Bootcamp Windows - No Optical Drive

shanezn

shanezn

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Hi guys. So, a while back I upgraded my 2011 MacBook Pro with an SSD and replaced the optical drive with the existing 750GB hard drive I had in there. I want to now create a Bootcamp partition and get Windows 8 installed as well. Turns out, it's not an easy task.

At first I couldn't get past the installer so that it would allow me to install via USB through an ISO image I created from the install dvd. I got around that after doing some digging around the net and was able to create a USB installer on the Mac and I got Bootcamp setup to recognize it. All good ... or so I thought.

After the Mac reboots to begin the install process, I get the "no bootable device" error. The general consensus is that I need the internal optical drive in order to install Windows as the 2011 MBP will not recognize a USB Windows installer. Problem is, I sold off my optical drive a few weeks after installing the SSD, thinking if I ever needed to use an optical disc ever again, I could just use my portable DVD-RW. As it turns out, that's not even an option for installing Windows either because the Mac doesn't see it as a device upon bootup. Holding down the Alt (option) key also doesn't show the USB device as an option.

My question is, is there a way (trick ?) to install Windows via USB on the 2011 MBP, or am I royally screwed without the internal optical drive ?
 
Thanks. I actually followed that very same guide to make the USB installer and it worked great. There's no real info about actually getting Windows installer to boot off the USB though. Only option seems to be the VM Ware route, and that's a real pain. Might have to end up borrowing a mate's SuperDrive just to get this done :(
 
Have you tried using a different flash drive? May sound crazy but I had the same "no bootable device" error on my MBA. I used a different flash drive and it worked first time.
 
themank said:
Have you tried using a different flash drive? May sound crazy but I had the same "no bootable device" error on my MBA. I used a different flash drive and it worked first time.
Click to expand...

Yeah, tried that as well. No dice. From what I've researched at other forums, it doesn't seem like it can be done with a USB installer from the boot options. Creating the installer is easy enough, following the guide from the link vinodh posted, but the problem comes in after the Mac reboots to begin the Windows install. That model MBP specifically looks for the superdrive. What a ball ache.
 
shanezn said:
Tried. Doesn't pick up.
Click to expand...

Worked for me, using vinodh's drive he gave me. But once windows installs it errors out and rollbacks. Need to try a different copy of windows..
 
If you make the windows partition, does it come with a "emulated bios"?
 
I'm not sure. Bootcamp creates the Windows USB installer. How would I check that ?
 
Rickster said:
If you make the windows partition, does it come with a "emulated bios"?
Click to expand...

Yes. It will. Bootcamp does not support EFI. However, there is a way to install Windows 8 on a Mac using EFI but it's quite complicated. I installed Ubuntu and Fedora very easily on my 2011 MacBook Pro in EFI mode but Windows, typically, is a pain in the ass.
 
@shanezn

Have you tried deleting the Superdrive kext (driver) as mentioned in the thread I posted? By removing it, OS X might then realise your MacBook does not have an optical drive and then install as per normal.
 
vinodh said:
@shanezn

Have you tried deleting the Superdrive kext (driver) as mentioned in the thread I posted? By removing it, OS X might then realise your MacBook does not have an optical drive and then install as per normal.
Click to expand...

I haven't tried that. I must have missed that part in the thread. I'll check it out again. I'll make a copy just in case I screw something up.
 
Didn't work. Think I may have broken something too. After deleting the kext, shutdown took over a minute where it normally took 10 seconds or less. Eventually rebooted and put the kext back. Repaired disk permissions. Still problematic. Did a SMC reset and a PRAM reset. Same problem. Mac is also starting up with the CPU temp hitting the 70degree mark and hovering around that. Ran recovery, and repaired disk permissions and disk from there. Seems to have helped. Think I'm just gonna do a fresh install of Mavericks anyway and forget about even getting Windows on there. It's not worth the hassle.
 
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