Macbook won't read Windows XP CD at all

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Level 1

0 points

Macbook won't read Windows XP CD at all

I installed BootCamp 2.0 on my Intel MacBook, set up a 10 GB partition, in order to install Windows XP for some online college course that for an unfathomable reason requires Windows to use its ONLINE client. Luckily, the professor was able to get me a faculty discount on Windows XP. $4.50 for Windows XP Professional SP2, "Systems: Student Media / Work at Home Media". It is not for OEM distribution and is a bootable install CD straight from Microsoft, unopened. There are two discs - a normal disc and a x64 edition. I am using the normal 32 bit edition.

I run BootCamp, get ready to install Windows, pop in the CD. The MacBook just sits there, whirs a bit and spits the CD back out. I have tried various other CDs and they all work flawlessly. The Windows XP CD does not mount on the desktop and is not recognized by my MacBook at all.

I placed the Windows XP CD in my PowerBook and it appears on there fine, as VX2PFPP_EN with a bunch of .exes and .dlls. The INNTP.exe file that some people have had problems with is not present here. I can't boot using the CD in my PowerBook but I assume thats because it's a PowerPC.

Any ideas? I am up to date with all firmwares and software updates. I tried erasing the partition and repartitioning the disk. I do not have access to a PC and I don't have any burnable CDs (or money to buy any) at the moment.

MacBook 13", PowerBook G4 15", Mac OS X (10.5.3)

Posted on Jun 19, 2008 1:18 PM

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Answer 1

nerowolfe

Level 6

13,090 points

Jun 19, 2008 5:42 PM in response to unknownowen

Welcome to the Apple boards:
The first thing I would do is see if the other CD (64-bit) is readable on your machine.
It's entirely possible that the CD is not compatible with your optical reader, for some reason.
Bring the CD to school and copy it and see if the copy works on you Mac.

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Answer 2

unknownowen Author

Level 1

0 points

Jun 19, 2008 5:59 PM in response to nerowolfe

Both the 32 bit and 64 bit work on my PowerBook only and not on the MacBook.

I think this is due to the hologramming process Microsoft uses on the Windows XP CD and my Superdrive's inability to read it (its 2 years old). I already tried to blackout the hologram on top with a Sharpie and it still doesn't read on my MacBook, since there are further holograms on the dual-layer disc. I'm going to try to make a bootable copy using mkisofs and the boot files provided at http://wiki.onmac.net/index.php/HOWTO .

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Answer 3

unknownowen Author

Level 1

0 points

Jun 20, 2008 12:18 AM in response to unknownowen

The CD burning process seems to have worked as my Macbook can now recognize the CD and boot from it.

One important caveat... check the I386 file in the files before you crunch it for a file called WINNT.SIF. If it's there, toss it or it will NEVER ask you to format the partition. Went through 3 blank CDs before figured this out.

So I have rebooted from the CD, selected the BOOTCAMP partition, formatted it using normal FAT, and it goes through the installation normally (it's missing one plugin.cys file) and restarts.

Now I'm stuck again. After it restarts, it goes straight to a black screen with nothing I can do. Restarting again (after waiting 10 mins) brings up Windows XP which loads, then gives me an error message "Setup is being resetted" and then just sits there.

Anyone have any ideas to resolve this? This is my 7th time reinstalling Windows XP... I get a little farther each time...

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Answer 4

unknownowen Author

Level 1

0 points

Jun 21, 2008 4:48 PM in response to unknownowen

I managed to install Windows XP after I got the black screen and "Setup is being restarted..." screens by starting from the CD, picking the Recovery option, logging in and typing chkdsk /r. Immediately afterwards (don't boot into Windows) start from the CD again, install Windows XP, and selected my old installation to repair. This did the trick and allowed me to finish installing Windows XP but I got a login error and still can't use Windows XP.

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Answer 5

B_web

Level 1

12 points

Sep 5, 2008 3:52 PM in response to unknownowen

I am having the same CD problem; only in my case I am particularly confused because I used this very same XP CD to install windows with Bootcamp Beta on Tiger. Now I just bought Leopard and am trying again, and no luck, just shoots the CD back out... frustrations continue to pile up!

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Answer 6

Sep 16, 2008 9:59 PM in response to B_web

I would say you have a bad optical drive, not a bad install disc.

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Answer 7

B_web

Level 1

12 points

Dec 6, 2008 1:54 PM in response to My White Dog

It has come to be a very quirky situation.

About a month ago on the first install, it wouldn't read the CD for about the first 30-40 times I stuck it in the drive, then magically it worked on the 40th or so time; I installed, and ran XP for a month until I got a major virus.

Now I'm back to the sticking the CD in stage, only this time I think I'm up to about 50 attempts and it won't read it; I feel like I might break my drive or something so I'm looking for alternatives.

I have a legitimate XP+SP2 installation CD. Is there any way to duplicate this on a PC using a blank disc and then installing? Are there any other alternatives that anyone has become aware of?

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