How can I install Windows 7 from a disc using Boot camp?

Question

Level 1

8 points

How can I install Windows 7 from a disc using Boot camp?

I am experience significant difficulty in my attempts to install Windows 7 onto my late 2011 15" Macbook Pro which is on Version 10.12.2 Sierra and need help. I'm a novice user and don't know a lot about the system itself and when trying to follow the instructions provided by Apple about how to install Windows I've encountered a few different errors.

The latest - and perhaps last - an error message that pops up when using Boot Camp. When I click "Install Windows 7 or 8" on Boot Camp with a disc that has a Windows 7 ISO on it, I get an error message saying:

"Windows 10 is not supported on this Mac. Please use a DVD or USB drive which contains Windows 7 or Windows 8." Here's a screenshot of the exact message:

The disc in question is a Memorex 4.7 DVDR which contains a burned copy of a Windows 7 ISO file that was purchased and downloaded from SoftwareEmpire. The disc and its contents are displayed here:
I simply don't know what to do anymore and it's driving me nuts. I really need some help. Thank you in advance.

MacBook Pro (15-inch Late 2011), iOS 10.2, null

Posted on Dec 30, 2016 1:51 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Loner T

Level 9

59,526 points

Dec 30, 2016 1:53 PM in response to GingerGerald

What is the version of OS X on your Mac?

Reply

Answer 2

GingerGerald Author

Level 1

8 points

Dec 30, 2016 2:00 PM in response to Loner T

10.12.2 because the Apple instructions recommended updating my OS before attempting to install Windows. I'll go back and add that info to the opening post.

Reply

Answer 3

Loner T

Level 9

59,526 points

Dec 30, 2016 3:07 PM in response to GingerGerald

Does the disk have both 32-bit/64-bit versions on the same disk? The best method is to look at the contents of autorun.inf.

Reply

Answer 4

GingerGerald Author

Level 1

8 points

Dec 30, 2016 3:19 PM in response to Loner T

If I'm reading the TextEdit I opened of the autorun.inf right, it only has the 64-bit version, but I only purchased a 64-bit version anyway. Here's what the TextEdit looked like:

[AutoRun.Amd64]

open=setup.exe

icon=setup.exe,0

[AutoRun]

open=sources\sperr32.exe x64

icon=sources\sperr32.exe,0

Reply

Answer 5

Loner T

Level 9

59,526 points

Dec 30, 2016 5:46 PM in response to GingerGerald

Can you run the following two procedures and then retry the DVD?

Reset the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac - Apple Support

How to reset NVRAM on your Mac - Apple Support

Also, as a test, is the DVD readable on the OS X side and does it mount properly?

Reply

Answer 6

GingerGerald Author

Level 1

8 points

Dec 30, 2016 6:22 PM in response to Loner T

Okay, so I think I performed the procedures right, but I retried the DVD and Boot Camp still seems to think I'm trying to install Windows 10. It is readable on the OS X side, and I believe it is mounting properly. Here's what I'm seeing.

Reply

Answer 7

Loner T

Level 9

59,526 points

Dec 31, 2016 10:25 AM in response to GingerGerald

GingerGerald wrote:

Okay, so I think I performed the procedures right, but I retried the DVD and Boot Camp still seems to think I'm trying to install Windows 10. It is readable on the OS X side, and I believe it is mounting properly. Here's what I'm seeing.

This DVD will not work. This was burnt incorrectly. It cannot be a Apple Partition Map disk and MAC OS X Extended file system? Where did this DVD come from? It will always successfully mount, but is not a Windows Installer.

From OS X side, for the sake of sanity, please post the output of the following Terminal command

diskutil list

with this DVD in the optical drive.

Reply

Answer 8

GingerGerald Author

Level 1

8 points

Dec 30, 2016 6:46 PM in response to Loner T

Hmmm. Well the DVD was originally blank since all I got from the site was an ISO file which I tried to put on a USB drive, but Boot Camp wouldn't even acknowledge the existence of said USB. So I tried to burn the ISO disk image onto a blank DVD thinking that I could use as a workaround for the installation, but I guess it looks like I messed up somewhere.

Anyway, here are the results of the terminal command:

Reply

Answer 9

Loner T

Level 9

59,526 points

Dec 31, 2016 10:25 AM in response to GingerGerald

The correct format for a DVD should be

diskutil info disk2

Device Identifier: disk2

Device Node: /dev/disk2

Whole: Yes

Part of Whole: disk2

Device / Media Name: SuperDrive

Volume Name: GRMCPRXVOL_EN_DVD

Mounted: Yes

Mount Point: /Volumes/GRMCPRXVOL_EN_DVD

File System Personality: UDF

Type (Bundle): udf

Name (User Visible): Universal Disk Format (UDF)

Content (IOContent): None

OS Can Be Installed: No

Media Type:

Protocol: SATA

SMART Status: Not Supported

Total Size: 3.1 GB (3121086464 Bytes) (exactly 6095872 512-Byte-Units)

Volume Free Space: 0 B (0 Bytes) (exactly 0 512-Byte-Units)

Device Block Size: 2048 Bytes

Allocation Block Size: 2048 Bytes

Read-Only Media: Yes

Read-Only Volume: Yes

Device Location: Internal

Removable Media: Yes

Media Removal: Software-Activated

Virtual: No

OS 9 Drivers: No

Low Level Format: Not supported

Optical Drive Type: CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-R DL, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+R DL, DVD+RW

Optical Media Type: DVD-R

Optical Media Erasable: No

The simplest way to burn the ISO to a DVD is to right-click on the ISO file in finder, select Burn, expand the Burn dialog box, select Verify and Mount options, choose lowest burn rate supported by the media to avoid block/buffer errors and Burn.

Reply

Answer 10

GingerGerald Author

Level 1

8 points

Dec 30, 2016 7:25 PM in response to Loner T

Alright, I'll follow those simple instructions, see how it goes, and then get back to you. As a side note: Thank you so much for putting up with my utter incompetence this long.

Reply

Answer 11

Loner T

Level 9

59,526 points

Dec 30, 2016 7:32 PM in response to GingerGerald

GingerGerald wrote:

As a side note: Thank you so much for putting up with my utter incompetence this long.

You do not need to be so hard on yourself. Between the first and last post, you have assimilated quite a bit of information (and we are not done yet). ✅

Reply

Answer 12

GingerGerald Author

Level 1

8 points

Dec 30, 2016 7:51 PM in response to Loner T

Thanks. I've burned the disk and checked to see that it had the correct format according to the "diskutil info disk2" terminal command. I looked and it seemed correct, but here's the info just in case I messed up somewhere.

diskutil info disk2

Device Identifier: disk2

Device Node: /dev/disk2

Whole: Yes

Part of Whole: disk2

Device / Media Name: SuperDrive

Volume Name: GSP1RMCPRXFRER_EN_DVD

Mounted: Yes

Mount Point: /Volumes/GSP1RMCPRXFRER_EN_DVD

Content (IOContent): None

File System Personality: UDF

Type (Bundle): udf

Name (User Visible): Universal Disk Format (UDF)

OS Can Be Installed: No

Media Type:

Protocol: SATA

SMART Status: Not Supported

Disk Size: 3.3 GB (3320905728 Bytes) (exactly 6486144 512-Byte-Units)

Device Block Size: 2048 Bytes

Volume Total Space: 3.3 GB (3320281088 Bytes) (exactly 6484924 512-Byte-Units)

Volume Used Space: 3.3 GB (3320281088 Bytes) (exactly 6484924 512-Byte-Units) (100.0%)

Volume Available Space: 0 B (0 Bytes) (exactly 0 512-Byte-Units) (0.0%)

Allocation Block Size: 2048 Bytes

Read-Only Media: Yes

Read-Only Volume: Yes

Device Location: Internal

Removable Media: Removable

Media Removal: Software-Activated

Virtual: No

OS 9 Drivers: No

Low Level Format: Not supported

Optical Drive Type: CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-R DL, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+R DL, DVD+RW

Optical Media Type: DVD+R

Optical Media Erasable: No

So what should I do now? Just try to run it?

Reply

Answer 13

Loner T

Level 9

59,526 points

Dec 30, 2016 8:33 PM in response to GingerGerald

Yes, please. Can you also post the output of diskutil list (for future readers)? The quickest test is to run BC Assistant, insert the DVD and check if the last checkbox is enabled after the DVD is recognized.

Reply

Answer 14

GingerGerald Author

Level 1

8 points

Dec 30, 2016 9:56 PM in response to Loner T

Alright, so I was able to run the BC Assistant and start the Windows installation, but then it told me to pick which drivers to install and I got a little lost. I was thinking that my USB would automatically be selected and the drivers installed since I had already installed the Windows Drivers according to the Apple instructions listed here Install Windows 7 and earlier on your Mac using Boot Camp - Apple Support and apparently that wasn't the case.

So, the disk works, all thanks to your help, but now I'm stuck again. Any ideas? I tried reformatting the USB again according to the instructions, but that didn't seem to fix anything. I pulled up the disk info for it, and this is what I got:

Device Identifier: disk2

Device Node: /dev/disk2

Whole: Yes

Part of Whole: disk2

Device / Media Name: Cruzer Dial

Volume Name: Not applicable (no file system)

Mounted: Not applicable (no file system)

File System: None

Content (IOContent): FDisk_partition_scheme

OS Can Be Installed: No

Media Type: Generic

Protocol: USB

SMART Status: Not Supported

Disk Size: 32.0 GB (32010928128 Bytes) (exactly 62521344 512-Byte-Units)

Device Block Size: 512 Bytes

Read-Only Media: No

Read-Only Volume: Not applicable (no file system)

Device Location: External

Removable Media: Removable

Media Removal: Software-Activated

Virtual: No

OS 9 Drivers: No

Low Level Format: Not supported

Reply

Answer 15

Loner T

Level 9

59,526 points

Dec 31, 2016 5:55 AM in response to GingerGerald

You have two options in BC Assistant for your specific Mac model - Download... and Install... . Download will download drivers a MBR/FAT32 USB. Install will install Windows from DVD. Once you have Windows installed, and have created your user account, connect your USB and ensure that it is recognized by Windows and show up in My Computer.

Using Windows Explorer, navigate to USB -> Bootcamp and manually run setup.exe. If you see any errors, please post back the exact error message.

Reply