Problems with Windows/bootcamp/efi? - Helpful collection of solutions

Question

How to create a (legacy/Bios/conventional) bootable Windows installation USB drive:
If for some reason you don't want to use Bootcamp Assistant, you can follow these steps to create your own bootable USB drive.
Diskpart is a Windows command-line tool. To use Diskpart you need to have access to a Windows PC or a Windows Installer (where you can open the commandline prompt by pressing Shift+F10)
How to make an active partition in Diskpart:
1. Open a command prompt (type CMD in the Start Menu search bar, press enter);
2. Type diskpart;
3. Type list disk;
4. Look for the entry of your USB drive and remember it's number (checking disk sizes usually helps in spotting it);
5. Type select disk x, where x is the disk entry you checked in step 4;
6. Type clean;
7. Type create partition primary;
8. Type format fs=FAT32 quick;
9. Type active;
10. You're done, type exit twice. (once to exit diskpart, again to exit command prompt);
To add the Windows Installation files:
1. Mount a Windows ISO (in OSX or windows, doesn't matter);
2. Select all files on the disk;
3. Copy;
4. Open your freshly made USB drive;
5. Paste;
To add Bootcamp Support Software:
1. Download and unpack the Bootcamp Support Software (v5.x for 64-bit)
2. Select all files (Folder: $WinPEDriver$, folder: Bootcamp, file: AutoUnattend.xml)
3. Copy;
4. Open freshly made USB drive that contains Windows Installation files;
5. Paste;
Done.
Note: For EFI installs you don't need to do this. Just format the drive FAT32, copy over your ISO/DVD files, and you're good to go.
How to restore a protective MBR into a hybrid MBR:
If you installed Windows using Bootcamp the conventional way and adjusted partitions afterwards, chances are your Windows no longer boots.
You can fix this by following the link in the fix below and using that program (GDisk) to do the opposite of what is posted. (create a hybrid MBR)
How to restore a hybrid MBR into a protective MBR:
Disk Utility and Bootcamp Assistant automagically create a Hybrid MBR when a partition is formatted FAT32. Because of this you can't install in EFI mode if you used either of these apps to partition your drive.
The solution (check the answer on the linked question):
http://superuser.com/questions/508026/windows-detects-gpt-disk-as-mbr-in-efi-boo t
How to create an EFI bootable Windows 7 USB drive:
Windows 7 is only partially EFI compatible, you may run into problems during installation on a Mac.
Tip: If you're running a HD4000 graphics chip, it's likely you won't get a picture during the installation. Plenty of ways around this (like unattended installs (full thread)) but I advise you to wait for a firmware update (if it ever gets released).
The solution (skip to "Option two" - step 11, the rest is kinda... unnecesary):
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/15458-uefi-bootable-usb-flash-drive-create- windows.html
Can't see "Windows" as a USB boot option?:
Try resetting the PRAM.
Source: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5524707?tstart=0
How to reset PRAM: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

Answer 1

great job jognt, wonderful post (though i found out about it only after a 2-day research in to the subject).
however, i still cannot find a solution to installing windows 7 from a usb.
i'd be grateful for any advice if you have the time:
i have a macbook late 2008 - core 2 due, 2gb ram, 250gb hdd and the internal superdrive.
the hdd has osx snow leopard with win7 32-bit partitioned in bootcamp.
i performed a little surgery to my little mac so it could run much faster than before:
1. replaced one of the 1gb ram sticks to a 4gb ram stick (=5gb of total ram). would be happier with 8gb, but upon replacing both sticks i get a memory error which i could solve up to this moment (though this is probably not related to nmy problem).
2. replaced the superdrive with a 250gb ssd from samsung (840 series).
i downloaded mavericks osx 10.9.1 and loaded it into a 16gb usb, which installed flawlessly on the ssd (125gb partition).
as i've formated the usb using snow leopard's disk utility and hadn't install any lions, i had no recovery partition (which disables "find my mac" along with other stuff). i decided to add a recovery partition, and have successfully done so using a custom app named Recovery Editor (instructions can be found here: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1606779).
next, i've tried to install windows 7 64-bit on the same drive (ssd) on the second partition - 125gb formatted to fat32. i've placed win installation files in the usb using the modified boot camp assistant (removed "pre" from "PreUSBBootSupportedModels" and "PreUEFIModels", added my model under "DARequiredROMVersions" and "UEFIModels").
before even trying to use this usb (and following a mass amount of people reporting peoblems), i decided to use your method: formatted the usb with diskpart (fat32, active), added the windows installation files from an iso (which includes both 32- and 64-bit versions), copied the bootcamp v5 support software and restarted the computer.
however, pressing the option key shows 4 options - the snow leopard partition and win7 32-bit partition on the hdd and mavericks partition and recovery partition on the ssd.
the usb is not recognized.
i tried clearing the pram (option+command+r+p) and eject and insert the usb after pressing option to see if it will add the usb to the list.
from what i've read around, some people were able to use their usb if they disconnected the hdd and placed the ssd instead (leaving the cdrom place empty), but i would rather avoid this.
might anyone have an idea how to fix this?
many thanks.