How To Install Windows On Your Mac When All Else Fails

I have a 2011 iMac and I’ve commissioned Windows on it successfully before. The routine was intensely straightforward. we popped in my Windows hoop and let Bootcamp do a thing. Recently yet we had to reinstall and we found that my built-in Superdrive is broken. Installing Windows went from being a zephyr to being a calamity in an instant.

This beam is for those of we who have attempted each resolution – and on reading a countless forums that interpretation that Windows “can customarily be commissioned around Bootcamp” – have given up.

It took me a while to event on to a solution, that uses a multiple of opposite tools, yet it works like a attract and once you’ve finished it once, it’s not that difficult. Skip forward to a “What Does Work” territory if we wish to get down to work.

Recommended Reading: Clean Install OS X Mavericks Via Bootable Flash Drive

What Won’t Work

During a march of my Windows implement try we figured out during slightest 6 ways that didn’t work. They all have their eureka moments, yet don’t work out in a end.

1. Cleaning The Superdrive

Apparently we can furnish something like a lens cleaner over a skinny business card, hang a thing into a container and get to work on it. The business finish of a expostulate is during a bottom so if we shake it customarily right, and you’re lucky, we could be successful in cleaning a thing. You can also try floating some dense atmosphere into it.

If we were successful in doing so we can fundamentally skip this beam and implement around Basecamp, good done!

2. Bootable USB Via Bootcamp

The customarily obstacle with this was that we didn’t have this option. Apparently this is customarily accessible for computers without an visual drive. There is a approach in that we can capacitate this flattering simply though. This is something we will need to do serve on as a partial of a installation, yet it still doesn’t work on a own.

When we saw a option, we soon clicked on it and let Bootcamp create a startup USB for me. It worked during first, yet afterwards refused to even acknowledge it in a foot menu. we attempted this with and though Bootcamp drivers and we even attempted checking a “Install Windows” options that would automatically start a routine for me.

I was a bit inconsolable yet we thought: hey, let’s emanate a bootable USB in Windows! we found a Windows laptop and combined an USB regulating Rufus. Of course, it didn’t work, it wasn’t seen by a foot manager. we went behind and used a Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool that was finished by Microsoft. Still nothing. Changed another coop drive. Nope. Sigh.

3. Firmware Update

Good news, my iMac indication has a firmware update, and what’s more, this refurbish has to do with “booting” things (is fitness finally on my side?). we downloaded and commissioned a firmware refurbish and after a terrifying BIOS beep, all was behind to a good aged not operative ways.

Oh well, during slightest my firmware is updated.

4. rEFInd Boot Manager

After reading a whole lot of forums we saw that regulating rEFInd, an choice foot loader may help.

Once commissioned and commissioned on startup it “saw” a USB, however, while it was means to entrance a drive, we always accept a “No bootable hoop found” message. This was uncanny given a summary apparently came from a foot device, since is it looking for (maybe) a CD? Try as we may, rEFInd was not a answer, nonetheless customarily like Bootcamp, it is a partial of a final solution.

5. Using An External Drive

Nope. This was a second thing we attempted yet it didn’t even see a CD. Once we had rEFInd commissioned we attempted again; a CD showed adult in a foot manager, yet it refused to foot from it. All we got was a plane cursor and zero more. One thing we didn’t try was an Apple-made outmost expostulate yet while it’s probable that (for some different reason) this would work, we have review that it doesn’t.

6. Virtual Machines

I remember from regulating Parallels that it can use a Bootcamp partition, permitting me to use a bootable assign as a practical machine. we had a feeling this wouldn’t work, yet it was value a shot. Parallels (and other virtualization apps) can’t implement Windows as foot partitions. They can use them once created, yet customarily if combined separately.

Again, practical machines will be a partial of a solution, yet not THE solution.

What Does Work

Technically, it is a specific array of operations that works. My source for it is Yes, This Big – a outrageous appreciate we to them for reckoning out a final solution.

Here is a simplified outline of a solution:

1. Force Bootcamp to emanate a bootable disk


2. Create a tradition practical appurtenance with VMware (the hearing chronicle is sufficient)


3. Modify a practical appurtenance and implement Windows onto a Bootcamp partition


4. Delete all a files and duplicate them, from a USB key


5. Boot into a Bootcamp assign regulating rEFInd and Install Windows normally


6. Curse Apple a small bit for creation this so formidable

Let’s take a demeanour during a specifics of all these steps, by a finish of that we will have a good small Windows install!

1. Force Bootcamp to emanate a bootable disk

If we don’t have this choice enabled, you’ll need to revise some files.

You’ll need your computer’s (1) Boot ROM version and (2) Model Identifier that can be found in System Report. (Open adult Spotlight, with Cmd + Space, and form “System Information”.)

Here’s a representation of what we will see:

Head on over to a Applications/Utilities folder, right-click “Boot Camp Assistant.app” and name “Show Package Contents”.

Go into a “Contents” folder and make a duplicate of “info.plist” somewhere, customarily in case. Next, open a strange “info.plist” file in a content editor, and search for “USBBootSupportedModels” – it should be somewhere during a bottom.

Look adult your indication identifier and add it as a string, something like this:

keyUSBBootSupportedModels/key
array
 stringYour Model Identifier/string
 stringMacBook7,1/string
 stringMacBookAir3,2/string
 stringMacBookPro8,3/string
 stringMacPro5,1/string
 stringMacmini4,1/string
/array

Next, find a territory labeled “DARequiredROMVersions” and add your Boot ROM Version in a identical fashion:

keyDARequiredROMVersions/key
array
 stringYour Boot ROM Version/string
 stringIM41.0055.B08/string
 stringIM42.0071.B03/string
 stringIM51.0090.B03/string
 stringIM52.0090.B03/string
 stringIM61.0093.B01/string
 stringMP11.005C.B04/string
 stringMB11.0061.B03/string
 stringMBP11.0055.B08/string
 stringMBP12.0061.B03/string
 stringMM11.0055.B08/string
/array

You can now save and tighten this file.

Open Bootcamp and consternation during a coming of a “Create a Windows 7 or after chronicle implement disk”. Click all a checkboxes and let Bootcamp do a thing. You’ll need to supply it with an ISO picture that we can beget with Rufus or a Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool.

Once Bootcamp is done, it won’t be means to implement Windows. When it reboots, press a alt symbol until a foot manager comes adult and boot behind into OS X.

2. Create a tradition practical appurtenance with VMware

Note: I’m flattering certain this can be finished with other virtualization program as good yet we don’t know adequate about this subject to go rogue. The hearing chronicle of VMware is some-more than adequate for this charge so we can get it finished giveaway possibly way.

Before we burst in, we’ll need to take a demeanour during a hoop identifier of a Bootcamp partition.

Using Spotlight to form “Disk Utility”, click on a BOOTCAMP assign and press CMD + i. This will move adult a hoop info window where we can find a Disk Identifier – make a note of it.

Open VMware alloy and press CMD + N to emanate a new practical machine. You’ll need to click “More options…” and name “Create a tradition practical machine”. Then click Continue.

Now, name a handling complement we are installing, click Continue and name “Create a new practical disk” from a subsequent menu. Click Continue and name “Customize Settings” from a bottom of a subsequent screen; this will let we mention a plcae for a practical machine. we comparison my desktop for easy entrance – we can safely undo it once this is all over anyway. Finish adult and tighten VMware.

3. Modify a practical appurtenance and implement Windows onto a Bootcamp partition

Now, we’ll use some cunning to make VMware use a Bootcamp assign as a aim plcae for a install.

To revise a settings for a practical appurtenance you’ll need to open adult a terminal. Once ready, form “cd ” (add a space during a end) and drag a idol of your practical appurtenance into a terminal and press Enter.

Now you’ll need to issue a authority which will couple a VM to Bootcamp, take caring to replace [X] and [Y] with a scold values.

/Applications/VMware Fusion.app/Contents/Library/vmware-rawdiskCreator emanate /dev/disk[X] [Y] win7_raw lsilogic

In a screenshot of my BOOTCAMP assign a hoop identifier was disk0s4. The initial series (0) would be X and a second (4) would be Y.

So in my box a authority would be:

/Applications/VMware Fusion.app/Contents/Library/vmware-rawdiskCreator emanate /dev/disk0 4 win7_raw lsilogic

You won’t see any feedback from a depot yet if it worked, we should see a new record within a VM file.

Click on a idol for your practical appurtenance on a Desktop and click “Show Package Contents”. This should outcome in a list of files – a new record we should be looking for is “win7_raw.vmdk”. The subsequent step is to edit a “Windows 7 x64.vmx” file.

Open it in your content editor and search for a line starting with “scsi0.virtualDev” and edit a value to “lsilogic”. Then search for “scsi0:0.fileName” and revise a value to “win7_raw.vmdk”.

Open VMware and start a practical machine. It will ask for your cue since it needs to entrance a Bootcamp partition. You’ll need to implement Windows from a iso record we combined earlier. You might need to press CMD + A to open a settings and go to a CD/DVD section. Click Autodetect and name a iso picture and click enable.

Let a installer do a thing. You’ll need to format a Bootcamp assign regulating a expostulate collection since it won’t implement on a FAT32 partition. Other than that, all should be well.

4. Delete all a files and duplicate them from a USB key

When a designation is complete, stop VMware and undo all files from Bootcamp.

OS X will still not be means to foot from a Bootcamp assign so we’ll undo all we’ve done, and duplicate a files from a USB device (I’m not utterly certain what’s function here, we think that we are radically regulating VMware to make a expostulate bootable, yet we need a correct bootsector from a USB drive).

In any case, we might run into some problems while deletion since OS X might exclude to write a files on your NTFS drive. we used a Tuxera hearing chronicle to get this finished (worked like a charm).

Now, duplicate all files from your USB pivotal onto a Bootcamp partition.

5. Boot into a Bootcamp assign regulating rEFInd Install Windows normally

The final step is installing rEFInd. This is customarily a elementary matter of using a bombard script, yet with Yosemite, this has been difficult a bit.

Go to a download page and download a initial option, a binary zip record and unzip it.

Open a terminal, form “cd “, drag a unzipped folder (it’s something like “refind-bin-0.8.3″) into it and press enter. Type a following command:

sudo whack install.sh –esp 

If you’re on Mavericks or progressing this should suffice, yet if you’re on Yosemite, you’ll need to do some additional work. Yosemite users should go to “/Volumes/esp/EFI/refind/” and open a “refind.conf” record in their content editor. Find a line that has “dont_scan_volumes” in it. By default this line should be commented out, indicated by a crush sign during a beginning.

Uncomment a line and supplement dual manikin values to it, cave looks like this:

dont_scan_volumes foo,bar

Once this has been done, reboot your Mac – it should use a new foot manager automatically. If it doesn’t reboot, reason down alt and select a “EFI Boot” option in a default foot manager.

Once in, name a Bootcamp assign and implement Windows as usual. Once finished it is a good thought to implement a Bootcamp drivers. You can squeeze them from Apple and implement them by your brand-spanking new Windows.

6. Curse Apple a small bit for creation this so difficult

Seriously, Apple? There is no need for such complexity here.

First of all, if Macs do offer a event of installing Windows in a initial place, and a choice to do it around a bootable USB that’s already built in, since censor this from some users customarily since they have a hoop drive? Also, I’m flattering certain that a default foot manager not saying foot inclination is an synthetic limitation, it has zero to do with a Mac not ancillary things.

But in any case, hopefully this essay has helped some of we who were struggling with installing Windows on your Macs. we can finally play my Windows games from Steam that was kind of a idea of this whole craving in a initial place!

How To Install Windows On Your Mac When All Else Fails