PurityControl2015

Q: Windows 10 bootcamp on a mid-2011 iMac?

Hi all,

 

I have a mid-2011 iMac that I had previously been running Windows 7 boot-camp on (with relatively few problems). When Windows 10 came out and I was offered a free upgrade, I took it, and assumed that there would be support for my Mac with Windows 10. Oh, how wrong I was...

 

I did the upgrade and everything worked fine for a while, until one day I tried to boot up, logged in and got a blue screen of death with a "Bad_Pool_Header" error message. After several re-boots, the same thing kept happening so eventually I did some research. It turned out MUCH to my surprise, that Apple doesn't support Windows 10 boot-camp on a mid-2011 iMac - simple as that.

 

So, I contacted Apple support, had a chat with an individual who told me to upgrade my Mac OS to Yosemite, download the latest boot-camp drivers and try to install them (and this should fix my problem). I did this, and when I tried to install the drivers, Windows told me that I had the latest drivers already. This was disappointing since it was after I did this that I also discovered that my DVD/RW drive was no longer recognized at all in Windows - it's like it didn't (and still doesn't) exist, and my success rate of logging into Windows without getting that Bad_Pool_Header error regressed to (and still is) about 1 in 10.

 

So back to Apple support who had no record of the last support chat I had (disappointingly convenient). Anyway they confirmed that what is on their website was indeed true and that there is no support for a mid-2011 model iMac with Windows 10. They couldn't say if there was ever going to be either, and basically offered my ZERO support. So after doing some more research and thinking, I have tried to install the latest drivers for the hardware that I have from the actual manufacturer's website (where I can find them) and my Bad_Pool_Header / blue screen of death problem now only happens abount 1 in 7 times.

 

So is the expectation, that if I want to continue to run Windows 10 and use an iMac, that I just buy another one? Is this part of some sick marketing strategy?

 

If so, I can assure you that this will be the last Mac I ever buy.

 

Has anyone had a similar experience and if so, did they manage to get around it / resolved?

 

Thanks.

iMac, Windows 10, mid-2011 model

Posted on Nov 19, 2015 8:03 PM

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Q: Windows 10 bootcamp on a mid-2011 iMac?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Duane,

    Duane Duane Nov 19, 2015 8:34 PM in response to PurityControl2015
    Level 10 (124,018 points)
    Nov 19, 2015 8:34 PM in response to PurityControl2015

    According to http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/index-imac.html none of the mid-2011 iMacs are compatible with Windows 10 only 8.1.

  • by PurityControl2015,

    PurityControl2015 PurityControl2015 Nov 22, 2015 10:05 PM in response to Duane
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 22, 2015 10:05 PM in response to Duane

    Is there any news on if the mid-2011 iMac's will be supported on Windows 10 at some point?

     

    Forking out $$ for Window's 8.1 and / or buying a new iMac seems really shoddy service from Apple...

  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Nov 23, 2015 6:02 AM in response to PurityControl2015
    Level 7 (24,307 points)
    Safari
    Nov 23, 2015 6:02 AM in response to PurityControl2015

    Unless you really need W8.1/W10, since you have a valid license for W7, consider re-installing W7. It is very unlikely that Apple will provide drivers for older Macs.

     

    I personally prefer W7 over W8.1. W10 is fine on PCs but has quite a few challenges on older Macs due to drivers, and newer Macs (2014/2015) due to drivers, too. W7's stability is preferable over an unstable W10.

  • by Duane,

    Duane Duane Nov 23, 2015 6:24 AM in response to PurityControl2015
    Level 10 (124,018 points)
    Nov 23, 2015 6:24 AM in response to PurityControl2015

    This is a user to user discussion area so no one here knows what Apple's plan are. However I would hazard a guess that adding capability to a 4 year old machine for another company's OS which was released this year, isn't high on Apple's todo list.

     

    If I were to use your logic, everyone should be mad at car manufacturers for making cars in 2011 which do not support Google's autonomous driving capability.

  • by Rudegar,

    Rudegar Rudegar Nov 23, 2015 8:12 AM in response to PurityControl2015
    Level 7 (28,741 points)
    Apple TV
    Nov 23, 2015 8:12 AM in response to PurityControl2015

    doubt apple are working on making windows 10 drivers for older mac models

     

    I got an iMac mid 2011 21" with windows 10 in bootcamp

     

    when I got it it had Lion and I installed windows 7 in bootcamp since then I've upgraded windows from within windows first with a digital exe upgrade to win8 then to win8.1 from windows app store and then to windows10 with the upgrade program

    apart from no access to OS X drive from windows anymore then everything works just fine but that being said I never used the apple keyboard, I use a windows  ms natural keyboard and a razer mouse sure I have the magic trackpad and it works ok but if every single gesture works I have no idea

  • by Christian Stueben,Apple recommended

    Christian Stueben Christian Stueben Nov 24, 2015 2:33 AM in response to Rudegar
    Level 1 (120 points)
    Mac OS X
    Nov 24, 2015 2:33 AM in response to Rudegar

    What i have done with my mac pro 2010, which too doesnt support Win 10 (as apple says)...

     

     

    Install Win 7 on a extra dedicated disc,

    installed the bootcamp supplementary drivers,

    made the complete windows 7 update, more than 200 patches,

    then i did an upgrade to win 10 via gwx / media creation tool.

     

    Works perfect on the unsupported mac.

     

    The only negative is, that an upgraded windows 10 only can be activated for bootcamp OR fusion / parallels.

     

    greetings from germany

    Chris

  • by Tobismus,

    Tobismus Tobismus Dec 27, 2015 9:06 AM in response to PurityControl2015
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 27, 2015 9:06 AM in response to PurityControl2015

    I do have w10 via bootcamp on a mid 11 iMac, too.
    Had the BsoD with Bad_Pool_Header for some days now, but eventually was able to locate a new AMD/Intel driver (for Graphics) as source of the issue.
    Rolling back to the old driver did work....... but w10 installed the new one, again.

    Hopefully, I did find a solution (got a german version, so maybe I won't get all the words right):

    Go to System Features (Systemeigenschaften) / Hardware, where you'll find a buttton called Device Installation Settings (Geräteinstallationseinstellungen).
    There you can stop w10 from automatically installing new drivers.

    Then, I found an MS tool called wushowhide.diagcab to 'hide' updates causing problems.
    Using this tool, you can disable certain drivers/updates.
    That seems to do the trick.

    ..or so I hope..

  • by Tobismus,

    Tobismus Tobismus Dec 27, 2015 10:13 AM in response to Tobismus
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 27, 2015 10:13 AM in response to Tobismus

    ...and by the way,
    I managed to run w7 on a MacPro 2006 (with processor upgrade) via Bootcamp, about 1.5 years ago, all the time working fine.
    And did the w10 update on it recently, too, but returned to w7 for matters of reliability.

    However, installation took about 2 days & nights of trial & error; at the end I just installed w7 natively on an empty ssd (took out the others before).

    Lucky me, the MacPro AND Bootcamp decided (after pushing in the other Harddrives) to recognize both startup volumes.

     

    Good Luck!

  • by Tobismus,

    Tobismus Tobismus Dec 27, 2015 11:20 AM in response to Tobismus
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 27, 2015 11:20 AM in response to Tobismus

    ...little update: after about 20 restarts, no BSoD.. 

  • by Zippy The Pinhead,

    Zippy The Pinhead Zippy The Pinhead Dec 27, 2015 3:26 PM in response to PurityControl2015
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Dec 27, 2015 3:26 PM in response to PurityControl2015

    For the record, I'm posting this from W10 running on my mid-2011 iMac, and as you can read in this other thread, so far so good. I also installed W10 on a family member's Mid-2011 iMac, and though there have been some errors, it does seem to be running OK at the moment.

  • by Michael Streubert,

    Michael Streubert Michael Streubert Dec 27, 2015 4:47 PM in response to Zippy The Pinhead
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Dec 27, 2015 4:47 PM in response to Zippy The Pinhead

    Win 10 working on my 2011 Mid-iMac, although wireless keyboard doesn't seem to be supported (no bluetooth drivers seem to work). I get the Bad_Pool_Header maybe 30% of the time I boot into Win10 (only had Win10 installed one day, and it seems to be less frequently- I assume it has to do with peripheral drivers not playing nice).

     

    Anyway, I'm going to go back to Win7, didn't realize I wasn't supported, but it definitely works... a bit.

  • by Tobismus,

    Tobismus Tobismus Dec 28, 2015 2:34 PM in response to Zippy The Pinhead
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 28, 2015 2:34 PM in response to Zippy The Pinhead

    same here, w10 is running smooth & fine.
    iMac mid2011 4x3.4 16GB

    But the wushowhide was definitely essential, for me.
    No Bluescreens for 2 days now, with lots of restarts.

    Obviously, the latest drivers are just not compatible.
    ...and I do use wired Mouse & Keys.
    Bluetooth has a very obvious questionmark (Hardware)

  • by The18thVirus,

    The18thVirus The18thVirus Jan 24, 2016 2:09 AM in response to PurityControl2015
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 24, 2016 2:09 AM in response to PurityControl2015

    I seem to have gotten windows 10 running almost perfect. no bad pool headers or restarts. GPU work perfect so does bluetooth. Only flaw i seem to have is the volume buttons on my wireless mac keyboard doesn't control the volume on windows (first world problems huh? lol). Instead of upgrading from windows 7 to 10 i basically installed a fresh iso copy and installed some drivers individually. Still not sure what driver causes the bad pool headers but it has something to do with one of the drivers from the windows 7 bootcamp instalation. Windows seems to install its own driver for the gpu so thats already working.

     

    Once you're happy with your newley installed windows 10 go ahead and open open up your Apple Boot Camp Drivers Folder. Go to Drivers>Apple.

    Go ahead and install these drivers individually to your liking. DO NOT INSTALL THE BOOTCAMP SETUP!!!! If you're using a 64 bit version of windows then click on the x64 folder for those drivers.Go ahead and install whatever else you fell you need. If anyone finds the source of the pad pool header let us know.

  • by OneKGon,

    OneKGon OneKGon Aug 12, 2016 3:37 AM in response to PurityControl2015
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Aug 12, 2016 3:37 AM in response to PurityControl2015

    Hello!

    Sorry for my English so bad, but I'm using google translation to write. Tell me if I got my start Windows 10 in mid-2011 iMac I had a lot of trouble to get it, because, use El Capitan. THROUGH did a youtube video. It is in Spanish but not very difficult to do. If you understand more or less the Spanish think you will not be difficult.

    The Video is this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcqUiaZtFS0

    I hope I've been helpful. If so I'm really happy for you and me. Thanks for reading and good luck!