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You are here: MacNN Forums > Software - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Alternative Operating Systems > No Win7 under BootCamp for 2006 Macs???

No Win7 under BootCamp for 2006 Macs???
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justmetoo
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Oct 30, 2009, 08:45 AM
 
Well, Apple waited to mention that 9 of their Intel-based products from 2006 will not be supported for the upcoming Boot Camp update.
Has anybody installed and is running Win7 on a 2006 Mac???
Apple - Support - Boot Camp here is the text:

About Boot Camp and Windows 7
* Last Modified: October 22, 2009
* Article: HT3920

Summary
Apple will support Microsoft Windows 7 (Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate) with Boot Camp in Mac OS X Snow Leopard before the end of the year. This support will require a software update to Boot Camp.
Products Affected Portable Computers, Desktop Computers

Requirements:
In addition to the Boot Camp update, you will need the following:
• Your own authentic copy of Microsoft Windows 7 or Microsoft Windows 7 upgrade
• An Intel-based Mac computer
Note: The following models will not be supported for use with Windows 7 using Boot Camp.

iMac (17-inch, Early 2006)
iMac (17-inch, Late 2006)
iMac (20-inch, Early 2006)
iMac (20-inch, Late 2006)
MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2006)
MacBook Pro (17-inch, Late 2006)
MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2006)
MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2006)
Mac Pro (Mid 2006, Intel Xeon Dual-core 2.66GHz or 3GHz)
     
cgc
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Oct 30, 2009, 09:24 AM
 
Yup...32-bit EFIs are the perceived problem though I bet it could easily work... There's another thread that mentions this.
     
64stang06
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Oct 30, 2009, 11:21 AM
 
The key word is "support". Apple will not support users that wish to run Windows 7 on those machines; however, even with the Boot Camp Drivers with Snow Leopard, Windows 7 seems to run without any issues on my machines at home, and I have a 2006 MacBook that runs Windows 7 just fine.
MacBook Pro 13" 2.8GHz Core i7/8GB RAM/750GB Hard Drive - Mac OS X 10.7.3
     
ghporter
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Oct 30, 2009, 02:49 PM
 
"No support" basically means "no new drivers for Win7." Which is really a sticking point, I think; the specialized hardware in our older Macs needs Win7 capable (NOT XP SP2 compliant) drivers to work, and Apple won't be writing those.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
angelmb
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Oct 30, 2009, 03:20 PM
 
I guess we just have to find out by ourselves how these not supported configurations might run Windows 7 under Boot Camp.
     
TheoCryst
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Oct 30, 2009, 03:50 PM
 
Fortunately, Vista is supported under all those machines, and Win7 runs just fine using Vista drivers. There might be an exception or two, but for the most part it should be fine. Just don't expect continued support and refinement of the drivers.

Any ramblings are entirely my own, and do not represent those of my employers, coworkers, friends, or species
     
justmetoo  (op)
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Oct 30, 2009, 04:07 PM
 
Thanks for replies!

I'm really most interested in installing win7 64 bit, and have read elsewhere that it can in fact be installed on 2006 MP, but is "tricky" and a PITA... Suggestions ranged from burning a new install disc, to installing 32 bit on another partition to jump-start the 64 bit installation.

Need to do some more browsing because details were lacking, but if you know a good thread or two with a bit more direction, please let us know! It'll be sincerely appreciated.

Thanks.
     
64stang06
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Oct 30, 2009, 07:22 PM
 
Originally Posted by ghporter View Post
"No support" basically means "no new drivers for Win7." Which is really a sticking point, I think; the specialized hardware in our older Macs needs Win7 capable (NOT XP SP2 compliant) drivers to work, and Apple won't be writing those.
True, but for most of those Macs, Windows has the basic drivers already there (Bluetooth, Wireless). Good catch though, thanks for clarifying.
MacBook Pro 13" 2.8GHz Core i7/8GB RAM/750GB Hard Drive - Mac OS X 10.7.3
     
ghporter
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Oct 30, 2009, 09:56 PM
 
Originally Posted by 64stang06 View Post
True, but for most of those Macs, Windows has the basic drivers already there (Bluetooth, Wireless). Good catch though, thanks for clarifying.
Hopefully the good folks at Microsoft have figured out that some of us would like to use their product with specific hardware provided by Apple, and they themselves have developed/will develop appropriate drivers that take advantage of all the features of Mac hardware. While I don't expect to use Win7 on my late '06 MBP, it would be nice to be able to if I wished. But as long as the appropriate drivers for functions like I/O, networking and the like are included in the Win7 install, almost all users will b satisfied.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
angelmb
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Nov 10, 2009, 05:22 PM
 
Well, I have installed Windows 7 under Boot Camp on a 2006 Mac Pro, hence 'not supported'. It is W7 Ultimate RC 32bit, downloaded from MS site some time ago, (I don't know if this makes a difference Vs. retail). No hardware issues at all. Note that I don't use Wi-Fi, just Ethernet.
     
angelmb
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Nov 14, 2009, 07:19 PM
 
Follow-up: Windows 7 64bit installer worked just fine. Only thing I missed, Boot Camp Drivers, the set-up launches just to say Boot Camp 64 is not supported on this configuration (Mac Pro 2006). Anyhow, you can install the controllers by double clicking on them. Double clicking the Bootcamp64.msi file, a well-known workaround, didn't work for me since it asks you to run the Setup itself.
     
Cold Warrior
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Nov 14, 2009, 08:25 PM
 
I have a 2006 MBP; it runs x64 Win7 RC very well. There are indeed a couple things missing, maybe iSight and something else minor. But overall it works great as a way to run Windows 7 and Windows apps.
     
justmetoo  (op)
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Nov 15, 2009, 02:20 PM
 
I too got win7 Pro 64 bit (education upgrade edition) installed, patched, and drivers in just this morning on my Mac Pro 2006. Now I'm cooking with gas!!! ALL 11 GB of RAM recognized!!! Others have posted boot up time lags, but not for me, it initializes as fast as OSX.

And something called "Windows Experience Index" which assesses key components of my 2006 Mac Pro hardware (on a scale from 1 to 7.9 --don't ask me...) all scored from 7.2 to 7.5 except the harddrive which scored 5.9 (a WD 500 GB black edition). For a 3+ year old computer I couldn't be happier (well all except for the EFI 32 thing...).

While getting win7 x64 installed & running certainly was not a walk in the park (due to the inherent hurdles in the 'unsuported' hardware), I did legwork online and found a bunch of workarounds for common problems. The problem is that there are several potential issues (install path, iso, drivers, activation, etc) and several workarounds for each, and just like getting second and third opinions, some worked and others didn't all within the same source. I had to borrow from here and there...

I couldn't tell you exactly what I did for the whole thing, 'cause I can't remember; I had to try several routes. I pulled all extra drives out and started with a clean bootcamp XP Pro install (this was the most frustrating part actually), burned a new install disc off of files transferred from an education upgrade DVD with imgburn, booted up from that disc and installed over the XP partition. Getting the BC drivers to install was a bit frustrating, I could not get DOS to cd from c: to d: for some reason and so could not use command line route, but fussed about in some compatibility tool to get the installer to work.

I'm no wiz, so if I can do it, and you're reading these and other Apple Support forums, you can with some poking around for advice and clues.
( Last edited by justmetoo; Nov 15, 2009 at 02:47 PM. )
     
Spheric Harlot
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Nov 15, 2009, 02:29 PM
 
Originally Posted by cgc View Post
Yup...32-bit EFIs are the perceived problem though I bet it could easily work...
That CAN'T be the issue, since the November 2006 MacBook (not Pro, Core 2 Duo) has a 32-bit EFI and is not on that list.
     
   
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