Boot Camp - Which Windows XP? Partition size?

A long fan of Mac's, I'm now going to use a new iMac primarily as a Windows computer using Boot Camp for my office which uses Windows-only software.
1. Which versions of Windows XP Pro are compatible? Windows XP Professional x64 Edition? Microsoft Windows XP Professional with SP2? All of them?
2. How much partition space should I leave for OS X with a 1 TB hard drive if I will use that for browsing, iChat, Dreamweaver, and Photoshop?
Thanks.

From experience I have 4gb installed and XP 32bit only recognises 3gb on my macbook, although it is generally between 2.75~3.5gb for any system, depending on the devices installed, motherboard's chipset & BIOS. This is because of the IO reservations overlaying the physical address space and mask out those physical addresses so that it cannot be used for working memory (i.e. your PCI may use 0.5gb, thus your windows in bootcamp only shows 3.5gb ram available).
As for 32 and 64 bit XP, go 32bit as there is little support for 64bit applications. Use macdrive on windows and get the NTFS kernal hack to allow you to write to NTFS partitions. That way you can read/write to your windows partition from mac and read/write to your mac partition from windows. Although I would suggest getting two smaller hard drives, or a couple of them and not partitioning (use 1 for mac OS and applications, 1 for windows + apps and 1 could be a backup).
Message was edited by: swilso

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Boot Camp 5 Windows 8 partition

So I haven't dual-booted in a while, I used to run Windows 7 Ultimate. Boot Camp worked fine. I recently have been trying to install Windows 8 Pro and Boot Camp just will not partition my drive. It keeps saying "An error occurred while partitioning the disk". I've tried it both with a bootable 8GB USB plugged in and an install DVD. I'm giving Windows 45GB and that leaves OS X with 101GB. What am I doing wrong? It's a MacBook Pro 13 inch, Early 2011, 500GB HDD, 8GB RAM, etc. etc.

Hi Paresh,
Yes, they are related...
EFI and SMC firmware updates for Intel-based Macs - Apple Support

Boot Camp Is Unable to Partition My Drive

Hello,
The first time around I managed to set up Boot Camp and Windows 7 Home Basic very successfully and effortlessly on my MBP mid-2012.
Then I found out I could not get activation key for it because Microsoft no longer sold the Basic version. I downloaded the Windows 7 Home Premium version and bought an activation key from Microsoft and am now trying to get it on my computer.
Using Boot Camp Assistant I was able to delete the partition on which old Windows resided. Then using Boot Camp Assistant I built a USB drive that included the new ISO for the Windows 7 Home Premium edition and then the process went well and all necessary support files were downloaded.
We got to the point where I selected the size of the partition and Boot Camp Assistant tried to partition it except that it is not able to. It doesn't giver any reason, it just says: "Your disc could not be partitioned. An error occurred while partitioning the disk."
Anyone here knows what could be the cause of the problem and possibly how I can resolve it?
By the way, I have checked and the base format of the drive is Mac OS Extended (Journaled), and the disk has only one partition.
Thanks much.
Farzad

I am doing a TM backup now. I looked at the iDefrag and the drive definitely needs defragmenting, according to the software, but I thought with Macs we don't need to worry about those things. I want to do one other thing I read somewhere else as a remedy for this inability to partition the drive before taking the leap and doing the full erase and reinstall.
Here is the link on the internet: http://crounji.wordpress.com/2014/01/28/a-solution-to-your-disk-could-not-be-par titioned-error-on-boot-camp-assistant/.
And I believe another forum has discussed this topic.
Here is another approach I want to try: Boot Camp: Partition alert message when using Boot Camp Assistant
Farzad

I have parallels 7 and windows 7, how do I use Boot Camp and windows

I have Parallels version 7 installed on my MacPro5,1 mid 2010 (3.2ghz quad core) OSX 10.6.8
My question, can I run Windows from the Parallels 7 using Boot Camp app, or do I have to install it with Boot Camp on a different partition ?
I have never used Boot Camp before so this is puzzling ?
I want to run a few of my PC games better than in Paralels 7 .

I thought the Mac were finicky with which hard drive they use.
I remember getting a 3.5 floppy for my IIe then many years later getting a 80meg HD then up to a IIgs ( loved that thing). Formatting and rebuilding HardDrive swapping out the smaller HD's..
Then a Mac IIci, last was wife's QuickSilver before this MacPro5,1..
It seemed so simple back then before serial- ATA, then. Started learning Windows vista (2008) on my mom's Asus laptop now Windows 7 ?
Getting more Mac like all the time... A friend who tried the Sata 3 and blew something on his pc laptop fixed it..
Thank God formatting drives is easy, only back up the data you need before doing anything with a drive..
Thanks again for the information and Merry CHristma and a Happy New Year !!

I am working on a MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2009) with boot camp running Windows 7 pro 64-bit. Windows crashes quite often now-a-days and I need to get this fixed. I heard that updating boot camp can help. Currently I am running Version 3.0.4 (322).

I need to know which update(s) I can apply to help stabalize the system.

Typing the body of the thread message in the title, huh? -)
I am working on a MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2009) with boot camp running Windows 7 pro 64-bit. Windows crashes quite often now-a-days and I need to get this fixed. I heard that updating boot camp can help. Currently I am running Version 3.0.4 (322).
Only Apple could hamstring and tie Mac OS to Windows. There isn't any other than whether you can download the drivers into Windows (you can) but Apple puts a block on the installer setup even if your mac does not support it.
Windows 7 needs at least Boot Camp 3.1 and 3.3 is what you should already have. And you are not getting security updates if you don't have at least 10.6.8 as was pointed out. --- you arent using Software Update as you should. And you should backup and clone Mac (and Windows) as well.
You need Mountain Lion to use Boot Camp 5.x which supports Windows 7 & 8 and 64-bit.
I would upgrade to Lion if you can realizing that Rosetta and PowerPC are no longer supported though.
Mac 101: Using Windows on your Mac via Boot Camp
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT1461
http://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/
Helpful Apple Support Resources (Forum Overview)
Boot Camp Support
Boot Camp Manuals
Boot Camp 5.0 Drivers
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1638
Frequently asked question
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4818
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/boot_camp_install-setup_10.7.pdf
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/Boot_Camp_Install-Setup_10.6.pdf
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/Boot_Camp_Install-Setup_10.6.pdfcreate a Windows support software (drivers) CD or USB storage media
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4407
The Boot Camp Assistant can burn Boot Camp software (drivers) to a DVD or copy it to a USB storage device, such as a flash drive or hard drive. These are the only media you can use to install Boot Camp software.
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT4569
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/boot_camp_install-setup_10.8.pdf
Instructions for all features and settings.
Boot Camp 4.0 FAQ Get answers to commonly asked Boot Camp questions.
Windows 7 FAQ Answers to commonly asked Windows 7 questions.
http://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/
Is there a download of the Boot Camp 5 Support Software if I'm not using OS X Mountain Lion v10.8.3?
Yes, you can download the Boot Camp 5 Support Software here.
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1638
How do I use the Boot Camp 5 Support Software I downloaded from the web page?
The download file is a .zip file. Double click it to uncompress it.
Double-click the Boot Camp disk image.
Copy the Boot Camp and "$WinPEDriver$" folders to the root level of a USB flash drive or hard drive that is formatted with the FAT file system (see question below for steps on how to format).
Install Windows, leaving the flash or hard drive attached to the USB port of your Mac.
Installation of the drivers can take a few minutes. Don't interrupt the installation process. A completion dialog box will appear when everything is installed. Click Finish when the dialog appears.
When your system restarts your Windows 8 installation is done.
Note: If the flash drive or hard drive was not attached when you installed Windows and was inserted after restarting into Windows 8, double-click the Boot Camp folder, then locate and double click the "setup.exe" file to start the installation of the Boot Camp 5 Support Software.
How do I format USB media to the FAT file system?
Use Disk Utility to format a disk to use with a Windows computer. Here's how:
Important: Formatting a disk erases all the files on it. Copy any files you want to save to another disk before formatting the disk.
Open Disk Utility.
Select the disk you want to format for use with Windows computers.
Click Erase, and choose one of the following from the Format pop-up menu:
If the size of the disk is 32 GB or less, choose MS-DOS (FAT).
If the size of the disk is over 32 GB, choose ExFAT.
Type a name for the disk. The maximum length is 11 characters.
Click the Erase button and then click Erase again.
Which versions of Windows are supported with Boot Camp 5?
64-bit versions of Windows 8 and Windows 7 are supported using the Boot Camp 5 Support Software. If you need to use a 32-bit version, you need to use Boot Camp 4 Support Software, and you must use Windows 7. 32-bit versions of Windows 8 are not supported via Boot Camp. For a complete list of Windows OS support, click here.

Unable to install Boot Camp and Windows 8.1 on Mac Mini

Hello,
My computer is a late 2012 mac mini with fusion drive. OS is OSX 10.9.1. Also an apple external optical drive and a Windows 8.1 full install DVD. I attempted to install Boot Camp and Windows 8.1 and failed.
I ran Boot Camp Assistant and first problem was when it rebooted the computer - I got a text message that said the OS was missing. After a while I tried holding down the Option key while rebooting, then I got several choices to boot from - I chose the windows disk, and windows installation started.
I was eventually given a list of 6 or 7 partitions to chose from, to install windows into. I settled on the one marked BOOTCAMP. It seemed the best guess. But the installer said that it could not install on this partition. Something about the wrong format or EFI or boot partition(s)?? In fact, the installer would not let me install into any of the listed partitions.
I restarted Boot Camp and it allowed me to remove the boot camp partition and revert to OSX only. Thanks for that!
My questions: is Windows 8.1 supported with my configuration? I know the FAQ says it is not. If in fact it is, did I do something wrong?
Thanks,
Doug

Poking around, I found an installation manual which was downloaded to my USB drive with the boot camp windows drivers. It says that when I reached the point in the windows installer where I'm given a choice of partitions, I should choose the one marked BOOTCAMP, and format it. Which I didn't think to try before. So I tried again, using Boot Camp Assistant from the top.
Failure again. This time, when the computer rebooted, I selected the Windows icon as before, but I got a text message saying that the boot manager couldn't be found, and a dead stop.
I also found that on the option-key reboot disk selection screen, I could eject the windows install disk and reinsert it. When I did that, I got the Windows boot icon and another icon labeled EFI boot. So I also tried that icon, with the same result.
So, I'm doing exactly what I did before (I think), but now the windows installer won't start.

How to install boot camp on a pre-partitioned HD ?

Hi,
I have just done a clean install of my mac. Before installation i used disk utility to create a few partitions, one of them made available for Boot Camp.
Now when i start the Boot Camp Assistant it tells me:
"The startup disk can not be partitioned or restored to a single partition.
The startup disk must be formatted as a single mac os extended (journaled) volume or already partitioned by Boot Camp Assistant for installing windows"
What the h.... do i really have to start over AGAIN?!
I need 3 mac partitions and 1 windows, if i re-install, then use boot camp assistant to create a windows partition i'll be left with just 2 partitions.....
Any help is very welcome at this point.
Jay

You don't need to run Boot Camp Assistant since you've already partitioned the drive. Just boot to your Windows disc and follow the installer set up. All Boot Camp Assistant does is partition the drive for you.
However, I'm pretty certain with that many partitions, depending on the order in which you've placed them, you will run into some errors trying to install Windows on the Windows partition you've created. I believe the Windows installer doesn't like to install on anything higher than partition 4. If your Windows partition is #3, and your Mac OS partition is #2, you may still encounter an error, but this has a far easier workaround than having the Windows partition be higher than partition #4.
Let me know how you've set it up.

Boot camp and windows 7 but window wont find usb to download support drivers

Used Boot Camp to partition, downloaded support onto USB zip drive, installed Windows 7 fine I thought, but in Windows 7 now it will not find my USB so i can't download the support drivers from my zip drive back into Windows. No internet found either (probably because i can't download the support drivers). HELP QUICKLY please!!!

Boot Camp in Windows has nothing to do with Boot Camp in OS X. So, there was no need for you to reinstall Leopard.
Since you're using Leopard, your Leopard disc will have the 2.xx drivers, which, (apparently) will not install in Windows 7.
You'll need to get a hold of the 3.0 drivers. The 3.1 update downloaded from the Apple site won't install without 3.0 drivers installed.

Boot Camp access to mac partition

Hi.
I have Windows 7 Pro on Boot Camp, which is also on a server 2003 domain. When the windows network users log in, they can access the Mac Partition. How do I prevent this from happening?
I know it is read only, but I prefer to have them access only the Windows partition when logged into Windows, and only have them access the Mac partition, when they are logged into Snow Leopard.
Thank you!

Rename AppleHFS.sys and AppleMNT.sys
By doing the following you will disable HFS mount / read mode on windows XP, Vista, 7.
Navigate to c:/windows/system32/drivers/AppleMNT.sys, rename the AppleMNT.sys file to something like AppleMNT_keep.sys or something of your likings.
The faulty HFS driver is a valid concern. It seems to happen on many systems.
You find it in Windows/system32/drivers/AppleHFS.sys
Renaming to AppleHFS_disabled.sys will avoid the blue screens until you have found another solution or Apple updates Bootcamp 3
After renaming both myself because they are no longer "*.sys" or something? they are gone. In my case AppleHFS prevented Windows Backup from running to end and was causing error "some files skipped" and while some might find reading convenient, I prefer Windows not have even read-only access.
You can probably do better with MacDrive8.
http://www.mediafour.com/support/downloads.asp

Lion, Boot Camp and Windows 7 Issues

Couple of questions regarding Lion, Boot Camp and Windows 7... I never had issues with Snow Leopard and setting up Windows 7 on my iMac (expcept the dreaded black screen after restart, bu got that fixed)
Let me start off with my specs and then I will ask my questions:
iMac 27"
i7 Quad Core (1st gen)
16GB Ram
1TB HDD
OS X Lion (Fresh Install - Not Upgrade)
All updates for OS and iLife and other installed software:
Adobe Creative Suite CS5
MS Office 2011
Boot Camp 4.0
Window 7 Ultimate
Ok... here are my questions.
When I fixed my black screen issues after installing a fresh copy of Windows 7 - I had to install MacFUSE and Tuxera NTFS in order to delete the the stock ATI driver so the second rebot on the install of windows 7 would work and boot correctly. After rebotting into my mac side I now always get this message from Tuxera.
What does this mean? Now in the finder when looking at the computer drives.. It does not show the BOOTCAMP partition...
However, when I resart i can hold down the ALT key and get this menu:
I know this might seem strange to ask, but why are the Macintosh HD and the Recovery HD text smoothed and the Windows text not? Being a design I see the difference and it makes me wonder why this is. (It is almost like the BSOD icon apple used forwhen connecting with shared PCs)... Anyways, I can boot into windows when clicking this drive.
After getting to windows 7 it will not let me run updated. The OS is activated and I have even installed SP1 manually, but it always tells me that the Update service is not running. When in fact it is. I have checked it and it is set to start automatically. I have reset and shutdown my computer more than 10 times... I can't figure out what the issues are.
Overview:
Why do I get the Tuxera NTFS error?
Why can I see the boot camp partion when manually selecting it form startup, but it does not show in OS X
I can't get Windows to update? Any ideas?
Thanks for any help you can provide.

These various utilities like Tuxera are incompatible with Lion. Partly because MacFuse is incompatible. You need to remove them completely.
As for the Windows partition you might consider using Boot Camp Assistant to remove it. Then make a new partition and install Windows. Remember to use the Windows formatter to format the Windows partition NTFS.

Boot Camp and Windows 7 Problems

I have found a reproducible bug with Boot Camp and WIndows 7.
Clean install of OS X 10.6.2, Boot Camp Asst. Partition on my Mac Pro boot drive, clean install Win 7.
Problem: while in OS X, Disk Util Repair Permissions takes forever, churning away at the hard drive. Also, intermittent Spotlight hangs, and weird Dropbox behavior where it churns the disk like crazy again.
I have Paragon NTFS for Mac v 7.03 and perhaps this has something to do with it.
After retuning to a single partition using Boot Camp Asst. (deleting the Win 7 partition), all is back to normal - Repair Permissions takes about 60 seconds, no Spotlight or Dropbox issues whatsoever.
Using Fusion for Win 7 for now. Awaiting official Apple support of Win 7 in Boot Camp.
Wondering if anyone else can confirm this behavior where you have a partitioned boot drive with 10.6.2 and Win 7, with or without NTFS for Mac 7.03.

Addendum: on reboot/option key boot screen, it showed OS X volume, Win 7 Volume, and EFI Boot Volume - the latter had never been there before with Vista.

Unable to connect to internet or print wirelessly on Boot Camp with Windows 7

I recently installed Boot Camp and Windows 7 on my Mac Book Pro with no problems.
A month later, I am unable to connect to internet or print wirelessly.
It states that I am connected to my router.
When I trouble shoot, it cannot find the problem.
My wireless connection and cable connection are fine on the MAC side.
Please help.

looks a like a Windows 7 problem. I assume that you can click on the current connection info on the task bar and see a connection to your wireless router? Have you updated your copy of Windows since it was working? I am wondering if it's an update that's applied in Windows which has done something.

Do I need to install boot camp on Windows 7 as well as on Lion? I already installed it some years ago on Leopard when installing Windows Vista on my Macbook Pro. But now after installing Windows 7, many things in windows doesn't work (sound etc.)

Do I need to install boot camp on Windows 7 as well as on Lion? I already installed it some years ago on Leopard when installing Windows Vista on my Macbook Pro. But now after installing Windows 7, many things in windows doesn't work (sound etc.). I made a clean installation because I needed to go from 32 bit to 64 bit.
Or should I just update bootcamp in Lion? (cause when I search for "boot camp" in Windows 7 there's no result)

Installation Guide
Instructions for all features and settings.
Boot Camp 4.0 FAQ Get answers to commonly asked Boot Camp questions.
Windows 7 FAQ Answers to commonly asked Windows 7 questions.
Apple Boot Camp Support
Lion's Boot Camp Assistant 4.x should have downloaded Apple drivers as part of also partitioning.
You need Apple drivers. And you then need to add on your own audio driver.
You can run Assistant at any time to download and save a set of drivers.

I have an older Mac Pro (2006). I want to install Boot Camp and Windows. I have installrg a purchased Snow Leapord on the machine. To install Windows, am I limited to Windows 7? And where are the Windows 7/Boot Camp Drivers? On the OS disk? Download? Tha

I have an older Mac Pro (2006). I want to install Boot Camp and Windows. I have installed a boxed Snow Leapord on the machine. And it says the download of the Boot camp drivers cannot continue because they are not available. But at that point I have not inserted a windows disk, so how does it know i have XP?
So it appears I am limited to Windows 7? And where are the Windows 7/Boot Camp Drivers? On the OS disk?
Finally, since I have necer considered Windows 7 before, I assume there are no compatability issues with mainstream applications that were running in XP?
Thank you.

You're welcome
Just remember to reformat the partition (bootcamp partition) to NTFS with the windows installer, ensure to pick the correct partition.

Boot Camp and Windows 7 - uncompatible drivers and BC 3.0

I recently installed Windows 7 on my MacBook Pro using Boot Camp. The installation wen well but when I inserted and tried to run the OSX setup disc, the system referred to known incompatibilities and aborted. I then tried to run the Boot Camp 3.1 driver but this also aborted, stating that Boot Camp 3.0 was missing. I have tried both the 32 and 64 bit Ultimate version and the Enterprise version of Windows 7, always with the same result. I then reinstalled Leopard (and created a mess in a number of other ways) to see if the 3.0 driver had been deleted by mistake. This did not help however. Is there anything I can do?

Boot Camp in Windows has nothing to do with Boot Camp in OS X. So, there was no need for you to reinstall Leopard.
Since you're using Leopard, your Leopard disc will have the 2.xx drivers, which, (apparently) will not install in Windows 7.
You'll need to get a hold of the 3.0 drivers. The 3.1 update downloaded from the Apple site won't install without 3.0 drivers installed.

Boot Camp - Which Windows XP? Partition size?

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