r/bootcamp • u/Odd-Information-8365 • 1d ago
MacBook Pro A1398 suddenly won’t boot after Windows installation — no boot picker, no Internet Recovery, “No bootable device”
Hi everyone, I’m having a serious boot/display issue with my MacBook Pro A1398 (Mid-2012) and I’m hoping someone can help me figure out whether this is a software/EFI issue or if I may have damaged something at the firmware/hardware level.
I’ll explain everything I did to the MacBook because the problem started after trying to install Windows.
MacBook history
This is an A1398 MacBook Pro (Mid-2012).
Originally, the MacBook was running OS X El Capitan 10.11.6.
Later, I started experimenting with OpenCore Legacy Patcher (OCLP) because I wanted to run a newer version of macOS. I tried installing newer macOS versions such as Ventura/Sonoma/Sequoia, but I repeatedly had problems with the installation/boot process.
At one point I went back and managed to get macOS Catalina installed and working.
After that, I started trying to install Windows.
Windows installation
I created bootable Windows USBs using Rufus and tried both Windows 11 and Windows 10.
I had various boot issues during the process, including:
“No bootable device”
USB not booting correctly
EFI boot problems
Windows logo followed by restarting
Windows installation/recovery problems
Eventually I managed to get Windows installed, but after installing drivers, the situation became much worse.
The problem after installing Windows drivers
After installing Windows drivers, I started getting display problems.
The screen would flicker, Windows would become unstable, and eventually I encountered crashes/BSODs. One of the errors I remember was:
WDF_VIOLATION
I also had several Device Manager problems.
Some hardware appeared with driver errors, including issues related to:
Intel HD Graphics 4000
NVIDIA graphics
Cirrus audio
Bluetooth/USB controllers
Other Apple hardware drivers
Wi-Fi was working, but sound and brightness control were not working properly.
I tried installing different versions of the Apple/Boot Camp drivers and troubleshooting individual drivers. At one point the Mac became stuck with a black/blank screen with the backlight on.
Things I tried afterward
I tried a lot of troubleshooting because I thought the problem was probably caused by Windows drivers.
I tried:
Different Windows USB drives
Windows 10 and Windows 11
Booting through EFI
Different boot options
Removing/reinstalling drivers
Safe Mode attempts
macOS Recovery attempts
Internet Recovery
NVRAM reset attempts
SMC reset
OCLP-related troubleshooting
Reinstalling macOS
Different USB/SSD boot media
I also opened the bottom cover and disconnected the battery while troubleshooting the MacBook.
Current situation
This is where I am now.
When I press the power button:
The MacBook turns on.
The screen comes on, but nothing is displayed for a while.
After some time, the screen turns off.
Then it comes back on/restarts.
Eventually I get this message:
“No bootable device insert boot disk and press any key”
The biggest problem is that I cannot get to the normal Mac boot picker.
Holding Option (⌥) does not seem to take me to the boot selection screen.
I also cannot get into Internet Recovery (⌥⌘R).
Normal recovery options don't seem to work either.
So at this point I'm not sure what exactly is failing.
What I’m trying to understand
Could this be:
A corrupted/damaged EFI/bootloader caused by the Windows installation?
A Windows/OCLP boot configuration problem?
A corrupted NVRAM/PRAM configuration?
A problem with the internal SSD not being detected?
A firmware/EFI issue?
Or could the Windows graphics driver installation somehow have caused a hardware-level problem?
The strange thing is that the MacBook does power on and the display/backlight comes on, but I don't get the normal Apple boot screen or boot picker.
And then it eventually gives me:
“No bootable device insert boot disk and press any key”
I would really appreciate advice from anyone who has worked with A1398 MacBook Pros, Windows/Boot Camp, OCLP, EFI boot problems, or Apple Internet Recovery.
I’m especially interested in knowing what I should test next to determine whether this is an SSD/bootloader/EFI problem or a hardware/firmware problem.
I’ve already tried quite a few things, so I’d prefer to avoid randomly reinstalling Windows/macOS again unless we know what is actually failing.
Thanks in advance.


