1

I have been trying unsuccessfully for the past few days to install Windows 10 on my mid-2012 15" MacBook Pro. I've read a few different sites (including this one), but I am just struggling to parse the information into something that has proven useful to me.

I downloaded the latest ISO from the Windows 10 site (October 2020 update). I went through the Bootcamp Assistant prompts - mounting the ISO to a 32GB flash drive, downloading the Bootcamp drivers, and creating the partition (200GB).

The MBP critical information is as follows:

  • Mojave 10.14.6
  • 1TB SSD
  • DVD Drive recently not operating correctly (still need to troubleshoot)
  • No USB devices plugged in besides flash drive with mounted ISO

When I reboot after Bootcamp Assistant is complete, I hold down ALT and am shown three options: my OS X partition, my USB drive, and EFI Boot. I select EFI Boot.

I then go through the motions, entering my product key etc, after which I am confronted with a screen with the partition selections. Of course, I cannot choose the option OS X has created for Bootcamp because of it being recognized as MBR instead of GPT. I used GPT fdisk (had some trouble with rootless system but was able to get past that by disabling in recovery environment) and received the following message:

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.

This indicates there is nothing wrong and it is indeed a pure GPT partition table, no? Either way, I thought so, so I went back into OS X and deleted the Bootcamp partition in Disk Utility and manually re-created another partition to use. I got my inspiration from this article and was able to get back to Windows Setup within EFI Boot, delete the partition within that environment which I had created manually earlier, and then create a new partition with the newly unallocated space.

After this, it begins the process of installing Windows. Unfortunately, the joy does not last long because I end up with a BSOD, followed by multiple reboots where I have the option to try to "recover." This results in more BSOD's and a loop of involuntary reboots until I hold down ALT and tell the computer to go back to OS X (with my head hanging in shame).

I'm at a loss as to what to do next here. Right now I am downloading an older version of Windows 10 in the background to see if perhaps it's an issue related to that. This guy seems to believe an older version of Windows is necessary in order to have success. We'll see.

As others have noted, it's not possible to boot from the USB directly as the laptop simply comes up with a black screen indicating there's "no bootable device, press any key, etc." This would certainly be the preferred method if it were possible. Any help is appreciated!

EDIT: Here is a post outlining the exact place I am at. The thread indicates USB3.0 drivers are the issue now. I'm prepared to start over and track down the necessary drivers to add to the appropriate folder in my flash drive, but I'm now starting to wonder if there's any other steps I need to be aware of before I run into potentially the next road block.

Aaron Peace
  • 13
  • 6
  • When the Mac rebooted, you held down the a alt key. Was this your idea or was there some instruction that told you to? – David Anderson Oct 27 '20 at 02:34
  • It was my idea. When the Mac rebooted the first time, it just went to a blank (black) screen. I could tell the computer was running, as the screen wasn't "off," it was just blank. I waited quite some time (20-30 mins) and with no change, I powered off the computer manually and started it up again. This time, I held ALT so I could manually choose where it booted from (EFI Boot). I just assumed this was required due to the age of the laptop and didn't think too much of it. – Aaron Peace Oct 27 '20 at 16:17

1 Answers1

1

I would seem to me that you are missing the obvious. If the Boot Camp Assistant configured your Mac to install Windows 10 to BIOS boot, then you should have not tried so hard to defeat this. Install Windows 10 to BIOS boot and if this works, then accept that your model is one of the last built before Apple converted over to UEFI booting Windows 10. From my understanding, the industry switched to UEFI booting Windows in 2011. Apple, which usually is forward thinking in technology, eventually lagged behind and did not convert until sometime in 2012 or perhaps 2013.

I do not understand how the Windows installer detected hybrid partitioning while gdisk did not. You may not have applied gdisk to the correct drive. Using the Disk Utility or diskutil command to remove and recreate the Windows partition would under Mojave eliminate any hybrid partitioning. This would then allow you to attempt to install an UEFI booting Windows 10. However, if Apple indented for you to install Windows to BIOS boot, then the Boot Camp drivers may only be designed for BIOS booting. This may account for your BSOD issues.

There was a previous version of Windows which caused the BSOD to occur due to the version of Boot Camp that was installed. This problem could be resolved by manually upgrading BootCamp or by installed an older release of Windows. Although you did not specify if your BSOD problem occurred before or after installing Boot Camp. Also, there does appear to be previous versions of the Windows Support Software for your Mac which can be downloaded.

Installing Windows 10 by BIOS Booting the Installer from an Internal Drive

  1. Here, I assume the internal drive is hybrid partitioned. If not, then use gdisk to create hybrid partitioning. The gdisk commands are given below.

    r
h
2 3
y
ff
n
07
y
n
w
y

  2. Use the Finder application to rename the file AutoUnattend.xml in the root folder of the flash drive to NoAutoUnattend.xml.

  3. If the volume label of the flash drive is not WINSTALL, then use either the Finder or Disk Utility application to rename the drive to WINSTALL.

  4. Restart the Mac and hold down the option key until the Mac Startup Manager icons appear. Select the external drive icon with the label EFI Boot to UEFI boot from the flash drive.

  5. When the first window appears as shown below, press the shift+F10 key combination. A Command Prompt window will appear.

  6. Enter the command given below to execute the disk partitioning application.

    diskpart

  7. The diskpart command is interactive. Enter the command below to list the current volumes.

    list volume

    Enter the next two commands to change the drive letter for the WINSTALL volume. Replace # with the volume number for this volume.

    select volume #
assign letter=p

    Enter the next two commands to change the drive letter for the BOOTCAMP volume. Replace # with the volume number for this volume.

    select volume #
assign letter=w

    ExFAT format the BOOTCAMP volume.

    format fs=exfat label=BOOTCAMP quick

    Make sure the the BOOTCAMP volume is the BIOS boot volume.

    active

    Exit the diskpart command.

    exit

  8. Copy the files from the flash drive WINSTALL volume to the internal BOOTCAMP volume.

    xcopy p:\* w:\ /e /h

  9. Prevent the internal BOOTCAMP volume from UEFI booting from the Mac Startup Manager.

    ren w:\efi noefi

  10. Install the BIOS boot code to the internal drive Master Boot Record (MBR) and the BOOTCAMP volume.

    bootsect /nt60 w: /mbr

  11. Close the command prompt window.

    exit

  12. Click on the red box with the X as shown below, then select the OK button in the popup window. When the Mac restarts, hold down the option key until the Mac Startup Manager icons appear. Hold down the control key and select the internal drive icon with the label Windows to BIOS boot from the internal drive.

  13. Enter the following command to get the drive letter for the WINSTAll volume.

    echo list volume | diskpart

  14. Start the Windows GUI installer to install Windows from the flash drive. Windows will be installed to BIOS boot. If the drive letter for the WINSTAll volume is not E, then make the appropriate substitution when entering the following command.

    setup  /unattend:E:\NoAutoUnattend.xml

  15. When you reach the window shown below, highlight the partition with the BOOTCAMP label. Click on Format, then the OK button in the popup window. When finished formatting, click on the Next button.

David Anderson
  • 40,244
  • I think I responded to the first paragraph in my reply to your previous comment.

    I may have done something wrong the first time w/ the MBR partitioning in my initial question, but I just tried again with an older ISO of Win 10 (04.2018). I went through BCA only, using gdisk to convert from Hybrid to Protected MBR. Windows was able to use the partition and proceed with install, but I had the same BSOD errors. Ofc, this was after using ALT to get to EFI Boot since a standard restart doesn't work. The BSOD errors result in a bootloop. Video

     – Aaron Peace Oct 27 '20 at 16:51
  • If the Boot Camp Assistant hybrid partitioned the drive, then I would assume Apple provided drivers for a BIOS booting Windows 10. Am I correct in assuming the Boot Camp Assistant has copied the files from the Windows 10 ISO from Microsoft and the Windows Support Software from Apple to the flash drive? Can I assume you did not modify the Info.plist file? When you hold down the alt key to boot to the Mac Startup Manager, what is the exact label given to each icon? To advise you further, I need the answers to these questions. – David Anderson Oct 27 '20 at 17:39
  • Yes, BCA copied the files from the ISO and the Windows Support Software from Apple to the flash drive.
  • Correct, I did not modify the Info.plist file
  • When I hold the ALT key to get to the bootloader, I see three names: Mac, Windows, EFI Boot. The latter two options show a USB drive icon, while the first option has a harddrive as its icon.
    • – Aaron Peace Oct 27 '20 at 20:32
  • As an addition: When I select Windows, I end up on the black screen saying "no bootable device, press any key, etc." When I select EFI Boot, I am able to begin Windows setup. This is the pathway I have been taking. – Aaron Peace Oct 27 '20 at 20:38
  • Then try BIOS booting the Window installer from the internal drive. – David Anderson Oct 27 '20 at 21:44
  • I'm not sure I know what you mean. I've only got experience using the bootloader (screen we previously talked about with the 3 options). How would I choose a different option and how would Windows installer be located on the internal drive if the data is located on the flash drive? I apologize if this seems like a dumb question. Do you mean creating a third partition on the drive temporarily in order to mount the ISO to it and boot from that instead of the flash drive? I have tried a second flash drive just to make sure my first try wasn't with faulty hardware and had the same result. – Aaron Peace Oct 27 '20 at 22:45
  • According to what you posted you have the following: 1) The BCA created a partition on the internal drive for Windows. 2) The BCA copied the installation files to a flash drive. 3) The internal drive is hybrid partitioned by the BCA. 4) You can EFI boot the Windows installer from the flash drive. Therefore you can skip some of the steps in this posted answer. – David Anderson Oct 28 '20 at 00:25
  • Yes. 2) Yes. 3) It was, but I changed it using gdisk to Protected MBR. Windows setup in EFI Boot would not allow me to pass the partition screen when it was hybrid MBR (see this image as example [not my computer, just an image I found] of the error given when it is hybrid MBR). 4) Yes, I can EFI Boot from the flash drive as long as partition is not recognized as MBR by Windows. 5) In reference to linked posted answer, do you think there are steps there applicable to me?
    • – Aaron Peace Oct 28 '20 at 02:44
  • You were not able to proceed because you selected to EFI Boot from an external drive which resulted in a UEFI boot of the Windows 10 installer. I now intend for you to select Windows from an internal drive which will result in a BIOS boot of the Windows 10 installer. This will allow you to proceed and install to a hybrid partitioned internal drive. To do this you will have to configure the internal drive to be BIOS bootable. This can be done by entering a command after booting to a Windows installer. You have already posted that you can UEFI to a Windows installer. – David Anderson Oct 28 '20 at 03:14
  • David, first I'd like to say thank you for your time + effort you've given already to this question and solution. If I could send you a steak dinner, I would. Feel free to hold me to that. Secondly, I am on board with this idea, but I will need additional guidance to execute. Is there a resource/previously answered question somewhere that will give information on which command to enter w/ steps surrounding it to ensure I am in the right place? Thx again. Also, Stack Exchange is telling me to avoid extended discussion in comments. Please let me know if I need to improve my discussion location. – Aaron Peace Oct 28 '20 at 05:11
  • David, I saw your edit and was able to succcessfully install the latest version of Windows 10 (Oct 2020). Thank you again for all of your help. I'm abundantly grateful and owe you one big time. – Aaron Peace Oct 29 '20 at 16:10