Guide to installing XP on your Mac without using Bootcamp (kinda)

Question

Installation instructions for bootcamping your mac with XP
This method does not use the bootcamp utility in OSX
What you need:
A working bootable version of Windows XP SP2  ( see note below ) + product key
Bootcamp 2.1 drivers for Windows ( can be installed / copied from the original leopard installation disk under windows )
Windows XP SP3 installer
Apple HFS+ drivers for XP
note:          Using a clean version of the XP installation disk is preferable..  specifically the version that came with Service Pack 2 ( saves time installing services packs later ).  Trying to use a unattended slipstream install of XP can result in a disk that cannot be read by OSX bios at boot. So save yourself some time and use a vanilla version.
warning:      Follow these instructions at your own risk. Any loss of data, bricking your computer or any other form of meyhem originating from using these instructions are at entirely your own risk. Have fun!
OK! lets get started!
Burn your windowsXP.iso to a CD/DVD using diskutil application under OSX
choose open ISO image in diskutil
right click loaded image and select burn ISO
( optional step ) reboot while holding down the 'option' key and confirm that OSX can read your newly created boot
Using diskutil partition your OSX hard drive
select the main partition and click the "+" to add a new partition
adjust the size of the partition as needed
set to format the partition to 'fat'
name parition 'Windows HD'
apply changes
Insert XP install disk and reboot
hold down the 'option' key as your mac chimes on restart
wait until your boot options are display ( you will see the Macintosh HD disk, Windows HD disk, and the XP installation disk )
using the arrow keys on the keyboard select the XP installation disk and hit enter
hit any key when the XP installation prompts you to begin installation
Proceed through the installation process
when prompted for installation location browse for the newly created partition from step 2 ( usually identified by partition type.. eg: fat, and size of the partition )
do not reformat the partition..   use it as is.
during the installation XP will reboot several times.. make sure you hold down the option upon each reboot of you mac.. however from now on select the Windows drive
enter in your product key when prompted.
complete installation and boot into XP for the first time.
Install XP Service Pack 3 ( proceed to step 6 if this installs correctly )
          note:           if you are prompted 'not enough space to install' do as below:
Click Start, click Run, type “regedit” (without quotes) and then click OK.
Locate and then click the following registry subkey:    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup
On the Edit menu, point to New, and click String Value.
In the text box under the Name column, type "BootDir" (without quotes) and press ENTER.
Right-click the name BootDir, and then, click Modify.
In the Edit String Value dialog box, type the drive letter for your system drive, and then click OK.   For example, if your system drive is C: then, type "C:\" (without quotes).
Close Registry Editor and restart the computer.
Install Windows XP Service Pack 3 that you downloaded.
note:           x86 folder is for 32-bit Windows
x86_64           folder is for 64-bit Windows
  6.   Install bootcamp 2.1 drivers
note: you can also find the drivers on any original leopard OSX installation disk..  just insert into you CD/DVD drive under windows and the installation will start automatically
  7.   Update bootcamp twice ( reboot after each update )
  8.   Install the Apple HFS+ drivers for XP to gain 'read-only' access to your OSX HFS partition
          a.  Copy AppleHFS.sys & AppleMNT.sys to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\
          b.  Merge Add_AppleHFS.reg
          c.  Restart
At this point you are done..  final things you can do is to set bootcamp to always boot into Windows first ( no need to hold down the option key ) and install any newer drivers.. i.e. graphics drivers..  other than that.. you can go ahead and enjoy XP!
Message was edited by: Jamie Telford

Answer 1

Having just put a 1TB hard drive in my MacBook Pro(late 2008) running Mountain Lion. I, being greedy, wanted partition the drive and have Mountain Lion and Snow Leopard (to run legacy apps) and Windows XP(currently running under Fusion) available on boot.
My main partition is ML. I repartitioned the 1TB drive and installed SL. SL Boot Camp won't let you install XP unless the SL partition is the one and only. So I followed your excellent instructions to set up XP having created a 100GB FAT partition. I didn't reformat the partition as per your step 4b (unlike the Boot Camp instructions page 8 step 2). However on rebooting into the XP drive it halts with a "hal.dll" error. ["i'm sorry I can't do that Dave" - 2001 A Space Odyssey]
Other options I've tried have been:
1 to format as NTFS at step 4b
2 to use a 32GB FAT partition as recommended in the Boot Camp guide.
Nothing has worked
Thought of trying to wipe all partitions and install SL as main OS. Then use Boot Camp to install XP. Finally to add partition for ML and install.
Maybe no!
cheers
Dave