You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Install Windows 7 64-Bit on Early 2008 Macbook ?'s

My wife has an early 2008 Macbook with 2.4 GHz processor that I recently upgraded the OS to OS X 10.7.5 and upped the ram to 4 GB. I had installed a Boot Camp for Windows Vista 32-bit that is still working, but I have a Windows 7 64-bit installation disc that I would like to use on this machine. I want to completely delete the existing Windows Vista install and put Windows 7 in its place. I have found through my research that even though the 64-bit version of Windows 7 is "not supported" for this machine, it will still work with the right drivers and will require Boot Camp 4.0


My questions are:

- Will the 64-bit version of Windows 7 definitely work on this machine?

- How would I delete the current Windows Vista installation?

- Where do I get the 64-bit Apple drivers for Windows 7? I keep reading about pulling them from the Snow Leopard install DVD, which I have, but I am currently running OS X Lion on the machine, which I do not have a disc for (only received a download code from Apple). Would the drivers be built-in to Boot Camp 4.0?

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.7.5), 4 GB RAM

Posted on Nov 4, 2014 8:30 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Nov 4, 2014 8:45 AM

1. From Boot Camp Support Software 4.0.4033 (these can be directly downloaded to the Windows side, once Windows is installed).


System Requirements

  • MacBook (13-inch, Late 2006)
  • MacBook (13-inch, Mid 2007)
  • MacBook (13-inch, Late 2007)
  • MacBook (13-inch, Early 2008)
  • MacBook (13-inch, Late 2008)
  • MacBook (13-inch, Early 2009 & Mid 2009)
  • MacBook (13-inch, Late 2009) *
  • MacBook (13-inch, Mid 2010) *
  • MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2008)
  • MacBook Air (13-inch, Late 2008 & Mid 2009)
  • MacBook Air (11-inch & 13-inch, Late 2010) *
  • MacBook Pro (15-inch & 17-inch, Core 2 Duo)
  • MacBook Pro (15-inch & 17-inch, 2.2 & 2.4GHz)
  • MacBook Pro (15-inch & 17-inch, Early 2008) *
  • MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2008) *
  • MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2009 & Mid 2009) *
  • MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2009) *
  • MacBook Pro (13-inch and 15-inch, Mid 2009) *
  • MacBook Pro (13-inch,15-inch, and 17-inch, Mid 2010)
  • MacBook Pro (13-in, 15-inch, and 17-inch, Early 2011 & Late 2011)
  • Mac Pro (Mid 2006)
  • Mac Pro (Early 2008) *
  • Mac Pro (Early 2009)
  • Mac Pro (Early 2007)
  • Mac Pro (Mid 2010)
  • Mac Pro (15-inch and 17-inch, 2.2 & 2.4GHz)
  • Mac mini (Mid 2007)
  • Mac mini (Early 2009 & Late 2009)
  • Mac mini (Mid 2010) *
  • iMac (17-inch, Late 2006)
  • iMac (20-inch, Late 2006)
  • iMac (24-inch, Late 2006)
  • iMac (20-inch & 24-inch, Mid 2007)
  • iMac (20-inch & 24-inch, Early 2008)
  • iMac (20-inch, Early 2009 & Mid 2009)
  • iMac (21.5-inch & 27-inch, Late 2009) *
  • iMac (27-inch, Late 2009) *
  • iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2010) *
  • iMac (27-inch, Mid 2010)
  • iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2011 & Late 2011)
  • iMac (27-inch, Mid 2011)

all these drivers support Windows 7, 32 bit

* drivers that support Windows 7, 32 and 64 bit



2. Ensure that the CPU is 64-bit capable. From OSX Terminal...


sysctl -a hw.cpu64bit_capable

hw.cpu64bit_capable: 1

1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Nov 4, 2014 8:45 AM in response to Karl Hungus 53

1. From Boot Camp Support Software 4.0.4033 (these can be directly downloaded to the Windows side, once Windows is installed).


System Requirements

  • MacBook (13-inch, Late 2006)
  • MacBook (13-inch, Mid 2007)
  • MacBook (13-inch, Late 2007)
  • MacBook (13-inch, Early 2008)
  • MacBook (13-inch, Late 2008)
  • MacBook (13-inch, Early 2009 & Mid 2009)
  • MacBook (13-inch, Late 2009) *
  • MacBook (13-inch, Mid 2010) *
  • MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2008)
  • MacBook Air (13-inch, Late 2008 & Mid 2009)
  • MacBook Air (11-inch & 13-inch, Late 2010) *
  • MacBook Pro (15-inch & 17-inch, Core 2 Duo)
  • MacBook Pro (15-inch & 17-inch, 2.2 & 2.4GHz)
  • MacBook Pro (15-inch & 17-inch, Early 2008) *
  • MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2008) *
  • MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2009 & Mid 2009) *
  • MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2009) *
  • MacBook Pro (13-inch and 15-inch, Mid 2009) *
  • MacBook Pro (13-inch,15-inch, and 17-inch, Mid 2010)
  • MacBook Pro (13-in, 15-inch, and 17-inch, Early 2011 & Late 2011)
  • Mac Pro (Mid 2006)
  • Mac Pro (Early 2008) *
  • Mac Pro (Early 2009)
  • Mac Pro (Early 2007)
  • Mac Pro (Mid 2010)
  • Mac Pro (15-inch and 17-inch, 2.2 & 2.4GHz)
  • Mac mini (Mid 2007)
  • Mac mini (Early 2009 & Late 2009)
  • Mac mini (Mid 2010) *
  • iMac (17-inch, Late 2006)
  • iMac (20-inch, Late 2006)
  • iMac (24-inch, Late 2006)
  • iMac (20-inch & 24-inch, Mid 2007)
  • iMac (20-inch & 24-inch, Early 2008)
  • iMac (20-inch, Early 2009 & Mid 2009)
  • iMac (21.5-inch & 27-inch, Late 2009) *
  • iMac (27-inch, Late 2009) *
  • iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2010) *
  • iMac (27-inch, Mid 2010)
  • iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2011 & Late 2011)
  • iMac (27-inch, Mid 2011)

all these drivers support Windows 7, 32 bit

* drivers that support Windows 7, 32 and 64 bit



2. Ensure that the CPU is 64-bit capable. From OSX Terminal...


sysctl -a hw.cpu64bit_capable

hw.cpu64bit_capable: 1

Install Windows 7 64-Bit on Early 2008 Macbook ?'s

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.