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I had a mid 2012 MBP not doing anything and decided to install Win 10 on it. I didn't do a dual boot setup. I replaced the drive which had macOS on it with a spare and installed Windows using the entire disk. Everything is up and running nicely and I'm very happy with the system once the OS has started except I'd like to improve the boot speed.

When I press the power button, the system sits in that gray screen for at least 5 seconds before the normal Windows boot sequence kicks in. Is there anything I can do to speed up the hand-over to Windows boot sequence?

bmike
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Dude named Ben
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1 Answers1

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A slow boot may be caused by not blessing the Windows installation. This can be accomplished by the following two methods.

  • At startup, hold down the option key until the Mac Startup Manager icons appear. Hold down the control key while selecting to boot from Windows.

  • From the Windows Control Panel, select Boot Camp. Next, choose to boot from Windows as the default and restart the Mac.

Here I assume your mid 2012 MBP does not have a Retina display. This would mean you have a MacBookPro9,1 (15 inch display) or MacBookPro9,2 (13 inch display).

A quick check of the Info.plist file included with the Boot Camp Assistant application which accompanies macOS Catalina shows your the following:

  • Apple support Windows 10 installations on your Mac.
  • You Mac can USB boot Windows.
  • Windows should be installed to BIOS boot.

I also assume the following.

  • Windows was installed to BIOS boot.
  • The correct Windows Support Software was installed. This answer shows there are 3 versions available for your Mac.
  • The Apple Software Update application, include with the Windows Support Software, was used to get any available updates from Apple.
  • The updates from Microsoft have been installed. Some hardware updates my be optional and therefore not automatically installed.

You should consider installing Windows 11 on your Mac. Windows 10 will be retired on Oct 14, 2025. Last time I checked, Windows 11 is free, if you already have (or had) an activated Windows 10 installed. This may not be true in the future. So, even if you want Windows 10 now, you should consider installing Windows 11 then erasing and installing Windows 10. This should ensure any future Windows 11 install will be free.

David Anderson
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  • Excellent post. If for some reason OP can't figure out the blessing, the Boot Runner product does offer a free trial and might help diagnose any issues. OP would need an external drive with macOS to install Boot Runner, though. Your options are far better unless they want to get away from one OS only and have both OS and benefit from the automation features. – bmike Jan 19 '24 at 13:22
  • @bmike: Actually, this is a duplicate question. I was going to wait for a response from the OP before deciding whether to flag as a duplicate. – David Anderson Jan 19 '24 at 15:32
  • Very likely it is. Please flag if we need to merge once we’re sure it’s a dupe or if you need help voting it closed. – bmike Jan 19 '24 at 15:45
  • Its a MacBookPro9,2. Tried blessing using both methods, no difference. BootCamp software was downloaded from macOS and put on USB. Installed and everything works. Apple Update tool installed latest a few days ago. Windows edition is 22H2 with Dec updates. – Dude named Ben Jan 19 '24 at 16:41
  • Well did you install Windows to EFI or BIOS boot? Can I assume you downloaded the Boot Camp software by using the Boot Camp Assistant from a Catalina installation on the same Mac that Windows was installed? – David Anderson Jan 19 '24 at 17:15
  • For boot, I didn't make a selection, whatever the default is, EFI? Boot Camp was downloaded on the same device using the Assistant. – Dude named Ben Jan 19 '24 at 17:22
  • Can post the output from the command echo list disk | diskpart? You will need to enter the command in an Administrator Command Prompt window. – David Anderson Jan 19 '24 at 17:40
  • FYI Windows Disk Manager reports the disk as MBR. – Dude named Ben Jan 19 '24 at 17:41
  • C:\WINDOWS\system32>echo list disk | diskpart

    Microsoft DiskPart version 10.0.19041.3636

    Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. On computer: MBPW

    DISKPART> Disk ### Status Size Free Dyn Gpt`` -------- ------------- ------- ------- --- --- Disk 0 Online 931 GB 1024 KB

     – Dude named Ben Jan 19 '24 at 17:44
  • I believe you do have Windows installed to BIOS boot, which is what Apple recommends. – David Anderson Jan 19 '24 at 21:26