Kyle0692
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Q: "Earlier versions of Windows are not supported" ; Using Windows 8.1

General Information:

     MBP Mid 2010 13 inch, 8GB RAM

     Boot Camp 5.1

     Removed optical drive for second HDD

     Windows 8.1 x64 from Dreamspark Student License

 

My system came with an optical drive, so by default, the USB option was disabled on my MBP.  I modified the info.plist within Boot Camp to allow my MBP to boot from USB and also removed Windows 7 Only systems within info.plist so that my MBP would work for Windows 7 or later.  I have successfully created a USB drive with Windows 8.1 and the apple support files by using Boot Camp.  Now when I go to create my Windows partition, I get the dialog box "Earlier versions of Windows are not supported.  Please use a DVD or USB drive which contains Windows 7 or later."  I have seen it done on MBP mid 2010 13 inch before, and it seems that everything is in place, I am just not sure why it is not registering as a viable version of Windows.  I have searched the internet for solutions, but it seems that nobody has a similar problem.  Thank you for the assistance!

MacBook Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.1)

Posted on Mar 9, 2015 8:55 PM

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Kyle0692

Q: "Earlier versions of Windows are not supported" ; Using Windows 8.1

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  • by Loner T,

    Loner T Loner T Mar 9, 2015 9:18 PM in response to Kyle0692
    Level 7 (24,855 points)
    Safari
    Mar 9, 2015 9:18 PM in response to Kyle0692

    You need to ensure that your system is 64-bit capable. Please type the highlighted command in OS X Terminal.

    sysctl hw.cpu64bit_capable

    hw.cpu64bit_capable: 1

    Once you have confirmed that your hardware can support 64-bit, use Boot Camp: System requirements for Microsoft Windows operating systems - Apple Support to find appropriate drivers. You need to put your optical drive back in Optibay and put the designated Windows drive in the main bay and install W7 using BCA. Once you have W7 installed and all BC drivers are in place, move your disks physically as you want them. Test and make sure OS X and W7 work.

    Upgrade W7 to W8, since W7 is now self-contained with no dependency on the Mac. Please ensure adequate space for W8.1, or you will need to repeat this process again.

     

    Modifying Bootcamp info.plist inevitably will lead to 'no bootable device errors'. Bootcamp uses the Mac Model Identifier to designate the boot disk to be the non-existent Optical drive, and there is no available method for a user to change it.