Error: No bootable device - insert boot disk and press any key

[Yass-Attack]

I just can't get past this, I tried installing to different Windows 7.iso through Boot camp 4.0.1.

So I check all 3 boxes and load the .iso, the screen before I locate the windows 7.iso source looks like this:

Every time bootcamp completes the installation process the computer resets trying to start up on Windows 7 but instead I get a black screen saying "No bootable device - insert boot disk and press any key"

I know how to avoid getting this screen, I just want to run windows 7. And if it matters, I'm running Lion OSX

 

[techguy20]

I'd recommend burning the Windows 7 ISO to a DVD if you have one (if not, a USB drive, but those can sometimes be a bit finicky with formats).

Then, just use the Bootcamp Utility to create a Windows partition, and boot onto the DVD to install that way.

Do you have a blank DVD available to try that?

 

[thatoneguy82]

I just can't get past this, I tried installing to different Windows 7.iso through Boot camp 4.0.1.

So I check all 3 boxes and load the .iso, the screen before I locate the windows 7.iso source looks like this:

Image

Every time bootcamp completes the installation process the computer resets trying to start up on Windows 7 but instead I get a black screen saying "No bootable device - insert boot disk and press any key"

I know how to avoid getting this screen, I just want to run windows 7. And if it matters, I'm running Lion OSX

Are you using an external optical drive? If so, that's your problem. Booting from an external optical drive isn't supported by Apple (or so I've been told).

 

[Yass-Attack]

I'd recommend burning the Windows 7 ISO to a DVD if you have one (if not, a USB drive, but those can sometimes be a bit finicky with formats).

Then, just use the Bootcamp Utility to create a Windows partition, and boot onto the DVD to install that way.

Do you have a blank DVD available to try that?

Are you using an external optical drive? If so, that's your problem. Booting from an external optical drive isn't supported by Apple (or so I've been told).

I'm using a USB. I would have rather used a CD but my optical drive is broken, apparently that's common with the mid-2009 MBPs

 

[Bejuco]

Can't upload

I have the same problem as you, and I can not pass the screen message "No bootable device - insert boot disk and press any key''.I would like to erase the bootcamp partition, but I can't even upload the computer because at the startup disk their not nothing to choose to restart. If someone have any idea, I'll appreciated.

MacBook Pro 13'' (2010)
Mac Os X Lion

I just can't get past this, I tried installing to different Windows 7.iso through Boot camp 4.0.1.

So I check all 3 boxes and load the .iso, the screen before I locate the windows 7.iso source looks like this:

Image

Every time bootcamp completes the installation process the computer resets trying to start up on Windows 7 but instead I get a black screen saying "No bootable device - insert boot disk and press any key"

I know how to avoid getting this screen, I just want to run windows 7. And if it matters, I'm running Lion OSX

 

[jnl1211]

Use disk utility to mount the iso to a fat formatted thumb drive and install. Worked for me

----------

I have the same problem as you, and I can not pass the screen message "No bootable device - insert boot disk and press any key''.I would like to erase the bootcamp partition, but I can't even upload the computer because at the startup disk their not nothing to choose to restart. If someone have any idea, I'll appreciated.

MacBook Pro 13'' (2010)
Mac Os X Lion

Hold control while you press power. Keep holding control. It'll show your available disks and you can choose which you want to boot from. Use disk utility to erase your boot camp partition and start over

 

[murphychris]

Every time bootcamp completes the installation process the computer resets trying to start up on Windows 7 but instead I get a black screen saying "No bootable device - insert boot disk and press any key"

I think this is clear, however everyone else seems confused so I'm going to ask for clarification. You have already successfully booted off the USB stick, gotten to the Windows installer, and you've successfully installed Windows. However, when the computer reboots (which is normal after installing Windows) you are getting the "No bootable device...." message? Correct?

This is a BIOS message. In Mac OS X, please post the results of the following entered into Terminal:

diskutil list

sudo fdisk /dev/disk0

Please use code tags around the results you post so it formats correctly. Highlight your pasted results in the window, then use the # button in the toolbar to add the code tags.

 

[caerleonjack]

Similar problems

I have a brand new macmini, and I'm trying to install Windows 7 (OEM copy). I'm doing this via an external dvd drive connected by USB. I cannot get any further than the black screen telling me that there is no bootable device. I have removed the Windows partition and re-attempted the install several times now but I cannot get to the stage of formatting the Windows partition.

Can anyone help? If I didn't need Windows for work purposes I wouldn't bother, this is getting so frustrating

 

[murphychris]

I have a brand new macmini, and I'm trying to install Windows 7 (OEM copy). I'm doing this via an external dvd drive connected by USB. I cannot get any further than the black screen telling me that there is no bootable device. I have removed the Windows partition and re-attempted the install several times now but I cannot get to the stage of formatting the Windows partition.

Can anyone help? If I didn't need Windows for work purposes I wouldn't bother, this is getting so frustrating

You're hijacking the thread with a different problem. This thread is about "No bootable device" after successfully installing Windows. You're having a problem with an external USB DVD drive. You should post a new thread, something like "Installing from external DVD drive"

Page 4 of the Boot Camp Install guide says you need A built-in optical disc drive or a compatible external optical drive. but I don't know what they mean by the qualifier "compatible" in this context. I've never gotten external USB devices to boot foreign OS's. Maybe they mean Firewire in this case, I don't know.

 

[murphychris]

Can anyone help? If I didn't need Windows for work purposes I wouldn't bother, this is getting so frustrating

And BTW, it's easier to do this within VM, even for work purposes. I'm not sure what your particular requirements are, but unless your company bought you the Mac, and is paying for support for it and Windows, etc. I would personally not accept Boot Camp responsibility for my company. I'd put it in a VM.

 

[caerleonjack]

You're hijacking the thread with a different problem. This thread is about "No bootable device" after successfully installing Windows. You're having a problem with an external USB DVD drive. You should post a new thread, something like "Installing from external DVD drive"

Page 4 of the Boot Camp Install guide says you need A built-in optical disc drive or a compatible external optical drive. but I don't know what they mean by the qualifier "compatible" in this context. I've never gotten external USB devices to boot foreign OS's. Maybe they mean Firewire in this case, I don't know.

Chris: apologies for "hijacking the thread" but my problem is that I cannot get past a black screen with the message "Error: no bootable device - insert boot disk and press any key". It's only through reading this thread that I got any indication that the USB DVD drive could be an issue, but as I was getting the same error message as the OP I assumed it would be ok to ask a similar question in the same thread. On other non-Mac forums that I use it's usually the norm to keep relevant conversation within one thread rather than starting a new thread every time. I obviously assumed incorrectly in this case.

Thank you for your response though, I will try another DVD drive I own which connects via Firewire. When I say that I need it for work purposes, I am a teacher and I need to be able to run certain Windows only software and I need to be able to take screenshots from within the Windows environment. Maybe I'll try VM ware and see how I go.

 

[murphychris]

On other non-Mac forums that I use it's usually the norm to keep relevant conversation within one thread rather than starting a new thread every time. I obviously assumed incorrectly in this case.

I have no idea what the policy is for this forum. For all I know what you did is fine per their policies. But I think it's a problem because it obscures both conversations. The same error message != the same problem.

As a result your problem will get less attention because it's buried deep inside a thread that many people have already read and moved on from. And it also detours the conversation away from resolving what is almost certainly a partition map problem.

Thank you for your response though, I will try another DVD drive I own which connects via Firewire. When I say that I need it for work purposes, I am a teacher and I need to be able to run certain Windows only software and I need to be able to take screenshots from within the Windows environment. Maybe I'll try VM ware and see how I go.

So far what you're mentioning can be done in VBox, Parallels or VMWare. It's largely a matter of performance requirements. But I find management of systems in VM to be my preferred choice, unless an application has particularly aggressive hardware demands.