How to eject a CD from a Mac Pro during Windows install

As of this minute I'm in the process of installing Windows XP via Boot Camp on a Mac Pro. The problem I ran into is that the install CD I have is for an upgrade to Win XP. Since the installer can't find a previous version of Window, it's asking for a install CD for the previous version. I do have a Win 2K Pro install CD, but I can't eject the Win XP CD from the Mac Pro drive to put it in. HELP!!!

It's kind of silly that Apple did not put a pinhole in there like in every other computer I've ever used.

CanadaRAM said:

You can't.
That's why you very specifically need a full install CD of XP SP2.

Not so minor point is... an upgrade OS CD is not a legal license to install it on a new CPU.

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Microsoft must love Apple for this! Everyone with a version of Windows other than XP (with SP2 nonetheless -- I spent a couple of hours researching and the finally streamlining SP2 into the Win XP install CD that I can't use ) is forced to pony up for a full version of XP. What a load of horse manure.

Guess I have to try installing W2K, which means more wasted time, as there are about a dozen steps required to tweak the W2K install CD.

And for Apple not to make it possible to eject a CD manually is plain stupid.

cw2k said:

You can press the eject button if you use an unfolded paperclip.

Just get a torch, point it at the front of the mac pro just below the dvd drive. You should see a hole behind the grill with part of the dvd drives eject button showing, stick in the paper clip to press the button but make sure you pull it out very quickly once pressed otherwise it will stop the drive bay cover opening.

On my Mac Pro it's the 7th hole from the right and 4th hole down.

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Thanks. I'll give it a try tonight.

P.S.

I think I'll use a flashlight instead of a torch. You Brits are so adventurous

akadmon said:

Thanks. I'll give it a try tonight.

P.S.

I think I'll use a flashlight instead of a torch. You Brits are so adventurous

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Well I'll be damned! I tried once and it worked perfectly But now I seem to have lost the touch. Been poking around for the last 15 minutes without any luck

Since the holes are staggered, do you count straight down and across, or on a zigzag pattern?

macintouch said:

I just pulled the drive and set it on the top of my machine. When I needed to swap, I pressed the button on the actual drive and swapped.

Upgrade CD's are completely fine to use, just as long as you own a previous older full install CD (Windows 3.51, Windows NT, 2000, 95, 98, ME, etc.). That makes it perfectly legal to do.

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Are there any visual guides showing how to do this? The drive is not visible after the side panel is pulled. It's in some kind of enclosure and I'm afraid to damage some other component when I try to remove it.

balamw said:

Hmm. My reply to this thread seems to have vanished

As has widely been reported in the Windows on Mac forum, you can use an external USB CD drive for the Win98 etc... disc, or you can combine your XP and 98 discs onto one disc as described here https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/192164/. Not quite slipstreaming, but legal nonetheless.

B

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No, your reply did not disappear. You posted the similar replay in another thread I started where I eventually asked the same question.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/253532/

I don't have an external CD drive (and I'm not going to buy one just for this).
Also, the link in the thread you reference above is dead. Anyone saved the the instructions on how to combine Win98&WinXP installs on a single CD?

seanf said:

As you are looking at the inside of the Pro the bay you want to remove is at the top left. Just carefully edge this out until you are able to pull it towards you. Just watch that you don't pull any wires and make sure you don't trap any when you put it back in.

Sean

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Well I found the instructions on how to replace the optical drive. I presume will work for my purposes

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/MacPro_OpticalDrive_DIY.pdf

balamw said:

Funny, I didn't see it in my profile. Guess I'm not totally insane.



You could borrow one, or even an internal since you have a Mac Pro.

Anyhow, read the whole thread my synopsis of the process is there https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/2584991/

B

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Can I burn this bootable DVD on my Mac Pro using built-in software? Having to go out and buy another program (Toast, is it?) just to be able to do the Windows install defeats the purpose, which is to save money by utilizing what I already own.

balamw said:

Yes. You can create the ISO with mkisofs and burn it with Disk Utility.

EDIT: Build the folders as specified, then create the ISO as described here: http://wiki.onmac.net/index.php/HOW...ing_mkisofs_and_a_shell_.28OS_X_and_.2ANIX.29

B

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I have no idea what mkisofs is. The page you pointed to has some blurb about installing XCode/Developer Tools. Is this already on the machine and just has to be activated ("installed")?

Anyway, since I can't tell UNIX from a Unicorn, I'll probably just slide the damn drive out of the computer and do it the brute force way

seanf said:

Yes, just boot into OS X, put the XP installation CD into the drive, shutdown and then follow the instructions to take the Optical Bay out and then just rest it on top of something during installation.

Sean

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That's what I did and it was easy as cake I never even laid the tower on its side as instructed. Simply pulled the drive casing out and swung it around 90 degrees. The whole thing rested quite securely inside the opening. And my Win XP install went off without a hitch.

I gotta say, guys, there is something weird about how OSX renders fonts. I mean how can it be that on the same hardware text in XP is so much sharper and darker than in OSX? It's as though the refresh rate was at 60 Hz in OSX vs. 75 Hz in XP, only it's not -- I do have it set at 75 Hz in both. Is Leopard going to fix that?