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I just finished building my PC. It has no optical drive but I made a bootable usb with my iMac. When I plugged it in my PC motherboard recognized it, I chose to boot from the USB but it takes to me a blank screen.

To troubleshoot, I tried it on my Asus laptop running Debian. I selected the usb to boot and it just boots up Debian. So something is not working with the USB. Any suggestions? Is it possible that making a bootable USB with boot camp won't work on PC?

Glassfase
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  • What OS is setup on the USB to be installed on the PC and how specifically did you do it? – user3439894 Feb 24 '15 at 17:50
  • The OS on the USB is Windows 7. I created it with an iso on image on my iMac using bootcamp. – Glassfase Feb 24 '15 at 17:53
  • Did you test booting it on the iMac and did it work? – user3439894 Feb 24 '15 at 17:55
  • The iMac does not recognize the USB when I'm prompted to select a boot device after I hold down the option key at startup. – Glassfase Feb 24 '15 at 22:54
  • If created on the Mac and not recognized at a boot device at startup with the option key then I'd have to say it's not bootable (I know that kind of obvious now). Is this 32 or 64 bit Windows 7 and are you trying to boot using UEFI on the PC? – user3439894 Feb 24 '15 at 23:03
  • What is the model identifier of your iMac? If you do not know, then give the model year. Also, what version of OS X are your currently using? I am trying to confirm if your iMac is suppose to be able to boot from the Windows USB flash drive you created. – David Anderson Feb 25 '15 at 10:10
  • 2011 Intel 21 inch iMac. I had to do the little adjustment with the boot camp plist file to get it to make a bootable USB so it probably can't boot from a USB. – Glassfase Feb 25 '15 at 21:05
  • What version of OS X are you currently using? If you choose to temporarily install Windows on your iMac, make sure you have the current firmware installed. See EFI and SMC firmware updates for Intel-based Macs. While viewing this web page, note how to determine your model identifier. Also I will need to know if you are using Core Storage. If you do not know how to determine this, let me know. It involves running the command diskutil cs list from a Terminal window. – David Anderson Feb 26 '15 at 02:18
  • Does your new PC have any USB 3.x jacks? If so, do not try to boot using them. Stick to the USB 2.x jacks. If unetbootin does not work, I can help installing Windows 7 temporarily on your Mac. I also have a 2011 21.5-inch iMac. I have the 32 bit and 64 bit Windows 7 Pro SP1 installation DVD's. I could test the temporary installation and removal of Window 7. Whether this is worth doing depends on the answers to my questions. – David Anderson Feb 26 '15 at 04:52

2 Answers2

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It is my understanding what the Windows flash drive installer created using Boot Camp can only be used on select Mac computers. The flash drive can not be used on PC's. This post Will bootable usb created by bootcamp on mac work with PC? describes the same problems you are having. (Look for Technicallity's solution.)

The iso file you have can be setup in one of three ways. First, is a legacy BIOS boot which usually assumes the use the MBR disk partitioning scheme. Second, is a UEFI boot which assumes the use of a GPT disk partitioning scheme. Third is both types where you are prompted to select your choice when booting. If you need to changing the boot setup, that I can help with. For example see here.

It would be easiest to have another Windows machine available to create the bootable flash drive. I assume you don't have one?

Based on the limited information you have provided, here is how I would proceed. (Don't feel bad, no one ever gives me enough information.) This is a rough outline.

  1. Get a machine running Windows to assist you. That you already have. It called your Apple. Assuming you do not have a Fusion drive, it is relatively easy to install and later remove Windows from any Mac computer. For your Apple, I do not have enough information to say how easy. I would install but not activate Windows. This will give you 30 days of free use. You will then be able to use the same Windows 7 to install and activate on your new PC.
  2. Get and use the official Microsoft tool for creating Window 7 installation flash drives. The tool can be found at Windows USB/DVD Download Tool. Don't let the name fool you. The tool does not download software. It is used to create bootable install media after you have downloaded Widows 7.
  3. Determine whether you are going to use a legacy BIOS or UEFI boot method. From my understanding, if the UEFI option is available, you have to configure the boot setup to select it. (I have never seen an EFI boot. I have always used the legacy method.)
  4. Determine if your iso has to be modified using the Microsoft oscdmg.exe tool. This tool is used to change the install boot method.
  5. Create the bootable flash drive and install Windows on your new computer.

Anyway, I figure I am right only 10% of the time. Most likely someone else will have your solution. If you have further questions or would like to proceed, add a comment below.

Community
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David Anderson
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  • Last night I tried to make a bootable USB using unetbootin on my Mac and my laptop running Linux and I got the same results, a blank screen asking me to insert bootable media. When I get home I am going to try a new Sandisk USB instead of the PNY one to see if it is the USB having trouble. I also tried UFEI and Legacy and I still got the same results. – Glassfase Feb 25 '15 at 21:03
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I tried making a install disk then boot it through a PC and it worked flawless for me. So I am hoping it will work fine even for you :-)

leovarmak
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