Level 1

8 points

USB Windows 7 install with OS X 10.9 Mavericks

I've spent much of the day trying to find out how it is possible to do the following on my MacBookPro without an optical drive with OS X 10.9 installed:

* Create a bootable USB drive with Windows 7

* Make my Mac dual boot Windows 7

It is my hope that by posting what did and did not work for me it will save someone else some time. I am currently completing this process so I will post a reply or revision with further instructions. Procede with caution, some of this got scary for me.

Create a bootable USB drive for Windows 7

What worked:

Giving in and borrowing a Windows 7 laptop with an optical drive. I used my Windows 7 disc and a freeware Windows application (WiNToBootic, http://www.wintobootic.com/) to create the bootable USB drive.

What did NOT work:

* Downloading or creating an .iso file and using the Windows 7 USB DVD Download Tool (on Windows 7)

* Using Disc Utility to create a bootable USB drive with a downloaded or created .iso file (on Mac)

* Using the Boot Camp Assistant to create a bootable USB drive with a downloaded or created .iso file (on Mac)

* Also did not work: Modifying the Info.plist file in the Boot Camp Assistant app to make the above work (tried various methods and terminal commands to authenicate file, but never worked, assuming a Mavericks issue)

Make my Mac running OS X 10.9 dual boot Windows 7

What worked (so far):

In addition to having the bootable Windows 7 USB drive, I also had an .iso file some created for me (would probably work to download one online as well). Both files were required for this to work. Download and install DAEMON Tools (free for 20 days, http://www.daemon-tools.cc/products/dtMacLite). Before completing this step make sure the drive you wish to put Windows 7 on is properly formated (what I am trying to determine now, I believe using Disk Utility select Partition, Options, Choose Master Boot Record, and Format: Free Space). Then use DAEMON Tools to mount your downloaded or created .iso files. Boot Camp Assistant will now think that the .iso is an inserted Windows 7 install disk. Follow the prompts in Boot Camp Assistant selecting only to Install/Remove Windows. At this point my computer tried to restart and stayed on a blue screen. THIS IS WHERE IT GOT SCARY! I did a hard shut down because my computer appeared to freeze. When I started it again, it said there was no boot media and to insert one then hit any button. I put in my bootable USB drive and pressed a key but nothing happened. Next I hard shut down again leaving the bootable USB drive plugged in then when restarted I attempted to use alt/option to select a partition to start from which did not work, but much to my pleasant surprise, the Windows 7 installer appeared. The only reason I stopped is it would not allow me to fully reformat the target disk or install Windows on it so I started OS X back up again by exiting the installer and using alt/option (which worked this time) to start in OS X. Now I am going to try again after changing the format in Disk Utility.

What did not work:

* Using alt/option at startup to select the bootable USB drive (seems to be disabled with Mavericks, what a disappointment Apple)

* Using Boot Camp Assistant with the bootable USB drive

* Installing an earlier version of OS X so that I could install Windows easier (I didn't try very hard here, just hit one wall and stopped)

I will keep you all updated on my progress. I hope this is useful...

MacBook Pro (15-inch 2.53 GHz), OS X Mavericks (10.9), Two hard drives, no optical drive

Posted on Nov 1, 2013 6:11 PM

29 replies

Mar 9, 2014 5:59 PM in response to nerdoo

Thanks for the great detail! About to try this myself, but I need to do a bit of spring cleaning on my hard drive beforehand. I'm doing this for gaming and I tried VirtualBox, but it really wasn't up to par with what I need to do. Hope this works! I'll post an update on my progress soon!

budikdik

Level 1

0 points

Mar 25, 2014 12:42 AM in response to marcellus.mc

I have a new iMac just arrive last week, i was able to create a bootable usb drive on Windows 7 iso and i can boot up to usb and loading the the Windows installation. My issue was i'm not able to use the keyboard and mouse, it's not detecting even i replace with a non bluetooth keyboard and mouse. I'm stuck on the installation part. I'm using 10.9.2

Apr 26, 2014 2:16 PM in response to marcellus.mc

OK - might as well post here in hopes for some idea of a solution. i also have a mid 2012 13" MBP running Maverics (10.9.0) and tried to do bootcamp with Win 7 64 bit on it. i partioned the drive and using the Seagate NTFS driver formatted it as NTFS (recommended for 64 Bit) in Disk Utility. i did get the bootable USB flashdrive created but i installed the driver files on it in Bootcamp Asst after the initial Win 7 install (the driver install seemed to go well).

as far as the installation goes i booted from the USB drive, and the install (without BootCamp drivers)completed. however, the restart produced a blank screen. it does occur to me that perhaps maybe i should have included them on the original win 7 install?

any advice appreciated. in the meantime i'll try reinstalling and see what i can do.

Apr 27, 2014 1:58 PM in response to metaphysician67

OK - success! here's what worked for me - as always your mileage may vary...

i installed the BootCamp drivers on the USB installer disk. when i booted from the USB drive i instead set it to format the disk partition on my internal drive (previously i had left it alone because i had used the Seagate tool to format it as NTFS). that approach seemed to work, but i don't have a distinct explanation as to why. after succesfully restarting, it finished the install, and once it was finished i installed the BootCamp drivers for everything. seems to be working fine from what i can tell.

marcellus.mc Author

Level 1

8 points

Nov 2, 2013 7:43 PM in response to marcellus.mc

Ok so I am writing this from Windows 7 on my MacBookPro and I never reinstalled the optical drive... More to follow shortly.

marcellus.mc Author

Level 1

8 points

Nov 2, 2013 7:44 PM in response to Athelas loraiel Croatia

Sorry I can't help you with Haswell - I'm using an older Mac (Mid-2009).

marcellus.mc Author

Level 1

8 points

Nov 2, 2013 8:01 PM in response to marcellus.mc

PS: Obviously, reinstall your OS X hard drive after Step 2.

truelies

Level 1

9 points

Nov 3, 2013 12:45 PM in response to marcellus.mc

Wondering if this works if I only want part of my additional internal drive for win 7, also does work for MacBook Pro 2012?

truelies

Level 1

9 points

Nov 3, 2013 8:22 PM in response to marcellus.mc

I can install current boot camp, but it can't start windows when I press option and select it. Is this due to windows didn't install under boot camp assistance?

truelies

Level 1

9 points

Nov 10, 2013 7:26 AM in response to nerdoo

Maybe it worked for you, but not 13.3 pro 2012. In windows 7 after format, still can't install.

Dec 3, 2013 10:12 PM in response to nerdoo

I am using OS 10.9, and I followed all of your steps. They worked great until I arrived at the boot menu. The created "bootable flash drive" was not on the boot menu. Any ideas/suggestions?

truelies

Level 1

9 points

Jan 3, 2014 8:02 AM in response to GvaUkJoe

This may works on your computer, but not other MacBook Pro. I found this time different edition of MacBook Pro has different on installing dual system.

GvaUkJoe

Level 1

0 points

Jan 3, 2014 8:03 AM in response to truelies

Sorry dude,

I tried this on a MacBook Pro Mid-2009 + 2010 and both working.

MatRojas

Level 1

4 points

Jan 11, 2015 4:58 AM in response to truelies

I made a guide on how to install windows 7 on a Partition without a Optical Driver and without booting on USB

I hope it helps

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20584499#post20584499

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USB Windows 7 install with OS X 10.9 Mavericks