SOLVED: Windows 10 Boot loop (running on MAC bootcamp partition)

[Den10]

Hi everyone!

 

Thanks in advance for all your help. 

 

I have been running Windows 10 through a Mac Mini Bootcamp partition for the past 3 years. I powered on the pc this morning and it goes to the Windows black screen with blue logo and continues to the black screen with circle dots. Now it just hangs there indefinitely in a state of loop. I have tried restarting almost 15 times to the same result. On one occasion it showed the windows recovery screen. The error code displayed is 0xc0000001. Along were the options: Press Enter to try again; Press F8 for Startup Settings; Press F9 to use a different operating system.

 

However, when I try pressing F8, F9, or Enter, no keystroke is being registered nor is the mouse working. I have tried both wired and wireless peripherals but none are working on the recovery screen or during startup. All USB ports are receiving power (I connected a usb lamp to test), but windows is not connecting to any keyboards or mice. An article suggested to remove all usb dongles and restart, but this doesn't fix anything either. Another suggestion was to create a bootable usb, but I cannot see this working as the lack of keyboard function doesn't allow any alternate boot selection.

 

Details: Mac Mini Model A1347 (EMC 2840) : https://everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_mini/specs/mac-mini-core-i5-2.6-late-2014-specs.html

 

I am unable to do any diagnostics such as a Sysnative dump as I cannot get past the start screen or log into Windows. No new applications or hardware were installed recently.

 

Any help is greatly appreciated as I am at a deep loss on what to do next. As a uni student in the midst of assessments, I do need to get this computer up and running as soon as feasible (or at least the documents off it). Thank you.

[DrMacintosh]

Can you boot into macOS? If you can this is simply a sign that Windows has corrupted itself (as usual). 

 

28 minutes ago, Den10 said:

Another suggestion was to create a bootable usb, but I cannot see this working as the lack of keyboard function doesn't allow any alternate boot selection.

If you make a bootable Windows 10 USB you can select the drive from startup by holding down the option key on boot. This uses the UEFI boot picker of the Mac. Then after selecting the drive and booting off of it, you can attempt to repair Windows (it most likely will not work) or reinstall the OS. 

[The Sloth]

29 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

 sign that Windows has corrupted itself (as usual). 

 

 

Boomcamp is the single worst implementation of windows i have seen in any device to date. Apple don't even have proper driver for multi touch gesture, because of pure laziness. 

 

 

59 minutes ago, Den10 said:

Any help is greatly appreciated as I am at a deep loss on what to do next. As a uni student in the midst of assessments, I do need to get this computer up and running as soon as feasible (or at least the documents off it). Thank you.

OP you most likely lost your data, it sucks but best you can do is to attempt to repair windows. 

 

 

 

 

 

Try this first 

 

 

sert DVD or flash drive you used to install Windows 10.

Restart the computer and hold down the alt/option key.

Select the DVD or external drive icon labeled Windows.

Open a Command Prompt window by clicking on the following sequence.

Next
Repair your computer
Troubleshoot
Advanced options
Command Prompt

Enter the following command. I assume C: is your Windows 10 partition.

bootsect /nt60 c: /mbr

 

 

 

 

1. Update Boot Camp/ computer drivers

Make sure that your Boot Camp is up to date, and also make sure that you download latest Windows support software (drivers).

Follow these steps to do so:

Make sure that your Mac is connected to internet.

Open Boot Camp Assistant from Utilities folder.

When the assistant window opens deselect all options, but make sure that Download the Latest Windows support software from Apple is checked.

Click Continue.

Make sure that your USB flash drive is connected as the destination disk and click on Continue.

You might need to enter your administrator username and password, but after that Boot Camp assistant should download drivers to your USB flash drive.

After the drivers have been downloaded quit Boot Camp Assistant window.

Make sure that your USB is connected to your Mac and go to System Preferences.

Click Startup Disk.

Click Windows volume icon in the list of drivers.

Click Restart.

Your Mac will start in Windows now.

Open Boot Camp folder in the flash drive and install the drivers you’ve downloaded.

If Boot Camp asks you to make changes click Yes.

Click Repair to reinstall or update previously installed Windows Support Software. If you get message saying that software didn’t pass Windows Logo testing just click Continue Anyway.

After the installation is finished click Yes to restart your computer.

 

 

 

 

Reset  PRAM

 

 

 

If you are a uni student and need windows get a windows PC, Bootcamp is trash, no going around it. Boot camp has a lot of driver issues due to crappy apple drivers.  

 

[DrMacintosh]

38 minutes ago, nerdslayer1 said:

Boomcamp is the single worst implementation of windows i have seen in any device to date. Apple don't even have proper driver for multi touch gesture, because of pure laziness. 

None of that has anything to do with Windows 10 breaking itself. Bootcamp is effectively just a partition with a driver package. It can't cause Windows to stop working because MacBook Pro trackpads aren't Precision certified. 

[The Sloth]

34 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

MacBook Pro trackpads aren't Precision certified. 

That was a proof of their incompetence, Bootcamp drivers are shit, that's why when macs run windows with boot camp they have a lot of issues,.  

 

35 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

a driver package

Apple made windows drivers for macbook FYI. 

 

[DrMacintosh]

7 hours ago, nerdslayer1 said:

that's why when macs run windows with boot camp they have a lot of issues,.  

Dude, Windows 10 can brick itself on any hardware you put it on. You’re delusional if you believe that Bootcamp is the cause of that. 
 

What makes more sense to you, that a driver that handles keyboard input causes Windows to brick or that a Windows update corrupted the boot partition? If you picked the former, you’ve got a lot of learning to do about PCs. 

[The Sloth]

5 hours ago, DrMacintosh said:

Dude, Windows 10 can brick itself on any hardware you put it on.

Funny, the only OS that ever bricked on me is OSX mojave and Catalina and this was not with a low- end 13 inch pro. 

 

Quote

 You’re delusional if you believe that Bootcamp is the cause of that. 

Or you are, since i actually used bootcamp for pro work like CAD few years ago. 

 

 

 

5 hours ago, DrMacintosh said:

What makes more sense to you, that a driver that handles keyboard input causes  You’re delusional if you believe that Bootcamp is the cause of that. 

windows through bootcamp has so many issues because of the shitty driver support, i think OP is faicing a issue due to shitty drivers and update( might be a windows update, who knows) blaming windows hurr durr seems dump.  

 

Quote

 You’re delusional if you believe that Bootcamp is the cause of that. 

Could be the cause or drivers messing up. My mac also had issues with windows( ( bootcamp) after OSX Catalina update( it's used as a dev machine to test new OSX version and this was running official software) 

 

5 hours ago, DrMacintosh said:

If you picked the former, you’ve got a lot of learning to do about PCs. 

 

[DrMacintosh]

1 hour ago, nerdslayer1 said:

the only OS that ever bricked on me is OSX mojave and Catalina and this was not with a low- end 13 inch pro. 

Why would the specs of the machine have anything to do with it? 

1 hour ago, nerdslayer1 said:

Or you are, since i actually used bootcamp for pro work like CAD few years ago.

A few years ago. I use Bootcamp to code for school every day. 

1 hour ago, nerdslayer1 said:

windows through bootcamp has so many issues because of the shitty driver support,

Like what specifically? 

1 hour ago, nerdslayer1 said:

i think OP is faicing a issue due to shitty drivers and update( might be a windows update, who knows) blaming windows hurr durr seems dump.  

Seems to me that blaming a driver would cause Windows to not even attempt to show the boot screen is dumb. 

 

[Den10]

@DrMacintosh @nerdslayer1

 

Haha settle guys.

 

I have been running bootcamp for the past 3-4 years with literally zero problems. The only thing that never properly worked in the beginning was automatic updates, which I promptly turned off as soon as I realised the setup was pretty much as stable as it could get. I have had plenty of BSODs and recovery rollbacks in my other Windows pc after installing updates so I figured turning it off for bootcamp was ok, and it was for this long.

 

I am a big advocate of bootcamp and it certainly has its uses in budget scenarios where you need final cut pro / mac OS, along with an ok rig for windows, without the need for buying two separate machines. It certainly helped me in my CAD classes and proprietary applications, which were only taught/available in Windows.

 

It doesn't necessarily have to be drivers or bootcamp itself, corrupted sys files (https://neosmart.net/wiki/0xc0000001/ ) or hdd failure could have also been the issue.

 

Also thank you to you both for helping with this issue.

 

[Den10]

So it appears that the Windows partition / system files required for boot has most likely been corrupted - Apparently it can happen for no obvious reason and without any warning upon reboot. More information about causes can be found here: https://neosmart.net/wiki/0xc0000001/

 

Solution to anyone else having the same problem of a bootloop in the Windows partition of a mac bootcamp:

1. Connect an external wired keyboard (can be apple or other brand - I used an old acer KU-0355) to a working USB port (I tested power to the port using a USB led lamp).

2. Shutdown the mac by holding the power button for ~10 seconds. Press and hold the Options key (apple) or Alt key (windows) while simultaneously powering on the mac by pressing on the power button. Continue to hold the Options/Alt key until the mac has fully booted.

3. Hopefully, you will be presented with a boot menu asking you whether you would like to boot in Mac OS or Windows. Select Mac OS using the keyboard arrow keys and press Enter. If you are unable to see the boot menu, try connecting another wired keyboard (if this still does not work, it could be due to a hard drive failure).

4. The computer will boot into Mac OS. From there, make a backup of all your files on the Windows partition. These can be found in the devices tab through the Finder application on the mac taskbar (probably named Windows or Windows partition). In particular, backup the Users/Name folder, which contains your desktop, documents, and downloads. Backup by either connecting an external hard drive or by copying files from the windows partition to the mac partition. If your external hard drive is NTFS formatted and cannot be written to, install the free trial of paragon NTFS drivers for mac.

5. From hereon, if you do need Windows, you can either try to repair the Windows partition using Disk Utility or delete the existing Windows partition and create a new partition using bootcamp and fresh copy of Windows + drivers.

I was unlucky that this happened during the midst of classes, but fortunately was able to recover all files and user data.

[steagl3]

Sorry for digging up this old thread but this problem just happened to me yesterday, and I came here for tips. FYI Den10's 5th tip above is not correct - you cannot repair a NTFS partition with Disk Utility. The only way to access any repair or recovery options for a NTFS volume on a Mac is to use a Win 10/11 portable installer and boot into that, like DrMcintosh correctly pointed out.

 

So yeah this Windows boot loop just happened to me on my 2019 MBP. In my case, I was booted into my Windows 11 Boot Camp partition, DJ'ing with Traktor, and didn't realize I didn't plug my power supply in so I lost power in the middle of my set  After plugging in power and rebooting the laptop it would show the Microsoft logo and spinning dots, then black screen, requiring hard shutdown and boot into macOS. Again, there is nothing you can do in macOS to fix this - Disk Utility and Boot Camp Assistant just offer you the option of removing the partition. Will be trying the portable W11 installer via flash drive and crossing my fingers. Because getting W11 onto this Mac was not exactly easy and really hope I don't have to start over from scratch.