Bootcamp: MacOS loads even when Windows selected

[grimwanderer]

Hey all. I’m having an issue with Bootcamp and looking for suggestions.

If I reboot and hit the option key the normal screen appears giving me the choice between macOS and windows. Even when I select Windows, however, macOS immediately loads.

No error message or anything. Attempts to enter Windows recovery also unsuccessful (Bootcamp, as mentioned, just immediately launches MacOS with no delay).

i’ve also tried making the Windows partition the default in Startup Disk, but the same thing happens.

Internet search found lots of people who get stuck in windows and can’t get back to macOS, but not the issue I’m having.

Admittedly it’s been a long time since I’ve used windows on this Mac. (At least a couple of years)... but was looking for an application which is installed on the Windows partition. The Mac is a late 2013 iMac with fusion drive.

Any thoughts or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

 

[Altemose]

Typically, this is caused by a corrupted Boot Camp partition and the best method would be to remove the partition after backing up the data and reinstalling Windows. Now, one thing to consider is that Catalina will not recognize newer than Windows 10 on your system, however the system should still be able to boot into a previous version of Windows. You may notice that the Boot Camp Assistant will not identify the partition properly if previous versions of Windows are installed.

 

[grimwanderer]

Thanks for the reply!

...the best method would be to remove the partition after backing up the data and reinstalling Windows.”

Is there a way to back up the data (and, hopefully, applications) since I am unable to boot in? Also... you said that Catalina won’t recognize newer versions of Windows than Win10... did you mean older versions of Windows?

The other thing is that I will also need to find a copy of a full install of Windows. Lol. Had issues with this years ago since, even after carefully explaining to MS what I needed, they sent the upgrade disk twice.

 

[TiggrToo]

Thanks for the reply!



Is there a way to back up the data (and, hopefully, applications) since I am unable to boot in? Also... you said that Catalina won’t recognize newer versions of Windows than Win10... did you mean older versions of Windows?

The other thing is that I will also need to find a copy of a full install of Windows. Lol. Had issues with this years ago since, even after carefully explaining to MS what I needed, they sent the upgrade disk twice.

Why would they send you an upgrade disk when you can download it? I can't remember the last time I saw MS use CDRoms or DVDs for their software.

How old was the OS? Vista?

 

[Altemose]

Thanks for the reply!



Is there a way to back up the data (and, hopefully, applications) since I am unable to boot in? Also... you said that Catalina won’t recognize newer versions of Windows than Win10... did you mean older versions of Windows?

The other thing is that I will also need to find a copy of a full install of Windows. Lol. Had issues with this years ago since, even after carefully explaining to MS what I needed, they sent the upgrade disk twice.

Yes. Sorry I mistyped when I said a newer version of Windows - it has been a long day. To recover the data, you should be able to see the Boot Camp partition within macOS's Finder, which is usually titled "BOOTCAMP". Since the partition is likely NTFS, macOS will allow you to read/copy data from it but you won't be able to write to the partition. I recommend backing up the entire user profile, minus the AppData folder prior to removing the partition.

What version of Windows are you using with this iMac? An ISO can easily be made into a bootable USB which will save the difficulty of going through Microsoft. Even Windows 10 can be downloaded in .iso format directly from Microsoft. Bear in mind that the Catalina version of Boot Camp Assistant will only create installation media for Windows 10, however you may use alternative tools such as Rufus if an older version of Windows is needed.

Why would they send you an upgrade disk when you can download it? I can't remember the last time I saw MS use CDRoms or DVDs for their software.

How old was the OS? Vista?

Surprisingly, Microsoft does offer .iso images and physical disks to its customers even with Windows 10. It has largely become an extinct option though. I could be wrong, but I believe that Windows 7 was the last operating system to sell on a retail disk for Microsoft.

 

[grimwanderer]

Why would they send you an upgrade disk when you can download it? I can't remember the last time I saw MS use CDRoms or DVDs for their software.

How old was the OS? Vista?

The Windows version was Win10. I could be remembering wrong (it has been years). I do remember having to wait for something in the mail, however, which then turned out to be the wrong version. I had to contact MS again to get the right version.

From memory, the challenge was they sent a disk with an image designed for upgrading Windows 8 / 7 to Windows 10 (so it failed as it could not find the existing Windows install). I do remember challenges with the license and / or activation key... so maybe it was that vs the install disk.
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What version of Windows are you using with this iMac?

I will install the current release of Win10. The bootcamp partition has Windows10 before but was a couple years out of date since I haven’t even booted into it fo ages(ie: years).

Thanks both of you for the help and recommendations.

 

[Altemose]

I will install the current release of Win10. The bootcamp partition has Windows10 before but was a couple years out of date since I haven’t even booted into it fo ages(ie: years).

Technically, Apple has not sunset any version of Windows 10 by version number in its documentation. In theory, any version of Windows 10 should install on any Mac made today assuming that the specific driver prerequisites do not limit what version it may be installed on. In this case, this sounds like the Boot Camp partition was inadvertently destroyed or corrupted rather than the sunset of a version of Windows.

 

[russell_314]

The Windows version was Win10. I could be remembering wrong (it has been years). I do remember having to wait for something in the mail, however, which then turned out to be the wrong version. I had to contact MS again to get the right version.

From memory, the challenge was they sent a disk with an image designed for upgrading Windows 8 / 7 to Windows 10 (so it failed as it could not find the existing Windows install). I do remember challenges with the license and / or activation key... so maybe it was that vs the install disk.
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I will install the current release of Win10. The bootcamp partition has Windows10 before but was a couple years out of date since I haven’t even booted into it fo ages(ie: years).

Thanks both of you for the help and recommendations.

You can download and create your own Windows install disk or more commonly USB flash drive. The only reason you would want to order a physical disk from Microsoft is if the internet connection where you live is extremely slow.

Create installation media for Windows - Microsoft Support

Learn how to create installation media for installing or reinstalling Windows 7, Windows 8.1, or Windows 10.

support.microsoft.com