User profile for user: justinfromsudbury
justinfromsudbury Author
User level: Level 1
5 points

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

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply
User profile for user: Loner T
Loner T
User level: Level 9
59,536 points

Posted on Apr 28, 2015 11:41 AM

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.

View in context
5 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply
User profile for user: Loner T
Loner T
User level: Level 9
59,536 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.

Reply
User profile for user: sprahul
sprahul
User level: Level 1
4 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.

Reply

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Bootcamp 5.1.4 and Windows 7

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