Boot options duplicated; Boot Camp Assistant newly non-functional

Short version:
1. Up to tonight, my hard drive was encrypted using PGP Whole Disk Encryption -- secure boot and all. Had Boot Camp working fine with it.
2. Attempted to install OS X 10.6.5 despite PGP warnings to decrypt first. Ended up with an unbootable OS X partition. Decrypted drive in Windows, got back into OS X.
3. Disk Utility returned a few errors on OS X partition. Quickly fixed those by booting from Snow Leopard CD and running it.
4. What I'm now noticing is that when I hold down the option key, I'm given duplicate options. Instead of "OS X Partition Name Here" and "Windows 7 Name Here", I've got a duplicate for the former. So my options are "OS X", "OS X", or "Windows".
5. And, when I try to run Boot Camp Assistant out of curiosity, I'm told that I either need one big non-partitioned drive, OR existing partitions created by Boot Camp. I already did that.
Any thoughts on fixing #4 or #5? Resetting PRAM doesn't help. Windows does not show as an option in "Startup Disk" in system preferences. But the Windows partition boots just fine when holding option on restart.

And since I can't edit my original post any longer, here's what fixed the redundant boot option thing:
http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20091111185717745
Worked like a charm. Fixed the duplicate "OS X" option on boot, and both OSes boot normally. Can now click past the first few options in Boot Camp Assistant, so I'm assuming that's working normally now also.
Still no Windows option in Startup Disk, but apparently that's related to my use of NTFS-3g? Thought that was fixed.
sudo fdisk /dev/rdisk0 is now:
Disk: /dev/rdisk0 geometry: 30401/255/63 [488397168 sectors]
Signature: 0xAA55
Starting Ending
#: id cyl hd sec - cyl hd sec [ start - size]
1: EE 1023 254 63 - 1023 254 63 [ 1 - 409639] <Unknown ID>
2: AF 1023 254 63 - 1023 254 63 [ 409640 - 423624704] HFS+
*3: 07 1023 254 63 - 1023 254 63 [ 424298496 - 64098304] HPFS/QNX/AUX
4: 00 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 [ 0 - 0] unused
Only thing I'm worried about now is whether I might have damaged any files though any of this crap. Don't know if I can check for that, or if I should worry about it.

Similar Messages

Boot Camp Assistant creates non bootable Windows drive

Hello all
I've been trying, for the last 8 hours to install Windows via Boot Camp without any success
Some information:
MacBook Pro (13-inch, Early 2011)
OS X Yosemite
Windows source file: en_windows_7_professional_x64_dvd_X15-65805.iso
1. The first problem I had was that Boot Camp wouldn't enable the "Create a Windows 7 or later version install disk"
     1.a) I tried burning a DVD without success
     2.b) I finished by changing Boot Camp Content Folder as instructed here.
2. Once, with the USB installed I partitioned my HD via Boot Camp but, after restarting the computer, I would receive a message asking me to insert a valid bootable drive.
     2.a) I searched some more and found out that only GUID partition type USBs will boot.
     2.b) I checked the USB Partition Map Scheme and it says: Master Boot Record
     2.c) I changed the partition type back to GUID but, of course, when Boot Camp reinstalls Windows it goes back to MBR...
3. Why in the earth would Boot Camp create a non bootable bootable drive???
4. What am I doing wrong?
Thanks a lot!

On Macs with built-in Optical drives as indicated for your Mac (MacBook Pro (13-inch, Early 2011) - Technical Specifications) you need to use a DVD.
There are only a couple of 2012 models which support either USB or OD.
Creating a USB with ISO can be done either using a tool like Rufus or http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj200124.aspx . BCA will use the Mac's model identifier to set booting. There is no work around for BCA. You can try these two see if you can make any progress.

Boot Camp Assistant installing Windows 7 option is grayed out. Help!

I have a late 2009 27" iMac, to which i clean installed the Yosemite OS (been updating the OS since Snow leopard that came with). I had Widows 7 installed since i bought it, but now whit this clean update the Boot Camp Assistant shows the option to "Install or remove Windows 7 or later version" grayed out and I'm unable to select it at all.
So far I've tried downloading the windows drivers from the Boot Camp Assistant to a DOS formatted flash drive, downloading them from the apple support page and also some files (also from apple) specific to my computer. Non of which have any file or program to instal or run to alleviate this problem.
As I see it, there may be one of two things causing the problem.
First: I saw somewhere on the apple support page that do to the model on my computer I need Boot Camp 4 and I have Boot Camp Assistant 5.1.2 (Maybe if I could instal this older version, but how?)
Second: When I clean install the OS I partitioned the disk into 3 parts, (system, Windows, and Projects) and that may conflict whit Boot Camp Assistant somehow?
Please Help Me

Anubis87 wrote:
Second: When I clean install the OS I partitioned the disk into 3 parts, (system, Windows, and Projects) and that may conflict whit Boot Camp Assistant somehow?
Please post the output of the following commands.
diskutil list
diskutil cs list
sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk0
sudo fdisk /dev/disk0
The last two commands will prompt for your password. These are run from OSX Terminal.
Your current disk layout is unsupported. The standard layout is EFI/ESP, OSX, Recovery HD, Windows. Every software upgrade is a problem waiting to happen in your current configuration. Snow Leopard (without a Recovery HD) is the last OS which can support an additional 'shared' partition. Once Recovery HD came into the picture, this ability was lost.

Boot camp assistant: Start up option

Hi,
I am using MacBook Pro and on OS X Lion.
I use boot camp assistant to install windows 7 on my computer.
The strange thing is once everything is running. I would like to set a default start up option, eg: by default always boot mac.
Unless, i need to boot in windows, i can press OPTION button to select which OS to boot.
Without setting the default start up option, everything just works fine.
Once i have setup the default start up option, it only boot in Mac and when i press OPTION and select to boot in windows, it says the partition doesn't exist.
Then, i boot into Mac, boot camp assistant is able to detect there is a windows partition there.
Could i summarize that something is wrong with the start up mapping? It can detects windows, but when i click on it, it can't find it.
Cheers

Just realised the boot drive is connected to a motherboard ODD port which Windows can't see.

How do I remove the Windows partition? Boot Camp Assistant does not allow me to select the remove option.

I am using an iMac, 8.1, early 2008. I installed Windows XP at that time. I am now using OS 10.8.5 and want to remove the Windows partition to free up disk space. Boot Camp Assistant does not allow me to select the "install or remove" option. How can I get rid of the Windows partition?

You can try removing it in Disk Utility.
To resize the drive do the following:
1. Open Disk Utility and select the drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list.
2. Click on the Partition tab in the Disk Utility main window. You should see the graphical sizing window showing the existing partitions. A portion may appear as a blue rectangle representing the used space on a partition.
3. Select the bottom rectangle/partition. Click on the Delete [-] button below the sizing window to remove it. Click on the Apply button. Wait until the process has completed.
4. In the lower right corner of the sizing rectangle for the remaining partition is a resizing gadget. Select it with the mouse and drag it all the way down to the bottom. Click on the Apply button and wait until the process has completed.
You should now have a restored single volume on the drive.
It would be wise to have a backup of your current system as resizing is not necessarily free of risk for data loss. Your drive must have sufficient contiguous free space for this process to work.

How can I uncheck the option to 'download latest windows support software' in the boot camp assistant? The option to uncheck is locked

MBP 2013 Retina running OSX 10.9.2
I am trying to install Boot Camp using Boot Camp Assistant 5.1.2 (481)
I have a Windows 7 Pro ISO from MS.
When I open the Boot Camp assistant and try to create a bootable USB, it freezes on the 'downloading windows support software' part. I have tried multiple times.
I was able to download the latest support software from Apple, but no matter what I try I am unable to uncheck the box to download the software in the boot camp assistant
Ideas?

Me too have the same problem where i couldnt uncheck the 'download windows support software' option when im installing Windows 8 Pro (ISO in bootable USB 3.0) using Boot Camp on my MBP retina OS X 10.9.2.
And if i have to follow these steps, it takes too much time and im not sure if it will be finished or not (im stopping the process for i have waiting for at least 3 hours downloading). And im pretty sure my internet connection is doing good when downloading this thing. What's happening here?
Please help.

Boot camp assistant not giving option to boot from windows partition drive

Hi, I am a recent convert to Mac OS (10.6.8) on my three year old Macbook. I have been using windows on boot camp since the beginning and have just shifted to OS as the windows was taking too much space and running quite slow (not to mention the viruses accumulating!). I am getting better at it now, only Excel being problematic adjusting to with the different and less convenient keyboard shortcut keys!
Whilst moving over to MacOS, I changed around the disk partitions using disk utility to free up and utilize some unused space. My Boot camp partition still exists untouched, but the boot camp assistant is not giving me the option to restart the computer using the C: drive (and enter windows). I also have saved data on windows that i want to transfer over to MacOS. Any suggestions please? all help/comments will be much appreciated! Thanks.

Here you go sir:
Last login: Mon Oct 20 09:28:01 on console
YanaalKhan:~ administrator$ diskutil list
/dev/disk0
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *320.1 GB   disk0
   1:                        EFI                         209.7 MB   disk0s1
   2:                  Apple_HFS Macintosh HD            81.9 GB    disk0s2
   3:                  Apple_HFS Macintosh HD 2          78.0 GB    disk0s3
   4:       Microsoft Basic Data                         159.7 GB   disk0s4
YanaalKhan:~ administrator$ diskutil cs list
diskutil: did not recognize verb "cs"; type "diskutil" for a list
YanaalKhan:~ administrator$ diskutil cs list
diskutil: did not recognize verb "cs"; type "diskutil" for a list
YanaalKhan:~ administrator$ sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk0
WARNING: Improper use of the sudo command could lead to data loss
or the deletion of important system files. Please double-check your
typing when using sudo. Type "man sudo" for more information.
To proceed, enter your password, or type Ctrl-C to abort.
Password:
Sorry, try again.
Password:
gpt show: /dev/disk0: mediasize=320072933376; sectorsize=512; blocks=625142448
gpt show: /dev/disk0: Suspicious MBR at sector 0
gpt show: /dev/disk0: Pri GPT at sector 1
gpt show: /dev/disk0: Sec GPT at sector 625142447
      start       size index contents
          0          1         MBR
          1          1         Pri GPT header
          2         32         Pri GPT table
         34          6
         40     409600      1 GPT part - C12A7328-F81F-11D2-BA4B-00A0C93EC93B
     409640 159883832      2 GPT part - 48465300-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC
160293472     262144
160555616 152331680      3 GPT part - 48465300-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC
312887296     262144
313149440 311992320      4 GPT part - EBD0A0A2-B9E5-4433-87C0-68B6B72699C7
625141760        655
625142415         32         Sec GPT table
625142447          1         Sec GPT header
YanaalKhan:~ administrator$ sudo fdisk /dev/disk0
Disk: /dev/disk0 geometry: 38913/255/63 [625142448 sectors]
Signature: 0xAA55
         Starting       Ending
#: id cyl hd sec - cyl hd sec [     start -       size]
1: EE 1023 254 63 - 1023 254 63 [         1 -     409639] <Unknown ID>
2: AF 1023 254 63 - 1023 254 63 [    409640 - 159883832] HFS+
3: AF 1023 254 63 - 1023 254 63 [ 160555616 - 152331680] HFS+
4: 0C 1023 254 63 - 1023 254 63 [ 313149440 - 311992320] Win95 FAT32L
YanaalKhan:~ administrator$
Thank you for help. Let me know what you think.

"Booting from Boot Camp Assistant created USB Drive...Failed to load BOOTMGR"

Hi Apple Ppl of the Wrld: I need help I been working on installing windows 8 on my Mac.
Spec of equipment:
Mac Book Pro Mid 2012
Bootcamp Version: Version 5.0.4 (473)
Bootable USB Flash Drive: Type Scan disk 4 GB windows 8 pro iso image but without the driver and the 2nd Scan disk USB flash drive with 32 GB with the Bootcamp Drivers downloaded and saved to this drive.
Please Note: I also have the original back up installation disc for Microsoft 8 Prof 64 from Microsoft where I purchased it from.
1st Bootcamp is not recognizing the Original Microsoft 8 Pro backup disk from microsoft itself.
Solution: I created the New Image from the Original Microsoft installed disc in my desk top and changed the extension to .ISO then burned the ISO image into the newly purchased DVD+R. Then I ran Bootcamp Once again and it get the following error message "The installer disc could not be found -- Insert your Windows installer disc and wait a few seconds for the disc to be recognized. Solution
2: Created a bootable usb drive with bootcamp assistant successfully with bootcamp. Yes I close, ejected or un-mounted any image that was open or had been previously used then i restarted the Mac. Next, I start the bootcamp assistant tool once again then i get the same insert your windows installer disc message.
3: Then I try to resolve the installer disc not found issue: this are the steps i took: a). Lauch disc utilities
    1. Selected the top most drive 750 GB Macintosh HDD
    2. On the right you’ll see 5 tab buttons: First Aid | Erase | Partition | RAID | Restore.
    3. Choose Partition. Then I clicked + to add another partition size of the partition was 222 GB
    4. Change the Name of the Partition to BOOTCAMP
    5. Change the Format to MS-DOS (FAT)
    6. Click Apply to save the changes and then reboot your Mac and we’ll begin Windows installation.
    7. During reboot, press and hold the alt/Option key and you’ll be presented with drives to boot from.
    8. Use the arrow keys and return button to select the Windows yellow USB key drive containing your Windows 8 installation files.
    9. This will begin the Windows install. --> then i get the following message: "Booting from Boot Camp Assistant created USB Drive...Failed to load BOOTMGR".
4: Take the Mac to best buy and let them resolve the issue and charge me like a million dollars for it :'( since i have no other idea who to get this bootcamp working at all. This has been a terribly lengthy issue and it is not as simple as it is claimed to be since i started with the Original Windows Disc Purchased from Microsoft and I have the Optical disc drive which it should be simpler from what I understand.
Please can you help It would be of great help.
<Email Edited by Host>

from what i understand you are trying to install win 8 pro from a "backup disk" the one that you purchased from microsoft.
this will not work, it is not an installer disk.
you need to start the process again. erase the partition you made on your hdd. in disc utility click the minus button after selecting the bootcamp partition, then manually drag the divider down fully then apply.
next, erase your usb then format it.
download win 8 iso from here;
http://getintopc.com/softwares/operating-systems/download-windows-8-pro/
it is perfectly legal to use your purchased product key in this install.
in bootcamp select the iso image you just downloaded, select your preferred partition size, check all 3 options.
you have the support software on another usb but you wont need it so it can be discarded. the install will work far better with the iso and support on the same drive.

Where's boot camp assistant

I bought one of the newly released macbooks and am thinking about installing boot camp on it. Looked up how to install it in help; it said use boot camp assistant in the utilities folder. However, when I looked in utilities there was no assistant for boot camp. I also checked my installation disks and did not see it in the bundled software package or optional software folder

This should help:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306868

Boot Camp Assistant for Windows XP

I want to put windows XP on a partition of my hard drive, the problem is, after I run Boot Camp Assistant, the program tells me to inster a Windows 7 Home of Professional into the computer. Unfortuantly, I only have XP, and the program does not recongize it when i put it in.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!

Apple has removed support for XP and Vista with the OSX Lion BootCamp.
Therefor the BootCamp Assistant (BCA) refuses to install Windows if it detects a non-Windows 7 DVD/CD.
What might/should work is to use the BCA to the point where it asks to 'Install' or to 'Close & Install later' after the BCA has created the BootCamp partition.
At this point close the BCA and check if the BootCamp partition was created.
When all looks OK, insert your XP CD and reboot your Mac while holding down the Alt/Option-key until the Boot Selection Screen.
Choose to boot from the XP CD (the icon looks like a generic disc).
After hopefully the XP installation went well insert your OSX Snow Leopard Install DVD to install the BootCamp Drivers from it.
Later updates (versions 3.1 and 3.2) can be downloaded from here http://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/ either in Windows or if wanted in OSX and then put on an USB-Stick.
Making a second OSX partition on the harddisk to install Snow Leopard would render the BCA useless, since it can only work on a harddisk with one OSX volume on it.
As a last resort if the above does not work you can consider using VirtualBox and install/use XP with it in a virtualized environment.
And if you want to try the above: have/make a backup of your OSX before attempting !!!
Hope it helps
Stefan

Can't get past gray screen after Boot Camp Assistant

So last night I decided it was time to start experimenting with Boot Camp and Windows XP Pro. I fired up Boot Camp Assistant and allocated a 32gb partition of my HD for the XP install. When prompted, I put in the XP Pro CD and restarted. It booted into the XP install utility, but when asking about which partition to use, instead of the 32gb partition, all I saw was a 131gb partition. Thinking that it was my OS X partition, I decided to cancel out of the install and do some more investigating. When it restarted, all I got was a blank gray screen, no spinning gear, no logos, nothing. When rebooting while holding down a mouse button, I was able to eject the Windows XP cd. Here's what I've tried so far:
CDs: Leopard, Original OS X Disk 1, Windows XP, None
Keys: none
Result: Gray screen
Keys: option
Result: Gray screen with mouse pointer that initially is moveable, but then freezes
Keys: c
Result: Gray screen
Keys: d
Result: Gray Screen
Keys: shift
Result: Gray Screen
Keys: command + r + p
Result: Gray Screen
Holding power button
Result: Long tone while starting up, then gray screen.
What can I do?? I'm thinking that Boot Camp fried my HD partition data, but I can't seem to access any of the boot disks or any sort of disk utilities

I did. I took it into the Apple store and they replaced my hard drive. It was under warranty, so it wasn't a problem. I got them to give me my old hard drive back, which I hooked up to an external SATA enclosure. My mac recognized it, but said it wasn't initialized. I downloaded Data Rescue II and it recovered all of my software. I'm now using it as a Time Machine disk.
After further research, I found out the my main problem was that I used Windows XP SP1. You NEED to use SP2, otherwise, this problem will occur. I figured I could just upgrade later, but nope, you need a native SP2 disk.
If your Mac isn't under warranty, try this post:
http://phail.net/2008/04/10/bootcamp-windows-xp-sp1-epic-phail/
and his solution:
http://phail.net/2008/04/13/bootcampsp1-white-screen-of-death-a-solution/
In short, you need another Leopard computer. I bet if you print out the instructions and take them to the Apple store with you, the Genius Bar will help you, they've always been super helpful/nice with me.
Good luck!!

Trying to install Windows 8.1 from an ISO, but boot camp assistant doesn't seem to recognize

Hi there,
I have a 2011 Macbook pro, 15", 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7, 8GB RAM. I'm wanting to install windows 8.1 using boot camp assistant, and downloaded windows 8.1 from dreamspark (Microsoft store for students). I have downloaded all of the windows support software onto a USB, and there is a folder sitting on my desktop containing the .ISO for windows 8.1. However, when i try to run boot camp assistant, it says that the installer disc could not be found, and does not give me an option to install from a selectable .ISO. Can anyone help me with this? Is it something obvious I'm missing? Thanks!
Connor

For Macs with built-in Optical drives, you will need to burn the ISO to Optical media and use the Optical drive.

I'm trying to install Windows XP on my Leopard 10.5.8 using Boot Camp Assistant but when it restarts it says I should insert a bootable disk even though I didn't remove the installer from the drive. What should I do?

More info: I'm using an external CD drive because the built-in one doesn't work for some reason.
Also I went back and deleted the partition (also using Boot Camp Assistant) and just gave up on installing XP, but now every time I turn on my macbook I have to press the Option key to mount the Mac HD. If I don't, it returns to the black screen that says I have to insert the bootable disk and press any key. How do I stop this problem? I've already verified the disk and permissions, plus repaired it. It's still the same.

Go into your system preferences and click the startup disk icon then select your Mac HD.

Boot Camp Assistant "Windows 7 Installer disc could not be found"

I'm attempting to Boot Camp a partition on my MacBook Pro Retina (13", early 2013) and it's not working. I purchased a Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit DVD and i'm accessing it through the optical drive on my desktop iMac. So far so good; MBP shows the disc on its desktop through remote disc sharing. The USB drive with downloaded Windows drivers is in place.
However, Boot Camp Assistant won't recognize the Windows 7 DVD, even though it's right on the desktop (remotely). There is a dialog box and it says "Installer disc could not be found .. wait a few seconds"
And that's it. Nothing further happens.
Help! I hate Windows! Why am I doing this??

Lightwave wrote:
Thank you! I bought Windows 7 on a physical DVD (it's the Home Premium 64bit disc). Hope that was the right thing to do?
Yes.
So let me get this straight. I can either use this DVD directly on a superdrive plugged in to MBP, or else burn a copy to the USB stick.
MBP will not install from an external SuperDrive due to Windows installer limitations, because it has no driver for the SuperDrive.
How exactly do I do the latter since my own DVD reader right now is by remote disc on my iMac?
Create an ISO using the following procedure on the iMac and then copy it over the network to the MBP or create an ISO by attaching the SuperDrive to the MBP. Use Bootcamp Assistant to point to this ISO when creating the USB for installation.
From Disk Utility 12.x: Duplicate a disk, CD, or DVD
Step 7 will give you an ISO, that you can then copy to the MBP.
Duplicate a CD-RW or DVD-RW
Disk Utility can’t create usable copies of discs with an incompatible format or discs that are copy-protected. (These include most commercial movie DVDs and audio CDs and some software and data discs.) To copy music from an audio CD to another CD, use iTunes, not Disk Utility.
To burn a disc, you need an optical drive in your computer or connected directly to your computer. You can’t burn a disc using a remote optical drive.
Open Disk Utility, in the Utilities folder in Launchpad.
Insert the CD or DVD disc in the optical drive, and select it in the list at the left.
Choose File > New > “Disk Image from [disc name].”
Type a name for the disk image.
Choose an option from the Image Format pop-up menu.
Choose “compressed” to create a smaller disk image.
Choose “read-only” to create a disk image that’s quicker to create and open.
Click Save.
After Disk Utility creates the disk image, eject the original CD or DVD.
Select the disk image in the list at the left, and choose Images > Burn.
When the Burn Disc dialog appears, insert a blank CD or DVD, and then click Burn.
You can continue using the disk image to create as many duplicate discs as you need.

Boot Camp Assistant 5.1.2 & 10.9.3 Broken?

Boot Camp Now Hangs Every Time & Every Which Way
My Fall 2013 installation of Windows 8 was a breeze! I’ve been running Windows 8.1 until a week ago when my internal “Windows” drive was no longer visible as a boot drive. I option-key boot into one of three internal drives:
SSD / 10.9.3
1TB HD / 10.6.8
1TB HD / Windows
Convincing myself that I must have missed something, I’ve studied and re-studied the Boot Camp Installation & Setup Guide and have read and tried the procedures described in numerous discussions and youtube videos.
Expect that this seems radical but thought it smart maintenance to back up all Windows HD data and reformat the Windows HD. I pulled my SSD (no mess with), booted into Recovery-10.9.3 and installed a clean 10.9.3.
>Put Windows installation DVD in CD drive >Shut down >reboot w/ Option+Command+p+r (reset PRAM) >Reboot 10.9.3
Mac Pro is now configured simply as:
1TB HD / 10.9.3
Windows DVD
32GB Flash
My failed installs with Boot Camp Assistant (5.1.2):
1.
Boot Camp Assistant adds a partition to 10.9.3, downloads and installs Windows support software >system auto reboots >black screen >chimes >grey screen >Windows CD spins up> then spins down >I wait for an hour+ but nothing seems to be going on and grey screen remains. (I never get to the Windows setup phase.)
reboot >launch Disk Utility >remove partition added for Boot Camp >shut down and reboot
2.
Boot Camp Assistant adds a partition to 10.9.3, downloads and installs Windows support software >system auto reboots >I option-key and 10.9.3, Recovery-10.9.3, Windows (CD), and Boot EFI (CD) options are presented >I select Windows but it immediately hangs. (Can’t boot to the Windows Installation DVD.)
reboot >launch Disk Utility >remove partition added for Boot Camp >shut down and reboot
3.
Boot Camp Assistant adds a partition to 10.9.3, downloads and installs Windows support software >system auto reboots >I option-key and 10.9.3, Recovery-10.9.3, Windows (CD), and Boot EFI (CD) options are presented >I select Boot EFI > Windows setup begins >I enter my Windows 8 key >Windows can’t find a drive for installation (even, from within Advanced option, formatting the disk during Windows setup process).
reboot >launch Disk Utility >remove partition added for Boot Camp >shut down and reboot
4.
Purchase AnyToISO for $23 to extract the ISO from my Windows 8 DVD. Easily done.
Edited the info.plist file for Boot Camp Assistant (youtube video VBAQ3CNgfxc) so that “Create a Windows 7 or later version install disk” would list as an option under Boot Camp Assistant’s "Select Tasks" window. Checked all three options. >Selected the fresh ISO file with the installation destination being my 32GB flash drive. Boot Camp downloads and installs latest Windows support software from Apple. >system reboots >black screen >chimes >grey screen >Windows CD spins up> then spins down > I wait for an hour+ but nothing seems to be going on and grey screen remains. (I never get to the Windows setup phase.)
Checking the content of the 32GB flash (now named “WININSTALL”) it contains:
          $WinPEDriver$ (folder)
          autorun.inf
          AutoUnattend.xml
          boot (folder)
          BootCamp (folder)
          Bootmgr
          bootmgr.efi
          efi (folder)
          the .iso file
          setup.exe
          sources (folder)
          support (folder)
>shut down
I option-key reboot >10.9.3, Recovery-10.9.3, EFI Boot (flash drive), Windows (CD), and EFI Boot (CD) options are presented >I select the flash drive Boot EFI >Windows setup begins >I enter my Windows 8 key >Windows can’t find a drive for installation.
The only significant hardware/software differences (between now and my initial installation of Windows) is the progression of OS updates to the current (10.9.3) and the current version of Boot Camp Assistant (5.1.2).
Other recent procedures:
-verified my HD
-repaired permissions
-reset PRAM
For most install attempts I let Boot Camp Assistant build the partition. However, I’ve also tried adding a second partition manually w/ Disk Utility to make room for Boot Camp and Windows support software.
Do I need to regress to 10.8? IF that’s what was on my Mac Pro when received Fall 2013, it worked just fine!
What a nightmare!
I’m going crazy here!
What am I missing?
Any suggestions appreciated!

I've ordered Mountain Lion 10.8 from Apple Store. (Possible that my Mac Pro was not running Mavericks when received.)
Today I downloaded the trial of ntfsmac. It adds "Windows NT Filesystem" and "Windows NT Filesystem (compressed)" to Disk Utilitie's format options. I formatted a 1TB internal HD with "Windows NT Filesystem."
Shut down Mac Pro >pulled all drives and placed the 1TB internal HD in bay 1 (Windows install DVD is in disc drive). Reboot to Windows and proceed through first pages of setup but dead end as with previous installations:
Where do you want to install Windows?
Windows can't be installed on Drive 0 partition 1
Windows can't be installed on Drive 0 partition 2
I select "Drive Options (advanced)" and format partition 2.
outcome: "Windows can't be installed on Drive 0 partition 2"

Boot options duplicated; Boot Camp Assistant newly non-functional

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