Can i install windows XP on Lion?

Thanks for the explanation.

It looks like many people in this thread are misleaded.

Boot Camp version supported by Lion does NOT support Windows XP and Vista:

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9218794/OS_X_Lion_requires_Windows_7_for_ Boot_Camp

So the only way to run WinXP/Vista on a Lion Mac is to use virtualization software like Parallels or VMWare.

And I can tell you first hand http://www.virtualbox.org/ works with Lion having XP SP 3 installed.

alexchurikov wrote:

Boot Camp version (4) supported by Lion does NOT support Windows XP and Vista:

So the only way to run WinXP/Vista on a Lion Mac is to use virtualization software...

It's possible Windows Vista 64 bit could run on a Lion machine, as it supports EFI and the GPT, so thus wouldn't require a Hybrid MBR installed, the MSDOS partition format changed to NTFS, just need EFI to be able to work recognizing it, which rEFIt bootkit could do the trick like it works with Linux.

Once the hardware drivers were installed it should work.

The trouble is Vista is a pig, although the later updates make it improved, it takes a few days to download and install all the incremental updates, Windows 7 is a much better choice as Apple is holding hands with Bootcamp.

OK--here's a question.

Using all the suggestions from this thread, and much time, I found drivers for Intel and Broadcom on an old iMac disk and the Internet and now have XP SP3 working very well, good graphics, good networking, etc., on a Boot Camp set up on my 2011 MB Pro with Lion.

Two things I can't do--cannot get Wi-Fi working and cannot configure the built in trackpad to accept two fingers as a right mouse click. In fact, I can't configure the trackpad at all. It does work for moving the pointer and for left clicking.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

Use the current version of Boot Camp which provides drivers for the hardware in your MBP.

Thanks, but I don't know what you mean, exactly.

I can't run the old Snow Leopard Boot Camp in Lion on my MB Pro, nor can I run the Boot Camp from the MP Pro 2011 install disk when I have XP set up (and running) in Boot Camp. I've DLed various versions of Boot Camp (3.1, 3.2, 3.3) and various BC updates from the Apple site and when I try to run them in XP I get the Run screen, click on it, but then nothing happens. It still says I have 3.1 and the latest version is 3.3, isn't it? (I did get 3.2 to run once , but then it didn't seem to change anything.)

I've been manually extracting drivers from the BC on two install disks, one from my old iMac and the other from my MB Pro 2011. So far i haven't found drivers that work with my MB Pro track pad or with Airport to get WiFi.

Any other thoughts?

Here's an update.

If you simply extract the file Binary.AppleWirelessTrackpad-Bin from the Apple Boot Camp 3.2 file (using a free extraction program) and then add the suffix .exe to the file name and execute it, it will enable partial functionality to the trackpad (mainly a right click by putting two fingers on the TP then clicking), but it doesn't enable left clicking, per se, with just the finger touch.

Despite multiple efforts with various Broadcom ethernet XP drivers, I am unable to make Wi-Fi work on my MacBook Pro early 2011--only the cable works. I don't understand that--Wi-Fi works perfectly on my iMac Boot Camp with XP.

In sum, contrary to some other posts here, it is indeed possible to get Boot Camp with Windows XP working under Lion, 100% in older iMacs and about 95% in the MacBook Pro early 2011. Install BC, boot an XP SP2 or above CD original installation disk, then use the Apple Boot Camp 3.0 (3.1 can hang up BC for some reason) file, or else an older iMac install CD to install the BC drivers. That will give you the graphics and the network. You can also install Intel chipset drivers for XP if you want.

Further update:

I found wireless drivers at this site: http://wikidrivers.com/wiki/Broadcom_BCM43xx_win5x

Download the appropriate drivers, run the setup after extracting, go to your device manager in Windows if necessary to activate the 801.22 network, and you will have a wireless connection on your MacBook Pro early 2011, using Windows XP SP3.

It works. I'm online with it now.

'The Lord giveth and the Lord hath taken away.' Apple's decision for Lion's Bootcamp not to support Win XP doesn't make much business sense. People buy Apple gear because they like it, if they happen like me to need XP as well, then Apple would be best served by making it easy for us. I need to run XP for some software that I don't want to afford to update to Win 7. Anyway, despite earlier comments on this thread, it can be done including SP3 and wifi enabled.

1. Go through Bootcamp to partition drive
2. don't bother to save the Windows drivers, they only work for Win7 and will be rejected for WinXP
3. reboot machine with licensed WINXP installation CD and hold finger down on option key to boot off the CD
4. make sure to install in the partition called bootcamp. you need the 25 character key for the installation
5. A basic winXP is loaded. trackpad, keyboard, screen (2 low resolution modes) all work
6. download a driver for the Airport. http://www.mediafire.com/?we5yfh65of6le13 . You now have a working WiFi system.
7. run XP updates to bring your system up to SP3. If you encounter an error message about out of disk space when installing SP3 from SP2 then follow instructions in this link. http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_other-windows_update/sp 3-will-not-install-on-xp-sp2-in-mac-bootcamp/001f5cf6-e0c4-4e87-a1a8-38712ad95aa f#4c7aab9c-8a40-46ad-9f81-74c33b558386
8. Finally download the Intel drivers for the graphics card http://downloadcenter.intel.com/confirm.aspx?httpDown=http://downloadmirror.inte l.com/20355/a08/winxp_14466.zip&lang=eng&Dwnldid=20355&OSFullname=Windows+XP*&Pr oductID=3231 If you need to install other stuff to get this to work, then follow instructions.

Viola. You should have an up to date WinXP with wireless access and control over the screen. It's enough for me. I guess you can also download other drivers for other hardware. The only missing feature is Bootcamp's control panel to allow restart into MacOSX. The way I've done it here, start always requires the option key to be held down to choose the boot drive.

As long as you have pre-2011 Mac, then you can install and run XP, as you would have your OS X DVD etc from Snow Leopard or even Leopard DVDs have all the drivers.

Not including the drivers with Lion - well Lion is now electronic only download, and YOU have drivers you NEED, the ones you have had all along.

In fact, you probably don't need Lion, or want to wait until all the kinks and bugs and a year of patches, updates, fixes, integration, more "improves support, stability, secruity, compatibility, performance" (that seems to include and cover all the OS updates and patches).

Lion Recovery tool is perhaps the only real next feature and way to manage, repair and check the health of ALL partitions, user and hidden.

And for Cloud integration.

Thanks it works well. How do I start up in lion now?

"Thanks it works well. How do I start up in lion now?"

??

If you've installed Boot Camp using drivers from the Internet (since with Windows XP you can't install the Lion Boot Camp divers--they are compatible only with Windows 7), you simply don't have the ability to set the Apple Boot Camp control panel to boot from Lion. That's because you don't have the control panel. So, all you do is to hold down the Option key on your Mac keyboard while starting up the computer, and it will give you the choice to boot into Boot Camp or into Lion.

By the way, there is a way around some of this, and that is by searching and downloading from Apple the Window's Boot Camp driver file 3.0 (better than 3.1) for Windows /into/ your Windows XP Boot Camp, once you have at least the network running. Then run the 3.0 exe file. Then reinstall some of the better Windows drivers for the trackpad, Airport and the graphics card, the ones linked in the post from a couple days ago. You will have both Windows Boot Camp and the better drivers.

Hi KenV54, I followed Elmundo's suggestions on pg 1 of this thread and it worked, but i couldn't get to the page to choose OS. I got it now thanks. Can I use paralells without reinstalling windows xp now?

"Can I use paralells without reinstalling windows xp now?"

I assume you want a Parallels VM based upon Boot Camp.

All you have to do is open Parallels, File menu, New, Create from Boot Camp and you've got it. You will have to reactivate Windows, which might require a call to Microsoft depending upon how many times and how recently you have activated that version with the same serial number, but just say that you only have XP installed on one machine, which, assuming you don't have it installed on other computers, is the truth. You are simply accessing Windows in two different ways on the same computer--via Boot Camp and the VM.