User Tip: BootCamp - Install Windows XP & then Windows 7

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Level 1

45 points

User Tip: BootCamp - Install Windows XP & then Windows 7

Here is my tip for installing Windows XP in Mountain Lion/BootCamp, and in subsequently upgrading to Windows 7...

I've tried all the Virtualisation programs: CrossOver, VirtualBox, Fusion, and Parallels - and none can be called 'brisk' in their operation, so I've gone the Bootcamp route.

If you have an original Windows 7 install disk this is no problem in Mountain Lion. Unfortunately for me, I have Windows XP 32bit OEM disc and a Windows 7 64bit upgrade disc. Mountain Lion doesn't play with XP, so this how to workaround the problem (but you'll need a Snow Leopard disc)....

1) On your Mac, Insert Windows 7 upgrade disc,
2) Run Boot Camp and make your Windows Partition the size you want and complete the wizard. Start the Windows 7 installer,
3) Be prepared to burn a disc with the Bootcamp drivers for later use, for when you install your Windows 7 upgrade disc over Windows XP,
4) Restart your Mac - and after the chime, hold down the 'alt' key until you see the screen showing Mac HD and the Windows Disc,
Use the arrow key to highlight the Windows CD, then press the eject key.
5) Insert your Windows XP CD,
6) Install Windows XP,
7) When prompted, insert your product key,
8) Install Bootcamp Drivers from your SnowLeopard disc from inside Windows.
Run Apple Software Updates in Windows as many times before no more updates are available in order to get the latest BootCamp drivers.

If you're content with using Windows XP, the job is completed - save for installing your choice of software - but if you want to upgrade from 32bit XP to 64bit Windows 7....

If you insert your Windows 7 64bit upgrade disc into your Windows XP 32bit desktop an incompatible warning is given. So here's how to install your Windows 7 64 bit upgrade...

1) With Windows XP open, insert your Windows 7 disc - and ignore the incompatibility warning,
2) From the 'start' menu, restart Windows,
3) When your Mac restarts, hold down the 'alt' key until you see the screen showing Mac HD and the Windows Disc,
4) Use the arrow to select the Windows disc,
5) Choose the install option, and agree to the MS terms and conditions,
6) Your two options are to 'upgrade' or perform a 'custom install',
7) Choose custom install (this will perform a fresh install of Windows 7 over your Windows XP installation). This will wipe all your previous software applications,
8) When prompted, insert your product key,
9) Go watch some paint dry - this will take some time to complete,
10) When completed, insert the disc previously burned with BootCamp drivers,
11) The overly bright monitor settings can be altered via the nVidea control panel in Windows,
12) Install your chosen Windows programs, and you're done.

Good Luck.

Mac mini, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2), AppleTV3, iPhone4S, iPad2

Posted on Nov 13, 2012 6:32 AM

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Answer 1

MlchaelLAX

Level 4

2,286 points

Nov 14, 2012 3:47 PM in response to Spinaltap

Does your Bootcamp partition go all the way up to 11 on a scale of 1 to 10? NOD NOD WINK WINK 😐😐😉😉

GOOD WORK!

I am thinking of trying this on my 2011 Mac Mini (where I currently use Windows XP in Parallels). I have the good "old fashioned way" on my 2009 MacBook Pro, which had Windows XP installed into Bootcamp BEFORE I upgraded to Lion. I assume that Bootcamp will survive the upgrade to Mt. Lion, but I have not tried that yet.

Any tips on a source for the 64-bit Windows 7 upgrade disk? Does your method require the insertion of the Windows 7 license serial number BEFORE you switch to XP?

FYI: I used Connectix' VirtualPC on my old Mac G4 with Windows XP. It is that licensed copy of XP that I "extracted" from the VirtualPC's installation disks and used on my Intel Mac.

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Answer 2

Spinaltap Author

Level 1

45 points

Nov 15, 2012 1:00 AM in response to MlchaelLAX

You do not need to input the Windows 7 product key before ejecting it in favour of inserting the Windows XP disc. On both counts the product key is required after starting the Windows install process, and not before.

I purchased my Windows 7 upgrade disc from an MS authorised outlet. While some packages come with the 32bit and 64bit discs I had to choose one but not both for my particular requirements.

I cannot comment on extracting VirtualPC components. Bear in mind that after the installation process that MS require you to validate your copy of Windows to guard against software piracy.

Incidentally, for those interested, on my Mac Mini Server, I use the one drive for Macintosh only and have installed BootCamp/Windows 7 Pro on my second drive. The reason is that I do not have to sacrifice disc space on the primary Macintosh drive in favour of Windows.

...and yes, my Mac can go all the way to OS XI

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Answer 3

MlchaelLAX

Level 4

2,286 points

Nov 15, 2012 1:21 AM in response to Spinaltap

Spinaltap wrote:

I cannot comment on extracting VirtualPC components. Bear in mind that after the installation process that MS require you to validate your copy of Windows to guard against software piracy.

It installs fine and using the serial number that came with the official Microsoft License included with VirtualPC, it validates as well!

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Answer 4

tu71586

Level 1

8 points

Dec 9, 2012 1:13 PM in response to Spinaltap

Ok, I'm dense. I have the same issue as you -- I have a full version of Windows XP and an upgrade version of Windows 7, and I'm trying to install on my Mac Mini 2010 with Mountain Lion on it. I run Boot Camp as per above, and I've burned a copy of the Bootcamp drivers. Now, Boot Camp is asking for the WIndows 7 install disk. (A popup, "The installer disc could not be found" -- well, yeah, because it's the Windows XP disc not a Windows 7 disc.) In your instructions, you mention to restart the Mac and hold down "alt/option". So, I quit out of Boot Camp and restart my mac. I have the Windows XP disc in and choose the Windows XP disc. But, when I get to the screen to install Windows XP, I see that Boot Camp did not partition my drive.

So, that's my question -- how do I get Boot Camp to partition my drive without the Windows 7 install? I feel like I'm missing a step here.

Thanks!

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Answer 5

Spinaltap Author

Level 1

45 points

Dec 10, 2012 12:34 AM in response to tu71586

I'm sorry that you are experiencing problems, but I believe my instructions are sufficiently straightforward.

Once you have burned a disc with the BootCamp drivers, put that disc aside and start the BootCamp process again (unticking the box for burning a BootCamp drivers disc).

On starting the BootCamp process, insert your Windows 7 upgrade disc and follow the instructions to create a partition to the appropriate size. The process will then instruct you to restart your Mac (while your Windows 7 upgrade install disc is still inserted).

When the Mac restarts, on hearing the chime, hold down the 'alt' key. A series of icons will then appear on screen, including the Windows 7 install disc. Use your arrow keys to highlight the Windows 7 disc and press the eject key on your keyboard.

Now, insert your Windows XP disc and then press 'enter'. The Windows XP installation process will now continue.

Once the Windows XP installation is complete, and with Windows XP open, insert the disc you previously burned with the BootCamp drivers - and install them.

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Answer 6

Feb 8, 2013 4:36 PM in response to Spinaltap

Partition created, ejected Windows 7 and put in XP, but when trying to install XP, I get:

A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.
If this is the first time you've seen this stop error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps:

Check for viruses on your computer. Remove any newly installed hard drives or hard drive controllers. Check your hard drive to make sure it is properly configured and terminated. Run CHKDSK /F to check for hard drive corruption, and then restart your computer.
Technical information:

*** STOP: 0x0000007B (0xF78D2524, 0xC0000034, 0x00000000, 0x00000000)

Any suggestions?

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Answer 7

MlchaelLAX

Level 4

2,286 points

Feb 8, 2013 6:13 PM in response to stevejobsfan0123

Which Mac model Identifier are you attempting this on, Stevejobsfan and which Mac model identifier were you successful on, Spinaltap?

I suspect that Spinaltap's is one that could boot from Snow Leopard, while SJF's, and perhaps tu's, are not!

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Answer 8

Feb 8, 2013 7:11 PM in response to MlchaelLAX

I suspect that Spinaltap's is one that could boot from Snow Leopard, while SJF's, and perhaps tu's, are not!

That's a good suspision!

It's a Mid-2012, don't have it in front of me right now. But a Genius at the Genius Bar pointed me here and said it would still work on a 2012. My machine is 2010 and can run SL, but my client's is the 2012 one.

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Answer 9

Spinaltap Author

Level 1

45 points

Feb 9, 2013 3:05 AM in response to stevejobsfan0123

I use a 2009 Mac Mini Server for my installation, with the BootCamp partition residing on the second hard-drive.

Even so, installing Windows XP in the manner I have described, and installed on my Mac Mini, is software dependant. That is, I utilised Snow Leopard BootCamp drivers to facilitate the Windows XP installation.

What is more, I do not believe that the requisite BootCamp drivers are restricted to the original Snow Leopard disc - but that is not to exclude the possibility that the latest BootCamp drivers from Apple (and not from the SL disc) are specifically designed for Windows 7 alone, thereby rendering XP installations useless.

If you really must install XP then obtaining a Snow Leopard disc seems to be the only option.

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Answer 10

Jun 24, 2013 9:21 AM in response to Spinaltap

I never got a Snow Leopard disc with my Mac. It came with Mountain Lion 10.8.4 on it. Am I in trouble?

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Answer 11

MlchaelLAX

Level 4

2,286 points

Jun 24, 2013 9:31 AM in response to Dannyboy3D

If it came with Mt. Lion, then you cannot revert to Snow Leopard to install Windows XP in Bootcamp.

You can run Windows XP in Parallels or perhaps one of the other virtualization programs.

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Answer 12

Jun 24, 2013 10:59 AM in response to MlchaelLAX

DEFINITELY NOT running any virtualization programs!

I'm going to try a different workaround, and we'll see if it works: Installing Windows 7 Starter Edition, then upgrading it to Home Premium. ***Fingers Crossed***

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Answer 13

Spinaltap Author

Level 1

45 points

Jun 24, 2013 11:59 AM in response to Dannyboy3D

In my original post on this subject, my Mac Mini is running Mountain Lion. Fortunately for me I also have an old Snow Leopard disc that contained the requisite drivers to install Windows XP. Without this Snow Leopard disc you will not be able to install Windows XP.

If this is your only method for installing Windows XP - and you are desperate to install Windows XP - a certain well-known auction site currently has Snow Leopard discs for a modest price.

If, however, you only need to install Windows 7 you do not need a Snow Leopard disc. Installation of Windows 7 should be straightforward and without issue in Mountain Lion.

As for running virtualisation programs...

On their own I do not believe that the current crop of virtualisation programs offer a 'brisk' experience in running any flavour of Windows on their own without 'assistance'. However, by first installing Windows in a BootCamp partition there is an advantage in then installing, say, Parallels. You then effectively link Parallels to your BootCamp partition.

Once Parallels starts for the first time it mirrors all your settings from your BootCamp partition, including all installed Windows programs. The only problem is that Windows will then think that you have Windows installed on two separate computers (including MS Office). To overcome this you will need to call the MS freephone line to obtain the required Windows OS and MS Office code for manual entry to make the installation work as expected.

Even so, despite these installation quirks, the benefit is that you get the best of both worlds - a virtualised Windows front-end linked to a fast BootCamp back-end without having to switch between OSX and Windows.

The caveat is that you need a more 'modern' Mac with plenty of memory to make this combination fly as well compared to using the BootCamp installation alone.

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Answer 14

Spinaltap Author

Level 1

45 points

Jun 24, 2013 12:26 PM in response to Spinaltap

A major problem to installing BootCamp arises when the time eventually comes to upgrading your Mac to a newer model. That is because Migration Assistant is not capable of migrating your BootCamp partition. You will need to use a program such as WinClone or iPartition.

Carbon Copy Cloner nor SuperDuper is capable of transfering BootCamp partitions.

By comparison, a virtualisation program is easily migrated to a new Mac using Migration Assistant.

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Answer 15

MlchaelLAX

Level 4

2,286 points

Jun 24, 2013 3:59 PM in response to Spinaltap

SpinalTap: Welcome back!

Did we ever determine: What is the Mac Modifier model number on the Mac that has the Windows XP bootcamp?

We have a suspicion that your system only works with Macs that can boot Snow Leopard and not on Macs that require Lion or Mt. Lion to boot. Not SteveJobsFan's problem with your apporach on his 2012 Mac that will not boot Snow Leopard.

A 2009 Mac Mini would certainly fall into the category of a Mac that could boot from Snow Leopard.

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