Help! No bootable device

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I just bought a new imac (first time owning a mac) and I've made a big mistake!

I tried to install Windows 7. I used Bootcamp Assistant to partition the HD - just followed the prompts. The inserted the Windows disc. Followed the prompts until it said cannot install because disk partition wasn't in the right format (NTS or something??).

So I tried to quit Windows installer but when I quit it just kept trying to install it. So I ejected the disc and restarted and now it says No bootable device.

Please help! Is there anything I can do? :'(
 

chscag

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You did not properly follow the Windows installer instructions. Did you miss the part where it asked which partition to format and what file system to use?

Also, it seems you did not download the driver disk image from Apple that you were directed to. Which means that Windows 7 would not work anyway.

Try booting your machine by holding down your Option key. You should be able to boot back into OS X that way. Once back in OS X, start the Boot Camp assistant again. Let us know if that works.
 
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Thanks for replying!

Yes it did ask about the partition, it had 20GB partitioned for Windows. But yes, I must have missed something. It did say that it was downloading something and I'm pretty sure from memory it was something about a driver disk.

But even if the Windows 7 doesn't work, is there anyway I can get the mac to work again?

I tried turning it back on while holding down the Option key. The only thing that happens is a grey screen that just says Choose Network. It's a drop down menu. The first choice is a tick and a x, the second is ....

When I select that one two boxes appear with a wireless icon and a padlock icon. I tried putting in the details for the wireless modem but it doesn't do anything from there.

Obviously I've done something very wrong. Any advice would be really appreciated!!!!!
 

chscag

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OK. Let's see if we can get your machine up and working again. Being a new Mac user can sometimes be daunting and that can cause mistakes. But not to worry about that now.

First, make sure you're connected to the internet. If possible, use an ethernet cable to connect your router or modem to the iMac. Wireless is OK, but with the next procedure it's better to be connected via ethernet.

Reboot your new iMac but this time hold down the Command and the R key at the same time as soon as you hear the boot chime (bong). It may take a few minutes to boot up but eventually it will boot to the Recovery partition.

Once you're in Recovery, select Disk Utility. What we're going to do is wipe the drive and reinstall Lion. We're also going to remove the Boot Camp partition. We really need to do it this way in order to start over and get it right the next time.

From Disk Utility, select the partition tab and remove the Boot Camp partition. In other words we want the hard drive to be one partition. Once the hard drive is one partition, erase it, and format it. Format it as Mac OS Extended Journaled. (HFS+).

Now, exit from Disk Utility. Go back to the main menu in Recovery and select to reinstall Lion. It's going to take awhile depending on how fast your net connection is and how busy the Apple servers are. Once Lion has been reinstalled, run software update from the Apple menu and bring Lion up to date to the latest.

After all that, post back and let us know the results.
 
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Thankyou so much for trying to help me!!!!

I don't want to make another mistake, so I need to check.....

The ethernet cable worked. I went to Disk Utility.

Then down the left hand side it lists

500.11 GB ST3500418A...
Super Drive
disk 1
Mac OS X Base System

When I click on the first one, and then click on the partition tab, it says

Partition Layout: Current

Partition Information
Name - blank
Format: Mac OS Extended (journaled)
Size - blank

I can't see anything about Boot Camp

To my very basic thinking, it kinda looks like there aren't any partitions????

I'd really appreciate advice on where to go from here.

Thanks!!!!!
 

chscag

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It appears that your hard drive is already formatted to Mac OS Extended Journaled. It also looks like you may have never created a Boot Camp partition or that it failed somehow. Actually, that's good.

OK, let's just try to reinstall Lion. Exit from Disk Utility back to the main menu and go ahead and follow the instructions above for reinstalling Lion. Post back when Lion is reinstalled. And don't forget to run software update.
 
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Thankyou so much! That worked and I now have my computer back!

I will wait until I get some help before trying to load Windows again. The only real reason I need Windows is to run an accounting program, otherwise I wouldn't worry.

Thanks again!!!!
 

Slydude

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Although the BootCamp Assistant is pretty straightforward I've almost erased my OS X partition twice now. Couldn't possibly have something to do with my aversion to reading "Read Me"/Help files? Nope. that's not it at all.

Twice I was at the point where the Win XP installer asks where I want to put Windows: Almost erased the OS X partition. If I make a mistake elsewhere it will be removing the wrong partition by accident.
 

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