Mac – Problem Installing Boot Camp Windows Partition on new Mac Pro

bootcampmac prowindows

I am stuck with a Boot Camp installation on a new Mac Pro.

I have tried Windows 8.1 Pro, Windows 8.1 Enterprise, and Windows Server 2012 R2. (Can't try Windows 7, obviously.)

All three give me this at the end of setup:

Windows could not update the computer's boot configuration. Installation cannot proceed.

I've tried letting the Boot Camp Assistant do everything, I've also followed the advice in several posts that suggest interrupting the process by booting back into Mac and using Disk Utility to format the Boot Camp partition as FAT, ExFAT, etc. All lead to the same error after rebooting to the USB drive and commencing with Windows setup.

Windows finishes the installation, seemingly, but it just doesn't seem to be able to update the boot data.

So, what's the trick? How did other MacPro6,1 users get Boot Camp paved? Is this a firmware update I'm going to need to wait for?

I tried support, it was a joke. Apple couldn't pass me off to Microsoft quick enough; and Microsoft couldn't pass me back to Apple quick enough. I think that's the most I've ever identified with a tennis ball.

Best Answer

Finally got this working, thanks to a person named "turbostar" over on discussions.apple.com:

  1. Re-run Boot Camp Assistant to remove the Windows partition and restore the full Mac HD as a single partition.
  2. Run a PRAM reset (restart, while screen is still black, hold down ⌘+Option+P+R and keep them pressed until you hear the startup sound a second time).
  3. Open disk utility and repair permissions on the Macintosh HD partition. TWICE.
  4. Start Boot Camp Assistant again.

Seems hokey. With those instructions I thought I would also have to stand on one foot, point to my nose, rub my belly, and hope for rain. But it did end up working.

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