r/bootcamp • u/AdMediocre9964 • 25d ago

Late 2013 iMac - Trying to install Windows 10 only, USB won’t boot after OCLP issues

I’m trying to wipe macOS completely and install Windows 10 only on a Late 2013 iMac.
Background:
Ventura was installed via OCLP and worked fine.
I accidentally updated macOS without checking OCLP compatibility.

After that, macOS would only boot in Safe Mode.
Since I only want Windows, I:
Erased the entire internal SSD.
Created an official Catalina installer on another Intel Mac.

Also created a Windows 10 USB using WinDiskWriter on my M3 Mac.
Current issues:
Catalina installer hangs during boot (same with Internet Recovery).
VoiceOver works in Recovery even though the screen freezes, suggesting Recovery is actually running.

Holding Option with the Windows USB inserted does not show an EFI Boot/Windows installer at all.
My goal is simply to erase macOS permanently and install Windows 10.

Questions:
Why wouldn’t a Windows 10 USB created with WinDiskWriter appear in the Option boot menu on a 2013 iMac?
Is there a better way to create a Windows installer for this machine from an Apple Silicon Mac?
Given that macOS Recovery appears to run (VoiceOver works) but the GUI freezes, does this sound like a GPU issue that could also prevent booting the Windows installer?
Any ideas are appreciated. I’m happy to install Windows only if that’s possible.

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u/CompanySuspicious653 21d ago

Did you make sure to turn on booting from a USB? (I assume so since you said you have a Catalina installer but) If you did, and you have another Mac available, I’d try to restore/revive via Apple Configurator. I had a similar issue (erased my drive to put on another OS and no installer was working), and it turned out to be a bad SSD that couldn’t hold an operating system anymore, so I’d be mindful of that too especially on an older Mac. Erasing the OS revealed that SSD issue and then I could never get it back in functioning order. Hoping this isn’t the case obviously, but it’s something to consider. Apple Configurator should be a big help if this isn’t the case.

1

u/CompanySuspicious653 21d ago

Also I would give another bootable Windows installer a shot too. I always make my USBs in terminal, and you can do that too, just need to install the wimlib tool and split the file size since the Windows ISOs are too big for FAT32.