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Windows7 in a Macbook air without a Superdrive
- Thread starter dextro
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I actually wrote Superdrive as example. I meant to install without using ANY CD/DVD drive.
thanks anyway for the quick answer
here's the how to do windows without a superdrive link:
http://insidethebrackets.blogspot.com/2009/04/install-windows-on-macbook-air-with-no.html
http://insidethebrackets.blogspot.com/2009/04/install-windows-on-macbook-air-with-no.html
This does not work with Parallels 5. The problem is that when windows tries to restart for the first time and you stop the VM, then the bootcamp volume is not properly mounted.
The solution I found after spending the whole weekend is:
-proceed to the installation as mentioned in the article you mention until the first reboot is necessary. This is actually only to make the partition bootable. Probably it is already when you create it in bootcamp, but as the system works now I don't want to try.
-Stop the VM
-properly unmount the drive with disk utility, remount it
-delete all the contents of the bootcamp partition (do no
-copy the contents of the Windows installation CD (only tried with Windows7).
-reboot the mac and keep the option key pressed.
-select the windows volume to boot.
-proceed with windows installation normally selecting the same drive that contains the installation files (the bootcamp partition).
-when windows boots for the first time you can delete the files and folders of the installation
-install the windows bootcamp drivers
-install the nvidia driver.
DONE
Cheers.
David
If you read my posts there you can see that this might work for other machines but not in Macbook Air 2,1.
i havent installed Win7 on my computer using bootcamp (did it through parallels 5) so i might be way off base but....maybe you can download Windows7 onto your computer via the internet? If you havent bought it already, you can do so through the Microsoft Store (http://www.microsoftstore.com/s/windows7?WT.mc_id=pointitsem_win7_download&WT.srch=1). If you already did buy it, perhaps you can give MS a call and see if they will give you access to a download version?
Dan
Dan
Hi David,
Thanks a lot. I'm so upset why I didn't reach this thread early. These steps worked for me like a charm on my Macbook 2,1. Here is my troublesome encounter which was finally solved with your help. Thanks a lot.
Thanks for that guide. Have an i7 MacBook Pro, and fell backwards on icy snow a couple of weeks back, and my bag swang backwards so it was between me and the ground when I fell. Thankfully I got off pretty lightly and the only thing damaged was the DVD drive. Been trying so many different methods to get Windows on without it, none of which worked.
Followed your method, however after copying the USB installer files onto the drive and restarting, it was only showing the OS X drive. Prepared for more disappointment as a last throw of the dice decided to load rEFIt onto a USB stick and gave it a try, picked up the partition and then install went through without a hitch.
Just to cross link to the other large thread on this general topic. https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/601414/
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