Windows installer can't detect boot camp partition

Hello,
I recently bought my first iMac and I am trying to install Windows 8.1 using the Boot Camp Assistant. I have rebooted the Mac into the Windows installer program and made it to the screen titled "Where do you want to install Windows?" However, the Boot Camp partition I thought I created earlier is not showing on the list of available drives. I have tried hitting the Refresh button several times.
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your help.

I haven't really kept up lately but the only thing I see missing in your information is you didn't say if you had Formatted the Boot Camp partitiion to NTFS. The last I looked into Boot Camp that was one of the mandatory things you had to do in order for the installer to "see" the partition.
You end up formating it twice.
The original format when you make the Windows partition should be "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" it's done by the Mac (BootCamp) then when your booted from the Windows installer you then have to format it again with the NTFS format. And of course it has to be on an internal drive. And a full install disk not an upgrade disk. Boot Camp 5?
Take a gander at the instructions again and see if you might have missed a step?
Hope it helped, at least I bumped ya up.......

Similar Messages

Windows Installer Doesn't Recognize BOOT CAMP Partition

Hello,
I need help and cannot find the answer anywhere on the Internet. I created a 15 gig Windows partition through boot camp successfully. My macbook restarted to run windows installer and I got through all of the screens except where it asks which partition I want to install windows on (Only gives the option of C: which is the size of my Mac OSX drive). I didn't want to install over that drive since it'll write over my Leopard OS. Does anyone know why it won't recognize the boot camp partition? I show the partition on my desktop and in my drive directory.
I also am using an old Windows XP CD that I am not sure if it has SP2 on it. I know we NEED SP2 but I'm wondering if the CD might not contain the SP2 then it won't recognize the partition (maybe the reason for needing SP2). I thought that it would still install it just wouldn't work if we updated to SP2... any ideas?!?
Thanks for any help in advance!

You do need SP2 or later, and even then, some discs do what yours did, don't prompt for target partition or give any option, AND auto select the full OS X partition.
Unless you can slipstream a full SP2 I'd shop for an SP3 disc, and make sure you aren't cutting the partition size short (and leaving 20% free on OS X at least afterwards).

Help: Windows XP on MacBook Pro Boot Camp Partition via Target Disk Mode

Firstly, let me lay out my situation. I have an old MacBook Pro (2,2) with a broken disk drive. It was dropped in its youth and can no longer read from or write to CDs or DVDs of any kind. I have just recently bought a new MacBook Pro to replace it (6,2) and am currently trying to convert the old computer into an XP machine through Boot Camp. I'd like to be able to do so without having to buy an external disk drive.
After a clean install of OS X (10.6.3) onto the old machine, I successfully partition 85GB of space (although I previously attempted the same with a 32GB file system to no avail as well) for XP to be installed upon. Because I cannot boot my XP install disk directly from the broken disk drive, I then close Boot Camp Assistant and shut down the computer. I start it up in Target Disk Mode to be accessed from the new MacBook (6,2).
Once the old MacBook is connected, I insert my XP install disk into the new MacBook (6,2) and boot from the disk. After allowing the XP (Professional) boot to load the install files, I arrow-key down to my 85GB partition (FAT32, named standard as "BOOTCAMP") on the old MacBook (2,2)'s hard drive and select it as the partition I would like to install to. This is where I am directed to a new boot window that tells me in a series of paragraphs that the XP installer cannot reach the selected partition for what seems to be a number of reasons. What it seems to be trying to say to me is that it cannot do a remote install of XP on a Target Disk Mode-connected machine, while not "knowing" that I am trying to do so. It's a similar message to the one that Boot Camp Assistant shows when one tries to create a Boot Camp partition on a machine that is being accessed via Target Disk Mode (Apple puts it much more clearly than Microsoft).
I'd be perfectly content, albiet slightly vexed, to conclude here that it is not possible, shuttle over to the nearest Best Buy, and purchase an external disk drive if it weren't for one thing: I tried the same thing two weeks ago with Ubuntu 10.10 and it installed perfectly on the Boot Camp partition I had created then (I have since wiped all and installed OS X cleanly on the laptop).
Here comes the point/questions:
If the Ubuntu boot disk can access the partition, why can't the XP boot disk?
Is there some way to convince the boot system that the drive is local, rather than being accessed via Target Disk Mode?
Is there an easy solution that doesn't even require that, and will allow me to install to the disk over a firewire connection?
If anyone's knowledgeable and/or brave enough to tackle this one, I'll be eternally grateful. Heck, I'll be grateful if anyone even attempts to tackle it.
Thanks,
-Alec Page

Windows XP will only install from the optical drive. Target Disk Mode does not work with Windows volumes. Windows will not install from any external device.

I no longer want to use vmware fusion to run my windows session, can I use boot camp to launch my vmware windows install or do I have to start again with a brand new installation?

Hi,
I would like to know if I'm able to use my current VMWare windows installation through Boot Camp, I don't want to use fusion anymore but I'm hoping there's a way to set up boot camp and not have to re-install windows again, if anyone could let me know that would be great

Thank you for your response GabeAlan, am i able to back up my virtual windows without access through VMware fusion? its locked me out since i upgraded to Yosemite, i prefer to see if i can avoid having to pay to upgrade to the latest fusion

Can i resize Boot Camp Partition,what about a second partitiion?

Ok
i had 40 GB left on my macbook
i boot camped a new Partition at 10 GB and put Windows XP SP2 on it
i got 2 new questions
1.Can i change the 10GB to 20 GB and if so HOW
2.Can i do yet Another Partition so my macbook can have OS10/Xp/Vista in 3 seperate partitions?
what about Linux
is there a way to open Both Partitions at the same time to view OS10 and XP side by side on the same computer ?
thanks in advance

Sounds like you didn't plan enough space. Not w/o destroying (backup) your current partitioning to install each natively.
Maybe Parallels would fit your needs.
http://forums.parallels.com
Triple boot
http://macapper.com/forums/showthread.php?t=134

Can't create boot camp partition on new macbook pro

Hi all. Having an odd issue installing boot camp on my 2011 Macbook Pro. When I try and create a partition it gives me the following error message:
"The disk cannot be partitioned because some files cannot be moved."
It goes on to tell me that I need to reformat my drive and try again. Seems a little extreme and even worse, I'm wondering if this will work considering that I still have over 600GB of free space available on my drive. Thought I'd post here and see if anyone has had a similar issue before harassing support.

If you look at the pdf guide in Boot Camp Assistant, step one is to backup. Common sense before altering, installing new OS, and should be required of anyone even if just updating Mac OS.
Now, having fragmented space: Apple never considers defragging free space and says Mac OS X defrags some files, and that having more than 25% free should not impact Mac OS performance.
So I think that covers Apple support for their own OS.
When you install updates, applications and such, the patches are compressed, expanded, space is fragmented, and some vendors often choose to write their updates to the far end of the drive in order to leave high access for other portions.
the best and perhaps only way to move files is to boot from another hard drive, rather than pick yourself up by your own bootstraps and try to shuffle files.
I would never recommend using only built in tools. I don't advise Apple DU First Aid as the sole utility for maintenance and repairs for Mac HFS file system. nor would I use TimeMachine alone. They are free and there and better than nothing.
Create a bootable backup clone of Mac OS for one.
Repair your internal drive.
Try using Boot Camp Assistant; or iDefrag; or Paragon CampTune (yes, it can be used to install Windows partition as well as resize partitions now or later if needed). Does a better job.
The use of x86 Intel cpus opened up new possibilities. Some unintended or not foreseen I guess too. A competition challenge to see who could install Windows on a Mac first and easiest took place in 2006. Apple came in later with their beta. but Boot Camp Assistant has always been a weak, lame, partitioning tool.
Macs and users using gparted and other tools? and try to stop the hand-holding concept? unlikely.
A better tool? there should be, and not only that, it really needs to just be rolled into Disk utilty as one more feature and tab along with other tools - so integrated and if you want to create, resize, remove an MBR slice and Windows partition, you can.
Paragon lets you create a partition, and also they have their own NTFS driver so you don't need to format BOOTCAMP (MSDOS/FAT32) during the install phase later.
Of course installing Windows in a VM doesn't have all the trouble of dual boot native install and given RAM and processor resources, can be more than functional enough for many.
With Windows 7 you can install and have a Windows-only computer, remove all traces of Mac OS (and boot OS X off 2nd drive, either with two SSD + hard drive or eSATA or Intel 'Bolt' interface as well as FW800.

Windows 7 Boot Camp partition doesn't show in the System Preferences.

Hi,
I'm running an up to date 10.6.2 on my OS X partition and Windows 7 x64 on my boot camp partition. When I looked at the start up disk preference pane the windows 7 installation didn't show. Is this normal? 32bit XP always showed in the past. If not, what should I do to fix it? I know that I can boot into windows by holding down the alt key on boot but I would like to know this is working correctly.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Steve Bunt
Message was edited by: SteveBunt

Make sure that you have a good install of the Apple drivers (boot camp 3.x) in Windows and that Boot Camp Control Panel there works so that you can set the default OS to either, and that it works.
But yes, someone else mentioned the same problem or bug.
The only cause I've seen in the past was where Mac OS X had an NTFS driver and control panel (Paragon, MacFUSE, etc) and you had to use their control panel in OS X.

Can I recovery Lion with a Boot Camp partition?

Hello,
I have a MBP with Lion and Windows 7 on Boot Camp. I need to initialize the Lion partition and do a clean installation of the operating system for various reasons. Can I initialize the Lion partition with Disk Utility in the Recovery HD and re-install Lion without affecting Windows? Will it work correctly after this operation? Or I need to delete the Boot Camp partition first, and recreate it at the end of the whole process?

Yes, you can. Your Boot Camp partition is unaffected by installing or reinstalling OS X on a different partition.
Install or Reinstall Lion from Scratch
If possible backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive.
Boot to the Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
Erase the hard drive:
Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.
After DU loads select Macintosh HD volume from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Erase button and wait until the process has completed.
Quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall Lion: Select Reinstall Lion and click on the Install button.
Note: You can also re-download the Lion installer by opening the App Store application. Hold down the OPTION key and click on the Purchases icon in the toolbar. You should now see an active Install button to the right of your Lion purchase entry. There are situations in which this will not work. For example, if you are already booted into the Lion you originally purchased with your Apple ID or if an instance of the Lion installer is located anywhere on your computer.

Windows cannot find my boot camp partition in set up.

I have been trying to install windows 7 via boot camp on my new imac. Every time I get to the install screen it asks where do I want to install windows. I choose the boot camp partition and format it as it says. The computer than tells me that set up cannot find a partition to install on. In the boot camp installation guide it says that the partition will be partition 3 but mine says partition 4. Does this have anything to do with why I am not able to install. Please help.

You will need to uninstall the software using the HP scrubber.
To do so, perform the following steps:
1. Go to Applications/Hewlett Packard/ and then click on “HP Uninstaller”
2. Next click “Continue”
3. Highlight the device on the left pane.
4. Press and hold Control+Alt+Cmd on the keyboard simultaneously while you click on “Uninstall”.
5. After you do this, you will see a pop up that asks you if you want to uninstall all HP software. Please note, that in doing this, it will remove any other HP printers that you also have installed.
6. Click “continue” and wait for the program to finish.
7. After it completes, reboot your computer.
Once the computer is back on, do the following steps:
1. Go into “System Preferences” and then select “Print & Fax”
2. Right click (or control+click) in the rectangle listing your printers and then select “Reset Printing System”. This is going to delete all of your printers.
After you have reset the printing system, go to the following link and download the most recent version of software for your operating system.
HP Officejet Full Feature Software and Drivers - OS X 10.8
Once it is downloaded, install the software and everything should work now! If it doesn’t, just let me know and I will see what else I can do to try and help resolve this issue for you.
If I have been helpful or if you’d like to say thanks you can click the white star under my name to give me Kudos. I really appreciate it!
Best of luck,
Kyle
-------------How do I give Kudos? | How do I mark a post as Solved? --------------------------------------------------------

Scanning windows boot camp partition for viruses from mac system

is there any way that i can scan my boot camp partition (windows hard drive)from my mac operating system since i think this will remove more viruses and leave less chance for them to reappear.
thanks

I would first buy or find the best malware/spyware AV software and firewall.
An ounce of prevention costs less than the pound of cure.
Backup Windows image with WinClone or something.
ClamXav or Intego AV 5 are two ideas mentioned earlier.
If you use the web and email you need to install some programs, free or commercial.
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/best-programs-to-keep-your-computer-secure/
My hat goes to Norton 2009 or their Windows 7 beta of Norton 360 v3 after using Kaspersky and AVG Suites.

How can I get my Boot Camp partition off my old drive?

I swapped out the stock 160gb drive that came in my MacBook Pro since it was acting up. I installed a new drive and restored it with Time Machine, but now my Boot Camp partition is still on my old drive. I slipped my old drive into a usb sata enclosure and tried booting from it in hope I could back it up with Winclone. When I went into the startup disk selector the drive would not show up (but it sounded like it was trying to spin up). Earlier when I pulled the drive out of my MacBook Pro it was still functioning fine, so I do not think the drive has failed.
Any ideas on how I can get the Boot Camp partition off the old drive? Thanks for your help.
-Ryan

Some drives require more current to spin-up from a "cold start" than most USB ports put out, even if the port supplies. Additionally, if the drive is failing, it may require even more power for the startup.
I have a couple USB enclosures with external AC power that I keep around in case I run into drives like this. Failing that, I also have a couple of USB cables which use 2 ports to provide additional current. Also the cable length, and gauge makes a difference.

Boot Camp partition created but W7 did not install?

On a late 2009 MB running Lion 10.7.2 with 2.26 Intel Core Duo I used Boot Camp to partition the drive and tried to install Windows 7 Enterprise w/SP1 (x64 and x86). The computer restarted in Lion and I can see the Boot Camp partition but I do not think W7 installed. When I restart and hold the option key there are only the MB and Restore drives available. Can I install W7 Enterprise? If so, any suggestions on how to proceed?
I found this:
These Macs can use 64-bit editions of Windows Vista and Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional, or Windows 7 Ultimate:
MacBook (13-inch, Late 2009) and later
But I have never seen W7 Enterprise listed on either a compatible or incompatible list.
Thanks in advance,
Kyle

Thanks Hatter,
Actually figured it out and got it installed last night. Using Explorer now. What I ended up doing was inserting the W7 disk while in Mac. Then restarted the computer. At the chime I held the option key until MAC and Restore and W7 disk appeared. I selected W7 and Enter. It installed on the partition as intended.
I'm not sure why the Windows Installer didn't do this automatically? And, everytime the INSTALL rebooted the machine I had to hold the Option key to drive it to restart in Windows but that was it. And, when asked, I selected BootCamp partition, Format, and installed the x64 (not x86).
When the Windows Install completed I made a few tweaks in preferences then inserted the driver disk I burned during the Boot Camp partitioning process. There was an executable on it that I OKed and all my drivers were installed. Video, mouse, wifi...everything works like a champ.
I partitioned out 50GB because I wasn't sure. That's at least 10 and maybe 20GB more than needed. I don't intend to store much on this partition, just need it for access to some work sites and to try to teach myself C# (we'll see how that goes, the last programming I did was in Turbo Paschal).
I still haven't been asked for product keys. I assume that is coming after some period of time.
Thanks for the reply.
Kyle

Parallel runs slow on Boot Camp partition and other questions...

Hi all,
I have had my MBP santa rosa for about 3 weeks. I love it. Everything is super fast and responsive on this thingy. I have parallel running on Boot Camp partition and it is slow. I mean its not awfully slow but when I click start (the play button of Parallel), I see the spinning beachball for 0.5 to 1 min. When I get to Windows XP or Vista (I tried both of them), there is no way parallel could perform up to "near native" speed, I get a lot of sand-clock and it takes 1 mins or so to boot up MS SQL server 2005. When i tried to open lots of windows at once, it freezes for a while then all the windows pop up. I dedicated 1gb of ram for parallel. I am thinking of removing boot camp and use parallel virtual drive on which to install windows. Would that make the performance any better?
I have another question. I bought Disk Warrior 4 but my lovely cousin broke the disc into half coz he thought it was a cheap toy. Is there anyway I can make another bootable CD for disk warrior? I know BootCD only works on Panther. Can I use SuperDuper to clone my MBP and put the image file on a PC-formated external hard drive to bootup from there to run Disk Warrior?
Thank you so much for your help. I gotta say this MBP is the best laptop I have ever used in my entire life. VEry happy with the purchase so far. Thank you Apple.
MacNo0b
p/s: Any recommendation on how to keep the Mac running well without slowing down? Cheers

I have to say, I have never used Parallels in a system with 2GB. I don't feel that it's worth it given Boot Camp is available. That said, if you run nothing else it should run quite happily.
If you're having problems getting through the installation try setting it up with a virtual environment that has no drive. That way you should be able to get through the installation/setup and then you can add your Boot Camp partition after that.
As for transferring files, I will either use Parallels folder sharing else a 1GB DOS formatted USB flash drive.
PS You're right, I certainly can't complain about the equipment I get to play with. I've had to fork out quite a bit of money for the privilege but it's all been worth it.

Upgrading Operating System in Boot Camp Partition

I am currently running Windows XP in my Boot Camp partition. I want to upgrade to Windows 7 when it comes out in October. Can I so this with the upgrade version of Windows 7 without removing the Boot Camp partition? I understand that you can't install an upgrade version of an operating system when you create a boot camp partition, but I'm wondering if you can do so if you are upgrading an existing operating system?

Only Vista, and you would need NTFS and do clean install.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/home?os=win7
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1866970&tstart=0&messageID=977 3778#9773778

Sharing the Boot Camp Partition

I partitioned the hard drive, installed Boot Camp, installed VMFusion so I can run the boot camp partition in a window, and assigned 1G of my memory to the Virtual PC.
Query: Can I, and how do I, make it so the Mac can read and write to the Windows partition? I have Word files, I'd really like to be able to access from both. I tried sharing the Windows partition, but that doesn't seem to work.
Thanks.

Okay, here we go: Checked Get Info\Permissions and Sharing and I have read write permissions on the Boot Camp partition which is named Windows HD.
So I boot up Word and vreate a new doc with the text "Test test" I go to Save. I select Windows HD. I find the My Documents portion of that drive. And I am told:
Word cannot save or create this file. The disk
may be full or write-protected.
Try one of the following:
* Free more meory.
*Make sure that the disk you want to save
the file on is not full, write-protected, or damaged.
(Test Test.doc)
So I'm back to stuck again. I guess I'll try to see about write-protecting.

Windows installer can't detect boot camp partition

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