How do I install Windows XP on my Mac using Boot Camp?
I'm thrilled to learn that I can now dual-boot my new Intel-based Mac so that I can live in the warm fuzzy world of Mac OS X or flip over to the business world of Windows XP. I have a shiny new copy of WinXP from my IT people, an Intel-based Mac Mini, and lots of enthusiasm, but that's about it. How the heck do I actually install Windows XP on my Mac so I can work in either operating system?
Dave's Answer:
There's been a lot written about Apple's dramatic release of Boot Camp, a free download that lets you repartition your Intel-based Mac's drive and install Windows XP as an alternative operating system, but even the magazine coverage I've seen doesn't give you screen-by-screen details. So let's see what we can do about that!
Your first step is to make sure you have an Intel-based Mac: any G4 or G5 Mac will not install Boot Camp and you won't be able to dual boot into Windows XP. You can still run an emulator like Microsoft Virtual PC, but it's an inferior solution and my own experience with VPC has been that it's glacial and useless for all but the most simplistic of Windows applications. You'll also need to be able to burn a CD during the process: make sure you have a blank, burnable CD disk on hand.
Now, download Boot Camp from the Apple site and double click on the ".dmg" disk image that's dropped onto your desktop. Here's what you'll see:
Your first step, as highlighted in the "Read Before You Install" document, is to print a copy of the Boot Camp Beta Installation & Setup Guide. Trust me, you'll want it!
Double-click on the "BootCampAssistant.pkg" icon and you'll be able to install the Boot Camp assistant:
As with all Mac software installs, this will require you to type in your administrative password. It's probably the same as your default account password:
A few seconds of activity later, you'll have the software successfully copied onto your computer and can quit this first installer.
Now your first challenge: finding the new installation assistant! It turns out that the program is installed on your computer in Applications --> Utilities --> Boot Camp Assistant. Launch it and it's quite possible you'll see the same message I did:
No huge problem. Quit by clicking the "Quit" button, then go to Apple's Support Downloads and check their Available Firmware Updates list to click directly to the firmware update for your own Intel system. For my Mini, I simply go back to the downloads page and scan down for the name of my system.
Once the correct firmware update is installed, you need to reboot, but not in the usual fashion. Instead, press and hold the power button on the Mini itself -- it takes about ten seconds -- until the power indicator light flashes repeatedly to begin the update. Your system will boot and you'll see the Apple icon and a progress bar:
That will advance, it took me about 90 seconds total, and you'll reboot again, ready to go!
Finally, we're ready to actually start working with Boot Camp itself. The first step is to read all of Apple's warnings:
Okay, now let's proceed. First choice: do we want to burn a Macintosh Drivers CD, which contains important device drivers for Windows XP so it can access the various hardware parts of the Mac, or do we already have one. I don't already have one, so I'll choose the default of "Burn a Macintosh Drivers CD now":
I slip in the blank disk and the system tells me it's "ready to burn". Click "Burn" and it'll do everything necessary to create the Windows XP drivers CD. This took a few minutes on my Mini, but it wasn't terribly long.
Next step is much more exciting: it's time to partition the hard disk!
Partitioning is a geeky buzzword for something that will actually make a lot of sense to you, believe it or not. The idea is that if you have a large hard disk, why not configure it to act like two small hard disks? Or three? In this way, smart system administrators can isolate accounts, minimize out-of-disk-space errors and disruptions, and so on. With Apple Boot Camp, we'll want to partition the default disk to allow us to have one "disk" that represents the Windows XP world, and another "disk" that represents Mac OS X.
By default, Boot Camp offers up a pretty tiny partition for Windows, as you can see:
I'd recommend that you make it bigger if you're actually going to use Windows for anything important; Microsoft recommends 10GB as the smallest reasonable and functional partition, for example. If you're just playing, however, 5GB will probably work fine (until your first big game install). I'll make mine 8GB to be somewhere in the middle.
Change the partition sizes by clicking and dragging on the vertical bar between the two areas until you have the size or sizes you desire. With my Mini configuration, it left me with 66GB for Mac OS X, of which 20GB is free, and 8GB for Windows XP.
Once the partitions are set up as you desire, click on "Partition" and keep your fingers crossed (there is a slight chance it'll actually mangle everything on the disk. Not likely, but I would definitely recommend you do one good, clean backup before you start experimenting with Boot Camp).
The disk partition is what we Windows folk call non-destructive or dynamic, which means that you don't have to reformat and then reinstall everything on both "sides" of the partition. That's a very, very good thing. :-)
Once the partitioning is done, you're ready to install Windows itself:
Fortunately, I have a pristine new copy of Microsoft Windows XP Pro with SP2 included for PCs without Windows (who would have thought I'd think of my Mac as a PC without Windows?) and that's what I'll use. My thanks to Microsoft for sending it along...
Insert the WinXP installation DVD, wait for it to be recognized by Mac OS X (it'll show up on your desktop with a cheery name like "VRMFPP_EN"), click on "Start Installation" and kiss Mac OS X goodbye.
After a bit, you'll see the unfamiliar blue screen of a Windows installation:
Press ENTER or Return on the keyboard to continue, agree to the Microsoft warnings and legal restrictions page, and you'll finally get to the "choose partition" list:
Take your time here to ensure that you pick the correct partition! You want to use Partition C: which should match the size you just set too: notice on my screen it's 8407MB, which is about 8GB, as expected. Move the highlight bar down to the correct partition and press Enter to actually install WinXP.
Now you need to pick a partition formatting option. The two main choices are NTFS or FAT. NTFS is more modern and supports very large partitions, but can't interoperate with Mac OS X. FAT, on the other hand, can't support partitions larger than 32GB, but is compatible with the Mac. You'll see why that's important later. For now, select FAT and do a full, not a quick, format:
Now some time will pass while the partition is formatted using the Windows FAT32 format. It took my system about five minutes to fill in the progress bar:
I won't document every single step involved in installing Windows XP as it's pretty straightforward. Just make sure you have your product key available for the verification step of the process. It's in the package within the Microsoft Windows XP disk, and it's really a good idea to use a new version of the OS rather than the same key you've used with other PCs in your office or home. Worst case, you can skip the verification step and have 30 days of "trial period" before you have to deal with finding a valid key to enter for verification purposes.
Once you've finished the full Windows XP install, which can take rather quite a while, your system will reboot and you'll want to eject the WinXP install disk and slip in the Mac drivers CD you burned earlier in the process.
With Windows, this is done by going to My Computer and right-clicking on the optical drive D: then selecting Eject. Slip in the Mac disk and everything should just automatically launch and start up. If not, look for and double click on the file Install Macintosh Drivers for Win XP.exe. Here's what you'll see:
I admit, it's kind of weird to see a Mac installation program running within Windows XP on a Mac computer, but it's a brave new world out there.
Probably, during the installation process, you'll learn that various components of your Intel-based Macintosh haven't passed the Microsoft Windows compatibility test:
Apple assures us that it's safe to continue anyway, so I did. Three times!
Then you get to go through a few waves of "new hardware found", and in all cases you can simply accept all the default settings for each wizard, as those guys in Redmond call 'em, and proceed. Finally, you'll get to the last configuration screen:
Click "reboot now" and if the hardware compatibility Gods are smiling upon you, the Mac will reboot right into Windows and you'll be the proud owner of a Macintosh that can run Windows natively, astonishingly enough.
One last tip: to select which OS you want to run, hold down the OPTION key when you start up the Mac and you'll be able to see both Mac OS X and Windows XP:
Use the arrow keys to move to the choice you desire, then press Enter or RETURN to select it and zoom into that mode.
When you do boot into Mac OS X, you'll notice that there's a new hard disk on your desktop too, called "NO NAME". Click on the name, count to five, and click again, then type "Windows XP" and you'll forevermore realize what it is. And yes, you can navigate through it and find your data files from when you're running Windows, but I'll talk about that in another article!
It's a long, tricky process, but I hope this explains exactly how to install and get running with Apple Boot Camp. Also, don't miss my tutorial on how to install Parallels to run Windows XP within Mac OS X, rather than having to reboot each time you want to switch systems.
More Useful Mac OS X Help Articles:
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Categorized:
Mac OS X Help
(Article 6622,
Written by Dave Taylor)
Tagged:
apple boot camp, dual-boot, mac os x, microsoft windows xp, virtual pc
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Reader Comments To Date: 339
i tried to do this but i got disk error once it reboot
Hi Dave, Firstly thanks for a very helpful page!
I have installed Windows XP Home SP2, however everything seemed like it was going to plan, but on booting Windows for the first time the screen goes black and it says" disk error, press any key to continue" but pressing any key does nothing and I have to hold down the on/off button to restart, in OSX.
Can you assist me at all?
Many thanks,
Nick
Thx a billion dave for posting this
So bootcamp comes with the macbook pro, but it doesn't have the option to burn the drivers; it just goes straight for creating the partitions. I tried downloading beta from the apple site, but when I try to open it it says it's expired. I tried updating, but still nothing. I've searched all over it seems, but no one really has the attention span to answer questions. You seem like you'd be able to explain what I need to know.
If you wouldn't mind emailing me, I would GREATLY appreciate it! Thank you in advance.
Thanks for your interesting assistance, just got the iMac, XP installed but the wireless desktop + mouse do not work!
what can I do ?
Thanks in advance
Hi,
I have installed all h/w in new pc (amd processor, 1gb ram) and done partition, when im going for installation of WIN XP bootable cd, Getting msg:
EMM386.EXE Warning: Address line A20 already enabled
pls kindly give solutions for resolving this issue,
Abdulrasheed
hi! HOW DO I GET BOOT CAMP?
Dave,
Good tutorial. I have been able to install XP SP2 in my MacBook.
My suggestion is to continue this tips and tricks to network connection, bluetooth mice, etc.
Again, thanks. -h-
When i insert my windows disc...it doesnt read it, it is described like "VRMFPP_EN" as you said, But boot camp doesnt run it. What do I do?
Hey Dave,
I am running on a mac book pro that already has Leopard installed. I ran through Boot Camp Assistant which comes on the computer by default. Do I need to download the beta version? I assume so I tried to partition. An error kept on coming up.
"The disk cannot be partioned because some of the files cannot be moved. Back up the disk and use disk utility to format it as a single Mac OS Extended (Journal) volume. Restore your information to the disk and try using boot camp assistant again."
I am uncertain what to. Am i suppose to wipe everything by re-running Leopard again. Before i take such a dramatic step i wanted to get your opnion on the issue.
Thanks,
Danny
I get the following msg when i try to open parallels desktop : The hard disk 1 is set to use the Boot Camp while Boot Camp is not installed on this computer. Please help to proceed.
ok - i didn't back up my files. which option should i choose when formatting the partition?? one of the first 4? or "convert the partition to NTFS?" or "leave the current file system intact "? will my files get deleted anyway no matter which one i choose?
Hi Dave, I followd your instructions through to the letter and installed XP without any problem, so after that I decided to remove XP through the Boot camp utility then re-install with more disk space.
Everything went like a dream
Thanks again!
Max
i have a couple questions about bootcamp.
1. after i install wiondows on my mac how do i increase the windows partition?
2. i want vista not windows xp, how do i install vista?
3. will bootcamping my mac mess with or cause difficulites when i run the windows or mac partition?
4. if i want to take windows off or "restore" my mac like a windows computer how would i do that?
5. in you opinion what would be the best mac laptop be to bootcamp?
i really appreciate you taking the time to email back. when you reply/answer cant your answers be numbered 1-5 to match the questions asked..thank you a ton
TJ
i have a couple questions about bootcamp.
1. after i install wiondows on my mac how do i increase the windows partition?
2. i want vista not windows xp, how do i install vista?
3. will bootcamping my mac mess with or cause difficulites when i run the windows or mac partition?
4. if i want to take windows off or "restore" my mac like a windows computer how would i do that?
5. in you opinion what would be the best mac laptop be to bootcamp?
i really appreciate you taking the time to email back. when you reply/answer cant your answers be numbered 1-5 to match the questions asked..thank you a ton
TJ
Help!
I'm getting a blue screen:
Stop: c0000221 Unknown Hard Error SystemRootSystem32ntdll
Thanks
Your instructions for installing windows on my mac worked great! Thanks! I do have one issue I was hoping you could help me with. When I turn my computer on Windows is now my default program and I can only get Mac up by holding down the options key when starting up. How can I make Mac the primary instead? Thanks again!
Thanks VERY MUCH!
I get how to do it now =)
but i dont get the boot camp firmware update i habe a mac osx and i just dowloaded some random stuff its still downloading but i still need some info on that Thanks
This article got me excited. I want to try it! But I'll be damned if I can figure out how to GET a copy of boot camp. I can't find it on the Apple website. If it's there then it's incredibly well hidden. Now I'm mad and don't want to do it anymore.
Hey Dave,
I amazed by your incredible effort to share this knowledge of installing Windows on Mac with Boot Camp.
I faced a similar problem posed by Evan and Danny in their earlier comments. I did not see any response to predicaments.
I am running on an Intel based iMac with the Leopard OSX recently installed. I replaced the internal HD with a 1(One) TB HD and it is working fine (cloned with Super Duper!, a marvellous and indispensable software).
I read the setup instruction and executed the Boot Camp Assistant (Version 2), which comes on the new Mac Leopard OSX . I supposed that I will not need to download the Beta version. After I clicked the "Continue" prompter of the Boot Camp, it responded with an error message."The disk cannot be partitioned. Back up the disk and use disk utility to format it as a single Mac OS Extended (Journal) volume. Restore your information to the disk and try using boot camp assistant again."
I checked my internal HD one again just to verify the formatting. It was formatted as a single partition, Mac OS Extended (Journal) volume.
What would advice me to proceed from here! Am I to clone this internal HD to another temporary disk and then reformat this internal HD as suggested and reload (from the temp disk) to the internal HD again. Before I take this critical plunge, I would to seek your expert opinion on the issue.
Thanks in anticipation.
Stephen Lee
Hi Dave,
I have a problem installing windows
I did it till the blue screen popped out
And then on screen there were words asking me to press "ENTER" if i wanna continue and so,i did but nothing seemed to happen
Please help
Thanks
Hey Dave. How would I make it so that Mac OS X is the primary boot? I only want windows for certain programs, and would want it so that I have to CHOOSE windows to boot, (i.e. holding down the option key to pick an OS)
So how would I change these settings?
Hi,
i installed XP SP2 in my mackbook,
everything fine except one problem in trackpad.
tapping on trackpad is not working.
everything else works fine, i can move my mouse and use 2 fingers to scroll on my trackpad.
only problem is tap.
Hi! I have the same question as a previous commenter:
"Your instructions for installing windows on my mac worked great! Thanks!
When I turn my computer on Windows is now the default system and I can only get Mac up by holding down the options key when starting up.
How can I make Mac the primary instead? Thanks again!"
:-)
Hi,
I've been trying to use boot camp for a while now it wont recognize my XP CD.
I've tried just the CD, i mounted the iso file, mounted the cdr file, even burned the files in the iso file onto anther CD. The boot camp assitant just can't find the installer disc.
I've checked, the XP version is SP2 for sure.
please help?
Hi Dave,
HELP
I tried to install Windows XP on my macbook. When it came to formating the partition for it,I chose 'Leave the current file system intact.' Now I can't open Windows and when I put the Service pack 2 disk in, it says 'press any key to boot, and when you do, it says disk error'. Have I messed up my boot camp assistant or it there any hope of installing windows again??? Thanks so much
Hi Dave, thanks for posting this on your site.. it's a great help for all of us. But there is one question I would like to ask... Can a Mac OS Tiger be installed with a Windows XP using Boot Camp? if Yes.. How can we get a copy of Boot Camp?
Many Thanks...
-steve
HELLO,
HOW DO I INSTALL WINDOWS VISTA ON MY POWER MAC G4? IT HAS MAC OS X VERSION 10.5.4.
THANK YOU
i had a problem.it stuck
at the final stage of installation and just the setup is formating, i got this massage;
disck error
press any key to start.
and it stuck. i trun it off and on and it is the same massage.
please help.
u r just apple! i mean simple straight forward but sofisticated!
Hello! great tutorial Dave!
The Disk Error a lot of people here have problem with is caused by the version of the windows installer CD.
You should be given the option to format the partion after you choose which partion you want Windows installed on. However, some versions of the Windows CD's skip his step and goes ahead and installs Windows without even give you the option to format.
Windows needs to format the partion itself, or it will not recogize the file system. That's what the Disk Error message means..
It took me 3 days to solve this, and the solution is to obtain a different CD that gives you the option to format. I made a page about the solution here http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Solve-the-Boot-Camp-Disk-Error
Many thanks
/Dave
i would like to instal win on my mac but there is prob that i have got student win that i just can active it when win is instaled on my mac but i have got no pass to enter for instal how can i skip that part and after ward active my win
U R THE BEST,MAN! DAVE IS THE MAN! Thx big thx)
i need bootcamp for free download can u refer me a web site for it
Great news, Kushichand: Bootcamp is now included with every copy of [the latest version of] Mac OS X shipped. Simply look in your Applications -> Utilities folder for "Boot Camp Assistant" and fire it up. Good luck!
okay I've done this and it works but now it will not allow me to choose to start my mac in windows. Yes. I want to start it in windows. It is not even an option in my system preferences
Hi Dave,
I have a big problem. I think I didn't select the correct drive format type for Windows and left it as the default. It seemed to install ok but now, on boot up I get a 'disk error' message and cannot boot into OSX or windows.
Please help!
Many thanks,
John
Hi dave my name is balaji and i have a problem installing win xp in my mac book pro even the apple store cant resolve my problem thus i am approaching you in the hope of an answer...boot camp goes fine and all and the disk loads all the needed file and it gets stuck at the screen where it says setup starting windows i am not able to go after that i am using a proper windows xp home edition sp3 what do you think is the problem is it sp 3 or something else waiting for your reply ......
Dear Dave!
I have power book G3 How to instal windows XP on Mac.
HELP HELP!
I did what you said to do. But my mac restarted and i couldnt go to windows and now it says Disk Error and Press any key to restart. Keyboard not working and it goes straight to that and not loading mac osx :( what should i do?
Hi, Dave. Great artical. I was wondering if you can tell me can I install Windows XP from a USB stick since I own MacBook Air and I don't have external USB optical drive.
Hi dave.
I'm having some trouble installing Windows Xp (SP2) on the macbook pro (late October 2008 model).
I get an error right at the beginning of the installation when it starts to boot up on the disc.
It says something about the system memory manager (EMM286.exe) detected an error in one of the device drivers or programs loaded in the system. I need help please???
Hey Dave,
Just want to correct something on the message I posted up I meant (EMM386.exe) not (EMM286.exe).
Thanks.
Hey, can anyone help me?
Rite now i am not really able to get a windows xp or vista CD, however i really need to install windows on my mac book as soon as possible. Is it possible to download windows from torrents or somewhere else and then use it in boot camp? If yes, please also let me know the details.
Hi My name is Abi. I quit set up when installing my XP on the mac cos i realised i hadchosen too much space for windows. now it says press non system disc, press any key to reboot. my windows disk is still in the mac and nothing happens when i press any key. Help
sir
my xp disc is not getting recognised what should i do , do i need a original company copy for installation . .
partition was successfull done . .
what should i do now? . .
Hi,
I need help with this.
Have an iMac mid 2007 model.
now the internal super drive is dead; I use an external usb optical drive to burn etc.
How do I install windows xp/ vista / 7 using this external drive.
Every time I click on Start Windows Installation my mac boots and does nothing beyond that. I have to press Option key to be able to boot back into my os x
It seems that my imac would not let windows boot from an external optical disk.
I tried booting the leopard disk that works without issue.
Any help is most welcome
cheers
Vivek
I have attempted to install xp with a ext usb drive and the answer seems to be no on install as so. Still looking for a solution... super drive died on the iMac.
As for the torrent, yes you can download a copy. Everything in available but use at your own risk. Spend $89 for a single use OEM xp disk off of newegg.com... I'd play it legal
The whole service pack 2 disk on ebay I think is retarded... you should be able to download from Microsoft rather than pay for a disk. You shouldn't have to insert a disk for sp2 if I remember correctly.
I have attempted to install xp with a ext usb drive and the answer seems to be no on install as so. Still looking for a solution... super drive died on the iMac.
As for the torrent, yes you can download a copy. Everything in available but use at your own risk. Spend $89 for a single use OEM xp disk off of newegg.com... I'd play it legal
The whole service pack 2 disk on ebay I think is retarded... you should be able to download from Microsoft rather than pay for a disk. You shouldn't have to insert a disk for sp2 if I remember correctly.
Hello Dave,
Thanks a bunch for this extremely helpful guide! Really helped reduce my panic in going through the installation process.
On the other hand, may the great razorblade curse you to eat apples all your life for helping me installing windows on my brand new mac.
Did not think I would need to, but I'm terribly unhappy about the office 2007 and 2004 suites. Who would have thought I would be back so quickly...
Dave, I appreciate your site and am ready to prepare an installation of Windows XP Pro on my late 2006 24" iMac 2.33 Ghz IC2D 250GB running Leopard 10.5.6. Boot Camp is installed on my Leopard. My question is, I have two installation CD's. I have a Windows XP Pro primary installation CD and a Service Pack 2 CD. Will this work to have 2 CD's or do they both need to be on one? Please advise and thank you very much for posting this guide! - MP
I've really messed up! First of all, I made an install mistake in my Windows XP. I chose NTFS and then like a fool marked Read and Write over the default Read!! I got up at 3am to rectify this and did a brute clean install of everything (going to Disk Utilities and making everything one partition). Now, MacDrive doesn't work and says that my serial numbers are no good.
To add insult to injury, I have an XServe with VMware Fusion and Leopard Unlimited and Window 2003 Enterprise 64-bit. It too is upset at that fool hardy routine of Read and Write that I rectified at 3am. Now it completely corrupts the hard drives of the Virtual Machine Windows 2003 Enterprise!!
I have Panda Anti-virus 3 pack and now the free install of McAfee takes precedence and although both installed in an hour, there is still a hidden no virus icon if you hit extender button on the bottom status line.
I suppose I just should wait and maybe everything will rectify itself; but I just really messed up so I thought I confess my foolishness!
i can only seem to find XP with service pack 3.
will this version work with your instructions?
how can i reintall my windows XP?
"windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \system32\hal.dll. Please re-install a copy of the above file."
step 1 to step #?
thank you.
gilmacgem
hey dave thanks a lot fr postin this article...u just saved my 1200rs (30$) if i would hav got it done thru my apple dealer...thanx man u r gr8..
i dont have a windows xp installation cd ..where can i get hold of one...
do i lost my data when i formatting my mac?
Dave, On this example you used the Boot Camp Beta. And its says something that the functionality you have is for a limited period of time. So, do I need to install the Boot Camp final released version (purchase)?
tks a lot
G'day Dave,
I am considering buying a new 24" 2.66 Ghz iMac. One attraction is the avoidance of the virus scourge. If I install Windows XP PRO, brand new, am I encouraging problems with virus's again? I wouldn't worry about windows but I have some now unavailable programs like Cool Edit Pro 2 That I constantly use so must have Windows. I DO worry about virus, malware etc.
Doug, Sydney.
Doug, if you run Windows you'll have the threat of viruses, malware, spyware, etc, whether you're running it on its own dedicated hardware or whether you have it within a virtual machine. If you have sufficient disk space, you can take an "image snapshot" of the OS immediately after you've got it all installed and can always back up to that version if things go bad, but, yeah, there's a reason why VM vendors are including antivirus software free... :-(
Dear Sir,
I am extremely happy about the way you explain things and solve many problems on bootcamp.
Here is my problem. I have imac leopard and I have used the built-in bootcamp assistance and tried to install windows XP professional with SP2. I followed all the instructions using the pdf document. Installation failed. Now when I start my computer it shows a big ? sign on a white screen. By the way I did not back-up any of my files. My disc utility shows 270GB used and 127GB free space which shows that the files are not erased. The problem is there are two hard discs on my computer one is mac and the other is windows both have the same message saying 270GB used and 127GB free space available. This information I have got when I inserted my imac installation disc 1. I do not know what to do ?. Are my files erased or not ? Please help me.
laxmi, I would recommend installing OSX on your windows partition if the computer isnt booting. That would allow you access to your files and give you the opportunity to back them up.
i have a problem with my Apple computer, there was a windows operating system installed but when i switched it on lately it tells me that a file is missing and now i can not install any operating system because my keyboards are not being detected. please help
Help.
I started installing windows before I knew I needed to burn a Mac driver thing. Now what do I do?
i have a mac pro and i istalled xp so i can work on some things but all is workin good...except i would like to have mac as main boot and not xp.
if i don press the alt key xp will boot first..i want mac ? how should i do it?
thx
hai dave plz send me the direct link for downloading bootcamp
when installing windows on bootcamp, do i need a Parallels Desktop for mac to run Windows virtually. or do i just need bootcamp.
i have intall leopard on my pc and how to install windows with leopard
Hello Dave,
I have win xp on mac osx 10.5.6 imac, and an error has come up, ( i don't know what caused it, it reads
''The instruction at ''ox 7564cl383'' referenced memory at '' 0x00000060''. the memory could not be ''read''. click on OK to terminate the program.
Svchost.exe- application.
Now it will not let me access very much at all, and computer locks up.
Please help if you can, I believe this is a main file missing, I have tried to re-boot but does not work,It will not let me start computer in an earlier date.
Thanks, Regards, Greg.
hi i have been having troubles partitioning my hard drive. each time i try, it says that hard drive can not be partitioned. can you help?
Hi Dave, Firstly thanks for a very helpful page!
My son tried to install Windows XP Pro
SP2, however everything seemed like it was going to plan, but on booting Windows for the first time the screen goes black and it says" disk error, press any key to continue" and it won't return to OSX.
Can you assist me at all? This is the same problem that affected Nick back in July 08
Many thanks,
Jon
I need to ask a question, when i inserted the Windows XP DVD, it appeared on the desktop but the bootcamp assistant said "disk was not recognized" or something siilar to that. What shall i do?
FYI:the windows installation DVD is a copy. Is that what's creating the problem?
Pls tell me
Dear Dave
I have recently purchased a Macbook Pro 2.8GHz processor, 4MB memory, with Mac OS 10.5.7 and 500GB hard drive. I have tried to load Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 Version 2002 onto my machine using Bookcamp. I can get as far as "C:Partition3[FAT32]" and install Windows, but I do not get to the screen where I am meant to select NTFS or FAT format. Before this I get the message "Disk error. Press any key to restart" but I am unable to restart at this stage. If I reboot I get back to the beginning of the installation where I hav.e to select "C:Partition3FAT32". Can you help?
Andre - London
I have already install XP but I use NTFS is there any problem happen ???
Got a new MacBook Pro and am attempting to install Windows via Boot Camp. After reading the comments above, it seems that my issue was addressed by Frederique, however the solution is to use the full format rather than the quick format. I don't ever get this option. It goes from select partition to installation. Even when I have removed the partition, I cannot restart the Mac without a "no bootable disK" error. I hold the option key down and select Macintosh HD, but I seem to be in a bit of a loop. Any help? Thanks in advance.
hi dave,
i have a laptop mac 13 white mac os..but if i install the windows xp how can i found the the xp driver?
thanx
hey dave...
jus curious to knw, if i install win Xp on mac then what bout the data and files that i have in saved before. All those will lost or i do need to create a backup files for them. or is there any possible way to install xp on mac without lossing all files and folders which are saved on mac???
will b waitin for ur reply...
thankx
Your page was really easy to follow, but when I tried to reboot and work the Boot Camp itself. When I take click on the thing itself it says "Book Camp Assistant has expired." and not "You must update...." Can you help? Thanks! -)
Hello,
I have the new imac 24" 3.06 dual core, blah, blah, blah...
I partitioned my HD without any problems. I ran the installation process with what I thought were no problems.
After the installation process completes, my computer will not restart. It remains frozen at a light blue screen.
I do a hard re-start (press the button on the back), and my computer boots up in windows xp.
I then insert the mac install disk to access the drivers, but I get a message stating that I need a newer installer. Problem is, I can access the web. I even whet into my D drive and tried to manually install every and each driver. That was a mess.
My refresh rates are horrible ... I'm assuming because the drivers are not installed. And when in windows, the computers freezes when trying to restart.
How do I gain internet access?
Should I have waited longer for the computer to restart. Here is something else, after doing the hard re-start, I notice that the volume holding windows is now untitled!?!
Please help
Thanks for the info, hopefully i will install windows XP after i get the CD, keep up the good work
Dave, Thanks for your help! Windows seemed to install fine. the only problem I found was with the Mac drivers... I inserted the MAC OS X Install DVD (which I was informed, contains all the /mac drivers needed) and it took me to a bootcamp installation wizard... I did that and I think everything is ok... the only problem I see is that the screen is all strecthed (to fit the widescreen I suppose)... HOw do I fix this? Does it have to do with the MAC drivers not being installed properly?
Yazmin, what happens if you just go to the regular Windows display settings options and change it?
help! superdrive not working.ejects all kinds of disc. can not install vista. tried on external dvd drive and usb flaSH DISK..NOT WORKED! what to do?
Dave I was excited to get my long awaited Windows Vista Home Premium Disc, only to discover it is a 64 Bit ~ not 32 bit as noted on page 10 under Step 2 Install Windows. What will happen if I use this? Do I need to go out and buy a 32 Bit disc instead?
Unfortunately, last I checked, you *did* need a 32-bit version of Windows.
Hey Dave,
Great guide on going through the at some points treacherous ins and outs of Bootcamp and XP.
I'm having some problems on the XP side getting everything set up correctly however.
I have an iMac, post leopard release.
So I ran Bootcamp, everything went well, and windows XP runs fine. I used an XP Pro edition with SP2 and all of that is in order. I initially used a Leopard Install DVD of my friends to install the drivers, because I couldn't find the disk that came with my mac, and that worked until it got the wireless components, and then would crash windows.
I then found, luckily, and put in the Mac OSX install disk that came with my mac and that installed the drivers.
(or at least I think it did, it sure looked like it was, but afterwards it seemed as though all it did was install a program called Bootcamp that helps with running dual systems on a Mac.)
But XP wont pick up any wireless networks on the page where you can manage your networks. It's as if I have no built in wireless.
I don't know if you have to actually set up the built in wireless to work with windows, or if the disks I put in actually didn't install the drivers. but I'm starting to go insane...
(on one last side note, my wireless mighty mouse and wireless keyboard won't connect in XP either, BUT only after I used the Mac OSX install CD.... it's very strange.... )
Hi Dave,
I'm trying to figure out how to best reinstall Vista on a Bootcamp partition (that I then run concurrently with OS X using VMware Fusion, which may or may not be pertinent to this question). I have found great instructions on doing an initial install, but for a reinstall do I want to boot into Vista directly or can/should I do it through the Bootcamp assistant?
Thanks Dave, but now that I have everything installed, I'm having an issue switching back to Windows XP from my mac. It's all installed and it works fine, but when i switched back to my mack using the boot camp installed in windows i couldn't figure out how to get back to windows. help?
Hi Dave,
I just got a new mac with Snow Leopard in it and I tried running boot camp. I had the windows sp3 and the initial part completed.. the computer then reboot and when it continued on the installation, the "installing windows" part just kept going.. I left it over night and it was still there even when it said it had 39 minutes left. I continuously tried to find a way to get around this but the installation just won't finalize. I don't really know what to do. Can anybody help me??
i am trying to install WinSP2, but when trying to do so, i get an error saying that i dont have enought space on the harddrive to do so. after looking an verifing that i do have more than enough space (4GB used, 28GB Free). what can i do? i tried downloading online, but when i try to run it, that happens. when i try to run the disc, i get an error due to a proplem with the installer.
please help me
Hi Dave,
I just installed Snow Leopard on my MacBook and have been trying to install windows XP sp2, with no success. When I try to install Windows, I insert the disk and my computer restarts with a blank screen reading "No bootable device - insert boot disk and press any key." Do I really need boot disks? Why can't I install from a file on my computer (as VM Ware allows)? Thanks for your help.
Hi Dave:
I just installed snow leopard upgrade on my Airbook that already had a dual MAC/XP bootcamp partition. The upgrade deleted my xp bootcamp partition all together. It also change the formating so that bootcamp could no longer reinstall xp.
I called apple support and they tried a few things with me but ultimately stated that I would have to totally repartition my hd for a single extended journaling partition and reload everything then use boot camp to repartition the the drive to strip off what I want for xp and reload it.
My question is that since the mac OS sees a second partition already is there a trick or anything that you know of that I can try to use to reload xp without having to repartition the whole hd and start from scratch.
j
Hey dave,
installed windows myself on mac. Partitioned my hard drive to allow 32GB for windows and 118GB for macintosh. 32GB is the maximum amount that can be, initially, partitioned for windows to run in FAT format. My question is, now that I have windows running, would I be able to re-partition my hard drive and give windows more space(preferably more of a 50/50 split), without losing all the data I have on the windows partition.
Hi Dave
Thanks for the great article.
You wrote:
go to Apple's Support Downloads and check their Available Firmware Updates list to click directly to the firmware update for your own Intel system.
How do I know that I have got right one?
will I have to reboot, by pressing and holding the power button about ten seconds everytime i test each firmware?
can you help me give an idea, what will the name of firmware look like.?
Thanks
I need to load XP on my Mac drivers. So to avoid any failurity and not to lose my data what do u advice me? B/c Before going in to action I have to take an advice from an experise.
Thank You
My labtop is POWERBOOK G4. So can I install XP on it?
Thanks
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I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by
buying you a cup of coffee! |
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i tried to do this but i got disk error once it reboot