Boot Camp Installation - Grey screen before installing Windows

So I just got a new iMac and I am trying to install BC. I went through all the steps (making a FAT USB drive, buying a copy of windows, partitioning 150GB for windows). Then I clicked the Start Installation and the computer rebooted.
However, I have been stuck on a grey screen for about 45 minutes. There is no Apple logo (there was one for the first minute of the reboot) and now there is a big no-smoking symbol (without the cigarette of course. you know the symbol that is a circle with a line). Beneath it is the spinning ball thingy saying it is doing something.
Should I just let it run or try a hard restart?

I think after weeks of searching I have finally narrowed it down, based on what I have read, to a disk drive problem. It seems to be something wrong with the EFI or the entire disk drive in general. I am taking it to the apple store tomorrow and I highly doubt they will do anything.

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I have an iMac with mountain lion 10.8.3 with boot camp 5.0.2 .i installed windows 7 -64 bit with boot camp but the boot camp didn't install drivers for windows please guide me for trouble shooting .

i have an iMac with mountain lion 10.8.3 with boot camp 5.0.2 .i installed windows 7 -64 bit with boot camp but the boot camp didn't install drivers for windows please guide me for trouble shooting .

Kappy wrote:
Boot Camp doesn't install the drivers. You have the drivers on a separate USB device if you followed directions. Once in Windows connect the USB drive with the driver software. It should startup automatically and install the drivers.
You don't even need to do that. As downloading the drivers from within Boot Camp Assistant can be unreliable, it is better to get the package directly from here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1638
Copy the .zip file to a USB flash drive or burn it to a DVD in OS X. Install Windows as normal, insert the flash drive/DVD in Windows, copy the .zip file to the hard drive, extract it, then run the setup executable.

Can i just partition my HD by using boot camp 4.0.1 without install window?

Can i just partition my HD by using boot camp 4.0.1 without install windows?
cox i want to use rEFIt to boot up my pendrive to install windows.
Due to some reason the boot camp 4.0.1 cannnot detect my usb drive (that contained windows 7), so thats why i use the rEFIt to boot from my usb drive

Yes, you can.
Let the BootCamp Assistant just make the partition and do not click on "Install Windows"-button.
The result is a preformatted FAT32-partition on your Mac.
Stefan

I recently brought a mac and downloaded windows with the help of boot camp and by mistake i installed windows 7 ultimate version whereas i had the cd and serial key of windows home premium i started installing windows home premium from windows 7 cont...

I recently brought a mac and downloaded windows with the help of boot camp and by mistake i installed windows 7 ultimate version whereas i had the cd and serial key of windows home premium i started installing windows home premium from windows 7 ULTIMATE then after the exctraction of files and everything the windows setup came and my mouse and keyboard stopped working and i dont know how to open mac os x there is no option anywhere?? what shall i do pls help!!!!if there are any keyboard shortcut key to open mac os x or boot camp pls mention.

For Boot Camp issues please repost in the Boot Camp forum located by clicking Boot Camp

Boot camp: partition created can't install windows

I created a 63GB partition.
and during the bootcamp install it rebooted but never opened again and the Mac mini just spun and spun for a while and I then just reset it. though, the screen is black but I can hear the Mac spinning...I reset but this time use the OPTIONS button and it brings me to choices:
My HD, My time machine, windows, recovery, and EFI?
So DUH I choose windows and the screen goes blank, and the system just spins and spins.....
CAn I restart the Bootcamp assistant and jump back in at the INSTALL WINDOWS step?
thanks in advance
WINDOWS-7-64
MACMINI 2011, ( just bought it a few weeks ago)
created the windows support software

So let me get this straigt, you went through the installation process for setting up windows7 using the bootcamp assistant.YES. IT CREATED A PARTITION AND AFTER IT FOUND THE WINDOWS INSTALLER AND DID IT'S THING IT SHUT DOWN.
i WAITED FOR IT TO WAKE UP AGAIN BUT THE SCREEN STAYED DARK BUT THE FAN JUST RAN AND RAN. SO AFTER 10 MINS. OR MORE I JUST HELD THE POWER BUTTON IN UNTIL IT SHUT OFF.
TURNED IT BACK ON WITH THE OPTION KEY HELD DOWN.
THE SCREEN OPENS WITH THE FOLLOWING ICONS: HD, TIME MACHINE, WINDOWS, EFI BOOT.
After the set up, you are not able to access windows7 when you start the mac holding down the option button at start up or reboot after selecting the windows os. WINDOWS DID NOT INSTALL.
I NEED TO GET INTO THE PARTITION AND INSTALL WINDOWS.
If you have not been able to acess win7 and have not had a chance to get it up and running with any personal info that would need backing up, just delete the win7 partion using boot camp assistant and start over. Yes, you will have to create your partition all over again, but all that is maybe on it is the basic install of win7.
Make sure you have installed the Windows support software.
WHEN I WENT BACK INTO THE BCA. THE ONLY OPTION WAS TO REMOVE WINDOWS-7. aFTER CLICKING CONTINUE....I SEE THE ICON OF MY HD TO RESTORE TO THE ORIGINAL SIZE...WHICH MEANS IT WILL REMOVE THE PARTITION AND EVERYTHING CURRENTLY ON MY HD NOW----RIGHT?
THANKS FOR YOUR TIME MAN!

Black Screen before installing windows 7. Lets solve once and for all.

I have a late 2008 macbook pro and have been trying to install windows 7 through boot camp for a number of days now. I have read every forum on the internet and have tried every popular solution (i.e. resetting pram, smc, unplugging, changing screen resolution, etc.) and nothing has worked. I know there are many other people with this problem but none of them have solutions. I had windows 7 installed a few months ago but it stopped working and I had to delete it. Just yesterday I reinstalled Snow Leopard and still nothing. I created the partition and tried to install windows but it just goes to the blinking cursor for one second, then a black screen. I have tried everything possible and nothing works.
Please lets try to get this problem solved because out of every single forum on the internet, none of them have solved this problem.

I think after weeks of searching I have finally narrowed it down, based on what I have read, to a disk drive problem. It seems to be something wrong with the EFI or the entire disk drive in general. I am taking it to the apple store tomorrow and I highly doubt they will do anything.

Boot Camp will not let me install Windows via external hard drive

Hi,
I'm having problems installing Windows 7 on my MacBook Pro. I have the iso file on my external hard dirve and have went to Boot Camp but the following message comes up:
"The startup disk cannot be partitioned or restored to a single partition.
The startup disk must be formatted as a single Mac OS Extended (Journaled) volume or already partitioned by Boot Camp Assistant for installing Windows."
At one point i just clicked OK and let Boot Camp install the selected tasks, which formated the disk, copied the Windows files and downloaded the Windows support software but another message came up:
"Install this Windows support software after installing Windows"
It then only gives me an option to Quit...
I would like to add that i tried to install Windows a few days ago and everything was working well up until instead of clicking on "customize" to continue the installation i clicked on "upgrade" then it asked me to remove disk and reboot the computer, i did that and it didn't work. Luckily i got that sorted but wanted to try and install Windows again as it didn't end up getting it installed and this is what is happening now...
Can someone suggest to me what might be wrong?
Thanks in advance.

My other post has been deleted. I will reply to you on this post instead.
I dragged down the Macintosh HD partition via the small triangle at the bottom right hand side of it. It now looks like this:
Is it back to normal now? Can i install Windows now or do i need to do anything else?
Thanks a lot for your help!

HT1338 Boot camp 2.0 fails to install windows 7. Asks to eject disc but cannot

Cannot install windows 7. Gets to eject windows 7 disc and I cannot do it.

Boot Camp 2.0 isn't compatible with Windows 7. You can install Windows 7 with Boot Camp 3.0 or later, integrated in Snow Leopard or Lion

What is better, boot camp, fusion4 or parallels to install Windows 7?

What software is a better choice for installing/using windows on my macbook pro?

You forgot one. Oracle VirtualBox is free and mostly like Fusion or Parallels. Maybe a bit less refined, as it is a newer product, but functionally identical.
You will have to make a choice between convenience vs. performance. The virtualization option (Parallels/Fusion/VirtualBox) lets you run both systems at the same time, but with a performance handicap that may affect some heavy usage programs such as games. And since the guest systems are not running directly on bare hardware, some antipiracy or authentication measures may not work.
Running natively via BootCamp lets the system run on bare hardware with the maximum performance afforded by the Mac. However, it is an either/or propositiion; if you need anything on MacOS X, you need to reboot.
Personally, I've never had the need to max out the computer on Windows, so I'm quite happy running it virtualized. I'm currenty carring Win 2000, Win XP, Win 7 Enterprise and Win Server 2008 R2 virtual machines, together with RedHat Linux and Solaris 10 Unix instances.

Can't Install Boot Camp from Snow Leopard DVD in Windows 7

I have an iMac "Core 2 Duo" 3.06 24-inc (08) running 10.6.2 and Windows 7.
I was able to successfully use the Boot Camp Assistant to partition and install Windows 7 on my iMac. After the installation, I was able to download updates from Windows Updates which included video drivers.
However, when I inserted my Snow Leopard DVD to install Boot Camp 3.0, the Setup.exe only gave me two options: To Install Mac OS X remotely and to install CD/DVD Sharing. I was not presented any options to install Boot Camp.
I did manually navigate the Snow Leopard DVD and found a Boot Camp directory with its own setup.exe and when I clicked on it, it gave me an Installation Error stating "Boot Camp x64 is unsupported on this computer model". I did some research and I found no mention of my iMac listed as an unsupported model.
Any help would be appreciated.

When I inserted Snow Leopard DVD, the autorun didn't show me an option to install Boot Camp Drivers. Just like the author of this topic, it only showed me 2 options: to Install Mac OS X remotely and to install CD/DVD Sharing.
Then, I've run Windows Explorer, navigated to Snow Leopard DVD, opened Boot Camp folder and runned "setup.exe". The installer opened and Boot Camp 3.0 was installed successfully.
I don't know if it could help you guys with that error message, but after the installation of Windows 7 64bits, I've rebooted my Macbook Pro. Only after the reboot I did the Boot Camp Drivers installation.
You can also try to run the "setup.exe" as Administrator (right-click, Run as administrator).
Also, my Snow Leopard DVD is that grey one with the white "Mac OS X Install DVD" labelled on it.

Blank screen when installing Windows 7 with Boot Camp - Mac Mini 2011

I'm new to the Mac scene, having barely any knowledge on the OS.
I've been trying to install Windows 7 via Boot Camp on my new Mac Mini (Latest offering from Apple).
I have an External DVD Drive which I have been using, connected via two USB's to the back of the Mac Mini itself. It's fully functioning, with the Mac recognizing the Drive. I've used it for some CD's and DVD's so far.
I have a full, licensed copy of Windows 7 Home Premium, bought from the Microsoft Store on a DVD. There's both a 64bit and 32bit DVD, of which I have tried both to install Windows 7.
I've been through the Boot Camp Assistant software, un ticking both the "Create a Windows 7 install disk" and "Download the latest Windows support software from Apple" because I already have the Windows 7 install disk. I've had troubles downloading the Windows support software from Apple, as it just stops about 1/4 of the download for no apparent reason.
So once I've made the partition, I insert the Windows 7 DVD into the External Disk Drive, and it reboots. At first it looks like the Disk Drive is working, as you can hear the Disk movement and a blue light on the front of the Disk Drive... But then the screen goes blank, and the Disk stops spinning (from what I can tell). Nothing else happens from then on.
Is there any reason as to why this is happening?
Thanks, Dominic

Yes. Booting from a USB-DVD to install Windows
The MacBook Air has extra drivers. Some people have edited the script preference plist to add their model Not all USB DVD devices may or may not work.
Burning electronic versions like an ISO or in .exe format you will see threads where that is the issue.

I have macbook pro 13.3 inch. I am installing window 7 in boot camp manager after copying file of window upto 67% it doesn't response and i had forcely shotdown my macbook. Now my macbook doesn't open and stop in black screen with cursor blinking.

i have macbook pro 13.3 inch. I am installing window 7 in boot camp manager after copying file of window upto 67% it doesn't response and i had forcely shotdown my macbook. Now my macbook doesn't open and stop in black screen with cursor blinking. Now how could i open my macbook pro.

At startup hold down the Option/Alt key and from the screen that comes up select your OS X partition to start the computer from. Then use the Boot Camp Assistant app to Remove Windows and the partition you reated for it and it will Automatically place the space you allocated for the Windows install back into the OS X partition.
NOTE:
Do NOT use Disk Utility to erase the partition that was created for the Windows install. Use the Boot Camp Assistant app again to do that.

Stuck on grey screen after beginning windows installation

I went through the process of creating the partition on my drive through boot camp. When I get to the final step in the boot camp installer, it says something to the effect of "insert windows install disc and click begin installation." I follow those instructions, and the machine shuts down, boots up and gets stuck on a grey screen. Alternatively, I tried powering down and booting from the Windows install disc. This step brings me to the install screen, however when I'm at the point of choosing the drive I want to install the OS on, none of my partitions are listed. In fact, the list is completely blank. Does anyone know how to remedy this? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Well, I got off the grey screen by doing a force shutdown and re-installing Snow Leopard, in case anyone else is having the same problem. I'm now in the process of verifying that everything that was on my machine is still functional before I contemplate "upgrading" to Lion again. Needless to say, I recommend regular backups. I've been doing so for a long time and have never needed the backup until now -- I'm glad I have it!

Boot Camp / Win 7 (64-bit) install hangs at "windows loading files"

I was hoping I might get some help from the community. I've got the new MBP 15", 2.66/i7 and OS 10.6.3. I launch Boot Camp utility, assign a partition for Windows (76 GB in this case), insert the Win 7 disc (Home Premium 64-bit OEM I just bought) when prompted, and the laptop restarts.
It asks me to press any key to boot off the CD/DVD (screen color is blocked a bit oddly, but no worries). I press a key, screen goes black, and the message, "windows is loading files" appears. The white status bar below it progresses from the left all the way to the right, and then the whole process freezes before going to the next step.
I found another person's solution post on this here:
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=703045
I haven't tried it yet, because I don't understand if I have too format the whole drive or just a partition. I don't understand his solution completely, so I was hopeful someone could tell me if it even sounds like it might work or if there is another known solution.
Thanks!

Thanks for including the details. Up front even better. Two different makes? AMD and Nvidia do not play together in Windows. 2 'extra' means 3 GPUs. Now there I would look at leaving just one.
What I meant to say was just leave the one drive where Windows will go, no other drives present - pull those sleds. And put Windows in bay #1.
Slowest burn speed, which is usually 2x but if 4x is the slowest setting, fine. Odd behavior and bad installs even when it does appear to.

HT5628 i was installing windows 8 on mac by boot camp and after i put the windows code and choose the partition i formatted the boot camp sector it said windows can not install on this sector because it is gpt

i was installing windows 8 on mac by boot camp and after i put the windows code and choose the partition i formatted the boot camp sector it said windows can not install on this sector because it is gpt

Reinstalling Mavericks depends on several factors:
if you erased your recovery partition
what OS originally came on your Mac.
I'll assume you don't have a backup available that you made before your mishap, because you didn't mention it.
That's really the take home message here: have a backup!
If you still have your recovery partition:
boot into the recovery partition (command R at restart)
use the recovery partition to reinstall Mavericks. see: OS X: About OS X Recovery
if you do not still have your recovery partition, then it depends on whether your Mac originally came with installer disks or not.
If it originally came with installer disks, you would boot from the installer disks, erase your HD, and then reinstall the OS that is on the installer disks, and then upgrade as necessary until you get to Mavericks.
If your mac did not originally come with installer disks, but you managed to erase your recovery partition, then you can try to boot into internet recovery (option-command-R at restart), and use internet recovery to erase your HD and reinstall the OS that originally came with your computer, and then upgrade to Mavericks if you need to. See: Hands on with Mountain Lion's OS X Recovery and Internet Recovery | Macworld
(the reference refers to ML but it applies just as well to Mavericks).

Boot Camp Installation - Grey screen before installing Windows

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