What do I do if my Mac doesn't support installing Windows from an external USB drive or DVD?

I have connected now: an external hardrive with windows support software, and a disc with Windows 7 ISO files on it. I have tried to run bootcamp assistant, but when I am given the first dialogue box titled "select tasks", I am not given the first option which should be "create a windows 7 or later install disk". If I skip to the next screen anyway after checking the other options, bootcamp assistant tells me "the installer disc could not be found Insert your Windows installer disc and wait a few seconds for the disc to be recognized", even though my DVD with the windows ISO file is in the computer. How do I fix this? Do I need to get an actual copy of the Windows software DVD instead of a DVD with the ISO image on it? Because it seems like my system does not support the ISO DVD. Eeep!

Thanks Phil0124. I was able to mount the ISO onto the DVD from my disk utility but now I face another problem. Bootcamp recognized the disc and started to install Windows, but stopped and gave me the following error message: "your disc could not be partitioned An error occurred while partitioning the disk".

Similar Messages

Will a Mac automatically delete files/videos/pictures from an external hard drive?

I plugged in one of my external hard drives that contained documents, photos, and videos formatted from Windows. When I plugged it into my MacBook none of my files were on the external hard drive and I didn't see any prompts asking if I wanted to reformat my hard drive so I'm not sure if it was automatically deleted. Will a MacBook automatically delete files, pictures, videos from an external hard drive?

No.
What format is the external drive?

Booting the Mac from an external USB drive

I was under the impression that you could only boot a Mac from an external firewire drive. However, I have just successfully booted my new MacBook from an external SuperDuper backup connected via USB.

I was under the impression that you could only boot a Mac from an external firewire drive.
That basically only applies to Mac OS X on PowerPC Macs, not on an Intel Mac such as a MacBook.
(37425)

I need to do a clean install of maverick on my 2010 mbp what disk do i use and how do i move certain files from an external hard drive

I want to do a clean install of maverick on my 2010 mbp. I need to know what disk to use and also how i take certain files off my external hard drive and put on my computer. When I was having problems with my airport they did a clean install and they pulled files of my time machine.   however they forgot to put the partition back in for a windows side. Originally I had Parellels on my computer. After my external hard drive got corrupted i called apple and they fixed the problem but didn't have me set up the time machine except for the external hard drive. Now my only back up is from the external not from the laptop.    I am not sure how to do any of this. I am not computer savvy...PLEASE I NEED HELP>

First, you need to make a backup of your MBP onto your external drive. I suggest you start by cloning your MBP drive to the external drive:
Clone Mavericks, Lion/Mountain Lion using Restore Option of Disk Utility
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.
     1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu then press the Continue
         button.
     2. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
     3. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
     4. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it
         to the Destination entry field.
     5. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to
         the Source entry field.
     6. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the external backup drive. Source means the internal startup drive.
This clone is fully bootable and also contains a clone of your Recovery HD.
Second, you need to do a clean install of OS X onto your MBP as follows:
Install or Reinstall Mavericks or Mountain Lion from Scratch
Be sure you backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive because the following procedure will remove everything from the hard drive.
OS X Mavericks- Erase and reinstall OS X
OS X Mountain Lion- Erase and reinstall OS X
OS X Lion- Erase and reinstall Mac OS X
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible
            because it is three times faster than wireless.
This should accomplish your goals. You will have a clean install of OS X on your MBP and a bootable clone of your old system and all your files on the external drive.

2013 new Mac Pro will not boot up from and external hard drive

New 2013 MAC PRO running Yosemite will not not see a bootable external hard drive when starting up using option key? Same External hard drive will boot up on 2013 Mac Book Pro running Yosemite.

Reading between tea leaves sometimes leaves some things to imagination.
You used SuperDuper latest version that was recently upgraded for Yosemite on a laptop running 10.10 (or even 10.9.3+) that is in a X-brand USB3 drive enclosure, not bus powered btw, moved it to the nMP and plugged it into a direct port, not going through a hub (monitors have hubs of course and there is only one real bus+controller on the nMP that ALL USB3 travels through.
Thunderbolt and self-powered would be nice but they cost a bit more.
I have read where Carbon Copy Cloner (now v 4.x) worked where others failed. I use to use both but have used CCC since its inception and use back in 10.2.2 forward along with SD! for a few years based on comments here.
Drivers missing? someone compared system extensions and found the ones needed for say the nMP are not there? how about running a 10.10.1 combo update and see if that changes - we USE to be able to apply updates to a system that we were not booted from, very handy (could update a sparse disk image of a system that way, one created with CCC).
WD Passports seem popular with laptop users, but they come here to this forum complaining that it doesn't work, disappears off the bus (spins down goes to sleep, acts like a green drive acts).

How can I install window 8 on external hard drive on mac mini

So, I have mac mini and I'd like to install win8 on external hard drive and can anyone give me guides to do it?
also I wonder would I be able to run win 8 after installation using parallels desktop?
thanks in advance

I have to agree that Windows8 is a waste of time, especially if you don't have a touch screen and compatible apps.
However, the latest version of Parallels supports running Windows8, Parallels can either run Windows from a 'virtual disk' file which can be stored wherever you want including on an external drive, or it can also be configured to run Windows from a Boot Camp partition created using Apple's Boot Camp Utility.
See http://download.parallels.com/desktop/v7/update2/docs/en/Parallels%20Desktop%20U ser's%20Guide/32733.htm
In order to run Boot Camp from an external drive and therefore be able to setup the Boot Camp partition on the external drive you first have to install and run OS X on the external drive. Then the Boot Camp utility will let you add the Boot Camp partition on the external drive. You cannot run OS X and the Boot Camp utility from an internal drive and try adding the Boot Camp partition to the external drive. The Boot Camp Utility only lets you add the partition on the same physical drive it is running from.
Personally I have legal XP and Windows7 licenses (currently using Windows7) and even if the Windows8 upgrade was totally free of charge I would not bother with it. I would also not bother with it at work as an IT Manager.

Install Leopard on a PPC Mac from an external USB Drive

I'm trying to install Leopard in my eMac an external hard drive ( USB Samsung S2 500GB).
I restored an image of the leopard cd to my hard drive using Disk Util.
I boot in Open Firmware and a type this commands:
boot /pci@f2000000/usb1b,1/disk@1:,\\:tbxi
After this command the my system freezes and nothing else happens.

For some reason, my eMac/800 & eMac/1.42 can boot from USB Drives using Option key, but not Startup Disk pref Pane.
They also boot using the tbxi method, but searching for my notes on that as I think it only worked if you add in the Partition#.
Ah here's some of it, depends on how it was formated, ususlly 3, but 10 if OS9 drivers were installed...
Type setenv boot-device ud:3,\\:tbxi where the number after the colon corresponds to that partition number we found in step two. You should get an ok back.
Type printenv boot-device, and you should see the change displayed already. Something like:
boot-device ud:3,\\:tbxi hd:,\\:tbxi"
http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20060301112336384
setenv boot-device ud:10,\\:tbxi

Time Capsule external USB drive won't reconnect remotely over Back To My Mac

I'm running a Mac Mini at work, connected via ethernet to an enterprise network (I have no idea what routers they are using, or how they are set up).
At home, I have a MBP laptop and a Time Capsule (hardwired to cable modem) with an external USB drive attached.
All 3 machines (Mac Mini, MBP, TC via Airport Utility) have Back To My Mac switched on.
I can access the external USB drive on my home TC from my work Mac Mini....until the Mini falls asleep. When I wake it back up, the connection back to the TC fails. However....after restarting the Mini, the connection works again.
My first thought was that the corporate network / firewall / etc was causing the problem - not leaving correct ports open, or someting to that effect. However, I realised that if that were the case, restarting the Mini shouldn't help, but it does.
Does anyone have any idea how sleeping breaks being able to access a TC's external drive remotely over BTMM?
The Mac Mini is a 2.3GHz Core i5 with 8GB RAM and plenty of HD space.
The MBP is a 15" late 2013 retina, 2.6 GHz Core i7, 16 GB RAM, also plenty of HD space.
The TC is a 2 TB 4th generation model.
Thanks!
J

Sorry that did not work. This works well for me using Lacie drives, but I haven't tried Iomega.
Have you checked Iomega's site to see if any software/firmware updates available?
Also noticed during a quick search that a number of users are reporting mounting problems with Iomega. Not sure if this applies to you or not.
http://discussions.apple.com/search.jspa?search=Go&q=iomegadrive+won%27tmount

My mac doesn't support pmb software for sony handycam what should i do?

my mac doesn't support pmb software for sony handycam what should i do?

Provide the model number please. And eww-PMB stands for "Picture Motion Browser"

Hi everyone... i by mistakely installed windows 8.1 in c drive and formatted mac os mavericks... what should i do

hi everyone... i by mistakely installed windows 8.1 in c drive and formatted mac os mavericks.. i want to install mac os x again ...
What should i do

Try to b boot into the Recovery volume (boot with the Command + R keys held down). If you can you can select Disk Utility to erase the hard drive and then reinstall Mavericks.

After clean install of Snow Leopard, Time Machine did not restore all files. When I try to restore these files I get "Not enough disk space" error. What do I need to do to get these important files back onto my Mac from my external hard drive??

After clean install of Snow Leopard, Time Machine did not restore all files. When I try to restore these files I get "Not enough disk space" error. What do I need to do to get these important files back onto my Mac from my external hard drive??

Janet.b wrote:
About 3 years old...pretty dated now I guess. Am thinking I may just need to have it upgraded by a Mac tech.
For what the Apple Store's charge you can buy almost buy a new computer.
Just for giggles I brought my old laptop in for a drive upgrade and asked, they wanted $600 for a drive that only cost $120 at the time and it was a slow 5,400 RPM drive. The new Mac's of a similar make were going for $1000.
I did the drive replacement myself, got a faster drive of better quality for $300 instead.
Then another time I asked for a RAM upgrade from 4GB to 8GB, they wanted to charge $400 + $35 for the labor.
The same RAM is on Crucial.com for $90 and all I need is a 00 micro phillips screwdriver.
So you see what's going on here.
I think what you should do, if your out of warranty/AppleCare, is to call up the local PC tech guy who also does Mac's and have them fix you right up.
They can offer more personalized care which you need. Clone your old drive to the new and everything.
With Apple they are overworked at the Genius Bar and just place roadblocks so you buy a new machine instead.
For instance, all new iMac's now have proprietary drive software installed on the hard drives for heat monitoring. So now the only choice a user has is to bring their iMac into a Apple Store for a very expensive drive upgrade, which a person then decides the money is better spent buying a new machine.

Message: can't open PSD CS6 an Ilusstrator CS6 - your mac doesn't support it ... all other tools (I

Message: can't open PSD CS6 an Ilusstrator CS6 - your mac doesn't support it ... all other tools (Indesign, Dreamweaver, Flash) - are working well ... mac osx 10.6.8 on older IMAC with 2 GHZ Intel Core Duo

The Tech Spec links are:
Photoshop Extended: http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopextended/tech-specs.html
Illustrator: http://www.adobe.com/products/illustrator/tech-specs.html
I would post in either or both the Photoshop forum here http://forums.adobe.com/community/photoshop/general or the Illustrator forum here http://forums.adobe.com/community/illustrator/illustrator_general. They will know more about why your Mac does not support these applications.

My Mac doesn't detect my windows DVD for bootcamp, help?

hi , i just grab my Windows 7 DVD for installing windows on Mac using bootcamp , but my mac doesn't detect my windows installation disc in boot menu... how to resolve?

You're not alone - I'm installed Windows (8 Pro 64-bit) on a MacBook Air Mid 2013 yesterday from the OEM/system builder media, and Boot Camp Assistant 5.0.4 didn't recognize the DVD. It asked for an .iso disk image instead, and I created one in a UNIX geek way**, but if you're an average mac user, you'll want to create one using the Disk Utility:
1) Open the Disk Utility. This is in the Utilities folder (go to a finder window and type command-shift-u)
2) Click on your DVD to select it.
3) In the File menu, select New -> Disk Image from "HRM_CCSA_X64FRE_EN-US_DV5"… (or your Windows disk title)
4) In the Save sheet, select Image Format: DVD/CD master. The Disk Utility saves this with the file extension/type .cdr, but this is the same file format as .iso. When the Disk Utility has finished, find the file you save and change the file extension to .iso.
5) Launch Boot Camp Assistant and select the .iso file as the source of your Windows installation.
Since I have a MacBook Air, the windows source was copied by the Boot Camp Assistant to a USB flash drive. MacOS X restarted and Windows was installed automatically, but the Boot Camp driver installer wasn't automatically launched at the end of the Windows install. I opened the flash drive's BootCamp folder and double clicked setup.exe.
Voila! The best trackpad anywhere! Network! Sound! Brightness control from the keyboard! The best Windows 8 computer!
** In Terminal: diskutil list; diskutil unmount /Volumes/HRM_CCSA_X64FRE_EN-US_DV5; sudo dd if=/dev/disk2 of=win8pro.iso. Use the output of 'diskutil list' to match your Windows 8 CD/DVD to a disk# for the 'dd' command. Be very careful.

HT1660 I have two iTunes libraries on two different pc's (one windows and one Mac). Can I consolidate these on an external hard drive?

I have two iTunes libraries on two different pc's (one windows and one Mac). Can I consolidate these on an external hard drive?

I'm sorry I just saw the last post. I had two users on my hard drive, one for me and one for my daughter, but I am not sure what you mean by partioning my external????? I have heard the term before, but don't know how to do it. I am having serious crashing issues with this computer and believe I really need to do a clean install. I just want to make sure everything for both ipods is safe (is???? I think so, everything is......I hate when the English language does this to me!)

Mini doesn't always connect bluetooth and external (USB) drives on boot

I have had a new Intel mini for 4 months now (we also have a PPC G5, which we love). In the last few weeks the mini started to not connect my Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, nor recognize some of my USB peripherals when booting up. When this happens, it also makes a repeated "startup sound - bong!" echo when the start button is pressed. I have two external USB drives, one 500GB Phantom and one 500GB WD MyBook. When the Apple logo appears at boot, I can see the activity lights flashing on the drives as the BIOS interrogates the USB connections, but after the Leopard start up desktop appears, the only drive shown is Macintosh HD, the mouse pointer is at the top left of the display and will not move, nor will the keyboard do anything. I have read every post on this subject and tried all of the resets suggested. Sometimes this works after a few attempts, sometimes it takes 6 or more tries - disconnecting all cables, and turning the computer on again and again. Occasionally the WD MyBook drive appears on the desktop, yet still the Bluetooth is unresponsive and the other drive absent. I am getting frustrated having to disconnect everything and trying to boot this thing up, sometimes for one hour or longer before I can use it properly (all of my work is on the external drives).
There MUST be a firmware update for this by now, because I see that I am not the only one experiencing these problems, and this is obviously some problem with how the BIOS is communicating with the bus.

Hi amyta pdx-
I'd be careful jumping to conclusions or the troubleshooting process may get clouded. For one thing those WD drives are junk and most people using them eventually have problems.
What happens with everything disconnected from the Mac except a mouse connected to a USB port on the Mac and the monitor connected to the video port only?
Luck-
-DP

What do I do if my Mac doesn't support installing Windows from an external USB drive or DVD?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for