Doing serious voodoo dancing to get Win8 boot camp

[Cape Dave]

What I'm about to type here assumes that your drive has been partitioned as an MBR disk, and not a GPT one.

In order for Windows to install on the drive listed in the screenshots, it has to be using a GPT style partitioned disk.

If it's MBR style, then Windows is not going to install because it will want to create a 5th partition (primary) labeled as "System Reserve", that's usually around 300MB in size, but you can't have more than 4 primary partitions on an MBR-partitioned disk.

If you're getting that message, then I suspect that your drive is partitioned as MBR, and not GPT. Windows cannot create a new primary partition for its System Reserve drive, because you already have the max number of primary partitions. If that is indeed the case, back up whatever you need on the OS X side of things, and then completely repartition the drive as GPT, and not MBR. Then, reinstall OS X, and then do your Bootcamp procedure again.

BY George, I think you just may be on to something. When I did Internet recovery, I thought that IT did the correct partitioning for a MAC, as it is a MAC OS?

WHat do I sue to partition it GPT? Disk Utility? Can I do this using Internet recovery and then choosing Disk Utility? Or do I need some sort of third party utility? Thanks much, this may just be it. I ASSUMED that because MAC OS installed that it the SSD was somehow automatically GPT. Thanks much.

 

[hfg]

I asked this in post #12:
Your SSD should be formatted "GUID" ... did you set that when you first partitioned/formatted it after receiving it new?


You set it in Disk Utility under the "OPTIONS" button at the bottom.

-howard

 

[Dalton63841]

I asked this in post #12:
Your SSD should be formatted "GUID" ... did you set that when you first partitioned/formatted it after receiving it new?


You set it in Disk Utility under the "OPTIONS" button at the bottom.

-howard

Unless he did some fancy restore work, which from what I've read so far sounds doubtful, OS X will not install on an MBR partition, so if he installed OS X or used the Recovery partition, it has to be GUID.

 

[Cape Dave]

Yes, now that I think of it, Disk Utility pretty much forced me to partition with GUID, which is the same as GPT I think.

SO I think I have actually tried putting just Windows 8 on a GUID drive as I thought I had read somewhere that one could do that.

I am actually considering a 2-30 dollar software investment thta would allow me to do all income producing things that I do in Windows on the MAc, using the full power of the mini, and using Parallels like most do whihc is just when they need, for some reason (maybe remote support work for me) to be in Windows.

This wold allow me to try something I always said I would never try. A MAC

My passion is WordPress, and that certainly does not care a twit what type of computer I use It's all cloud now, baby!

I do support a few Windows computers, but have pretty much burnt out on that so I am phasing that out as much as possible.

 

[Cape Dave]

I am resurrecting this thread so that others may not have to suffer what I went through. Well, also just to float an idea as I have not proved my theory. I THINK that it is very likely that the reason I could not install Win8 with bootcamp is because I was inadvertently using an UPGRADE key code.

I had purchased Win8 way back in the beginning when it was $39. (I had long ago forgotten that it was an "upgrade" version) But after much ado trying to install it on Parallel's, where I KNEW it had worked before, I called Microsoft and one thing lead to another and it was determined that I was using an upgrade Key Code on a fresh install and that just does not work.

I have a fresh install of Parallels and Win8 and am using that for work. But when I get a chance I will test my theory. Of course, that will mean I will have to fork over for a full version Win8 and I have no idea how much that costs.

So I guess the take away here is that I THOUGHT I was using a full version key code, but I was not. Um, ah, my bad

I hope this helps someone

 

[hfg]

I am resurrecting this thread so that others may not have to suffer what I went through. Well, also just to float an idea as I have not proved my theory. I THINK that it is very likely that the reason I could not install Win8 with bootcamp is because I was inadvertently using an UPGRADE key code.

I had purchased Win8 way back in the beginning when it was $39. (I had long ago forgotten that it was an "upgrade" version) But after much ado trying to install it on Parallel's, where I KNEW it had worked before, I called Microsoft and one thing lead to another and it was determined that I was using an upgrade Key Code on a fresh install and that just does not work.

I have a fresh install of Parallels and Win8 and am using that for work. But when I get a chance I will test my theory. Of course, that will mean I will have to fork over for a full version Win8 and I have no idea how much that costs.

So I guess the take away here is that I THOUGHT I was using a full version key code, but I was not. Um, ah, my bad

I hope this helps someone

You can do what you want to do easily ... I have done it many times, including using the $39 W8 download. There are two ways: install the upgrade for demo, and then upgrade it again with the same copy, or there is a simple registry edit method which is quicker as it only involves a single install. I don't think I can post the details here, but a quick google search should find it for you.

Once you have your bootcamp install, you can link the same installation to Parallels for access from within OS X to save disk space (and for ease of only maintaining a single installation).

 

[Cape Dave]

I never could install Win 7 either. Heck, maybe that was an upgrade, I cannot remember. But the message I was getting most consistently also leads me to believe that for whatever reason, with the SSD in the second SATA position, Win7 or Win8 simply was not going to install, as I would get "This disk is not bootable. Go to BIOS and check this." or something to that effect.

So if it is not that, or my most recent post, then I have no idea on this earth why I could not bootcamp Win8. (or Win7)

All is running so well now that it i almost a moot point. But next version of the mini will be bought by me and by golly I'll bootcamp that computer til the cows come home to roost