Windows 8.1 Pro 64 on iMac 27 mid 2010 possible?

According to the link below, I should be able to install and run the full version of Windows 8.1 Pro (64-bits) on a mid 2010 iMac 27 using Boot Camp Support Software 5.1.5640.

http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1721

When I do this on a fully up to date Mavericks install, getting the Boot Camp Assistant to partition the SSD I use as my main drive and allowing it to select and download the support software, everything goes swimmingly until I reboot after installing the Support Software.

I've tried various things including:

1) Updating the Windows install prior to installing the Support Software.

2) Installing previous versions of the Support Software (5.0.5033 and 4.0.4033)

I've flattened the partition after each attempt and allowed the Boot Camp Assistant software to create a single OS X partition before each new attempt.

The problem I see is a blue screen on reboot with the message KERNEL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE.

What I wanted to check is if anyone has a working install of Windows 8.1 Pro (64-bit) on a mid 2010 imac 27 model and if they had to do anything special in the process?

Additional information. The iMac has 16GB of memory and the SSD is 250GB with 150 GB free space prior to creating the Windows partition to which I'm assigning 80GB. I'm using a full length Apple standard wired keyboard. I've disconnected everything from the iMac apart from the keyboard and mouse during the installation and am trying to make everything as standard as possible.

Thanks very much for the suggestion. I'll give it a go this evening and report back here.

OK it turns out that version 5.1.5621 is the version that the Boot Camp Assistant software automatically selects to download, so that was the version that I tried first.

I tried another clean start with the same result. Everything fine up until I run the setup script for the Boot Camp Support Software. I can restart cleanly etc. though at this point I have no sound and my keyboard mapping is all wrong. As soon as I install the Boot Camp Support Software I have sound though my keyboard mapping is still not right (no numeric keypad for instance). Again this situation seems fairly stable until the point where I restart.

At that point I get the "Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart" message with the reason given as KERNEL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE.

I'm doing the simplest possible install, following instructions to the letter on a model of computer that Apple lists as supported (iMac 27" mid 2010) and yet I'm seeing this crash. Is this just me, or everyone who has tried installing this version of Windows on this model of iMac?

KdParker said:

Have you tried this

http://www.eightforums.com/bsod-crashes-debugging/39370-bsod-windows-8-1-kernel-security-check-failure-windows-4.html

Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion regarding removing any Netgear access point but I don't think that's applicable in this case.

I use the built in Wifi on the iMac to connect to an Apple Airport Extreme base station. The only things I have physically connected to the iMac when I'm attempting this is a standard Apple wired keyboard and an Apple mouse. I've tried disabling Bluetooth just in case, but to no effect.

The point I'm trying to make is this is the simplest install of Windows 8.1 Pro (64-bit) on standard supported Apple hardware using latest supported versions of software and following instructions to the letter. And yet it's not working. Is this set up working for anyone?

KdParker said:

Works for me just fine.

Click to expand...

I'm happy for you that it does, and thanks for your help, but that isn't my question as you don't appear to be running the same model of mac as me.

What I'm asking is, has anyone managed to get Windows 8.1 Pro (64 bit) running on an iMac 27" mid 2010 model using the latest versions of software. I'm aware that the latest Boot Camp Assistant software will automatically pull down and make available the Boot Camp Software Support Software at version 5.1.5621.

The model I'm testing has the 2.93 GHz processor and I'm beginning to wonder if the problem is even more specific and limited to certain versions of the iMac 27" mid 2010 model.

I thought I'd work through the various "supported" options for my system according to http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5634

This is on a iMac 27" mid 2010 built with the 2.93GHz i7 processor, the ATI Radeon HD 5750 graphics card, and running on OS X 10.9.4. The system has a 250GB SSD as primary which I'm using the Boot Camp Assistant software to partition to give an 80GB Boot Camp drive. When I'm doing my installs I'm disconnecting everything from the iMac apart from a wired Apple keyboard and a wired Apple mouse connected via the keyboard.

I have full versions of Windows 8.1 Pro (64 and 32 bit, though only 64bit is supported by the Apple drivers), and Windows 7 Pro, both 64 bit and 32 bit. The supported releases of the Apple drivers for each version of Windows that I'm using are as follows:

Windows 8.1 Pro - Boot Camp Support Software 5.1.5621
Windows 7 Pro (64 bit) - Boot Camp Support Software 5.1.5621
Windows 7 Pro (32 bit) - Boot Camp Support Software 4.0.4033

For each install I'm starting with the SSD as a single partition; I use the disk utility application to remove the Boot Camp partition and resize the SSD after each failed install.

All installs follow the same pattern. The Windows install goes fine in all cases. At the point where Windows has completed install the system seem stable. I can run applications, do updates and reboot with no problem. I then install the Boot Camp Support Software by browsing to the downloaded software on the USB drive (I've tried using several USB drives) and running setup.exe. The install goes fine with no problems reported until it completes and requires a restart. If at this point I defer the restart the system still seems stable in terms of running other applications. As soon as I restart, the restart fails with what appears to be a driver problem. The only way Windows is able to recover is to try and roll back to before the drivers were installed.

So thats it. A supposedly supported system simply fails to work. Boot Camp seems like a great idea in principle but having wasted about 24 hours of my time I've decided to cut my losses and just buy a separate Windows PC.

I'd love someone to prove me wrong and say they have a mid 2010 iMac with the same spec as me running Windows 7 or 8, but as of now I think something has been overlooked by Apple and there's a driver being shipped as part of the Support Software that is incompatible with this hardware.

saturnotaku said:

OK, not trying to insult your intelligence here, just wanting to ask about something else, but have you tried copying the Windows support software to your hard drive and running it from there?

Click to expand...

Good question. And yes I have. I've also downloaded the file direct from Apple and had Windows itself unzip it.

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freeuser said:

on a slightly newer iMac 12,2:

bootcamp assistant, create a new one for bootcamp
let the assistant choose to dowload bootcamp drivers to a Usb stick
this can be sometimes time consuming due to slow downloads
insert your W8.1 full version DVD, not an OEM for a certain computer!
reboot, press option key, choose your W8.1, choose normal Bios mode or Efi mode, but the later thats tricky after with drivers!
install Win on bootcamp partition, let your Usb stick always connected,
and Windows will find it automatcalky after finishing Windows installation,
let the drivers install, don't update Windows before that drivers!
Install all updates at the end

Click to expand...

Interesting, and thanks for the reply. The only bit I've not done is the manual reboot and selection of the Windows DVD from the boot options; I've just let the Boot Camp Assistant do its job and arrange to boot from the DVD. And to confirm, yes I'm using a full version of Windows 8.1 Pro (bought specially for this).

freeuser said:

reboot, press option key, choose your W8.1, choose normal Bios mode or Efi mode, but the later thats tricky after with drivers!

Click to expand...

Just to clarify something if I may, did you end up going with Bios mode (MBR?) or EFI mode?