New iMac doesn't boot from XP install disc

Question

New iMac doesn't boot from XP install disc

Last week I bought the new iMac 24", 3.06GHz, 8800GT. I tried to install Windows XP SP2 and SP3 with the Boot Camp Assistant but it says the CD could not be recognized. So the options I've tried:

- Booting holding the "C" key with both discs (SP2 and SP3). Both gave a black screen with a blinking cursor. It looks like it tries to boot from the disc but just stops before you get the "checking hardware compatibility... " line.

- Booting holding the "Alt/Option" key. Same result as above.

So I thought the discs were not burned correctly (from iso-file). Tried both in my MacBook (Oct, 2007) and they both booted fine. Got right into the blue partitioning screen.

My guess is that the SuperDrive in the iMac has a hard time reading the discs. The discs are CD-R80 discs from TDK, which are good quality discs in my opinion. One disc was burned on 24X speed the other on 8X.

Any help would be appreciated.

Note: This is not the same problem the older 24" iMacs had. That was a complete black screen which was caused by a firmware or graphics problem. My screen is black too but with a blinking white cursor in the top left corner.

iMac 24" 3.06GHz / MacBook, Mac OS X (10.5.2)

Posted on May 20, 2008 4:00 AM

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Answer 1

NASCHO

Level 1

0 points

May 20, 2008 11:43 AM in response to Michiel Bruins

I have the exact same problem. I have done like 50 Boot Camp installs for folks at my company, and I cannot get the new iMac to boot the XP SP2 CD. I checked the CD in a PC so I know the media is good.

It's an iMac8,1 here are the details:

Model Name: iMac
Model Identifier: iMac8,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 3.06 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 6 MB
Memory: 4 GB
Bus Speed: 1.07 GHz
Boot ROM Version: IM81.00C1.B00
SMC Version: 1.30f1

This machine was purchased just a few days ago, I ran all the Lepoard updates on it.

Any help would be appreciated.

thanks!

-naseem

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Answer 2

NASCHO

Level 1

0 points

May 20, 2008 4:29 PM in response to NASCHO

Update!

So we think we found the problem. Follow these steps to fix some blinking cursor XP install problems:

* Completely unplug the computer from the wall for 10 minutes
* if it has a battery (Laptop) take the battery out as well

This worked for me. I was able to get XP fully installed & patched after doing that....

..I know this sounds crazy but I think it's either a capacitor issue, or something that get's stuck in RAM that clears out if the computer is completely without power.

-naseem

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Answer 3

May 21, 2008 8:03 AM in response to NASCHO

Found the solution!

There needs to be a partition on the HD that the Windows Setup recognizes. I actually used the Boot Camp Assistant to make a 120GB partition on the 1TB HDD. Well this gave me the black screen with blinking cursor error.

Solution:
Boot from Leopard disk.
- Use Disk Utility to remove the previously made partition
- Resize the OS X partition to full HD space again
- Run "Repair Disk" (otherwise Boot Camp Assistant won't run)
- Reboot
- Run Boot Camp Assistant and create a partition equal or smaller than 32GB

Windows should install fine now, but make sure to reformat the windows partion in the Windows Setup or the second part of the installation (after the first reboot) won't run.

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Answer 4

weini

Level 1

0 points

May 21, 2008 2:02 PM in response to Michiel Bruins

i have the same problem, too.

bootcamp assistant works fine. when is restart the iMac i get an black screen with a blinking curser.
Windows XP Pro SP2, the same CD works perfect with Paralles.

I tried countless times to install windows. With different Bootcamp Partition Sizes. 5, 32, 50 GB, everthing. Starting with Key "C" pressed. With "alt" key pressed. There i can "see" Windows but starting from there results in the well known black screen.

-> Michiel Bruins
i tried your solution but it did not work. still a black screen with this curser...

any more suggestions?

My iMac,
24'', 3,06 GHz, 4 GB RAM, Nvidia 8800 GS
OS X 10.5.2 with all updates.

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