Q: Create Windows install disk option in Lion Bootcamp?

It's not working for me. I have tried this but Boot Camp Assistant get crash straight away. I am not able to install window 7 in my Mac mini. Can you please help me on How to install windows 7 in my Mac Mini discussion.

Thanks

I am so glad I didn't pay for this stupid Mac. You guys see what's happening here? Apple is disabling features. WHY???????

Anyway this no longer works because when you change the info.plist you are invalidating the code signature. (look at the crash report). Luckily if you read the discussion page before this one you'll see someone figured out a solution.

OK so maybe there is a sense to the madness. I finally got bootcamp to let me do what I wanted but when I boot into windows it says no bootable device. So apple knows that this is an issue and just decided not to give these particular macs the ability to USB bootcamp.

So now I'm off to spend several more hours on a solution to this.

trunolimit wrote:

 

... but when I boot into windows it says no bootable device. So apple knows that this is an issue and just decided not to give these particular macs the ability to USB bootcamp.

because these Macs came with a built-in Optical drive. Also, M$ did not have a mechanism in place for ISO downloads, but stuck to selling DVDs.

Poor Jobs did his best to kill Optical Media, but Ballmer would not agree.

Even if you can create a USB, this will not work if your Optical drive is non-functional, because BCA uses your Mac's Model Identifier to set the NVRAM.

There are a few Macs between 2011-2012 which have the ability to use either a USB-only or an Optical drive+USB method. 

Well I agree optical media needs to go away.

I did get it to boot into my windows 8 installer USB (reboot and hold the option key, then select your windows install USB) but I can't install to the partition I've created. Something about windows needing a GPT formatted drive. Oh the agony

It is only giving you the option for an instal disk, correct?

There are two methods of installing Windows on a Mac.

1. Hybrid MBR and Legacy BIOS mode.

     a. This requires your hardware to be the same as your original configuration. Replacing Optical drives with SSDs and moving HDD to

         the OD slot negates this.

     b. Modifying BC info.plist allows the creation of a USB, but does not address this or a failed Optical drive, and cannot change the

           behavior of BCA and its boot logic settings in NVRAM. No amount of modifications will help this situation.

     c. If you use BCA and use the USB route and start the EFI installer, it will complain about MBR vs GPT. If the MBR is deleted with Gdisk,

          and Windows is installed, GPU and Audio driver issues await such a misguided soul.

2. EFI Mode.

     a. Fully supported by W8, W7 has some limitations.

     b. Requires a pure GPT-only disk, which BCA does not create/manage.

     c. The disk layout is completely different. This includes a MSR (Microsoft System Reserved) and MSD (Microsoft System Data or Basic

           Data) component.

     d. This requires a Late 2013+ Mac which is UEFI-compliant.

          Older Macs use EFI 1.1 (also called Legacy EFI as compared to Legacy BIOS).

None of this is documented anywhere but has been analyzed and debated ad infinitium ad nauseam. No amount of modifications can change BCA logic, which is Apple Proprietary.

I Have an early 2011 MBP. So all hope is lost? I really don't care about GPU and audio. I just need windows to run some windows only wifi packet sniffing software. The software needs the ability to access the raw read mode of the wifi card so virtualization won't work i assume. And what do you mean by swapping the disc drive with an ssd? I can do that? I'd love to add some extra storage to my MBP

trunolimit wrote:

 

I Have an early 2011 MBP. So all hope is lost?

No. Is your built-in Optical Drive functional? You should have one based on original configurations as specified in

MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2011) - Technical Specifications

MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011) - Technical Specifications

MacBook Pro (13-inch, Early 2011) - Technical Specifications

And what do you mean by swapping the disc drive with an ssd? I can do that? I'd love to add some extra storage to my MBP

You may be better off replacing the internal disk with a larger disk, rather than replacing the Optical drive with a SSD/HDD?

Although, there are kits available, for example, https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/drive_bracket/datadoubler/ which work with various Macs for OD-to-Disk replacement.

I think my drive is functional, I've never used it. This Mac is a hand-me-down and was all beaten up. I replaced the screen glass, HDD, and the display cable. This poor thing wouldn't even boot into OSX when I got it.

Those HDD kits look awesome. That is so going to be my next project. OK then I'll just have to burn the iso to a disc. For now I'll just get me some of that there parallel.

trunolimit wrote:

 

I think my drive is functional, I've never used it. This Mac is a hand-me-down and was all beaten up. I replaced the screen glass, HDD, and the display cable. This poor thing wouldn't even boot into OSX when I got it.

Thank you for rescuing a Mac. . Try playing a DVD-Video in the Optical drive to check if it works.

yay my dvd drive works. Guess I have to order some blank dvds. Maybe I'll head back to 2004 where they sold them everywhere. Hey thanks a lot bro You've been very informative.

It is good to have "vintage" technology on tap.

Alright finally got windows 8 installed. Had to burn in to a disc and then it was pie. Delicious apple pie.

The swipe gestures don't work anymore though. And two finger right click is gone. This makes me sad.....oh soooo sad.

trunolimit wrote:

 

The swipe gestures don't work anymore though. And two finger right click is gone. This makes me sad.....oh soooo sad.

Please see

Boot Camp: Set trackpad options

Boot Camp: Multi-Touch trackpad gestures - Apple Support

Boot Camp: Right-click with a mouse or trackpad

and

Control Panel -> System -> Boot Camp for