Q: Black screen while installing Windows 10 on bootcamp

villyano wrote:

 

Macbook Pro mid 2012 upgraded with SSD (240GB) and HDD (1TB) and 16GB RAM.

 

OSX El Capitan (clean install).

 

Hi, i´m trying to install Windows 10 on a partition in my SSD using an USB, as I replaced my SuperDrive with an HDD.

Can you temporarily put the Optical drive back, with the SSD in the main bay, and install Windows, and then add the HDD in the Optibay?

 

I went through all the process but when the computer restarts a black screen appears, and nothing else.

 

I´ve rebooted using the Option key and appear two installation options:

• With the first one a black screen with a blinking cursor appears.
• With the second one (called UEFI), the installation process begins, but in the partition selection screen, when I select the Boot Camp partition, it tells me that I cannot install Windows there, as the disk is  partitioned as MBR and it needs to be UEFI.

This is expected. The first option is Windows legacy (BIOS). The second option is EFI Boot. Your mac supports both, but it will not work, because it sees two internal disks, and will want to erase one of them. Temporarily removing the HDD is the solution.

I´ve also tried with a Windows disk using my SuperDrive unit, which is in a USB case. Same results.

The BC Assistant sets the NVRAM to boot from the non-existent Optical drive which fails, resulting in a black screen or no bootable device errors. Your external Optical drive is USB-connected, while inside the Mac, it is a SATA-connected Optical drive. The path naming is also different.

I had the same blank screen issue after Boot Camp partitioned my drive and rebooted.

I was using an 8GB USB3 drive. I switched it for a USB2 32 GB drive and windows installed automatically as expected. No blank screen.

Apple suggest 16GB or larger How to install Windows using Boot Camp - Apple Support so 32GB is probably over kill.

Only about 7GB is written to the drive but increasing it's size seems to have fixed the problem. I'm not sure using a USB2 drive helped.

A work around: Burn the windows ISO to DVD and put it into the Mac book.

Create the USB drive with Boot Camp as normal (created a windows install disk, added the windows support software, and created the partition). Select the Boot Camp partition size, let  Boot Camp reboot the Mac but this time hold the ALT/Options key. You will see 5 partitions to boot from (MAC OS, USB WINDOWS, USB EFI, DVD WINDOWS, DVD EFI). Select DVD WINDOWS and windows 10 installs after you enter the product key, select the bootcamp partition, format it, select the same (now unnamed) partition and click on Install!

Once windows was all set up and it logged into the user account for the first time the Bootcamp Installer launched from the USB drive. follow the Boot Camp Installer instructions.

(note: I suggest disconnecting the Macbook from the internet when Boot Camp asks you to select the partition size - remove any network cable - in that way Boot Camp gets to install drivers before Windows can down load any)