How to download Boot Camp drivers when Boot Camp Assistant isn't playing along?

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Level 1

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How to download Boot Camp drivers when Boot Camp Assistant isn't playing along?

I have what I think is a pretty special use case, I triple boot (OS X, Linux and Windows) on my machine (early 2015 MacBook Pro 13"). This means that Boot Camp Assistant (BCA) is pretty confused when I start it up, and it spits out the error "The startup disk cannot be partitioned or restored to a single partition." I would like to upgrade my machine to Windows 10, and require the driver package for this, but I do not want to repartition my drive for it.

How do I get the drivers for my machine without changing my partition layout?

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch,Early 2015), OS X Yosemite (10.10.4), Windows 8.1

Posted on Jul 31, 2015 3:07 AM

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Answer 1

Csound1

Level 9

59,973 points

Jul 31, 2015 3:12 AM in response to Pepparkakan

Assistance for Beta software is not available here, and the NDA you agreed to forbids you from discussing it at all.

Your post may be removed.

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Answer 2

Pepparkakan Author

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Jul 31, 2015 3:20 AM in response to Csound1

Which beta software? 😉

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Answer 3

Csound1

Level 9

59,973 points

Jul 31, 2015 3:29 AM in response to Pepparkakan

Why have you changed your profile? at 5:09 it said El Capitan. at 5:19 (after my post) it does not.

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Answer 4

Pepparkakan Author

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Jul 31, 2015 3:32 AM in response to Csound1

Because it is irrelevant to the question and Boot Camp Assistant behaves the same way on both versions of OS X.

I looked for a button to close/delete my thread so I could post it with different information instead of editing, but I couldn't find one. My apologies for being a smart arse. How would you suggest I proceed?

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Answer 5

Csound1

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Jul 31, 2015 3:58 AM in response to Pepparkakan

You can start by telling me what version of OS X you actually run.

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Answer 6

Pepparkakan Author

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Jul 31, 2015 4:01 AM in response to Csound1

I run OS X Yosemite 10.10.4. My issue is that BCA doesn't let me download drivers for Windows when I have more than 3 partitions on my boot disk, and there is no other way of downloading the drivers that I can tell.

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Answer 7

Csound1

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Jul 31, 2015 4:03 AM in response to Pepparkakan

You can only have 2 partitions using BC, 1 for OS X and 1 for Windows, nothing else is supported.

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Answer 8

Pepparkakan Author

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Jul 31, 2015 4:04 AM in response to Csound1

So how do I get the Windows drivers without changing my partition layout? Surely it is obvious that deleting an operating system in order to access a support download is excessive to say the least.

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Answer 9

Csound1

Level 9

59,973 points

Jul 31, 2015 4:05 AM in response to Pepparkakan

You can (a) use Boot Camp correctly (2 partitions) or (b) look for the software here: https://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/

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Answer 10

Pepparkakan Author

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Jul 31, 2015 4:13 AM in response to Csound1

System requirements to install Windows on your Mac using Boot Camp - Apple Support

According to that I need BCA in order to download the drivers for the MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015). So then the only way for me to get updated drivers for Windows every time I want to do so is to first uninstall Windows and Linux? Should there not be a method less destructive available for this?

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Answer 11

Csound1

Level 9

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Jul 31, 2015 4:22 AM in response to Pepparkakan

You chose to use BC in an unsupported manner, you will have to live with the consequences or return your Mac to a supported configuration. If it were me I'd buy a PC to run Windows on, it's cheap and simple.

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Answer 12

Pepparkakan Author

Level 1

10 points

Jul 31, 2015 4:26 AM in response to Csound1

Indeed, great support here for IT professionals who require a triple-boot configuration.

I did not choose to use Boot Camp, I chose to install Windows on a Mac, and the only way to access the drivers for it is to use Boot Camp. Can we just agree that there should be another way to simply access a support download than to use Boot Camp Assistant?

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Answer 13

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Jul 31, 2015 4:29 AM in response to Pepparkakan

It is possible to manipulate the Hybrid MBR on older (preUEFI) Macs to to support triple-boot, but you may lose some functionality. On UEFI Macs, you should use EFI boot and boot as many OSes as you care to have.

You can post the output of the following commands and we can figure out if it can be supported outside of BCA.

diskutil list

diskutil cs list

sudo gpt -vv -r show /dev/disk0

sudo fdisk /dev/disk0

The "sudo" commands will prompt for your password, and it will not be echoed back. You may also see a warning about improper use of "sudo" and potential data loss due to "abuse" of the command.

You should also look at rEFInd.

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Answer 14

Csound1

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Jul 31, 2015 4:29 AM in response to Pepparkakan

I already gave you the link for that.

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Answer 15

Pepparkakan Author

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Jul 31, 2015 4:32 AM in response to Loner T

I am already triple-booting using gummiboot, that isn't the issue here, the issue is that I cannot access the Windows driver package for my MacBook Pro without first deleting Windows, I find this to be unacceptable.

@Csound1 The link you gave me does not contain drivers for my machine, only older machines.

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