Need Mac Help Fast

[DocGreen]

I have an iMac on my bench that is killing me...

I just took it today to the Genius Bar to have them load Mountain Lion on it for me because I wasn't able to get it to respond at all. When they plugged in their OEM keyboard & mouse, the damn thing just magically started working like a champ and they loaded Mountain Lion without a single problem. I got it back to the shop, plugged in my Logitech wireless keyboard / mouse and started the process of installing Windows via Boot Camp. Everything went swell up until it rebooted during the install... then I got a BCD error saying something about removeable devices, and to press enter to continue. Now the keyboard isn't responding again. Doesn't matter if I use the Logitech wireless or a wired keyboard... nothing works.

What the heck am I doing wrong?? Is it because I'm not using a Mac keyboard? (I don't have one, and I'm pretty sure the customer doesn't either)

Here's the iMac details:
iMac24/3.06/2X2G/NVIDIA/500/WM/WK
Model A1225
EMC No.: 2211
IC: 4324A-BRCM1022
SN: QP9030JY0KM

 

[Mainstay]

BCD error saying something about removeable devices

What exactly is the message? Have you tried repairing the BCD? You installed BootCamp with the drivers meant for that iMac from Apple?

Now the keyboard isn't responding again

In Windows AND Mac?

You've done the PRAM and SMC resets and ML isn't booting or working with a keyboard or mouse?

 

[DocGreen]

What exactly is the message? Have you tried repairing the BCD? You installed BootCamp with the drivers meant for that iMac from Apple?


In Windows AND Mac?

You've done the PRAM and SMC resets and ML isn't booting or working with a keyboard or mouse?

Like a bonehead, I didn't write the message down. I followed the prompts in BootCamp, gave it a blank 16G flashdrive formatted to FAT, and told it to download the appropriate drivers (which it seemed to do.) Then I popped in my W7 disc and started the install... it rebooted, the loading bar started creeping across the bottom, then I got the error.

As for the resets, I'm not able to attempt them because it doesn't respond to any startup commands. I just finished chatting with Apple support and they told me that it most likely isn't recognizing the keyboard at boot.

 

[Markverhyden]

Why in the world are you loading Windoze via Boot Camp? I never recommend Boot Camp unless they need direct access to the underlying hardware layer which is rare. Always run Windoze via a VM using Parallels or Fusion. That way they have access to both OS's at the same time.

Back to the KB issue. What model Logitec is it? One of those fancy KB's with a ton of function keys, etc? Did you try a simple USB KB? I've never had a problem with any basic USB KB. But, while rare, I've had problems with those fancy KB's with all kinds of function keys meant for M$ OS's.

 

[DocGreen]

I'm using BootCamp because the customer doesn't even want OS X... they just want Windows 7. I figure this way I can have it boot straight into W7 and as far as they're concerned, OS X isn't even there.

The keyboard I was using was a Logitech K400r (bunch of function keys), but I tried every keyboard in the shop (wired & wireless.) The Apple tech said that it probably needs drivers to recognize the non-Apple keyboard, which would normally load with the OS.

 

[Mainstay]

Time to return to the Apple store and buy a keyboard?

 

[DocGreen]

Time to return to the Apple store and buy a keyboard?

I'm searching online for one now. I was hoping I'd find an iHome keyboard at Walmart or something, but nothing shows online. Found some that should fit the bill on Amazon. Worst case scenario, I'll just borrow one from another local shop.

 

[Markverhyden]

According to Logitech that KB is a "HTPC keyboard for PC connected TVs" so I can see where it may cause an issue. Personally I carry around a Lenovo USB KB and mouse, basic one they ship with their DT's, and have never had a problem on any Apple computer. In fact I use it regularly with Mac's that come with their wireless KB's as those can have a problem in PXE environments, such as booting into the various special modes such as Recovery, Target Disk Mode, etc.

How old is the iMac? The Apple tech was grasping at straws in my book, USB is USB is USB. Also, why did this service event start? There is no need to do Boot Camp from my experience just to run Windoze all by itself. I've seen a dental practice that loaded only Windoze on the iMacs with no problems. After all you are just creating a multi-boot environment much like is done with Linux.

 

[DocGreen]

According to Logitech that KB is a "HTPC keyboard for PC connected TVs" so I can see where it may cause an issue. Personally I carry around a Lenovo USB KB and mouse, basic one they ship with their DT's, and have never had a problem on any Apple computer. In fact I use it regularly with Mac's that come with their wireless KB's as those can have a problem in PXE environments, such as booting into the various special modes such as Recovery, Target Disk Mode, etc.

How old is the iMac? The Apple tech was grasping at straws in my book, USB is USB is USB. Also, why did this service event start? There is no need to do Boot Camp from my experience just to run Windoze all by itself. I've seen a dental practice that loaded only Windoze on the iMacs with no problems. After all you are just creating a multi-boot environment much like is done with Linux.

It came to me in the first place because the original HDD failed causing the original dual-boot (OS X / Win Vista) to stop working. If I'd known ahead of time that it was a Mac I would have (reluctantly) referred her to another shop for obvious reasons. The customer and I both wanted to load only Windows 7, but all of the Mac techs I talked to told me that installing Windows by itself would cause it to be unstable. As for age, it's a late-2008 iMac 24".

I did finally get it working, by the way. I took a chance on the cheapest USB keyboard Walmart had, that just happened to claim to be Mac/PC compatible. Plugged it into the first USB port and it worked like a charm. After reading some forum posts I'm wondering if the problem was the port I had been plugging the other keyboards into. Some people said the startup commands only worked when they used a specific port. Once I finish the Windows install I'll give it a try with the other keyboards just for good measure.

As for the Logitech K400r... I bought it originally because of it's size, for my bench machine (see pic here) But I do find myself frequently plugging it into my PS3 or my laptop (when connected to my TV).