Drivers not working on Windows 10 installed (CLI process) on external SSD running on MacBook Air 2018

Question

I have a problem with the installation of Windows 10 (November 2019) on my MacBook Air 2018. I tried to use a virtual machine the first time, but some drivers did not work (trackpad, audio and keyboard did not work). I used this tutorial on YouTube.

So, I decided to follow this guide (using the Windows CLI) carefully, step by step, at the part "Using a Flash Drive and the Windows CLI to Install Windows 10".

My problem is at this point in step 3:

DISKPART> list volume

  Volume ###  Ltr  Label        Fs     Type        Size     Status     Info
  ----------  ---  -----------  -----  ----------  -------  ---------  --------
  Volume 0     W   BOOTCAMP     NTFS   Partition    249 GB  Healthy
  Volume 1         Recovery     NTFS   Partition    800 MB  Healthy
  Volume 2     S   EFI          FAT32  Partition    200 MB  Healthy    Hidden
  Volume 3     C   WINSTALL     FAT32  Removable     29 GB  Healthy

Instead of volume WINSTALL, I see a D volume, in CD-ROM format (only 2 Gb). Without that volume, I can not continue with the installation, because the prompt does not find the image .ISO of windows contained in WINSTALL.

Before start, I followed this guide (answer #1) to prepare the SSD for the installation. I formatted the SSD in the ExFAT format and then I copied the contents of the Windows 10 .ISO image (that I've opened with the Finder) inside the SSD (I did not create any partitions with the macOS Disk Utility application). I want to specify that in the guide a 500 Gb SSD was used and my SSD is 250 GB in size.

This is the content of my SSD before starting the process of installation.

And this is the error at the command

dism /Get-ImageInfo /ImageFile:C:\sources\install.wim

English translation: "Error 87, parameter not correct. The image management and maintenance log file is available in X:\windows\Logs\DISM\dism.log"

Thank you so much for your time. I am available for any questions.

You were suppose to copy the files from the mounted Windows 10 ISO file and the Windows Support Software folder to the USB flash drive. Apparently, you incorrectly copied the files to the external SSD. I would be helpful, if you could post an image of what you are seeing at the point where you are having the problem. Can you post the model of the external SSD? Basically, I want to know if the drive is using Thunderbolt 3 or some version of USB. — David Anderson, Mar 14 '20 at 21:26
Hi @DavidAnderson thank you for your answer. I use a Samsung 850 EVO 250 Gb. I’ve posted two images in my question, I hope they could be useful. Thank you, I'm available for any other questions. — Alessandro Pani, Mar 14 '20 at 23:50

David Anderson · Accepted Answer · 2021-04-17T16:43:07.437

The answer of how to install Windows 10 to a external drive has be answered may times here at Ask Different. Most notably Is it possible to use Boot Camp with Windows 10 from an external HDD?. Enough subtle changes have been made to macOS and Windows 10, that I felt the answer should be reposted. Here, I try to incorporate the best ideas in all the other answers I have read. This answer does not require a virtual machine, optical (DVD) drive or any flash drives.

Note: When this answer was tested on a 2018 Mac mini with the T2 chip, Secure Boot and External Boot was set, as shown below. For instruction on how to configure a Mac with the T2 chip, see the Apple website About Secure Boot.

Download the latest Windows 10 ISO file from the Microsoft website Download Windows 10 Disc Image (ISO File).

Note: This answer was tested using 1909 (September 2019) update.
Download Window Support Software. Open the Boot Camp Assistant application. From the menu bar, select Action->Download Windows Support Software. By Default, the files should download to WindowsSupport folder in your home folder. When the popup shown below appears, enter your password then click on the Unlock button.

When finished, quit the Boot Camp Assistant.

Plug in the external drive. Open the Disk Utility application. In the pulldown menu in the upper left corner of the Disk Utility application, make sure Hide Sidebar is not checked off and Show All Devices is check off, as shown below.

Highlight the external drive and select the Erase button. Enter the following in the popup window, then click on the Erase button.

When finished erasing, click on the Done button. With the external drive still highlighted, click on the Partition button. Make the following changes in the order given below.

Note: The size entered below has to be large enough to create a volume that can hold the Windows ISO and Window Support Software files. The value of 16 GB should provide more that enough space. However, a smaller value can be substituted.
- Click on the + button.
- Enter a size of 16 GB.
- Enter the name WINSTALL.
- Select the ExFAT format.
The result should appear as shown below.

Click on the Apply, Partition, and Done buttons in the given order. When finished, quit the Disk Utility.
Using the Finder application, mount the Window 10 ISO file and copy the contents to the WINSTALL volume. Next copy the contents of the WindowsSupport folder to the WINSTALL volume. In your case, the result should appear as shown below.
Open a Terminal Application window and enter the following commands. These commands create labels that will eventually appear below the Mac Startup Manager external drive icons.
```
bless --folder /Volumes/WINSTALL/efi/boot --label "Install Windows"
mkdir /Volumes/WINSTALL/label
bless --folder /Volumes/WINSTALL/label --label "Windows"
```
When finished, quit the Terminal application.
Restart the Mac and immediately hold down the option key until the Startup Manager icons appear. Boot from the external drive by selecting the external drive icon labeled Install Windows.
The first window to appear should be similar to the one shown below.

Proceed as one would for a GUI installation of Windows. When a window similar to the one shown below appears, press the shift+F10 key combination.

Note: If you press the shift+F10 key combination before the image below appears, then the Windows installer may not have loaded drivers from the Windows Support Software.

The result should be the appearance of the Command Prompt window shown below.

This is the step where commands are entered to install Windows 10 Pro. For this Windows 10 ISO, a complete list of names to choose from are given below.

Windows 10 Home
Windows 10 Home N
Windows 10 Home Single Language
Windows 10 Education
Windows 10 Education N
Windows 10 Pro
Windows 10 Pro N
Windows 10 Pro Education
Windows 10 Pro Education N
Windows 10 Pro for Workstations
Windows 10 Pro N for Workstations

If you have a different Windows ISO, then a list of names can be generated by entering the command shown below after exiting the diskpart command.

dism /get-imageinfo /imagefile:t:\sources\install.wim

Below are the commands to be entered.

Note: If more that one disk appears in the list of disks, then care must be taken to select the correct disk, otherwise important data could be lost.

diskpart
list disk
select disk 0
list partition
select partition 3
assign letter=t
select partition 2
delete partition
create partition msr size=16
create partition primary
format fs=ntfs label=BOOTCAMP quick
assign letter=w
select partition 1
assign letter=s
list volume
exit
dism /apply-image /imagefile:t:\sources\install.wim /name:"Windows 10 Pro" /applydir:w:\ /checkintegrity
dism /image:w:\ /add-driver /driver:t:\$WinPEDriver$ /recurse /forceunsigned
bcdboot w:\windows /l en-us /s s: /f uefi
attrib -h t:\label\*
copy t:\label\.d* s:\efi\boot
attrib +h s:\efi\boot\.d*
exit

Below is an example of the typical output from entering the above commands.

Note: In this example, Volume 3 is stored in the EFI partition on Disk 1, which is the internal drive. This partition is not used by Windows.

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.18362.418]
(c) 2019 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
X:\Sources>diskpart
Microsoft DiskPart version 10.0.18362.1
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation.
On computer: MINWINPC
DISKPART> list disk
Disk ###  Status         Size     Free     Dyn  Gpt

Disk 0    Online          465 GB   128 MB        *
  Disk 1    Online          233 GB      0 B        *
DISKPART> select disk 0
Disk 0 is now the selected disk.
DISKPART> list partition
Partition ###  Type              Size     Offset

Partition 1    System             200 MB    20 KB
  Partition 2    Primary            450 GB   201 MB
  Partition 3    Primary             14 GB   450 GB
DISKPART> select partition 3
Partition 3 is now the selected partition.
DISKPART> assign letter=t
DiskPart successfully assigned the drive letter or mount point.
DISKPART> select partition 2
Partition 2 is now the selected partition.
DISKPART> delete partition
DiskPart successfully deleted the selected partition.
DISKPART> create partition msr size=16
DiskPart succeeded in creating the specified partition.
DISKPART> create partition primary
DiskPart succeeded in creating the specified partition.
DISKPART> format fs=ntfs label=BOOTCAMP quick
100 percent completed
DiskPart successfully formatted the volume.
DISKPART> assign letter=w
DiskPart successfully assigned the drive letter or mount point.
DISKPART> select partition 1
Partition 1 is now the selected partition.
DISKPART> assign letter=s
DiskPart successfully assigned the drive letter or mount point.
DISKPART> list volume
Volume ###  Ltr  Label        Fs     Type        Size     Status     Info

Volume 0     W   BOOTCAMP     NTFS   Partition    450 GB  Healthy
  Volume 1     T   WINSTALL     exFAT  Partition     14 GB  Healthy

Volume 2     S   EFI          FAT32  Partition    200 MB  Healthy    Hidden
Volume 3         EFI          FAT32  Partition    300 MB  Healthy    Hidden

DISKPART> exit
Leaving DiskPart...
X:\Sources>dism /apply-image /imagefile:t:\sources\install.wim /name:"Windows 10 Pro" /applydir:w:\ /checkintegrity
Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
Version: 10.0.18362.1
Applying image
[==========================100.0%==========================]
The operation completed successfully.
X:\Sources>dism /image:w:\ /add-driver /driver:t:$WinPEDriver$ /recurse /forceunsigned
Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
Version: 10.0.18362.1
Image Version: 10.0.18363.418
Searching for driver packages to install...
There was a problem opening the INF file. t:$WinPEDriver$\IntelHDGraphics64\autorun.inf Error: 0xE0000100.
Found 24 driver package(s) to install.
Installing 1 of 24 - t:$WinPEDriver$\AppleAudio\AppleAudio.inf: The driver package was successfully installed.
Installing 2 of 24 - t:$WinPEDriver$\AppleAudio_1884106B\AppleAudio_1884106B.inf: The driver package was successfully installed.
Installing 3 of 24 - t:$WinPEDriver$\AppleBluetoothBroadcom64\AppleBTBC.inf: The driver package was successfully installed.
Installing 4 of 24 - t:$WinPEDriver$\AppleMultiTouchTrackPad64\AppleMTP64.inf: The driver package was successfully installed.
Installing 5 of 24 - t:$WinPEDriver$\AppleMultiTouchTrackPadPro64\AppleTPP64.inf: The driver package was successfully installed.
Installing 6 of 24 - t:$WinPEDriver$\AppleSSD64\AppleSSD.inf: The driver package was successfully installed.
Installing 7 of 24 - t:$WinPEDriver$\Aquantia64\aqnic650.inf: The driver package was successfully installed.
Installing 8 of 24 - t:$WinPEDriver$\BroadcomBluetoothHID64\UheBtHid.inf: The driver package was successfully installed.
Installing 9 of 24 - t:$WinPEDriver$\BroadcomBluetoothHID64\UheSerialBus.inf: The driver package was successfully installed.
Installing 10 of 24 - t:$WinPEDriver$\BroadcomWirelessUDM64\bcmwdidhdpcie.inf: The driver package was successfully installed.
Installing 11 of 24 - t:$WinPEDriver$\Dolby\swc_aposvc\dax3_swc_aposvc.inf: The driver package was successfully installed.
Installing 12 of 24 - t:$WinPEDriver$\Dolby\swc_hsa\dax3_swc_hsa.inf: The driver package was successfully installed.
Installing 13 of 24 - t:$WinPEDriver$\IntelHDGraphics64\Graphics\cui_comp.inf: The driver package was successfully installed.
Installing 14 of 24 - t:$WinPEDriver$\IntelHDGraphics64\Graphics\iigd_base.inf: The driver package was successfully installed.
Installing 15 of 24 - t:$WinPEDriver$\IntelHDGraphics64\Graphics\iigd_ext.inf: The driver package was successfully installed.
Installing 16 of 24 - t:$WinPEDriver$\IntelHDGraphics64\Graphics\IntcDAud.inf: The driver package was successfully installed.
Installing 17 of 24 - t:$WinPEDriver$\IntelHDGraphics64\Graphics\msdk_comp.inf: The driver package was successfully installed.
Installing 18 of 24 - t:$WinPEDriver$\IntelHDGraphics64\Graphics\vk_comp.inf: The driver package was successfully installed.
Installing 19 of 24 - t:$WinPEDriver$\IntelMEI\heci.inf: The driver package was successfully installed.
Installing 20 of 24 - t:$WinPEDriver$\IntelSST\intcaudiobus.inf: The driver package was successfully installed.
Installing 21 of 24 - t:$WinPEDriver$\SerialIO\iaLPSS2_GPIO2_CNL.inf: The driver package was successfully installed.
Installing 22 of 24 - t:$WinPEDriver$\SerialIO\iaLPSS2_I2C_CNL.inf: The driver package was successfully installed.
Installing 23 of 24 - t:$WinPEDriver$\SerialIO\iaLPSS2_SPI_CNL.inf: The driver package was successfully installed.
Installing 24 of 24 - t:$WinPEDriver$\SerialIO\iaLPSS2_UART2_CNL.inf: The driver package was successfully installed.
The operation completed successfully.
X:\Sources>bcdboot w:\windows /l en-us /s s: /f uefi
Boot files successfully created.
X:\Sources>attrib -h t:\label*
X:\Sources>copy t:\label.d* s:\efi\boot
t:\label.disk_label
t:\label.disk_label_2x
        2 file(s) copied.
X:\Sources>attrib +h s:\efi\boot.d*
X:\Sources>exit

After the Command Prompt window closes, click on the red X. When the popup shown below appears, click on the Yes button.

When the next windows appears, click on the red X. When the popup shown below appears, click on the Yes button.

When the Mac restarts, hold down the option key until the Mac boots to the Startup Manager. Next, hold down the control key while selecting the external drive icon labeled Windows.
After Windows 10 finishes installing, you will need to run the Boot Camp Support Software installer. This can be accomplished by opening the Setup application in the BootCamp folder on volume labeled WINSTALL.

Note: After the Boot Camp Support Software installer finished and the Mac restarted, the volume labeled WINSTALL was no longer assigned a drive letter. If you need to access this volume, then use Disk Management to assign the volume a drive letter. You can also protect the volume by using Disk Management to remove the drive letter.
While booted to Windows, run Apple Software Update to check for any new software from Apple.

Optional: Removing the Installation Partition

The instructions below remove the partition containing the Windows 10 ISO and Windows Support Software files. The free space is then added to the Windows partition.

Note: There exists a Golden Rule which can be loosely stated as “Never use Windows software to change the partitioning on Mac computers.” An exception to this rule is when Windows UEFI boots from the Windows installation files or the Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE). Seeing a drive letter of X: is an indicator that this has occurred. Since the external drive contains no Apple partitions, you may want to chance using the Disk Management system utility in Windows, instead of following the instructions given below.

Boot to the Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE). Basically, hold down the shift key while while selecting Restart, as shown in the image below.

Next, a series of menus will appear. Select Troubleshoot, Advanced options and Command Prompt in the order given. Eventually, a Command Prompt window will appear.

Below are the commands to be entered.

Note: If more that one disk appears in the list of disks, then care must be taken to select the correct disk, otherwise important data could be lost.

diskpart
list disk
select disk 1
list partition
select partition 4
delete partition
select partition 3
extend
list partition
exit
exit

Below is an example of the typical output from entering the above commands.

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.18362.418]
(c) 2019 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
X:\windows\system32>diskpart
Microsoft DiskPart version 10.0.18362.1
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation.
On computer: MININT-G6386F5
DISKPART> list disk
Disk ###  Status         Size     Free     Dyn  Gpt

Disk 0    Online          233 GB      0 B        *
  Disk 1    Online          465 GB   128 MB        *
DISKPART> sel disk 1
Disk 1 is now the selected disk.
DISKPART> list part
Partition ###  Type              Size     Offset

Partition 1    System             200 MB    20 KB
  Partition 2    Reserved            16 MB   201 MB
  Partition 3    Primary            450 GB   217 MB
  Partition 4    Primary             14 GB   450 GB
DISKPART> select partition 4
Partition 4 is now the selected partition.
DISKPART> delete partition
DiskPart successfully deleted the selected partition.
DISKPART> select partition 3
Partition 3 is now the selected partition.
DISKPART> extend
DiskPart successfully extended the volume.
DISKPART> list partition
Partition ###  Type              Size     Offset

Partition 1    System             200 MB    20 KB
  Partition 2    Reserved            16 MB   201 MB

Partition 3    Primary            465 GB   217 MB

DISKPART> exit
Leaving DiskPart...
X:\windows\system32>exit

After the Command Prompt Windows closes, the menu shown below will appear. Select Turn off your PC.

“To Do List” of Items Not Covered in This Answer

Add a custom icon to the Startup Menu
Move the Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) files to their own partition.
Configure Windows to use the Apple keyboard.

Additional References

DISM Image Management Command-Line Options
DISM Driver Servicing (.inf) Command-Line Options
BCDBoot Command-Line Options
UEFI/GPT-based hard drive partitions

You fix my problem, now all the partitions and all drivers work! Thank you so much David! — Alessandro Pani, Mar 16 '20 at 12:10
David, I followed your guide here and it seemed to work like a charm. Unfortunately for me, it didn't work in the end. The first thing I noticed that the external drive icon did not say "Install WIndows" it just said "Windows". I'm not sure if that created a problem. Followed all the instructions and got similar output to you - it said it only found 16 drivers instead of 24, not sure if that's relevant. When I finished and got to the activation screen and X'd out and hit option, I came back to 2 icons saying "Windows". It seemed to get into windows, but it then said install never finished — Siraris, May 30 '20 at 20:28
and there was an error and I need to complete setup. Any ideas? I really am clueless as to what to do here. — Siraris, May 30 '20 at 20:28
@Siraris: What is the model/year of your Mac? What version of macOS are you using? Are you using the 1909 or 2004 version of Windows 10? I can see where the instructions could be confusing, if your Mac is a 2012, 2013 or 2014 year model. — David Anderson, May 31 '20 at 13:57
@DavidAnderson I tried again and I think I didn't hold down a key at one point and it worked this time? EIther that, or something went wrong with the first install. There's been a few hiccups but honestly they've all resolved themselves and it works like a charm now. You're amazing. — Siraris, Jun 17 '20 at 15:31
I’m getting an error on the windows side that says ‘Windows Setup could not install one or more boot-critical drivers. To install Windows, make sure that the drivers are valid, and restart the installation’. Any idea ok what may be causing this? — Addison, Aug 14 '20 at 16:05
The error occurred at step 7. I hit ‘next’, shown in the screenshot, and clicked the ‘install’ button on the following page. That’s when I got the error.
Thanks for the response! — Addison, Aug 16 '20 at 14:20
Something might have changed with 2004 release. I make the following assumptions: 1) Your MacBook Pro is a 2012 model or newer. 2) You downloaded the Windows Support Software using the Boot Camp Assistant on the same Mac as you are using to install Windows. The $WinPEDriver$ folder appears as shown in the figure in step 4. 5) You are using the 2004 release of Windows 10. Are these assumptions true? — David Anderson, Aug 16 '20 at 14:59
Interesting.. so it seems all of your assumptions are right. Is there one I should change that would make this work, or would I need to change all 3? — Addison, Aug 16 '20 at 15:33
This answer was tested using the 64 bit English 1909 version of Windows 10. You could try downloading this version. This link suggests how to do this. You could also try one of the answers given here. There is also the possibility your model can not boot from an external USB drive. — David Anderson, Aug 16 '20 at 16:09
Thank you very much for the detailed procedure @DavidAnderson but I wonder why you have two EFI partitions. I am in a similar situation where I have macOS booted from external Thunderbolt 2 SSD and I am trying to install Windows 10. I am little afraid of touching the existing EFI partition since it is most probably used by macOS. Can above commands corrupt it or they will just add Windows stuff and thus make it hybrid for both OS installations? — user3602441, Apr 11 '21 at 19:11
@user3602441: This answer only has one EFI partition on the external drive. In your case, having macOS and Windows 10 share the same EFI partition should not cause any problems. BTW, I have never tried installing Windows to a external Thunderbolt 2 drive. — David Anderson, Apr 11 '21 at 21:28
@DavidAnderson: the output under point 8. of your procedure shows 200MB "Volume 2" EFI with letter S and 300MB "Volume 3" EFI without letter. That's why I ask. I thought you have two OS installations too, like me. Regarding my case, do you think that macOS treats with blocking devices differently over TB vs USB? If enchanting of the existing EFI partition with Windows won't break anything then it's worth of trying, I was afraid that Windows will overwrite macOS data because it needs separated EFI partition. — user3602441, Apr 12 '21 at 00:05
Volume 3 is located in the EFI partition on the internal SSD. This is partition 1 on disk 1. Disk 0 is external and disk 1 is internal. I have installed an UEFI booting Windows 10 on USB 2, USB 3 and Thunderbolt 3 drives. Thunderbolt 3 is not backward compatible with Thunderbolt 1 and 2. So, I do not know what will happen when installing to a Thunderbolt 2 drive. When using the Boot Camp Assistant to install an UEFI booting Windows 10 on the internal drive, both macOS and Windows share the same EFI partition. This is why I assume you can with external drives. — David Anderson, Apr 12 '21 at 02:21
Blessing does not work in my case for empty external HDD - the Winstall partition does not appear in Startup Manager so I tried to get back to SSD external drive attempt and build USB boot drive with Bootcamp Assistent but EFI of the SSD cannot be assigned a letter nor mount it with “mountvol”. That command simply does not detect the EFI as a mountable partition while it detected Bootcamp partition on internal HDD as well as external SSD (recently created by Bootcamp Assistent). I suppose copying those files should be somehow possible on EFI under macOS but do you have idea how to do bcdboot? — user3602441, Apr 17 '21 at 14:40
Where is blessing taking place in my answer? What is the external HDD being used for? I thought you are trying to install to a Thunderbolt 2 SDD. I am not following the rest of your previous comment. Perhaps, you should post a new question and explain your steps and where you are currently having a problem. — David Anderson, Apr 17 '21 at 16:52
I was referring to “bless” command under macOS that seems did not make my external HDD bootable but you are right, I’ve better created separate question with all details. Thank you for help. — user3602441, Apr 17 '21 at 20:24

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered May 19 '23 at 22:51

0

Apple seems to have changed the Windows Support installer so that it will not run on an external drive.

The Windows Support software is device dependent.

I successfully used this method to install Windows 10 on an external SSD attached to a 2015 MacBook Pro.

But on a Mac mini 2018 I could not boot to install Windows. I did get it working by installing from a 2017 iMac, and the SSD then worked on the Mac mini, but the Windows Support software (downloaded on the Mac mini) could not be installed.

answered May 19 '23 at 22:51

Thunderclutch

59
5

Does the software actually complain about being on an external drive? – jobukkit Jun 06 '23 at 14:26
1

I should have updated, sorry. When I tried to run the installer I got the error that it couldn’t run because another installation was already in progress, although none apparently was.
I eventually resolved it by examining the Windows Task Manager processes list. Starting the Bootcamp driver installer seemed to kick off multiple instances of a process called something like “Windows Driver Installer”. Killing those processes (which restarted very quickly) and quickly starting Bootcamp installer allowed the drivers to be installed
– Thunderclutch Jun 07 '23 at 21:51

Drivers not working on Windows 10 installed (CLI process) on external SSD running on MacBook Air 2018

2 Answers2

Optional: Removing the Installation Partition

“To Do List” of Items Not Covered in This Answer

Additional References

Linked