No bootable device - Please insert boot disk and press any key

So I tried all yesterday to get bootcamp to work, and this is what happens. I get through all the steps of bootcamp with my USB, and when it restarts, it comes up with an error on a black screen: "No bootable device - Please insert boot disk and press any key". I checked that I have all the support files downloaded, but it just doesn't work. How can I fix this so that it recognizes my USB? I found this thread, but when I follow the first command that the answer does in the terminal, it doesn't work. Does anyone know the solution to get my computer to recognize my USB? Or be able to fix that command in the thread I linked? I'm on a Macbook Pro 2011 running 10.8.5 Mountain Lion, trying to install Windows 7 64-bit with a USB drive. Please HELP!

Since your MacBook Pro shipped with an Optickal Drive, Boot Camp it looking to that optical drive for the Windows bootable install media. My guess is that you "hacked" your configuration to get the USB installation options as they weren't there on teh stock Mountain Lion install on a Late 2011 MBP.
In the many threads about people who have done what you seem to be trying you will see thant some claim that just putting a disc in the optical drive will allow them to continue the installation from the USB stick. That might work for you, or it might not. If not, just use the Optical drive for your installation.

Similar Messages

Windows install problems, "No bootable device. Insert boot disk and press any key" and general wrongness

Hi,
I've been having this issue with a Windows 7 install.
Firstly, I have successfully installed Windows 7 before. I partitioned my HDD, held down option when booting up, booted off a USB and after a few goes it all worked fine. I didn't use boot camp assistant to install. I then proceeded to remove Windows a little while later. To do this I used disk utility to erase the partition on my HDD and but afterwards discovered my imac would continue to try to boot off the now non existant Windows partition. I solved this problem by using boot camp assistant via the "Remove Windows 7 Install" option. My imac booted up exactly as I would like it to from then on.
I am now trying to reinstall windows. I tried the way that I did it the first time but after partitioning my HDD via disk utility, inserting my USB and rebooting with option held down I am only given the option of my main HDD and my recovery drive. I have tried burning the files on the USB to DVD and booting off the disk drive by holding down C while starting up. Neither the USB or DVD are visible to be selected when I hold down option during startup.
When I try to use boot camp assistant to install I get a "No bootable device. Insert boot disk and press any key" error after the step where it partitions your HDD you. Also, my option to create an install USB via boot camp assistant is greyed out and unavailable for clicking.
Help?

Fix your superdrive.

'No bootable device found - insert boot disk and press any key'

Dear all,
I just tried to install a version of Windows 7 on my Mac yesterday and used bootcamp for this purpose. Unfortunately the process could not be completed since bootcamp did not partition the hard drive as NTFS. I had to terminate the installation process and whenever I start up my Mac Mini now see a black screen telling me 'No bootable device found - insert boot disk and press any key'. I have tried to push the Option/Alt key to select the boot device but this does not work. I created a USB with a version of OSX to start from externally which also did not work and I used an older hard drive with a fully OSX system and tried to boot from that which also did not work. I am out of ideas and hope that one of you can help me.
Best regards
Bernhard

OS X cannot as standard write to NTFS partitions so it is likely that initially the Boot Camp utility created a FAT32 partition. This is not however a problem, when you run the Windows 7 installer either you can manually and specifically reformat that partition to NTFS or it may even do this automatically because it knows that Windows 7 can only be installed in to a NTFS partition.
Obviously if you are using the Windows 7 installer to manually reformat a partition make sure you select the right one!
It sounds like the Boot Camp utility got as far as setting the new 'Windows' partition to be the choice to boot from but of course it is currently empty. However if you are using a Windows CD/DVD disc to install from you should still be able to insert it, turn on the Mac, and hold down the letter 'C' to boot from it. If you are using a USB memory stick to install from then plug it in, hold down the Option/Alt key and turn on the Mac. Hopefully it will then list the USB drive as one of the boot choices or at least list the normal Mac boot disk.
With a Bluetooth keyboard the above keys for use during boot up may not work as mentioned by mjl2013.

Ok i get this error when hooking my dvd drive up and tring to use my windows 7 cdNo Bootable device. Insert boot disk and press any key. i have tried to use command key i see the cd icon and hit that and i get the error

ok i get this error when hooking my dvd drive up and tring to use my windows 7 cdNo Bootable device. Insert boot disk and press any key. i have tried to use command key i see the cd icon and hit that and i get the error

Wiley207 wrote:
Believe it or not, it was the FireWire drive that was the problem! I managed to successfully install Windows 7 using an external USB DVD drive!
Well I am truly staggered, I have tried this on two different MacBook Pros, with three different external USB optical drives. Don't know if you googled as I suggested but you would find hundreds of others who have found same thing. The exception is MacBook Air which works with the Apple writer, but I don't know much about this.
Were you doing any of the special workarounds with refedit etc?
What model USB DVD drive?

Macbook pro stuck boots to "no bootable device found insert boot disk and press any key macbook," and at the same time, booting to the Startup Manager (holding option while booting) will not work either.

Not only will holding Option while booting not work, but all of the other boot tricks (safe mode, single user mode, etc), will not work. I am at a loss. I also don't have an optical drive in this particular MBP. I have an SSD where it once was.

I know you have tried other booting types, but have you tried booting into recovery mode? Cmd+R or internet recovery? By any chance have you recently deleted/resized/changed format to a partition? Even if it was not the main one? Have you installed third party applications that could have messed up your system files? Or some sort of RAID software, Fusion Drive etc.? All of this info will help us to pinpoint your issue quicker and help you. Any change you noticed before this happened (even if it seems small), that you consider worth telling us would be greatly appreciated.
Also, do you have access to another Mac besides this one(preferably)? Or do you have access to a Windows computer (7 or 8 preferably)?
Do you hear the chime before the message appears?

HP Pavilion g6-2330dx. "No Boot Device. Insert boot disk and press any key" Memory test failed

Hi. So I am trying to help a friend with her laptop. It's a HP Pavilion g6-2330dx.
Product #: D1C01UA#ABA
Serial #: [Personal Information Removed]
Windows 8
ADATA 4GB RAM
Toshiba 640GB HDD from the looks of it.
The laptop is unable to boot into Windows, so I suspect the hard drive. But I ran the hard drive test and it passed all the tests. The SMART test and both the short and long test. I ran the tests multiple times and it passed each time. I tried reseating the hard drive and still no go. I also removed the HDD and connected it to my desktop PC to see if it detects and it did. Ran the Windows 7 own HDD test and it passed.
Currently, there doesnt seem to be any operating system at all on the HDD. When I check, there is a C: drive of ~90GB partition that is ~90GB free, but inside there are Windows files/folders. There is also a D: drive Recovery partition that says ~26GB with only ~2GB free, but when I go inside there's only ~350MB worth of data.
So then I ran the memory test (in BIOS) and it failed immediately. I reseated the RAM module. I tried the other slot. It still failed. So is it safe to say the memory is the cause of this problem?
Pressing the F11 key that is supposed to take me to the System Recovery only leads me back to the black screen with "No Boot Device. Insert boot disk and press any key"
I even tried to install Windows 7 to see if it'll work. I was able to get the laptop to boot/read off the Windows 7. But when I click to install, it asks for a boot device driver or something like that.
My friend doesn't have the recovery disk either. I guess she lost it.
Anyway, is it as simple as replacing the memory or could it actually be the HDD (even though it passes)?
EDIT: This is what the System Log in BIOS says
0021           Time: 10/13/2014
03F0           Time: 10/13/2014
03F0           Time: 10/13/2014
The date was the first time I ran the tests. I havent received those numbers (error codes?) since.
EDIT: Just for kicks, I ran Memtest 2.11 just now (forgot I had the disc) and it immediately went red with thousands of errors, hah.

Hi bghs,
Welcome to the HP Forums!
It is a fantastic place to find answers and information.
For you to have the best experience in the HP forum I would like to direct your attention to the HP Forums Guide Learn How to Post and More
I understand that you were unable to boot into Windows, and you suspected the hard drive and tested it, but it passed both short and long test. With that being said and the fact that it also passed leads me to believe the hard drive is fine.
You tested the memory and it failed. You tried reseating and swapping slots but they still failed the test.
I would test each card individual with the memtest to determine if it is just one or both cards that have an issue.
When you installed it in another computer, you did see the recovery partition. Once the memory issue is resolved, if you are still unable to boot into Windows, I suggest you do a recovery with the minimized image.   Here is a link to Performing an HP System Recovery (Windows 8) to assist you with that process.
I hope this helps.
Sparkles1
I work on behalf of HP
Please click “Accept as Solution ” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.
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My computer says "no bootable device-insert boot disk and press any key" when i try to start it-help

Compaq PresarioCQ60 with Windows Vista-
my computer will not load. I get gthe same error message no matter what I try- "No bootable device- insert boot disk and press any key". My computer is 5 years old and I no longer have the original disc used for the first time set-up. Should I buy a new disc or is my computer fried?

I believe it is you hard drive that has a problem. Have a computer person check the hard drive out and see if they can get it going again. It could just be file corruption and by attaching it to a desktop machine as a 2nd drive and running a check disk on it, they may be able to get it going. The key questions are if the drive still spins, weather the bios can recognize the drive and if the drive is operating within normal parameters. If the drive is OK, you have a good chance that they can fix the software.
Reminder: Please select the "Accept as Solution" button on the post that best answers your question. Also, you may click on the white star in the "Kudos" button for any helpful post to give that person a quick thanks. These feedback tools help keep our community active, so you receive better answers faster.

Im stuck with this message "no bootable device, insert boot disk and press any key". Now i want to go back to mac os but everytime i turn on my laptop that message appear..kindly help... Please

Im stuck with this message "no bootable device, insert boot disk and press any key". Now i want to go back to mac os but everytime i turn on my laptop that message appear..kindly help... Please .... Im using my usb as bootable device but it cant be detected..

Reboot, hold the option key down, select OSX when the startup manager appears.

Mac Mini - "No bootable device - insert boot disk and press any key"

When trying to install windows 8.1 from dvd on late 2012 Mac mini.
When the machine reboots after creating the ms-dos partition. I receive the foolwing error
No bootable device -- insert boot disk and press any key
The only drive I have connected is the Superdrive
Can someone please help me

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
Turn off your Mac by holding down the Power button. Then, turn it on and hold the Option (Alt) key until you see all bootable devices in the screen, so choose your Windows 8 disc and follow the steps to install Windows 8.1 > http://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/1000/MA1636/en_US/boot_camp_install-setup_ 10.8.pdf

Problems with Bootcamp Assistant: no bootable device -- insert boot disk and press any key

Hello Guys,
I got a problem setting up Windows 7 on my recently bought 13" MacBook Pro (2,3Ghz Core i5).
I used the bootcamp assistent to create a partition of 50GB on my Mac, everything is fine until now. I insert the Windows 7 disk and follow the instructions. But when I restart in spite of starting the installation of Windows 7, a black screen appears with a note saying "no bootable device -- insert boot disk and press any key". To exit this screen I then have to restart my Computer again, holding down the alt-key. In the following window I can just chose my Mac-Harddrive to boot from, the partition is not shown.
I used the software actualization tool to update to version 10.6.7 which is the most recent one i think.
The Windows 7 CD I use is actually a burned one. My University is a member of the msdn academic alliance and therefore offers me to download microsoft software for my work. I stress out that this is absolutly legal, I will only be allowed to use the software unitl I finished my studyings.
So as I said, I downloaded the Version of Windows 7 Professional with Service Pack 1 (x64) on my computer and then burned on a DVD. I want to add, that the file I downloaded turned out to be an iso file. At first, I just burned this file on a DVD but since it turned out that i got the above mentioned message, I burned a second DVD with the actual files of the iso (with foldernames like autorun.inf, boot, bootmgr, bootmgr.efi, efi, setup.exe, sources support, and upgrade)
I dont know if these details are of any relevance, but i guess it may be useful since I believe that the burning thing could cause the problems.
I have already browsed the Forum for quite some time now, but I didnt find a case with the exact same problem that I have, so I decided to rather ask you for help now instead of killing my brain like I did before (and I dont really have a clue neither of Macbooks nor of Windows-Computers, its always try and error for me)
I hope somebody can come up with some helpful ideas or a solution.
If you need further details on my system or anything, please feel free to ask
Thank you very much,
David

The Windows 7 CD I use is actually a burned one. My University is a member of the msdn academic alliance and therefore offers me to download microsoft software for my work. I stress out that this is absolutly legal, I will only be allowed to use the software unitl I finished my studyings.
Apple Disk Utility won't do a proper job and won't work (and it varies, some can start the install but fails later) Has to be burned at 2X Reduced Burn Speed
Also check the support articles for bootcamp
Apple Boot Camp Support

Bootcamp - No bootable device -- insert boot disk and press any key help plz

Hello there!
I recently upgraded my imac mid 2010 system with a SSD hard-drive. The old "main" drive went to the place of super-drive and after reinstalling OS X into the new drive and wiping the old drive a very interesting problem happened. I started trying to install windows 7 via bootcamp. I did everything what the bootcamp assistant says and after the imac restarts itself it just says No bootable device -- insert boot disk and press any key. Firstly I thought that maybe something is wrong with the installation disk (i have an external super-drive connected to the imac). After restarting the imac once again i held down the option button and arrived to the screen, where it shows the avlaible boot options (different disks). Now, what I saw, was funny. The bootcamp assistant had'nt created the bootcamp drive at all. Atleast it did not show it. After doing this two-three times the result was the same. My next idea was that maybe, there is an issue with the concrete SSD model I am using. So I went back to OS X and opened the bootcamp assistant and restored the state of the OS X SSD drive. Next I did an bootcamp partition onto the old drive I have installed. But the result is still the same. Now my head is empty of ideas.
Has anybody had a similar problem and can you please give me tutorial what I did wrong or what to try next?
Thanks.
Indrek.

Hi Michael!
Yep, I did get this running. Not in a normal way (meaning the easy way). What I did, is that I just created the BOOTCAMP partition in OS X. Just let it format and create the partition where you would install BOOTCAMP.
After that I discovered that via a ISO program (WinClone) you can directly restore a previously created OS X boot image to your current computer. So, I installed a blank Windows 7 to my macbook pro, didint install any drivers and just let it work up then. Then I went back to os X (in macbook pro) and made a bootimage for the BOOTCAMP partition. After that I saved it to my external harddrive and wired it to my iMac. In iMac I just downloaded the same boot-image program and restored the bootimage that I made in Macbook Pro to iMac. After that I made an restart and the bootcamp section with windows worked well with my iMac. Install the bootcamp soft and you can do everything and everything works. FYI, you get the windows working via those steps, BUT if you either delete or do anything to make your bootcamp partition unworkable then you will have to repeat those steps again. But it´s fast non-the-less, so it shouldn´t be a problem for you.
If you didin´t understand anything or something doesen´t add up, send me a letter or a notification.
Hope this helps.
Indrek.

Can't install Windows "No bootable device -- insert boot disk and press any key"

I'm running OSX 10.9.3 on my Macbook Pro 13-inch, Early 2011 and trying to install Windows 7 via Boot Camp Assistant and I'm using a flash drive loaded with bootable copy of Windows 7 Ultimate (legal, if that makes any difference).
Here's what I've been doing:
1. Plug in my flash drive, then on Boot Camp Assistant, click "Install Windows 7 or later version"
2. Set my Windows partition to 45GB and continue... so far so good...
Then the problem:
3. My computer restarts, goes to a black screen with the message "No bootable device -- insert boot disk and press any key"
The flash drive is still plugged in but is it not being recognized or something? Nothing happens when I press any keys.
I can use OSX just fine by holding down "Alt/Option" on restart, but in my case what can I do to continue further with the Windows install? It's basically an empty partition as of now. Any help appreciated!

Ive been having this problem and have been trying to figure out how to fix it for almost a week now. I have a 2011 17" MBP with the superdrive removed. Ive tried many different methods and many different methods to no avail. If anyone can help, please do!
xxzy, have you tried the KUNU method?
you can find it here:
Bootcamp without Optical disc drive
Scroll down to Kunu's post about his solution and see if it works for you.

Bootcamp Win 7 No bootable device -- Insert boot disk and press any key.

Hello everybody, I bought a windows 7 to install with bootcamp in my MBP retina, it came buy post, a windows 7 ultimate, OEM, and for my surprise it came with a DELL computer reinstallation CD, well, I search the Internet and some guys were receiving the same CD, and the web sites were saying that it works perfectly. So, I started to install it with boot camp.
I format my USB 16 gig from scandisk for (DOS FAT) in utility's on my mac, and I went to BOOT CAMP to install the windows. As I have a superdrive and the CD from win 7, I didnt select the option of creating a image of windows 7 (the first option) and I just select the other two. So the bootcamp asked me to connect my USB stick for downloading the windows drivers, and after downloading he opened the partition screen, I choose 30 gig for my windows partition and pressed continue, after that the boot camp asked me if I have a windows installing cd, and I clicked yes, Next window, " If you have an installation CD the boot camp will delete the boot from your USB stick, press continue, and I did. After that my mac reboot, and now I have the message " No bootable device -- Insert boot disk and press any key"
It doesnt boot with the USB stick.
It doesnt boot with my cd
ALT CMD doesnt work.
No MAC no Windows? Sheeee
Please help me if you can.
I have done a backup before.

You should take your Boot Camp discussion to the Boot Camp forum, https://discussions.apple.com/community/windows_software/boot_camp, where the "no bootable device" issue has been asked and answered many times.

Boot camp: No bootable device -- insert boot disk and press any key screen

Hello there!
I recently upgraded my imac mid 2010 system with a SSD hard-drive. The old "main" drive went to the place of super-drive and after reinstalling OS X into the new drive and wiping the old drive a very interesting problem happened. I started trying to install windows 7 via bootcamp. I did everything what the bootcamp assistant says and after the imac restarts itself it just says No bootable device -- insert boot disk and press any key. Firstly I thought that maybe something is wrong with the installation disk (i have an external super-drive connected to the imac). After restarting the imac once again i held down the option button and arrived to the screen, where it shows the avlaible boot options (different disks). Now, what I saw, was funny. The bootcamp assistant had'nt created the bootcamp drive at all. Atleast it did not show it. After doing this two-three times the result was the same. My next idea was that maybe, there is an issue with the concrete SSD model I am using. So I went back to OS X and opened the bootcamp assistant and restored the state of the OS X SSD drive. Next I did an bootcamp partition onto the old drive I have installed. But the result is still the same. Now my head is empty of ideas.
Has anybody had a similar problem and can you please give me tutorial what I did wrong or what to try next?
Thanks.
Indrek.

Indrek,
There is a Boot Camp forum, I'd suggest posting there because most of the Boot Camp and Windows gurus are there.
Good luck.

Recovery fail - "No bootable device -- insert boot disk and press any key"

Hello,
I have a problem with Recovery. I don't have recovery dvd/cd so I decided to use recovery partition. After system reboot I press F11 and click on recovery system. After 100% of progress, recovery tells me something like 'now your system will reboot press continue'. And now. After system reboot I see:
No bootable device -- insert boot disk and press any key
I have totally no idea what to do. I read few posts on this forum but I have no Windows 7 CD/DVD and I have no one who can borrow me to install it. I really need my computer back in few hours to work.
Looking for help from You.
My computer: HP Pavilion dv7-6b40ew, Windows 7 Home Premium

Hi,
Assuming this is just a problem with the recovery media, here's an alternative option you could try.
Before trying the following, make sure you can still read the 25 Character Product Activation key on your Windows COA label ( 5 blocks of 5 alpha/numeric sets ).
An example of a COA Label can be seen Here.
You can create an installation disc yourself using another PC - just download the correct Disc Image ( this must be the exact same version that originally came with your notebook ) from the link below and use an application such as ImgBurn to burn the ISO correctly to a blank DVD - a guide on using ImgBurn to write an ISO to a disc is Here. These Images are clean and from a well-respected source, however there are only limited versions available.
Windows-7 sp1-iso-official-32-bit-and-64-bit
Use the disc to perform the installation, enter the Windows activation key found on the COA Label when requested and when the installation has completed, use the 'Phone Method' detailed in the link below to activate the OS - this method supported by Microsoft and is popular with people who just want a clean installation of Windows 7 without the additional software load normally bundled with OEM installations.
http://www.kodyaz.com/articles/how-to-activate-windows-7-by-phone.aspx
Any additional drivers and software you may need can be found Here.
Regards,
DP-K
****Click the White thumb to say thanks****
****Please mark Accept As Solution if it solves your problem****
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Microsoft MVP - Windows Experience

No bootable device - Please insert boot disk and press any key

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