317.9 GB disk0s2

3: Apple_Boot Recovery HD 650.0 MB disk0s3

4: Microsoft Basic Data BOOTCAMP 181.5 GB disk0s4

/dev/disk1

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: Apple_HFS Macintosh HD *317.6 GB disk1

Logical Volume on disk0s2

3101F0A1-87CA-420A-9002-E90B2252BDA2

Unencrypted

MacBook-Pro:$ diskutil cs list

CoreStorage logical volume groups (1 found)

|

+-- Logical Volume Group 77749CB4-0350-4404-855A-034AE84DC0FD

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

Name: Macintosh HD

Status: Online

Size: 317906804736 B (317.9 GB)

Free Space: 0 B (0 B)

|

+-< Physical Volume 35AB577D-66A0-429D-B87C-6BE5C88CE04A

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

| Index: 0

| Disk: disk0s2

| Status: Online

| Size: 317906804736 B (317.9 GB)

|

+-> Logical Volume Family 628370B1-12AC-472E-BE20-C9F1233215EA

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

Encryption Status: Unlocked

Encryption Type: None

Conversion Status: NoConversion

Conversion Direction: -none-

Has Encrypted Extents: No

Fully Secure: No

Passphrase Required: No

|

+-> Logical Volume 3101F0A1-87CA-420A-9002-E90B2252BDA2

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

Disk: disk1

Status: Online

Size (Total): 317554483200 B (317.6 GB)

Conversion Progress: -none-

Revertible: Yes (no decryption required)

LV Name: Macintosh HD

Volume Name: Macintosh HD

Content Hint: Apple_HFS

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Answer 11

Loner T

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59,536 points

Oct 21, 2015 5:27 PM in response to gtolj2

If the MBR failed, was the output of Fdisk captured? If yes, did it have more than one entry?

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Answer 12

gtolj2 Author

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Oct 21, 2015 5:29 PM in response to Loner T

If I make the BOOTCAMP partition legacy (MBR)-bootable in WinClone and run fdisk, this is the output I get:

Gregs-MacBook-Pro:~ Greg$ sudo fdisk /dev/disk0

Password:

Disk: /dev/disk0 geometry: 60821/255/63 [977105060 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: AC 25 127 15 - 1023 118 59 [ 409640 - 620911728] <Unknown ID>

3: AB 1023 118 60 - 1023 125 19 [ 621321368 - 1269536] Darwin Boot

*4: 07 1023 142 45 - 1023 246 33 [ 622592000 - 354512896] HPFS/QNX/AUX

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Answer 13

Loner T

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59,536 points

Oct 21, 2015 5:45 PM in response to gtolj2

The issue you have now is that the 2015 Macs will not support MBR-based OSes (W7 is one). W7 does not have proper EFI support, so neither setting will help.

The CSM-BIOS layer is deprecated in 2015 Macs and these do not support W7. As a test, remove this Winclone image and install W8.1 in EFI and test. Reference - Use Windows 8.1 on your Mac with Boot Camp - Apple Support .

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Answer 14

gtolj2 Author

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Oct 23, 2015 4:58 AM in response to Loner T

So I ended up taking a different path:

Removed WinClone image from new Mac and re-created empty BOOTCAMP partition.
Upgraded Windows 7 on old Mac to Windows 10 (did not run sysprep).
Re-imaged Windows 10 onto new Mac using Target Disk Mode.
Image restoration completed without any issues; no problem setting startup disk in system preferences (previously gave the unable to bless error).

However, whenever I try to boot into my new Windows 10 partition using either Option on startup or choosing Windows in system preferences, my computer boots directly into OS X. Any thoughts? Do I just need to suck it up and perform a fresh install of Windows 10 and port everything back over manually?

Thank you so much for all of your help!

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Answer 15

Loner T

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59,536 points

Oct 23, 2015 5:05 AM in response to gtolj2

As a test, can you SysPrep the W10 and and then restore it? I would not give up yet. Can you also check on the 2011 MBP, what the current MBR looks like?

My suspicion is that you may still have an MBR installation of W10, which is where the issue lies. What do the Winclone folks say about such a migration?

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