Bootcamp 5.1.4 and Windows 7

Question

Bootcamp 5.1.4 and Windows 7

Good Morning Everyone

From the looks of things Apple has discontinued Windows 7 support in the version of boot camp that comes with the latest MacBook Air's that are shipping. Is anyone familiar with a work around for this? Parallels or any other sort of VM Product is not an acceptable solution for us. I also cannot install Windows 8.1 as it is not yet supported in my environment.

I work in Healthcare and support several thousand devices and even more users. I would like to begin looking at MacBook's and Mac Mini's as a viable solution for our organization but at the same time I need to keep things looking and feeling the same for my users so I need to stick with a Windows environment. To introduce OS X into the organization with a VM product like Parallels is not going to sit well and is going to inundate my service desk with calls. Our main Healthcare Information System also does not support Windows 8 so I cannot just move with the times.

I would appreciate any suggestions anyone might have.

Thanks for your time

J

Posted on Apr 28, 2015 9:05 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Apr 28, 2015 11:41 AM in response to justinfromsudbury

BC Assistant is a utility that partitions your disk and creates a bootable device to boot from. For Macs after Late 2013 models, Windows can be installed without using BC Assistant. It requires the creation of a manual partition of Free Space or FAT format and booting from a bootable Windows device. If you have Windows Installer on physical media on USB, it is easier, otherwise you can use a tool like Rufus USB (https://rufus.akeo.ie/) or https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj200124.aspx?f=255&MSPPError=-21472 17396 and boot from it and select the Windows-designated partition. Windows will be installed using generic drivers. You can download Windows support software appropriate for you hardware from System requirements to install Windows on your Mac via Boot Camp - Apple Support, some of which is only available via BCA's Download Software option.

If you run into any driver issues, WHQL drivers can also be used, but should be tested first.

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Answer 2

Apr 28, 2015 11:43 AM in response to Loner T

Thank you for the response, I'll have to forward that option to my team and get their feedback.

J

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Answer 3

sprahul

Level 1

0 points

Oct 13, 2015 3:06 PM in response to justinfromsudbury

I had this problem too and did some digging. I posted my findings in another thread:

Macbook Air 13" 2015 - Install Windows 7 64bit

Basically, my conclusion is there is no way to install Win 7 on the newer Macs. The problem isn't Bootcamp itself, rather there is something new about the booting process that makes Win 7 not install on the newer Macs.

Regarding Loner T's comment about Bootcamp not being necessary: it is true that BC simply creates a bootdisk, partitions the hard drive and reboots the computer so that the setup program from the bootdisk will launch. BUT, my investigation seemed to show that even if you have managed to create a bootdisk without using BC, Win 7 will still not install.

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Answer 4

Dec 13, 2015 6:27 AM in response to Loner T

I spent yesterday's late hours in creating a bootable Windows usb installation drive in order to install Windows 7 on my recently purchased Macbook Pro 13 2015. But it's not possible to boot from it (it doesn't show up in boot menu).

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Answer 5

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Dec 13, 2015 6:39 AM in response to michithebest

Legacy BIOS/MBR OS support has been deprecated. You will need to use W7 EFI Boot. Be aware that it is very buggy. The newer 2015 Macs now use OSXRESERVED instead of a USB. One of these days, BCA will disappear and you will be installing Windows from the iCloud. 👿

If you really want to run W7, find a refurbished Mac from 2014 or 2013.

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