Help undoing Boot Camp Windows 7 install -- "no bootable device"?

I think there's some residual stuff from a Boot Camp install I need help getting rid of. Let me explain what happened so you'll understand what's wrong:
Ok so I set up Boot Camp utility to partition a 32 GB partition for Windows. I have a 250 GB hard drive, but when there were 32 GB in the Windows partition Boot Camp utility said that it would allocate 200 to Mac. I didn't really think of it, but what happened to the other 18 GB? Anyway, I tried installing Windows 7 (64 bit). After it installed, I was having trouble installing the boot camp drivers, so I decided to scrap Windows 7.
I shut down Windows and turned on the Mac, but it booted into 7. Weird. So I restarted again, this time holding the Option key, to get into Mac. I went into the Boot Camp utility and chose to restore the Mac partition and get rid of Windows. So right away it says it's done, okay. So now I check the Finder and it says I have 70 GB used, but I remember before it was 60 GB, so I wonder where that space went. And then I check iStat Pro and it says like I have 60 GB used and that the entire hard drive (including free space) is only 230 GB. Weird discrepancy, because Disk Utility shows it as 250 GB again...
So I restart the computer, thinking maybe it just needs to get its bearings. But it comes up with a black screen that says "No bootable device -- insert boot disk and press any key," and I'm thinking WHAT? So I power it off, boot by holding Option, and it only shows Macintosh HD.
So that's my situation, Windows still seems to be on there somewhere, but Mac doesn't know it, and I don't know what to do. Right now I'm erasing free space (don't know if that will help), but if there's a solution to this PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
I made a Time Machine backup before starting this whole process (thank God) so if I'm supposed to restore that in a particular way to get my hard drive back to normal or expect some things to not be restored or something please inform me.

I "skipped" the erase free space after reading your message, but it was already partly done. When I tried turning off the Mac after doing that, it seemed to freeze before completely shutting off so I forced shut down...
(I also opened the startup disk in System Preferences and clicked on Macintosh HD, I don't know if that made any difference.)
I zapped PRAM and now it booted like normal into OS X
So I looked into it, and actually the 70 GB seems to be in order (compared to the file sizes before backup, except for maybe a 400 MB Google Earth cache that seems to appear in my user library but not in the backup...) I guess iStat Pro and Disk Inventory X must just be reading in base-2, could that be it?
Do you still recommend booting from the SL DVD to repair the drive? Does everything sound like it's perfectly back to normal, so I can feel safe about making more backups and restoring to it should something horrible happen without finding out that there's something weird and messed up with the booting or something?

Similar Messages

Boot Camp Windows install format to NTFS not working.

As a preface I am new to Apple and more complex computer issues in general. With that said I have spent several hours trying to get Windows 8.1 installed from the DVD media to a partition created using Boot Camp Assistant. I have tried several suggestions and looked through many threads, blogs and articles and none seem to have the correct answer. Below are the steps that I have followed and the issue that I run into every time.
Open Boot Camp Assistant
     Select Download the latest Windows support software from Apple
     Select Install Windows 7 or later version
     Download support software to USB Drive (leave connected)
     Create a Partition (200GB)
Hold Option on Reboot and Select Windows
Begin the Windows install process
Select Custom: Install Windows only (advanced)
Installation asks: Where do you want to install Windows?
Select Drive 0 partition 4: BOOTCAMP
     Error Message Details:
          Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected disk is of the GPT partition style.
          Windows cannot be installed to this hard disk space. Windows must be installed to a partition formatted as NTFS.
Solution I found from many threads is that I need to "Format" the partition. To do so I:
     Select Drive 0 Partition 4: BOOTCAMP
     Select Format
     Select Drive 0 Partition 4 (No longer titled as BOOTCAMP after the reformat)
          Error Message Details:
               Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected disk is of the GPT partition style.
I cant seem to find a solution to this. Any help would be appreciated. I have tried removing all other connected drives and devices, and recreating the partition several times with no luck.
Machine Info:
OS X Yosemite 10.10.2
Mac (27-inch, Late 2013)
Processor: 3.2 GHz Intel Core i5
Memory 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
I also have VMware Fusion installed on the machine and already used the Windows installation media to create a virtual machine. Is it possible to transfer my virtual machine to a Boot Camp partition? I did a little research and it looks as though thats not possible (at least not easily) but I figured I'd ask anyway.

Sorry for the delayed response. I'm still working to get a solution so any help is much appreciated. Thanks.
The installation media I purchased is for windows 8.1. Is that the issue? Do I need to install 8 not 8.1?
Output for sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk0:
gpt show: /dev/disk0: mediasize=1000204886016; sectorsize=512; blocks=1953525168
gpt show: /dev/disk0: PMBR at sector 0
gpt show: /dev/disk0: Pri GPT at sector 1
gpt show: /dev/disk0: Sec GPT at sector 1953525167
       start        size index contents
           0           1         PMBR
           1           1         Pri GPT header
           2          32         Pri GPT table
          34           6
          40      409600      1 GPT part - C12A7328-F81F-11D2-BA4B-00A0C93EC93B
      409640 1560546816      2 GPT part - 48465300-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC
1560956456     1269536      3 GPT part - 426F6F74-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC
1562225992         696
1562226688   391297024      4 GPT part - EBD0A0A2-B9E5-4433-87C0-68B6B72699C7
1953523712        1423
1953525135          32         Sec GPT table
1953525167           1         Sec GPT header
Output for sudo fdisk /dev/disk0:
Disk: /dev/disk0 geometry: 121601/255/63 [1953525168 sectors]
Signature: 0xAA55
         Starting       Ending
#: id cyl hd sec - cyl hd sec [     start -       size]
1: EE 1023 254 63 - 1023 254 63 [         1 - 1953525167] <Unknown ID>
2: 00    0   0   0 -    0   0   0 [         0 -          0] unused
3: 00    0   0   0 -    0   0   0 [         0 -          0] unused
4: 00    0   0   0 -    0   0   0 [         0 -          0] unused

Help with Boot Camp/Windows

before I ordered my new iMac, I did some research on the Apple website and found out that I can run windows programs on my new computer. So, I start up my new computer and pop in Microsoft Office, but I can't figure out how to install it. Do I have to have Boot Camp to run Windows programs?

If it's Office for the Mac, you simply install it on your iMac and it will run in Rosetta since it is not a universal binary app yet.
If it's Office for Windows, you need to install Boot Camp first and then add all the apps you want on the HD partition.
Vist the Apple Boot Camp Forum.
Antonio

Urgent, HELP! Boot Camp Windows 7 installation?

Hey Forum.
I am using snow leopard on Macbook, and I wanted to install windows 7 using boot camp, and when I finish partitioning, I plug in my ext. hdd with windows 7 in it and then i clicked start installation, but then they say that can only use install dvd. So forum, is there anyway i can install windows 7 using it's install dvd in ext.hdd?
Thank you.
Ala.

There's an entire forum area devoted to Boot Camp:
http://discussions.apple.com/category.jspa?categoryID=237

Help with Boot Camp Assisant install

I am trying to install windows 8 on my macbook pro I bought Saturday (2/28). I get past the first 3 steps but when it restarts my computer the first thing it does is boot to the usb drive called windows where it tells me there is no boot disk available press any key to continue, then there is the efi boot i believe which when clicked under boot menu at start it starts to install windows all the way till I have to choose a partition and it comes up with this error message Please help need windows to run certain programs for school!!

Last login: Wed Mar 4 00:05:23 on console
Brendans-MacBook-Pro:~ BHoss$ diskutil list
/dev/disk0
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *500.1 GB   disk0
   1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk0s1
   2:          Apple_CoreStorage                         397.2 GB   disk0s2
   3:                 Apple_Boot Recovery HD             650.0 MB   disk0s3
   4:       Microsoft Basic Data                         102.0 GB   disk0s4
/dev/disk1
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:                  Apple_HFS Brendans Hard Drive    *396.9 GB   disk1
                                 Logical Volume on disk0s2
                                 E9D52E86-C9F8-4199-99E7-55591DC1F44F
                                 Unencrypted
Brendans-MacBook-Pro:~ BHoss$ diskutil cs list
CoreStorage logical volume groups (1 found)
|
+-- Logical Volume Group 6410A4FF-76DC-4C11-BEA2-10DB12DB8D47
    =========================================================
    Name:         Brendans Hard Drive
    Status:       Online
    Size:         397248102400 B (397.2 GB)
    Free Space:   18972672 B (19.0 MB)
    |
    +-< Physical Volume BC7D8947-0101-4EF3-9ED3-FA605FD32FE6
    |   ----------------------------------------------------
    |   Index:    0
    |   Disk:     disk0s2
    |   Status:   Online
    |   Size:     397248102400 B (397.2 GB)
    |
    +-> Logical Volume Family 7D0AF1EC-3255-43E6-B093-91FE28B64956
        Encryption Status:       Unlocked
        Encryption Type:         None
        Conversion Status:       NoConversion
        Conversion Direction:    -none-
        Has Encrypted Extents:   No
        Fully Secure:            No
        Passphrase Required:     No
        |
        +-> Logical Volume E9D52E86-C9F8-4199-99E7-55591DC1F44F
            Disk:                  disk1
            Status:                Online
            Size (Total):          396876808192 B (396.9 GB)
            Conversion Progress:   -none-
            Revertible:            Yes (no decryption required)
            LV Name:               Brendans Hard Drive
            Volume Name:           Brendans Hard Drive
            Content Hint:          Apple_HFS
Brendans-MacBook-Pro:~ BHoss$ 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:
Sorry, try again.
Password:
Sorry, try again.
sudo: 3 incorrect password attempts
Brendans-MacBook-Pro:~ BHoss$ diskutil list
/dev/disk0
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *500.1 GB   disk0
   1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk0s1
   2:          Apple_CoreStorage                         397.2 GB   disk0s2
   3:                 Apple_Boot Recovery HD             650.0 MB   disk0s3
   4:       Microsoft Basic Data                         102.0 GB   disk0s4
/dev/disk1
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:                  Apple_HFS Brendans Hard Drive    *396.9 GB   disk1
                                 Logical Volume on disk0s2
                                 E9D52E86-C9F8-4199-99E7-55591DC1F44F
                                 Unencrypted
Brendans-MacBook-Pro:~ BHoss$ diskutil cs list
CoreStorage logical volume groups (1 found)
|
+-- Logical Volume Group 6410A4FF-76DC-4C11-BEA2-10DB12DB8D47
    =========================================================
    Name:         Brendans Hard Drive
    Status:       Online
    Size:         397248102400 B (397.2 GB)
    Free Space:   18972672 B (19.0 MB)
    |
    +-< Physical Volume BC7D8947-0101-4EF3-9ED3-FA605FD32FE6
    |   ----------------------------------------------------
    |   Index:    0
    |   Disk:     disk0s2
    |   Status:   Online
    |   Size:     397248102400 B (397.2 GB)
    |
    +-> Logical Volume Family 7D0AF1EC-3255-43E6-B093-91FE28B64956
        Encryption Status:       Unlocked
        Encryption Type:         None
        Conversion Status:       NoConversion
        Conversion Direction:    -none-
        Has Encrypted Extents:   No
        Fully Secure:            No
        Passphrase Required:     No
        |
        +-> Logical Volume E9D52E86-C9F8-4199-99E7-55591DC1F44F
            Disk:                  disk1
            Status:                Online
            Size (Total):          396876808192 B (396.9 GB)
            Conversion Progress:   -none-
            Revertible:            Yes (no decryption required)
            LV Name:               Brendans Hard Drive
            Volume Name:           Brendans Hard Drive
            Content Hint:          Apple_HFS
Brendans-MacBook-Pro:~ BHoss$ 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:
After this point it doesn't allow me to enter password as I type nothing comes up

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

How to undo boot camp, wont boot from install disk in dvd drive

A few months ago I went through trying out boot camp and parallels. Now, I think something is messed up. I dont need either right now, so I just want to wipe out the whole system, repartition the drive, and restore to a blank new install of os x 10.5 leopard.
But when I put in the install disk, it wont boot up off it.
I tried holding down the c key while powering it up, and it just cycles through: hearing the drive whirl, a bling sound, and then repeating it again while the screen is blank. Finally, I held down the click button on the touch pad so it would eject the install disk.
Maybe this will help someone recognize part of the problem. Ever since messing around with boot camp and parallels, my machine wont "reboot". To reboot it, I tell it to reboot, then it hangs on the star like screen, then I have to hold the power button down, then if I do nothing, it tries to boot, but ends up in a dos looking screen saying no bootable device. So when I power it back up, I hold down the alt key, and then I have one choice: the hard drive. I pick that and it boots up ok.
So... I thought, well, maybe the boot camp is still messed up; maybe I should undo boot camp. When I start the boot camp assistant, there is only a "partition" and "back" button; nothing to "restore" the hard drive to just one partition.
What can I do? I want to wipe the drive and install a fresh install from my install disk.

Forgot to specify:
Im using an older Unibody Macbook (back when they were not all macbook pro's) 2008ish with Snow leopard 1.6.8
The thread you linked me to, Eric, shows the guy 'Niganit' with the eXACT SAME PROBLEM as me! He seems to have found out the problem but I dont see his resolve.
I just dont have the option to install windows 7 in any other form that a cd
a picture;

Windows blue screen of death crash during Boot Camp driver install

I have been trying to get Windows running under Boot Camp on my 2.66 GHz Alu iMac, but without success.
Boot Camp partitions the drive and Windows XP SP2 installs properly. I boot into Windows, and then insert my Leopard install DVD to install the Apple drivers.
The driver installation gets about halfway, then the machine crashes with a blue screen of death and restarts automatically. It puts me back in Windows, with no drivers installed.
I am installing the Boot Camp drivers from the Leopard retail DVD. This machine is missing the Leopard install/restore discs that came with it, and Apple want to charge £99 for a replacement set.
Is there any way I can get the Boot Camp drivers installed, or do I need to find a friend with the exact same machine and original system discs and use those?

Aloha Adam.
Don't know whether this is helpful, but below is a list of drivers that are installed (as of Aug 08).
Also, if you have not already, you may find FAQ helpful, as well, at URL: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1656
Lastly, though they're a year old, the Update 2.1 is in .exe format, so if you can get it the .exe download package onto your installed Windows OS somehow (e.g., copied onto a CD, IF Windows can read it), you might stand a chance of alternate means of installing the drivers.
If this helps, please so indicate.
Thanks,
HJ
"Drivers, Macintosh features within Microsoft Windows, other
Which drivers are included on the Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) DVD?
The Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) DVD contains the following Macintosh drivers for Windows:
Apple Bluetooth
Apple Keyboard Support
Apple Remote Driver
Apple Trackpad
Atheros 802.11 Wireless
ATI Graphics
Boot Camp Control panel for Microsoft Windows
Boot Camp System Task Notification item (System Tray)
Broadcom Wireless
Intel Chipset Software
Intel Integrated Graphics
iSight Camera
Marvel Yukon Ethernet
nVidia Graphics
Realtek Audio
SigmaTel Audio
Startup Disk Control panel for Microsoft Windows"

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.

Help boot camping Windows XP!!!

So I'm having major problems boot camping Windows XP onto my Macbook. I have tried unsuccessfully about 5 times now and every time have to fix my computer by rebooting from the OSX Disc, writing to zero my hard drive and then reinstalling the OSX.
So, my problem seems to be the partitioning of the hard drive. I use Bootcamp manager to partition 15GB for Windows. Then I insert my Windows XP disc. My first problem was that the partition that was available was "C: Parition 1 Unknown" and not "C: Partition 3 <BOOTCAMP>[FAT 32]". But I carried on anyway. Then my second problem was that I could only format to NTFS and not FAT even though my partition was not larger than 32GB. Then lastly, even after I ignored all that, formatted the partition to NTFS and tried to keep installing, I encountered upon a page telling me that there was already an operating system on the partition. This is where I always abort my attempts.
Then I had another problem when I tried again. The size of the partition that came up was 130570MB which is around 130GB. How could this be? Is my computer assuming the main OSX partition is the Windows partition and is trying to let me install Windows onto that? I have no idea what is wrong with my computer and I am going crazy (tear my hair out crazy). Please help anyone Thanks in advance.

Hey HairLikeSnow and welcome to the forum -
I have never setup BootCamp on my machine but I've set it up for others a couple times and each time I had the [*Boot Camp Installation & Setup Guide*|http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/bootcampinstall-setup.pdf] handy. I can't believe I just got lucky. Perhaps you should take a look by clicking the link I provided and see if there's a flaw in your procedure.
I hope this helps -GDF

Using Boot Camp to install Windows XP: problems with display going blank

I have a new Mac mini (early 2009) connected to an older NEC MultiSync LCD (VGA only) display through a KVM.
I initially used the Apple Mini DisplayPort to VGA adapter to make the display connection.
All worked fine with Mac OS X, but when I attempted to use Boot Camp to install Windows XP (Home), the display would go blank with the display saying "no signal" at some point during the install and I couldn't get the mini's display back without power cycling the mini. Numerous attempts at removing the Boot Camp partition, re-partitioning, and retrying resulted in nothing but frustration. I typically had to force the mini to boot from the OS X install DVD or Mac partition to make the mini usable again.
I have used my LCD display and KVM combination with a variety of computers running a variety of operating systems, including older Mac minis running both Mac OS X and XP, with no problems. And I intend to keep using it, so I wasn't going to assume the problem was there!
After noting that Apple had already released a [firmware update|http://support.apple.com/downloads/Mini_DisplayPort_to_VGA_FirmwareUpdate] for this adapter to address "[possible intermittent flickering and compatibility issues|http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3492]", I double checked that it was up to date--and it was. But, it made me suspicious that this adapter might have some more problems and be the source of the troubles I was experiencing.
So, I got an Apple Mini-DVI to VGA adapter and tried that.
No more display problems! Everything works fine with Mac OS X. Windows XP installed without so much as a flicker, and it works smoothly with my setup.
I'm curious if I'm the only one who was affected by this problem?

Restart your Mac while holding down the Alt/Option-key until you get to the Boot Selection Screen.
Choose to boot OSX.
Use the BootCamp Assistant to remove the Windows partition.
Go to System Preferences then Startup Volume and rest the default to be your OSX volume.
Reboot your Mac again.
Follow the instructions from here http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3173 and use the BootCamp Assistant again to install Windows 7
Stefan

HT4818 hey, I want to install windows on my mac, I have mac osx lion and I'm soon going to get mountain lion. If I use Boot camp to install windows do I need a windows disc, will i lose all my data, etc. If so how to I save them. Can I switch back to osx

hey, I want to install windows on my mac, I have mac osx lion and I'm soon going to get mountain lion. If I use Boot camp to install windows do I need a windows disc, will i lose all my data, etc. If so how to I save them. Can I switch back to osx after I install windows. ( can I switch between Windows and OS X as many times as I want.) thanks for answering.
Sebastian

hey, I want to install windows on my mac, I have mac osx lion and I'm soon going to get mountain lion. If I use Boot camp to install windows do I need a windows disc, will i lose all my data, etc. If so how to I save them. Can I switch back to osx after I install windows. ( can I switch between Windows and OS X as many times as I want.) thanks for answering.
Sebastian

I Mini with an i7 processor. I would like to use Boot Camp to install windows based CAD software on my MAC. Would it be better to use a plugin external hard drive to load my software on and if so what hard drive would you recommend?

I Mini with an i7 processor. I would like to use Boot Camp to install windows based CAD software on my MAC. Would it be better to use a plugin external hard drive to load my software on and if so what hard drive would you recommend?

Thank you for your quick response. I can then use a ZIP drive for data storage. I want to keep as much of my hard drive free of data as possible.

HT5639 i use boot camp to install windows 8.1 but in the middle of the installation it is stop,how can i install the windows again?

i use boot camp to install windows 8.1on my mac but in the middle of the installation it is stop,how can i install the windows again?
why it`s stop?

What is your exact machine and what's the error

Boot Camp / Windows Partion... Can it be installed on a separate hard drive

I am just beginning to explore the idea of installing Boot Camp & Windows on a new Intel Mac I will be buying. I've been reading a lot of references to the Windows partition...
Can I dedicate a separate hard drive to Windows rather than partition my primary hard drive? If so would it be best to use an internal drive rather than a Firewire or USB drive. What would a reasonable minimum drive size be?
Thanks for you feedback.
Mike

Hi Mike,
since only the Mac Pro can have more than one internal HD, I assume you are talking about getting one of them
With more than one internal HDs you can put Windows on the second, third, fourth internal HD with the BootCamp Assistant.
On a side note: Windows does not support to be booted from external HDs (neither FireWire nor USB).
Reasonable size depends on what you want to do with it.
Windows XP itself takes up to 3.5GB of HD space after installation, Vista takes up to 10GB.
Add to that the HD space you need for the programs and data you use/produce.
And when keeping in mind the hassle it takes to enlarge the Windows partition if needed, my personal suggestions are:
Windows XP at least 30GB, Vista at least 50GB.
Have you already had a look here http://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/ especially at the Installation Guide ?
Regards
Stefan

Help undoing Boot Camp Windows 7 install -- "no bootable device"?

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