Reboot and Select proper Boot device

[Mr Canuck]

So I have a new build and every time I try to do the windows install process I get this message in the boot screen.

I Have...

• Tried 4 different USBs
• Checked that all drives/USBs are connected in BIOS
• Tried booting the USB directly from BIOS
• Double Checked my cables connected to my SSD
• Re-Downloaded ISOs from windows incase they were corrupted
   

I am Using...

• My Home-Made bootable drive from my MacBook using disk utility "it worked a month ago on my friends build with absolutely no issues"
• ASUS PRIME B450 - PLUS
• AMD RYZEN 5 2400G
• RTX 2060 6GB ASUS TURBO
• CORSAIR TX 550M [550WATT]
• CORSAIR VENGEANCE LPX - 2X8GB 3000MHZ DDR4
• SANDISK SSD PLUS - 480GB

I am going to try updating the BIOS but after that I don't know what else to do. I suspect that its the boot USB but I don't understand why it wouldn't work as I did it the same way a month ago. I have spent a couple hours looking for a solution now but no luck. I hope someone here has the secret sauce.

[suchamoneypit]

Sometimes bootable drives have issues being used as a boot drive in USB 3.0 ports. Are you using that? Have you tried using USB 2.0 ports that are directly on the motherboard (not ones on the case). I have spent a lot of time troubleshooting a issue like this only to find out all I had to do was put it in a USB 2.0 port on the motherboard and not the USBs on the case.

[Mr Canuck]

8 minutes ago, suchamoneypit said:

Sometimes bootable drives have issues being used as a boot drive in USB 3.0 ports. Are you using that? Have you tried using USB 2.0 ports that are directly on the motherboard (not ones on the case). I have spent a lot of time troubleshooting a issue like this only to find out all I had to do was put it in a USB 2.0 port on the motherboard and not the USBs on the case.

Have tried every port on the PC. same error

[Master Disaster]

Can we just confirm, you're booting the USB drive to install Windows or you've installed already and are getting the message after install?

[Mr Canuck]

Just now, Master Disaster said:

Can we just confirm, you're booting the USB drive to install Windows or you've installed already and are getting the message after install?

I am trying to install it from a boot drive. there is no installed windows OS on this PC

[Master Disaster]

11 minutes ago, Mr Canuck said:

I am trying to install it from a boot drive. there is no installed windows OS on this PC

In that case then your diagnosis is correct, it is the boot drive. I'm guessing the drive is setup to boot a UEFI system and your BIOS isn't configured properly.

 

First we will redo the boot drive just to be sure

1) Format the USB drive to FAT32

2) Extract the contents of your Windows ISO to a folder

3) Open that folder

4) Copy/Paste everything onto USB drive

 

Next configure your BIOS. Before this step I STRONGLY recommend you update your BIOS to the latest version.

 

1) Go into your BIOS

2) Disable the Compatibility Support Module (CSM)

3) Enable Fast boot and Secure Boot

4) Save these settings as a profile called Defaults (optional but recommended)

5) Save and reboot (usually F10)

 

Now insert the USB drive and mash F8 to bring up the boot menu and the drive should be listed.

[Mr Canuck]

7 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

In that case then your diagnosis is correct, it is the boot drive. I'm guessing the drive is setup to boot a UEFI system and your BIOS isn't configured properly.

 

First we will redo the boot drive just to be sure

1) Format the USB drive to FAT32

2) Extract the contents of your Windows ISO to a folder

3) Open that folder

4) Copy/Paste everything onto USB drive

 

Next configure your BIOS. Before this step I STRONGLY recommend you update your BIOS to the latest version.

 

1) Go into your BIOS

2) Disable the Comparability Support Module (CSM)

3) Enable Fast boot and Secure Boot

4) Save these settings as a profile called Defaults (optional but recommended)

5) Save and reboot (usually F10)

 

Now insert the USB drive and mash F8 to bring up the boot menu and the drive should be listed.

Did all of that and none of my USB devices are appearing here

[KarathKasun]

Turn off CSM in BIOS.

 

CSM (legacy BIOS emulation) requires that you use the Windows USB tool to create the USB stick, otherwise it will not boot.

 

Also, use a Windows VM on your MAC to create the USB stick.  OSX is a PITA when working with other drive formats, and can end up creating drives that do not work well with PC hardware.

[Mr Canuck]

8 minutes ago, KarathKasun said:

Turn off CSM in BIOS.

 

CSM (legacy BIOS emulation) requires that you use the Windows USB tool to create the USB stick, otherwise it will not boot.

doing this causes all my drives on the computer to disappear in the BIOS. it won't detect any of my BOOT USBs or the SSD installed in the computer

[KarathKasun]

28 minutes ago, Mr Canuck said:

doing this causes all my drives on the computer to disappear in the BIOS. it won't detect any of my BOOT USBs or the SSD installed in the computer

Probably because they are all using legacy boot loaders.

 

With UEFI, if the firmware does not detect a UEFI bootable drive with the proper files on it, it will not be listed.

 

Leave CSM off and re-create the USB stick inside a Windows or Linux VM, it will show up at that point.  It sounds like OSX is mangling the partition table in a way that prevents the firmware from recognizing the partition/filesystem.

[Mr Canuck]

5 minutes ago, KarathKasun said:

Probably because they are all using legacy boot loaders.

 

With UEFI, if the firmware does not detect a UEFI bootable drive with the proper files on it, it will not be listed.

 

Leave CSM off and re-create the USB stick inside a Windows or Linux VM, it will show up at that point.  It sounds like OSX is mangling the partition table in a way that prevents the firmware from recognizing the partition/filesystem.

this was my suspicion as well, my MacBook has been acting up a little bit lately, I tried to install bootcamp on it last night and the windows setup process kept crashing and when I tried starting over it failed and left an empty 50gb partition on my SSD that is now causing me to have to format my entire MacBook. So I think its specifically my MacBook that is doing something wrong.

I will get the Windows bootcamp up and running and attempt to make the boot USB from Windows OS instead. I will be sure to update when I have results

[KarathKasun]

1 minute ago, Mr Canuck said:

this was my suspicion as well, my MacBook has been acting up a little bit lately, I tried to install bootcamp on it last night and the windows setup process kept crashing and when I tried starting over it failed and left an empty 50gb partition on my SSD that is now causing me to have to format my entire MacBook. So I think its specifically my MacBook that is doing something wrong.

I will get the Windows bootcamp up and running and attempt to make the boot USB from Windows OS instead. I will be sure to update when I have results

You dont have to use bootcamp, you can use a VM instead to save yourself the formatting/partitioning/rebooting hassle.

[Mr Canuck]

I used Microsoft’s official software for making boot USBs and it worked instantly. For whatever reason the Mac OS was making a boot drive that must have been unreadable by my BIOS. So a real bootUSB was the solution

[Master Disaster]

24 minutes ago, Mr Canuck said:

I used Microsoft’s official software for making boot USBs and it worked instantly. For whatever reason the Mac OS was making a boot drive that must have been unreadable by my BIOS. So a real bootUSB was the solution

Glad you got it sorted and this is actually useful information. Next time someone can't get a boot drive created on macOS to boot we will know what the problem is.