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