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Installing Windows 7 X64 on MacBook

[Thanks to http://my.opera.com/Dangerous_Dave/blog/]

 

 After running Windows 7 in a virtual machine, I decided to install it natively. Here is a guide to getting around some of the problems. The information is a combination of everything I learnt from random Googled sites.
Note: My method requires a DVD burning capable Windows machine.

 First of all, you need to partition your hard drive. How big is up to you, but I suggest 30GB+. Windows 7 doesn't appear to support FAT32, so you are stuck with NTFS (The only downside is that you can't natively write to the partition from within Leopard, but you can read).

 Boot Camp Assistant will partition your hard drive for you, so use that. In fact, you can follow it's instructions until the restart, unless you already have a Boot Camp partition, in which case you have to use something else to do the partitioning.

 Throw in the DVD you burnt of Windows 7 (if you haven't done this yet, I suggest using a rewritable, or reading the rest to decide whether to make the other changes or not before burning).
Reboot your MacBook, and hold Option at the first grey screen until the cursor appears and it gives you a drive selection. Double click on the Windows 7 disk.

 One of three things will happen (Note: Problem 3's solution may fix problem two as well):

 1. The Windows 7 installation will start: Follow the instructions.
2. You will get a message:

 "1.
2.
Select CD-ROM Boot Type:_"

 You Wont be able to do anything.
Or 3. You will get an Error code 5.

 Ok, there's probably a million things that could happen, but they are the top 3, in my estimated order of probability.

 To fix problem 2, here's what I did(Taken from a post here:

  
1. Insert Windows Install disc into DVD drive
2. Using the build mode of ImgBurn, go to the advanced tab, then bootable disc and then select your DVD drive in the extract boot image drop down list. Go ahead and extract the boot image and store it somewhere on your hard drive.
3. Go to the information tab and add your DVD drive as the source file
4. Options tab, check that file system is ISO9660 + IDF and UDF revision is 1.02 (should be anyway by default)
5. Go to Advanced tab, sub tab Restrictions and further sub tab ISO9660: Set Folder / File length to Level X and tick the four check boxes at the bottom (allow more than 8 directory levels, Allow more than 255 characters in path, Allow files without Extensions, Don’t Add ‘;1’ Version number to Files. (Note it’s this bit that actually solves the problem the rest is effectively just duplicating the existing disc)
6. Move to the bootable disc tab: Click the tick box to make the image bootable, emulation type to “none (custom)” and the browse and select the boot image you previously extracted from the windows disc. Finally set Sectors to load to 4.
7. Click the big create iso button to create the bootable iso.
8. And use that iso to burn a new install disc.

  
That fixed problem 2 for me. Then I rebooted and tried to load my new disk, and was met with an Error Code 5, AKA problem 3 from above.

 To fix this, I followed these instructions (From here:

 0 - create 3 folders c:\server2008iso c:\server2008exe c:\server2008dvd
1 - download this .exe file and put into c:\server2008exe
2 - put .iso you downloaded from ms into c:\server2008iso and unzip it
3 - move .iso file out of c:\server2008iso
4 - open a dos prompt in c:\server2008exe and type:

 oscdimg -n -m -bc:\server2008iso\boot\etfsboot.com c:\server2008iso c:\sever2008dvd\server2008dvd.iso

  
To unzip the iso, I used WinRAR.

 Now the soloution to 3 claims to be a solution to 2, but I had fixed 2 by the time I came accross it. You could try it first to see if it fixes both problems.

  
After doing these, you should be able to boot the install disk just fine. Choose language, then custom install. Choose the right partition, and install. It may reboot into Mac OS at points if you didn't use Boot Camp, just restart and choose the new Windows partition, and it will continue where it left off. After a while, you should find yourself running the Windows 7 beta.

 Next step, right click. Ha, gotcha! You are going to need some drivers.
Stick in your Leopard DVD. If you recently got your MacBook, see the simple solution here. If, like me, you got yours before 64 bit drivers were invented, you have two options. Download the update to Boot Camp, or use these drivers(From first post here). I did the second, and also downloaded the sound drivers from the RealTek site. I don't much care about some of the missing drivers, but you can just scroll down the above linked page to find a download for all of the drivers, which I guess saves you getting the Boot Camp update.

 I hope this guide has helped you to install Windows 7 if you were having problems. If you don't yet have the iso for Windows 7, you can't download it from Microsoft anymore. You may have to acquire it by other means [http://my.opera.com/community/graphics/smilies/smile.gif] .

 -Dave

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How to Backup A Leopard DVD

[Thanks to MacNN Forums]

Make sure you've selected "Mac OS X Install DVD" on the left side of the Disk Utility window (the lower one is correct) and go to the menu bar in Disk Utility and from the 'File' menu choose "New -> Disk Image from disk 3s3 (Mac OS X Install DVD)…". It should be selectable if you've highlighted the disk in the Disk Utility window.
 
In the 'Convert Image' window give the image the same name as the Install DVD. For 'Image Format' select "read/write" (don't worry, you're not going to mount the image or write to it…the finished image just needs to be a .dmg, not a .cdr). For Encryption select "none". Save the image to someplace other than the Desktop. Since the image has the same name as the Install DVD mounted on the Desktop there is the potential for conflict if you try to save it to there. I recommend saving it to your Documents folder.
 
When you've finished converting the image it is very important that you DO NOT mount the image. Before you do anything else, select the image and do a 'Get Info' (Command - I) on it. In the 'Get Info' window, if the Disclosure triangle beside 'General' is not pointing down click on it to open it up and put a check mark in the box beside 'Locked'. This will lock the image and protect its' integrity (and bootability).
 
It is important to not 'go cheap' on the media and burn it at the slowest possible speed. My personal favourite for DVD+R DL media is Verbatim. Fuji or Sony would be my second choice. Everything else is crap IMHO.
 
Use Disk Utility for the burn. No Toast.
 
If you can, make the burn speed 2.4x. It'll take the better part of an hour to burn, but it should work.

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How to create a natively bootable Windows 7 VHD

[Thanks to SevenForums.com]

 

1. Insert your Windows 7 installation disk into the CD/DVD drive.

2. Restart the computer, and boot into the command prompt from the Start Recovery Options screen. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: You will use OPTION TWO at that link.

 

3. In the command prompt, type diskpart and press Enter. (See screenshot below)

 

4. In the command prompt, type:
create vdisk file=C:\
VHD-Windows7.vhd maximum=40960 and press Enter.
NOTE: You can substitute the VHD-Windows7 name with any name you would like for the VHD file instead. You can also substitute the maximum size of 40960 MB for the VHD to the maximum size you want instead in MB (1GB = 1024MB).

 

5. In the command prompt, type select vdisk file=C:\VHD-Windows7.vhd and press Enter. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: If you subsituted the VHD-Windows7 name in step 4, then you will need to use it here as well.

 

6. In the command prompt, type attach vdisk and press Enter. (See screenshot below)

 

7. In the command prompt, type exit and press Enter. (See screenshot below)

 

8. Close the command prompt window. (See screenshot above)

9. Close the System Recovery Options window. (See screenshot below)
WARNING: You must close it only. Do not click on the Shut Down or Restart button.

 

10. Click on the Install now button. (See screenshot below)

 

11. Check the I accept the license terms box and click on Next. (See screenshot below)

 

12. Click on the Custom (advanced) option. (See screenshot below)

 

13. Select the available option with the unallocated space that is the same maximum VHD size (ex: 40GB = 40960MB) that you specified in step 4 above, and click on the Next button. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: If you see the Windows cannot be install to this disk warning, then you can ignore it. Windows 7 will install on the VHD file.

 

14. Finish doing a clean install of Windows 7.
NOTE: You will pick up at step 9 at that link to finish installing Windows 7 on the VHD file.

15. When you restart or start the computer, you will now have Windows 7 to select from at boot to start natively from the VHD file. (See the first example at top of the tutorial.)

 

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