Note: Check the comments section - there seems to be a very live Q&A discussion on the topic.
Boot Camp Assistant requires an Optical Drive with Windows installation in it so it can install Windows.
For Macbook Air and others it supports an ISO option and it creates an usb installer.
This is how you can force Boot Camp Assistant to support the latter option for Macbooks that are supposed to have optical drives but you don't or can't use it:
Get the following strings from System Information:
Get the selected one and the second line also (MacBookPro8,2).
Save a backup:
sudo cp /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/Info.plist /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/Info.plist.bak |
Edit with root permissions (either change the permissions of the file or sudo vi) the following file:
sudo nano /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/Info.plist |
add your string (mine is MBP81.0047.B27):
DARequiredROMVersions
MBP81.0047.B27
IM41.0055.B08
IM42.0071.B03
IM51.0090.B03
IM52.0090.B03
IM61.0093.B01
MP11.005C.B04
MB11.0061.B03
MBP11.0055.B08
MBP12.0061.B03
MM11.0055.B08 |
Then find the following:
PreUSBBootSupportedModels
MacBook7,1
MacBookAir3,2
MacBookPro8,3
MacPro5,1
Macmini4,1
iMac12,2 |
REMOVE the "Pre" from the and add your computer as a string, mine is MacBookPro8,2:
USBBootSupportedModels
MacBookPro8,2
MacBook7,1
MacBookAir3,2
MacBookPro8,3
MacPro5,1
Macmini4,1
iMac12,2 |
Save and exit with <Ctrl+X>, Y, <Enter>
That was great mate.
Only a question, why do we have to remove the PRE from USBBootSupportedModels?
Shouldn't work with PRE anyway like a charm?
Bye and thanks again.
If after all of this you're still having trouble getting the option to appear, you can "Force" the forcing of it by making bootcamp assume that your computer doesn't support installation onto itself. There's a key
ExternalInstallationOnlyModelsMacBook8,1
MacBookAir7,1
Just add your model to this list like you did for USBBootSupportedModels
For me this was MacBookAir7,2:
ExternalInstallationOnlyModelsMacBook8,1
MacBookAir7,1
MacBookAir7,2
Don't forget to remove it if you want to install it directly on the partition again sometime at a later date
thanks a lot, it really works, remove the PRE is essential, spent too much hours tryn' to understand why simply adding my mb strings bootcamp won't works. I have a broken dvd drive.
(sorry for my bad english)
OMG thank you!!!! I had added the strings, but the trips is removing the "Pre". For some reason, it just won't work without removing the that. Thanks again!!!!!
I am not actually able to use the terminal , so these instructions will not work for me.
Other web sights ask me to edit system files,, and even those instructions were too hard to complete as well.
Is their a third party application for the mac that can create the windows7 usb drive for me?
Or can you direct me to the write person?
Thanks and have a great day.
Download Xcode! Then go to /Applications/Utilities/Boot Camp Assistant.app/ and right click on BootCamp and click SHOW PACKAGE CONTENTS. Then go to Contents/Info.plist. Right click Info.plist and open it in Xcode. Follow the instructions here, and You're done!
Do you have El Capitan? If so, you need one more step.
What is the step for El Capitan?
I would like to know the extra step for el capitan as well. Been stuck unable to overwrite permission for the file and/or saving it in terminal after modifying...
Found the extra step
Go into recovery mode, use terminal and enter the following: csrutil disable this will remove the SIP block then restart and follow the steps and it will work
once you're done you can go back into recovery terminal and enter csrutil enable to put back the SIP
hey there im facing this problem after i typed your command "csrutil disable" in the terminal plz help me out plz
csrutil: failed to modify system integrity configuration. This tool needs to be executed from the Recovery OS.
Worked a treat, thanks!
Nice! This worked on my old MacBookPro4,1. I tried it a first time and must have left a typo in somewhere being as Boot Camp Assistant was dead in the water. After I restored OS X on my MBP I decided to give it another try. Presto! It worked. Thanks for the write-up and the help!
This doesn't work with Mavericks DP6 sadly.... Bootcamp bombs out with a crash log...
I've got the same MBP as Mihail (Early 2011, MBP8,2)
Here are excepts from y edited plist that DOESN'T work... Just so others know!
DARequiredROMVersions
MBP81.0047.B27
IM41.0055.B08
IM42.0071.B03
...
USBBootSupportedModels
MacBookPro8,2
MacBook7,1
MacBookAir3,2
When I fire up bootcamp assistant, I get:
Crashed Thread: 0
Exception Type: EXC_CRASH (Code Signature Invalid)
Exception Codes: 0x0000000000000000, 0x0000000000000000
VM Regions Near 0x7fff7b7480a8 (cr2):
__LINKEDIT 00007fff62795000-00007fff627a9000 [ 80K] r--/rwx SM=COW /usr/lib/dyld
--> Submap 00007fff70000000-00007fff80000000 [256.0M] r--/rwx SM=PRV process-only VM submap
unused shlib __DATA 00007fff7a1ed000-00007fff7c965000 [ 39.5M] rw-/rw- SM=COW system shared lib __DATA not used by this process
So if you have mavericks DP1-6, don't be bothering to try and install windows at any time :-/ So much for being able to test them as development machines xD lol
I had to check what Mavericks is 🙂
It looks like making any change in Info.plist causes app crash. But actually changing the entries back, re-saving plist, makes bootcamp work again. It's weird. It seems the system verifies those values somehow, instead of plist size or date it was modified.
I had a similar issue, and found that you can re-sign the application after changing the plist (OSX seems to verify that these files aren't modified before executing).
I used:
sudo codesign -f -s - /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app
i'm a noob to terminal... i followed the steps up to the point of getting a crash as you experienced (I have mavericks).. I have Macbook 8,3
I tied "sudo codesign -f -s – /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app" in terminal but it says "-: no identity found"
I could use some help please. thanks so much
This is the right command :
sudo codesign -fs - /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/
That last command
sudo codesign -fs - /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/
worked perfectly for me! Many thanks guys been trying to do this on an old mac mini for bloody ages!
I second that. It worked on my MacbookPro8,1 running Mavericks
This was the command that worked:
sudo codesign -fs - /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/
Thank you
Just tried myself on Mavericks DP6 and getting the same problem. Luckily I've got plenty of mates with Retina Macbooks and MacBook Airs to create the bootable USB.
After some researching I found a solution to this problem. It seems that new versions of OSX requires a Code Signature to run properly (hence the "Exception Type: EXC_CRASH (Code Signature Invalid)" error). So I found a post in StackExchange where you can actually resign the application with a command line , here is the solution that worked for me:
- Modify the Info.plist as described above.
- Open the Terminal app.
-Run: sudo codesign -f -s - /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/MacOS/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant
- If you don't have xcode command line tools, it will prompt you to download them, so do it.
- After the download is complete run the code again.
- Presto! Boot Camp Assistant will run again.
cool, I will update the post to point to your comment
tried the command but it says: /Applications/Utilities/Boot Camp Assistant.app/Contents/MacOS/Boot Camp Assistant: no identity found
I forgot one thing... you need to have a developer certificate to resign the the files I also got that error when I tried in a clean mac installation... If you can post your info.plist file maybe I can sign it for you... Cheers!
Hi zomars, can you try to resign my info.plist please? Here's my file dropbox. com/s/w45m57fezd004s3/Info.plist Can you send it to jorgezetina at gmail, please, thanks!
Hi, just a quick update. First, thanks to zomars for the help.
But, in fact, you don't need a developer certificate, just paste this to your terminal after changing the info.plist
sudo codesign -fs - /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app
That will do the work.
Thanks!
I knew it! The first time I did it didn't ask me for the certificate, but after a clean install it did again.
Thanks for the reply!
Thanks all for the help but command:
sudo codesign -fs – /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app
still requires certificate.
I have clean install and output of a.m. command is
–: no identity found
Any advice?
Hi XmiX
In the source of my original comment there's seems to be a way to disable code signing at all:
sudo spctl --master-disable
Let me know If it works for you.
PD. backup first always!
Hi zomars,
Unfortunately it is not working after applying command:
spctl --master-disable
Gatekeeper is disabled but BootCamp still crashes after changes in plist file and of course code signing of the file is still not possible.
🙁 something else maybe?
Thanks in advance for your help.
I just found out how to fix it.. you just have to install Xcode from App Store and Voilá 🙂 and you have to run it like this:
sudo codesign -f -s - /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/MacOS/Boot\ Camp\ AssistantThanks so much for the dude that got this!
If it still not works replace step 4. with
sudo codesign -f -s - /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/MacOS/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant --deep
Finally, adding “—deep” worked for me! It prompted me to install the developer command line tools, which I did, and then running the command again made it work. I am on Yosemite on an iMac. Thank you.
Finally,
thanks to everyone for the help specially zomars and Bruno:
To clarify several things for others:
1. You need to install XCode that is a must! (that was my mistake)
2. Backup of Info.plist file before editing please copy outside application directory (best on to your desktop or so). Otherwise self signing will not work.
3. Everything else according to a.m. instructions.
4. I am not sure if you need to apply spctl –master-disable or not I have done it.
One more time thanks. 🙂
Is this all for Maverics? Isn't it out already?
Hi mihail.stoynov,
Yes that is instruction for Mavericks.
Mavericks is out already and it is for free in Appstore.
Is all this needed with the released version?
I'm still having trouble with mavericks after following all these steps.
I've installed xcode, placed any backup of info.plist outside the application directory and it won't work.
sudo codesign -f -s – /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/MacOS/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant
results in:
–: no identity foundspctl –master-disable
gives:
Usage: spctl --assess [--type type] [-v] path ... # assessmentspctl --add [--type type] [--path|--requirement|--anchor|--hash] spec ... # add rule(s)
spctl [--enable|--disable|--remove] [--type type] [--path|--requirement|--anchor|--hash|--rule] spec # change rule(s)
spctl --status | --master-enable | --master-disable # system master switch
I hope I'm not doing anything wrong.
Use "-" instead of "–"
Thanks!
I tried it with "-":
sudo codesign -f -s - /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/MacOS/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant
/Applications/Utilities/Boot Camp Assistant.app/Contents/MacOS/Boot Camp Assistant: replacing existing signature
/Applications/Utilities/Boot Camp Assistant.app/Contents/MacOS/Boot Camp Assistant: code object is not signed at all
In subcomponent: /Applications/Utilities/Boot Camp Assistant.app/Contents/info.plist
Bootcamp still crashes though!
I finally got it to work!
I had originally been following another guide that used textedit to change the info.plst file. Don't know if it's because of this, but by resetting the boot camp assistent.app to its original state and following the guide exactly it works now!
Thanks so much for all the help and the great guide!
It took me a bit of wrangling, but I got this to work in Mavericks. However, just to clarify I did:
1. All of the instructions as per the original post (via using nano)
2. Got the aforementioned code signature invalid crash error on running bootcamp.
3. Opened terminal, and run THIS first sudo spctl --master-disable [there are two dashes in front of master, not one]
4. Then I ran sudo codesign -f -s - /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/MacOS/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant
And it signed off, and allowed me to run bootcamp and create the windows ISO!
If it still not works replace step 4. with
sudo codesign -f -s - /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/MacOS/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant --deep
Thanks a lot, you saved my day. Works great on Macbook Pro 13 mid 2009 with Maverick.
Thanks to the author, you and everyone else commented. Worked great on iMac12,1 with 10.10.1 and I didn't have to do spctl –master-disable
Thanks to Flix, adding the --deep tag worked for me!
Just in case someone is trying to do this but doesn't want to use Terminal, follow these steps;
1, open system information
- from system information you need your Model Identifier and your Boot Room Version
2, Open utility folder and right click on Boot Camp, click on show package contents
3, Right click contents and click on get info
- Under sharing and permission check to see if admin has read &write privilege ( if it doesn't, please add admin with read & write privilege. If it does, go to next step)
-Now, right click on info.plist and click on get info (do same check as content)
4, Open info.plist with Xcode (should be default app)
5, find DARequiredROMVersions, click on the plus and add your Boot Rom Version.
6, find PreUSBBoot SupportedModels, click the plus and add your Model Identifier.
7, click save (it may ask for your pasword, then save)
-do not open bootcamp yet
8, open terminal and type
sudo(one space)codesign(one space)-f(one space)-s(one space)-(one space)/Applications/Utilities/Boot\(one space)Camp\(one space)Assistant.app
(or just copy and paste Bruno's command) then enter (it will ask you for a password.
Now you can open boot camp and say Thank You
Only thing I would ad to Jason's reply is that... at first I did exactly how it was described I Jason's thread but it did not work...but I remembered reading from all other threads about removing "pre" from the word "PreUSBBootSupported Models"... So I did and that did the trick.
Thank you very much guys! The --deep fixed it for me on the MacBook Pro 17 inch early 2011 - MBP81.0047.B2A and MacBookPro8,3 - with Mavericks!
The codesign command with appended --deep flag worked with MacBook8,1 with yosemite. Great tips, thanks!
Thank you so much!! Worked a treat!!
Man, You are awesome! I was looking for this solution for a whole day. Cheers!
thank you this fixed it
Anybody has a backup of their original Info.plist (Maverick)? I made a huge mistake (aka not backing up) and I can't sign it back (even after installing XCode).
Thanks,
JM
I made a backup of the app if you want it:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ltlz3iqgv6v74cp/Boot%20Camp.zip
Or you can just delete changes in the file that you have and everything will be work again.
thank you so much~! YOU ARE GOD!
THANK YOU!!
This is really awesome 🙂
And it works on mavericks 🙂
So I got a problem, i got the options and the USB was created fine but when the system restarts i get "no bootable device " 🙁
Any sugestion??
Maybe that's a problem with your ISO file, got the same problem and used a different one an it worked!
Cheers mate!
Experienced just the same on both of my MBPs. That's EFI's behaviour it seems. It refuses to boot from usb flash and that's it. Try to use rEFIt. It didn't work for me though, I gave up and put my superdrive back, installed Windows and then put my SSD back in.
I just wanna say thank you. You guys are awesome! Made my day!
Thanks for all you guys work on this. My only problem is that I cannot find the "PreUSBBootSupportedModels"
It looks like it my equivalent is "32BitSupportedModels". Any idea where I went astray? BTW, I am running Mavericks on a Mid 2010 Macbook Pro.
here is a the entire text in Terminal:
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/Propert$
32BitSupportedModels
MacBook7,1
MacBookAir5,2
MacBookPro10,1
MacPro5,1
Macmini5,3
iMac12,2
BuildMachineOSBuild
13A566b
CFBundleDevelopmentRegion
English
CFBundleDisplayName
Boot Camp Assistant
CFBundleExecutable
Boot Camp Assistant
CFBundleGetInfoString
Boot Camp Assistant 5.1.0, Copyright © 2013 Apple Inc. All rights reser$
CFBundleIconFile
DA
CFBundleIdentifier
com.apple.bootcampassistant
CFBundleInfoDictionaryVersion
6.0
CFBundleName
Boot Camp Assistant
CFBundlePackageType
APPL
CFBundleShortVersionString
5.1.0
CFBundleSignature
????
CFBundleVersion
473
DARequiredROMVersions
IM41.0055.B08
IM42.0071.B03
IM51.0090.B03
IM52.0090.B03
IM61.0093.B01
MP11.005C.B04
MB11.0061.B03
MBP11.0055.B08
MBP12.0061.B03
MM11.0055.B08
DTCompiler
com.apple.compilers.llvm.clang.1_0
DTPlatformBuild
5A11344p
^G Get Help ^O WriteOut ^R Read File ^Y Prev Page ^K Cut Text ^C Cur Pos
^X Exit ^J Justify ^W Where Is ^V Next Page ^U UnCut Text ^T To Spell
This text seems incomplete, better post the complete plist file from textedit instead of the terminal.
Sorry I'm a bit of a newcomer to OS X. How do I retrieve the plist file from textedit?
I did manage to foul the file up to where it just bombs on startup like earlier users were discussing. I downloaded your file from dropbox and it works fine now. I was able to create a bootable usb drive, but then it boots in EFI mode and throws a fit about the MBR format of the drive. I deleted the EFI folder from the usb drive to try to force it to boot in BIOS mode but no work-ee. Now it won't even find the bootable usb in the boot menu.
After searching the forums, I get the impression that there is basically no way to boot from a usb in my mid-2010 macbook pro, even if I successfully create a bootable usb drive with a windows install iso.
So now I'm pretty much back to waiting on my replacement optical drive which is supposed to come on Monday. Then I'll remove the opti-bay hard drive, re-install the optical drive and give it another go per boot camps original demands.
Unless someone has another idea to try?
I also got a MBP mid 2010 with Windows 8.1 installed via usb drive, try installing rEFIt or holding alt at startup until it appears, there has to be something missing...
i have this problem in terminal
sudo codesign -fs - /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app
/Applications/Utilities/Boot Camp Assistant.app: replacing existing signature
/Applications/Utilities/Boot Camp Assistant.app: code object is not signed at all
In subcomponent: /Applications/Utilities/Boot Camp Assistant.app/Contents/.com.apple.timemachine.supported
any fix please ?
This actually works in Mavericks. So install Xcode from the App Store and run it once.
Hey guys, here's a video tutorial explaining how to do this without the terminal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNyg3byolic
I tried to delete "pre" and i think i accidentally deleted the entire "PreUSBBootSupportedModels" category. I command "z" and it did not undo my mistake. I closed without saving, open it back up and it still wasn't there. Is there a solution to this? please help
Hey Guys, I have been pulling my hair out over this all day... when I was trying to sign the program using the following command:
sudo codesign -f -s - /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/MacOS/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant
I was getting a message within terminal stating that '/Applications/Utilities/Boot Camp Assistant.app/Contents/MacOS/Boot Camp Assistant: code object is not signed at all'
After some research I found out that if you put '--deep' after the command it works!
So this is what I had to input to sign the application:
sudo codesign -f -s - /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/MacOS/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant --deep
Hope this helps someone out!
Thanks for all the helpful information all.
Dude, needed to install Windows on my GF's computer (so she could play video games (yeah, I know!)) and that last little bit of code " --deep " made the Boot Assistant display the create bootable USB disk option, THANKS!
You are a GOD! I tried everything! But still it did not work. Thank you very much 😉
I have been TEARING MY HAIR OUT to fix this. You are my hero.
you are an absolute legend. I spent all night trying to figure this error out!
Thanks you Mr. God! It worked perfectly!
Life saving tips! Many thanks
Thanks alot,, thats great 🙂
Thanks all. It worked like a charm. I have few suggestions:
Copy bootcamp app to some other folder as backup
Do the steps as suggested by Mihail
Open bootcamp assistant package
delete info.plist.bak and info.plist.save files
then run the command in terminal and run the command in the terminal as suggested by Bruno
Bruno says:
October 27, 2013 at 14:50
I just found out how to fix it.. you just have to install Xcode from App Store and Voilá 🙂 and you have to run it like this: sudo codesign -f -s - /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/MacOS/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant
Hello, everybody.
I still get "no identity found" error. How can I fix it? Or maybe someone can sign my file?
Anyone who has the "–: no identity found" error: IT IS BECAUSE YOU ARE COPYING AND PASTING THE TEXT FROM THE WEBSITE and the dash between "-fs" (or "-f -s") and "/Applic..." is formatted as a long dash. Short dash and long dash are NOT the same character. Just look at the command and type it out yourself, being sure that "-fs - /Applications/..." is correct! Also, yes you need to have Xcode installed to do the code signing, but no super-duper special developer privileges or anything.
Trevor, I just saw that wordpress changes all dashes to smart dashes (or whatever) and that makes most commands not work. I have disabled this feature, so all dashes are now normal in the comments section.
I hope that helps.
So to summarize for Mavericks:
1) Backup the plist file as described
sudo cp /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/Info.plist /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/Info.plist.bak
2) Modify the plist file as described (I used VI instead of NANO). Notes that this will be an xml file, but the layout is similar to the example given
sudo nano /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/Info.plist
or
sudo vi /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/Info.plist
3) MOVE the plist.bak file OUT OF the bootcamp folder
Example: sudo mv /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/Info.plist.bak ~/.
(the ~/. at the end moves it to your home directory, but you might put it in some other folder for safekeeping)
4) Disable the assessments(I'm not entirely certain this is needed. Skip it if you like, and see if it works)
sudo spctl --master-disable
5) sudo codesign -f -s – /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/MacOS/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant
6) Start bootcamp
7) Turn you MBP around and hold up your middlefinger to the Apple logo on the lid as a symbol of your loyalty to the Apple's thought police who felt it was necessary to prohibit you from using an ISO file just because you have a DVD drive installed.
Brilliant work by Mihail and the others. I don't know how he figured this out, but I'm glad he did.
Nailed it! Thanks for bringing all that together and the original post. +1 to step 7.
IMPORTANT: Your ISO image must be named with a ".iso" extension or Bootcamp Assistant will give you a vague error message that it could not create a bootable Windows ISO.
Hi guys,
Thanks so much for your help, it has been very useful.
Cheers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQE2vbpYwRs
That works! I was getting the no identity found error, but followed this procedure and it all works fine.
Very Important:
I found out why Boot Camp is so stubborn about this (although still a poor design).
It's because Windows will not install if there is a second drive installed.
Whether you have an optical drive installed, or a secondary hard drive, it will have to be removed before you run the Windows installer.
This is not a problem if you install from the optical disc .
Also, if you have not been using your optical drive, it will probably give errors when attempting to burn a disc. The single must common cause is dirty lenses, most easily corrected with a $12 cleaning disk from office depot, target, or almost any other store with an electronics department. if you have an older drive, check the type compatibility before buying dvd disks. I suggest using only use +R or -R disks for this purpose, not rw, dual layer, etc.
Just wanted to say THANKS THANKS THANKS!
copying the plist back up out to the desktop did the trick!
My no identity found error was fixed by this command:
sudo codesign -f -s - /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/MacOS/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant
Summery and Fix "no identity found"
1. Create your self code sign Certificate
http://systemterror.com/2012/11/self-signing-osx-applications/
2. All of the instructions as per the original post (via using nano)
3. Got the aforementioned code signature invalid crash error on running bootcamp.
4. Opened terminal, and run THIS first sudo spctl --master-disable [there are two dashes in front of master, not one]
5. Then I ran sudo codesign -f -s "my codesign" /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/MacOS/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant
It works for me with Boot Camp Assistant 5.1.2(448)
Thanks, it works.
Yep this works!
Really important: Don't to have any new files in the BootCamp/Contents folder..
Make sure you remove All backups before signing!!!!
sudo rm /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/Info.plist.bak
After singing your output should be one line:
sh-3.2# codesign -fs - /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app
/Applications/Utilities/Boot Camp Assistant.app: replacing existing signature
If you get that second line without the: (/Applications/Utilities/Boot Camp Assistant.app: code object is not signed at all) then it should start without a glitch!
I will be hacking many more Apple apps with this method..
Thanks for ALL the Help everyone!
I used the terminal command...got the Xcode request....installed...worked like a champ!
Mavericks 10.9.4
building USB install files this minute
Thanks a bunch!!!
dz says:
1. All of the instructions as per the original post (via using nano)
2. Got the aforementioned code signature invalid crash error on running bootcamp.
3. Opened terminal, and run THIS first sudo spctl --master-disable [there are two dashes in front of master, not one]
4. Then I ran sudo codesign -f -s - /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/MacOS/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant
Felix says: IF 4 DID NOT WORK TRY 5
5. sudo codesign -f -s - /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/MacOS/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant --deep
That was awesome. Thanks Mine is mac book pro yosomit it worked.
This work for me! Thanks! 🙂
Yosemite? Thanks Alex
Yes it works on Yosemite
Works with original post and post 32 on Yosemite.
Thanks.
Jon
if Bootcamp assistant does not start after modifying plist,
then simply change one of your entries having same number of characters as your macbook code, DO NOT ADD ADDITIONAL LINES.
then no need for renewing the signature as character number will not change in the file 🙂
It worked for me w/ 1,2,3 & 5 of what dz said..... Thanks a lot! 2009 mid macbook pro and yosemite.
Thank you so much, Mihail and commenters, for making this information available! I recently decided to change my partition scheme from MBR to GPT so that I could finally upgrade from Lion, but I was unaware that an external optical drive wouldn't work, and my SuperDrive dropped dead a long time ago. USB was my last hope, and you guys really saved my bacon in that regard. Still unable to actually get Windows installed, but at least it feels like I'm making progress now.
I made the flash drive with the Windows ISO -- two of them, in fact -- but I was never able to get them to actually show up on the boot menu, so I ended up just replacing the busted optical drive, which worked (although the first replacement I got was defective). Maybe I could've found a way to make the flash drive work if I'd kept trying, but I was entirely out of ideas. Oh well. Thanks for the help anyway, guys.
Running Yosemite in my late 2011 MBP, I made the changes via xcode and then resigned in terminal, and everything worked just fine - except that bootcamp assistant now does not recognize the correct free space on my ssd, which replaced my hdd that now lives in my optical bay. It's stuck on assigning only 20 GBs to the windows installation portion, even though there is over 100 GBs available. I've emptied my trash, and re-booted my MBP with no change. Any one come across this issue?
how did you manage to make it work on Yosemite, I did everything correctly and BootCamp get stuck when trying to create the bootable drive. "Your bootable USB drive could not be created" An error occurred while copying the Windows installation files."
Never mind, figured it out. Didn't have install tools downloaded on usb stick. What a dufus!
Thank you so much everyone. Running MacBook Pro, 2011 with Mavericks. There are so many stupid articles about this on the net. Worked out just perfectly by following these steps (as mentioned above)
1. Save a backup of Info.plist. You will find the file by right-clicking on "Boot-Camp Assistant" and then press "Show contents". Copy/paste a backup file and put it on the desktop just in case.
2. Go to terminal. Enter "sudo nano /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/Info.plist".
Add the two strings to the file and remove "PRE" as described above.
3. In terminal, run "Then I ran sudo codesign -f -s - /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/MacOS/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant". Install XCode if prompted.
4. Done. Run Boot-Camp Assistant again 🙂
Thank you very much for your inputs, Matthias 🙂 I could do it and it worked.
But you could add the following step: if we are prompted to install XCode, we have to enter again the code in terminal "sudo codesign -f -s - /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/MacOS/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant", because it doesn't run it again automatically after we install XCode.
This is pretty easy to deduce, but some people may not be able to, so adding this step would be nice. Anyway, thank you again 🙂
Hi, thanks for the auto but i got stuck.
I've a imac mid 2010, with yosemite
When i do this :
In terminal, run "Then I ran sudo codesign -f -s - /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/MacOS/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant". Install XCode if prompted.
I got this error
unsealed contents present in the bundle root
Any clue?
I'm in debt with all you guys!
I wasn't able to find even the correct information about a similar procedure. I'm making the installation right now. Thank you!!
Thank you so much for this original post AND the helpful comments! On Yosemite 10.10.2 with mid-2009 MacBookPro, OK up to "replacing existing signature" then I get this security error: "errSecCoreFoundationUnknown". Any ideas to get around this?
My Terminal steps:
1. sudo cp /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/Info.plist /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/Info.plist.bak
2. sudo nano /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/Info.plist, put my Mac MB in DARequiredROMVersions, removed "Pre" from PreUSBBootSupportedModels & added my Mac, saved
2. sudo mv /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/Info.plist.bak ~/
3. sudo spctl --master-disable (with two dashes in front of master)
4. sudo codesign -f -s - /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/MacOS/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant (got "replacing existing signature", then got "errSecCoreFoundationUnknown")
5. tried sudo codesign -f -s - /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/MacOS/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant --deep, Terminal returned "replacing existing signature" and "errSecCoreFoundationUknown"
I have a problem after partition the hard disk & reboot the Mac. It show "No bootable device -- insert bootable disk and press any key" ... How to solve this ? I'm able to press the "option" button to return Mac partition BUT I can't install windows on my Mac.
This method is useless for mid 2009 MacBook Pro. You will be able to create the USB but won't load from usb. MBP mid 2009 users should use the superdrive and a windows DVD.
Thanks to all who have posted their suggestions - super helpful.
I have a mid-2007 iMac (iMac 7,1) with an inoperable internal optical drive (believe to be a motherboard issue), running Yosemite. iMac is too old to support an external SuperDrive and Win 7 installer won't boot from a third-party external ODD, so I'm left to install Bootcamp and WinPro7 via USB drive. Using the tips above, I was able to create the installer USB through Bootcamp Assistant. All went well (creating, downloading, installing files) until, after partitioning, the reboot brings up the white screen with the Apple logo and hangs there. Rebooting again while holding down Alt only shows my HDD and Recovery drive.
I pulled up my SanDisk USB drive in Disk Utility>Get Info the value for Bootable is No. Is that the problem?
After so many dead-ends, I feel like I'm so close.
That's where I got stuck as well. Never managed to find a solution for that. Wound up having to replace the SuperDrive. It only cost about $70 (plus $15 or so for the tools) and I can now read and write Blu-Rays as well, so it wasn't too bad; although the first drive I got was apparently maybe defective, which was a blow to the ol' confidence. Anyway, you do have that as a last resort, assuming your 2007 iMac lets you replace the drive as my 2011 one does. But hopefully you'll find a way to make the USB work. And then share it here. 🙂
Boot Camp Assistant cannot be used.
You must update your computer's Boot ROM firmware before using this setup assistant.
my MB : macbook 3,1 2007 (lion)
please help me
sudo codesign -f -s - /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/MacOS/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant --deep
this just worked for me
May be too late but, for people that have an old macbook and finally decided to follow this guide:
(Also, what I say may have been said; I just didn't feel like reading all 50 comments)
XmiX's comment is what did it for me:
Finally,
thanks to everyone for the help specially zomars and Bruno:
To clarify several things for others:
1. You need to install XCode that is a must! (that was my mistake)
2. Backup of Info.plist file before editing please copy outside application directory (best on to your desktop or so). Otherwise self signing will not work.
3. Everything else according to a.m. instructions....
For me, I only had to move the backup of the plist to a different location because when you try and self sign it finds the signature in the backup and refuses to sign it.
Thank you, it works fine on my macbookpro late 2011. The same of the example.
The backup file info.plist.bak does not need to be moved out the path inside the application.
Using mid 2011 iMac 27" running OSX El Capitan (10.11)
While i tried the method as described in this post in 2012 on Mavericks and failed to get a positive result , I was pleasantly surprised that i was able to see the first option on Bootcamp by exactly following the process in original post this time . I did't have to use Xcode; textedit sufficed 🙂
I was trying to do this in the Beta El Capitan, which is even more locked down, so I just copied Boot Camp Assistant to another location and did the specified edits to Info.plist in there.
I didn't need to sign it, and it ran just fine.
You could probably also just turn off the setting that requires signatures if you're still having problems. I don't have Xcode installed (it's on my "real" system running Yosemite, but not on this Beta partition), downloading Xcode in order to re-sign an app seems overkill.
I really REALLY would like to know why Apple went through all the trouble to block Macs that have optical drives from using an ISO image. Why should I be forced to burn an ISO to a physical disk just because I have an optical drive? That's really stupid.
I guess part of the reason it doesn't let you is that the firmware looks like it won't boot the installer unless it's on DVD.
Using the modified Boot Camp Assistant I was at least able to get it to re-partition (it looks like the only tricky bit is that it creates a hybrid MBR, with the main HFS+ partition, the recovery partition ("Darwin Boot") and the Boot Camp partition.
I tried copying the NTFS partition from the virtual disk I already have it installed and running on, but it still comes up with "no bootable device" (I can set the partition in Startup Disk, but it doesn't show up on the Option-boot screen). I guess I need to look further into exactly what's going on during a boot.
I thought EFI was supposed to make all this stuff simpler.
Having issues with Yosemite 10.10.4 on MBP late 2011. Everything works fine untill BootCamp tries to create the bootable USB (windows 10) at this point I get an error message saying: "Your bootable USB drive could not be created" "An error occurred while copying the Windows installation files." Did anyone encountered this? any solution?
Thanks
I've been able to get BootCamp Assistant to show the "Make a bootable usb", but the USB it creates isn't bootable. When I restart with Option pressed, the USB doesn't show up on the list of bootable devices.
I'm using Yosemite (latest rev 9/2015)
iMac12,1 (mid-2011) running on Yosemite 10.10.5
Desperately trying to install Windows 7 from USB, as my original WIN7 disk is damaged and the inbuilt optical drive cannot read it.
Followed exactly the procedure outlines in the post but got this error after running the said command on Terminal:
Unsealed contents present in the bundle root
Please help
I was able to make it work. The mistake I did was to edit info.plist file that was laying outside the folder 'Contents'. I deleted that file laying outside Contents, edited the one inside the Contents, saved, ran the said command on Terminal, opened the BootCamp and it worked
I do not know if I can still install WIN7 from USB or not.
Many thanks
While I was able to make Windows 7 installation on USB I have not been able to install Windows 7 from the USB drive on my iMac (mid-2011 with built in optical drive). Boot Camp makes the partition and reboot but then there comes the error message that the installation disk should be put in the drive. How can I make it ignore the optical drive and boot from Windows installation flash drive while installing Windows 7?
My optical drive cannot read the original DVD (scratched) and more than 20 attempts to make a bootable copy of Windows 7 installation disc failed (guess due to disc incompatibility)
Grateful for any suggestion that can address this problem. Thanks
Found this on an apple forum. It'll allow you to create a bootable USB on older macs through boot camp without an optical disk. I used this method on my late 2011 mbp and I now have windows 8.1 pro running on it perfectly::
Before you do anything, make a backup of Info.plist or the whole Boot Camp Assitant app so that you can go back if necessary. Rename it something like "Info old.plist" or "Original Boot Camp Assistant."
First, edit the plist of Boot Camp Assistant:
Go to Applications/Utilities
Right click Boot Camp Assistant and view package contents
Find Info.plist in the Contents folder and edit it in Text Edit (it will make you duplicate the file first)
You want to edit FOUR things:
Add your model to DARequiredROMVersions
Delete the word "Pre" from UEFIModels and add your model
Delete the word "Pre" from USBBootSupportedModels and add your model
Remove your model from Win7OnlyModels (if its there)
To add your model to these lines, just copy and paste an exsiting row and replace the data between the two tags with your model code. You can find the right codes to use for the plist by going to Apple Menu > About This Mac > More Info > System Report. Use the "Boot ROM Version" and "Model Identifier" as appropriate in the plist.
Once you make these changes, save the file and replace the old Info.plist with your new one. It will ask you to type your password.
The last step is to do a code sign. Boot Camp Assitant will not run if it's been edited. You need to resign it. Open Terminal (use spotlight to find it) and type this:
sudo codesign -fs - /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app
It will probably ask for your password. Then it will say you need to download a developer tool from Apple. Agree to download it. (You don't need to install the whole X-Code, if it asks.) Once its been installed (its automatic), you need to go BACK to Terminal and run that command again. This time it will work.
After you've done that - open your hacked Boot Camp Assitant (it should run now) and have it make the Windows installation drive for you. Have the Windows ISO handy, and plug in a flash drive thats about 4-8 GB or more. The entire flash drive will be erased. This process can take a while. When its done, restart your mac and hold the option key. The USB drive that Boot Camp made for you will be there for you to install windows from. Its a yellow disk icon labeled EFI Boot.
JG i need your help my friend i have permission problems to modificate the info.plist file and i want install windows 7 without the superdrive because don't work can you help me with this? thanks a lot mate.
Rejoinder: As mentioned earlier, I use iMac 12,1/EI Capitan with optical drive. My main interest is how to install Windows 7 (WIN 10 is not compatible with iMac 12,1) using USB and NOT the optical drive (as the one I have cannot read WIN7 installation disk due to scratch).
I think I was able to create WIN7 installation on USB (while on Yosemite) but I have not been able to force my iMac to ignore the optical drive while booting.
The EI Capitan has created additional problem, as it does not allow me to edit info.plist.
I would be grateful for any advice
**Sorry my bad english, just trying to help**
El Capitan has something called "System Integrity Protection" (SIP) that doesnt allow you to edit some files from the system (but also avoid to do some damages to the system), if you try to edit it tells you that you dont have the necessary privilegies.
Its possible to disable the SIP, but its not recomended (you can enable it again).
If you are interested: Start OSx and press CMD+R, then when its show you recovery utilites etc, open the Terminal and write this:
"csrutil disable" press enter. to enable the same, "csrutil enable". then restart.
Im trying to install windows 7 on (imac mid 2011) El capitan, but it doesnt reconize my USB when i try to boot. if you got any luck please let me know.
I'm trying to install windowa7 too but the mac with superdrives doesn't boot usb.
Thanks a lot, Itamine. I will try creating WIN7 installation USB on EI Capitan. I wonder if I am successful in creating WIN& installation USB that would enable me to overide the optical drive (iMac 12,1) while installing WIN7. My optical drive cannot read the WIN7 disk I have (disk is damaged) and I have not been able to create a copy of WIN7 (as the iMac optical drive has refused to read any of the 10 different brands of DVD I used in making the copy of WIN7).
Solution for El Capitan: http://tsentas.net/create-a-windows-7-or-later-version-install-disk-missing-on-el-capitan/
thanks man it worked on MackBook Pro late 2008 successfully. you made my day. love you.
So, I tried to do this on my mid-2010 MB running El Capitan with no luck, even after looking at all of the comments. I spent a lot of time on this, only to find out someone has already created a modified boot camp app that you can run from your downloads. Worked perfectly for me. Don't know if I'm allowed to put urls on here, so I'll just say I found it on KickAss.
It wouldnt open, so in that folder I just deleted everything, reinstalled it and it worked
Scrolled all the way down so i can comment thank you!!!
I have been struggling to clean install WIN7 on my iMac12,1 running EL Capitan for the past 6 months but without success. My problem is simple: my WIN7 disc is damaged and my iMac optical driver does not accept it. When I run a copy of WIN7 installation the windows set up ends up saying "No device drivers were found. Make sure that the installation media contains the correct drivers ...'.
I understood that my iMac model (mid-2011) cannot install WIN7 from USB, as it has an optical drive although I was able to change the BootCamp to show "Create WIN7 installation USB, etc.
Grateful for any advice.
Note: I cannot download WIN7 iso (as Microsoft did not accept the product key) nor can I install WIN10 on my machine
Fantastic tips, thanks so much! Worked like a charm on my iMac
For OS X El Capitan all you have to do is disable SIP first before you edit Boot Camp.
To disable SIP:
- Restart into Recovery Partition (Command + R)
- Go to Utilities / Terminal. Enter: csrutil disable
- Restart back to OS X
After editing Boot Camp you can then re-enable SIP if you want by:
- Restart into Recovery Partition (Command + R)
- Go to Utilities / Terminal. Enter: csrutil enable
- Restart back to OS X
Works Great!!
I have a 2015 Macbook Pro. Will this method work for me?
I found this:
https://www.reddit.com/r/mac/comments/3fjyn2/install_windows_10_with_boot_camp_drivers_on_old/
Any thoughts?
This is really useful! I just fixed mine.
mine doesn't have the DARequiredROMVersions when i open the the file info.plist. what can i do?
you don't need this process for a 2015 MacBook Pro
I did this on Mavericks and all it would do is crash. Here is what I did to fix it.
1. Right click on Bootcamp and open contents
2. Click "Get Info" on the contents folder
3. Bottom right corner: unlock it and then add yourself as able to write
4. Do the same for the info.plist file
5. Get rid of the plist.bak file
6. Open info.plist and add your Boot ROM Version to the list
7. Remove the "Pre" from the "PreUSBBootlalala"
8. Save
9. Got the aforementioned code signature invalid crash error on running bootcamp.
10. Opened terminal, and run THIS first sudo spctl --master-disable [there are two dashes in front of master, not one]
11. Then I ran sudo codesign -f -s - /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/MacOS/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant
Open Bootcamp!
Fantastic great news , thanks for ever! Worked like a fine ..best topic ..it works a fine.
I am having trouble trying to copy the update info.plist into the contents folder of Boot Camp Assistant. The option to paste just isn't there. Im not even sure if I update the info.plist properly because the video I was watching showed that I should add my Boot ROM Version to DARequireROMVersions. My listing doesn't show "DARequireROMVersions" at all. I have a iMac12,1 and am trying to install windows 7 using a USB bootable version but Boot Camp will not recognize the USB. Need Help Please???
IS there a way to install Windows via bootcamp on a Mac without a usb drive?
Make sure you codesign the file and the package:
sudo codesign -f -s - /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/info.plist
then:
sudo codesign -f -s - /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/MacOS/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant
Will work 😉
Spent 8 days trying to get Windows 10 64bit installed in my MP3,1. I googled everywhere, tried every possible method, boned my test drive (HDD) at least 10 times. I remember I followed a method (editing plist) and I got it installed successfully. Since it was my test HDD, I then, tried it on my actual SSD and then it doesn't work anymore. I remember I tried the same method; DAR, Preusb... and then 8 days later, I still couldn't get it to work anymore. I'm not going to give this up because i got it to work once. I know there has to be something that isn't right. Im on MP3,1, Elcap with a broken Superdrive. So, usb installation is my only option.
Now, what Im having.
I can build the boot usb successfully. Ticked all 3 options in BCA. Everything goes well, EVERYTIME throughout the process. I finally came to the booting with OPTION key. I only got EFI Boot. I select it and it goes in the black screen with 'loading files...' a few minutes later when the progress bar completed, my MP3,1 reboots and went back to ELcap. I rebooted it with OPTION to check what is going on and there EFI Boot option is there again but can never go to Windows 10 installation process.
I'm still stucked, trying to recall which method I used that I successfully installed W10 previously.
If you have any pointer please help me out. Someone in my neighbourhood is able to help but for a fee. I will not pay anyone to do this because I know i will get this sorted out with some help here hopefully.
Thanking Mihail and everyone in advanced for this.
Just checking in to thank everybody from back in the past. Needed a Windows laptop for one app. Pulled out a 2009 vanilla Macbook running El Capitan from the back room. Used the MajorGeeks downloader to grab Win7Pro direct from Microsoft, it being one of the few days a month when that works. Oops, dead Superdrive, and here I ended up. Some post here I can't find now made the brilliant suggestion of copying Boot Camp Assistant somewhere else to avoid the permissions issues. I put it on the desktop, edited the info.plist file in place as per the initial post, but with a vanilla text editor, and just ran it. No issues, no XCode needed, no nothing. I did do the Recovery Mode Terminal csrutil disable thing first, but I'm not sure I needed to.
Apple's instructions for Boot Camp on this era are a little busier than for later machines. Do the first two tasks, find the version 4.o.something Boot Camp archive online, unzip it on to your USB stick, and then do the 3rd task. First reboot stuck on the Apple logo. Power button reboot again, and I'm in to the Windows installer. Run the Boot Camp installers from the USB stick, and I'm back, with correct audio and video drivers. First round of Windows Updates good. Boot Camp control Panel working, function keys and trackpad.
Good start to the new year.