Drivers not working on Windows 10 installed (CLI process) on external SSD running on Mac mini - EFI Started But Screen Black After Win Logo

Question

I followed the steps listed in https://apple.stackexchange.com/a/384447/9058 to install Windows 10 via CLI but am stuck at step 7.

I restarted my Mac Mini and held down the option key. The Mac HD and and EFI HD came up. I clicked on the EFI. The Windows Logo or insignia (the little boxes)came up and it looked like all was well for about a minute or so and then the screen goes black. The Mac Mini remains on but the screen is blank.

How can I proceed from here?

The following is a picture of my screen in Windows Terminal

Almost to the end but stuck over the $WinPEDriver$

Oh well, it was an adventure typing inside the terminal or CLI.

How do I continue from here? Thanks!

Update 1

Dear David, Here is a picture of my Terminal. It seems the last command wasn't accepted.

Update 2

Dear David,

I tried these new commands but as you can see, they didn't produce the results we were hoping for.

Where do I go from here? Thanks!

Update 3

Good Evening David, Here is a picture of the results of latest command.

Thanks!

Update 4

Good Evening David, F10 not working once I reach the screen below.

You mentioned it may be a driver issue that is not loading. Below is a picture of WINSTALL listing.

What steps should I take from here? Thanks!

Update 5

I successfully copied the 2 individual folders inside of Windows Support folder to WINSTALL drive as seen below.

It worked!!! Below is a picture of Apple Update in process!

I can't begin to express my gratitude for working so patiently and consistently with me. Below is the finished product. Windows running on my Samsung 500GB drive.

I made the mistake of purchasing my Mac Mini without enough storage. I thought I could add more later. As you probably know, the storage is soldered in and adding more is not possible. An external drive is necessary. I started 2 months ago with Jeff at 9 to 5 Mac on YTube. Then it was Chris K's YT channel. Thank goodness I stumbled onto your website here at Stack Exchange. I realize you will have to edit these comments but I wanted you to know what a tremendous service you provide. Thanks!!!!

@DavidAnderson The OP was refering to another post of yours :-) — nohillside, Apr 12 '20 at 09:19
Andrew, are you sure it's not just the screen saver kicking in a after a minute? — nohillside, Apr 12 '20 at 09:19
I don't think so, but I will give that a try and see if that is the case. Thanks! — Andrew W, Apr 12 '20 at 15:53
I have a 2018 Mac Mini 8 GB with USB Apple keyboard and logicteck M100 USB mouse. I also have a 1 TB USB external HDD. I will try the procedure and report back if I have the same problem. — David Anderson, Apr 12 '20 at 16:27
Dear Nohillside, that was it! Screensaver. My dad always said,"try the easy fixes first." Thanks!! — Andrew W, Apr 12 '20 at 17:16

David Anderson · Accepted Answer · 2020-04-19T05:36:22.177

I was able to recreate the problem shown in the image you posted. Apparently, at least the driver for the internal drive has to be loaded from the WINSTALL volume before the dism command will work properly. I update the instructions so you will proceed with the GUI steps for installation until the window below appears.

At this point, the drivers have loaded, so you can proceed and open a Command Prompt window and start entering commands.

I changed the examples in my answer to be from an actually installation of Windows 10 (1909) on to a external HDD connected to a 2018 Mac mini. I also changes some of the steps, so you should thoroughly review the answer before proceeding.

Let me know, if you have any other problems.

Update 1

The image you posted was a bit blurry. A far as I can see, you did type the following command in correctly.

chflags nohidden /Volumes/WINSTALL/label/.d*

However, I believe you had pathname expansion disabled. This would cause the error message shown in the image. I replaced the command with two commands, that do not require pathname expansion.

I should note that according to the history, you entered the command give below, which should have produced an error message.

bless --folder/Volumes/WINSTALL/label --label "Windows"

You should have typed the command given below.

bless --folder /Volumes/WINSTALL/label --label "Windows"

This command would have produced the following files.

/Volumes/WINSTALL/label/.disk_label
/Volumes/WINSTALL/label/.disk_label_2x

If these files do not exist, then the new commands given below would fail.

chflags nohidden /Volumes/WINSTALL/label/.disk_label
chflags nohidden /Volumes/WINSTALL/label/.disk_label_2x

Update 2

Your "Update 2" given no indication that a failure occurred. In other words, the image shows that the command appeared to work correctly. However, since the chflags command is causing problems for you, I decided to remove the the use of the chflags entirely from my answer. Instead, I added the following Windows command to step 8.

attrib -h t:\label\*

Update 3

The command attrib is a part of Windows. The command works when entered in a Microsoft Command Prompt window. The command will not work in a Apple macOS Terminal application window. You do not have to enter the attrib command until step 8. During step 8, you will have a Command Prompt window open.

Update 4

To open a Command Prompt window, you are suppose to press the shift and F10 keys at the same time.

You copied the WindowsSupport folder to the WINSTALL volume. The instructions in step 4 stated to copy the contents of the WindowsSupport folder to the WINSTALL volume. The $WinPEDriver$ and BootCamp folder should appear in the root folder of the WINSTALL volume, as shown below.

Update 5

I am glad to see you have successfully installed Windows 10. If you feel my answer solved your problem, then I would ask you to accept my answer. This will place a green checkmark next to this answer. This helps other users identify that a solution was found.

Sorry about the blurriness of the picture. I am taking it from my MacBook Pro using Photo Booth. — Andrew W, Apr 15 '20 at 05:40
Thanks David! I will apply the most recent command and let you know my results. — Andrew W, Apr 16 '20 at 16:44
Good Morning David, I will copy the contents of the Window Support folder not the folder itself. Thanks! — Andrew W, Apr 18 '20 at 12:47
How do I accept your answer? I don't see an icon that states acceptance. — Andrew W, Apr 19 '20 at 17:44
@AndrewW: Look for the gray checkmark to the left of my answer. Click on the checkmark and it should turn green. — David Anderson, Apr 19 '20 at 17:50
If there's anything else I can do, please let me know. Thanks David! By the way, I successfully removed the installation partition via Command Prompt. — Andrew W, Apr 19 '20 at 17:51
You can up vote by clicking on the up arrow. You may have done this already. I have no way to knowing. — David Anderson, Apr 19 '20 at 17:53
Would it be appropriate to link this page to Chris K's YouTube channel? — Andrew W, Apr 19 '20 at 17:57
Users often add links to YouTube, so I think it would be OK to link this page to Chris K's YouTube channel. I moved your reference to Chris K's YouTube channel to Update 5 of your question. You might also want to put a link in your answer to to Chris K's YouTube video. — David Anderson, Apr 19 '20 at 18:29
Okay, will do. I am seeking permission from Chris K. before I make the link. — Andrew W, Apr 19 '20 at 18:54

Drivers not working on Windows 10 installed (CLI process) on external SSD running on Mac mini - EFI Started But Screen Black After Win Logo

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