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Windows Vista 64-bit on new Mac mini

J

JKK4

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 12, 2009
16
0
I'm interested in buying one of the new Mac minis. However, I need to be able to run Windows Vista on it, and it has to be the 64-bit version (the 32-bit version won't do, and I want to run the 64-bit version natively, that is, not using Parallels or Fusion).

I found this page on Apple's support site http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1846 which says: "64-bit editions of Microsoft Windows Vista are supported on certain Intel-based Macs via Boot Camp".

These "certain" Macs are:
* Mac Pro (Early 2008)
* MacBook Pro (15-inch Early 2008)
* MacBook Pro (17-inch Early 2008)
* MacBook Pro (15-inch Late 2008)

So the Mini is not mentioned. However I cannot think of any technical reason why it shouldn't be possible to run Vista 64-bit on a Mac mini though.

Has anybody tried it already? Any advice for me?
 
I have been running Windows 2008 x64 on my last-gen mini for some time now. You should have no issues running a 64-bit OS.

The only problem you may run into is drivers. Previously (don't know if this is still the case), Apple only offered installable 64-bit drivers with the Mac Pro installation disk. In order to install Vista x64 on my MacBook, I had to acquire those, install them, then upgrade with the 64-bit Boot Camp download from Apple's site. It's a bit onerous, but it works well.
 
DannySmurf said:
The only problem you may run into is drivers. Previously (don't know if this is still the case), Apple only offered installable 64-bit drivers with the Mac Pro installation disk. In order to install Vista x64 on my MacBook, I had to acquire those
Click to expand...

Thanks for your answer. May I ask exactly how you "acquired" the necessary drivers to run a 64-bit version of Windows on a mini? Can they be download from Apple?
 
JKK4 said:
Thanks for your answer. May I ask exactly how you "acquired" the necessary drivers to run a 64-bit version of Windows on a mini? Can they be download from Apple?
Click to expand...

I don't know about the current generation of minis, but all of the last-gen machines except the Mac Pro came with 32-bit drivers only on the installation disks.

You can "acquire" the 64-bit Mac Pro drivers from your favourite shady software download location. As far as I know, they're not available on Apple's site; the only thing offered there is the Boot Camp upgrade for 64-bit (though truthfully, it's been 6 months since I checked, so that all may have changed).
 
DannySmurf said:
I don't know about the current generation of minis, but all of the last-gen machines except the Mac Pro came with 32-bit drivers only on the installation disks.

You can "acquire" the 64-bit Mac Pro drivers from your favourite shady software download location. As far as I know, they're not available on Apple's site; the only thing offered there is the Boot Camp upgrade for 64-bit (though truthfully, it's been 6 months since I checked, so that all may have changed).
Click to expand...

Thanks. That was my question--where do you get the 64-bit drivers from? Is there any other way (except the one you pointed out) to obtain the 64-drivers needed to run Vista-64 on the mini? I'd prefer to obtain the drivers legally.
 
JKK4 said:
Thanks. That was my question--where do you get the 64-bit drivers from? Is there any other way (except the one you pointed out) to obtain the 64-drivers needed to run Vista-64 on the mini? I'd prefer to obtain the drivers legally.
Click to expand...

Not that I'm aware of. Like I said, the 2.1 64-bit upgrade is available for download from Apple, but this won't install anything unless you've already got 64-bit drivers on the system.

Your other alternative is to install regular 64-bit drivers for everything. The main reason I needed this for my MacBook was the trackpad. In the mini, aside from Wifi and Bluetooth, everything should be standard parts; it would be tedious (but not difficult) to find individual drivers for everything, if you can live without the wireless stuff.
 
JKK4 said:
Really? That would be fantastic, but where do you have this information from?
Click to expand...

They are on the disk. Vista 64 works fine here. But the installer on the disk will tell you that x64 is not supported. Go to the subfolder of the disk and there you will find drivers labeled x64. Network, Nvidia chipset and graphics, all are available and working on a new mini here!
 
cv01 said:
They are on the disk. Vista 64 works fine here. But the installer on the disk will tell you that x64 is not supported. Go to the subfolder of the disk and there you will find drivers labeled x64. Network, Nvidia chipset and graphics, all are available and working on a new mini here!
Click to expand...

Thanks very much! But how did you manage to install Vista-64 on your new mini if the installer claims that x64 is non supported?
 
DannySmurf said:
Your other alternative is to install regular 64-bit drivers for everything. The main reason I needed this for my MacBook was the trackpad. In the mini, aside from Wifi and Bluetooth, everything should be standard parts; it would be tedious (but not difficult) to find individual drivers for everything, if you can live without the wireless stuff.
Click to expand...

I presume that by "regular" drivers, you mean the ones that Microsoft includes with Vista 64? And you reckon that everything apart from wireless communications should work anyway, with no additional drivers needed from Apple, correct?
 
JKK4 said:
I presume that by "regular" drivers, you mean the ones that Microsoft includes with Vista 64? And you reckon that everything apart from wireless communications should work anyway, with no additional drivers needed from Apple, correct?
Click to expand...

Correct. When I first installed Vista x64 on my MacBook (with generic drivers), everything worked for me out of the box, except the trackpad, Bluetooth and camera. I would expect your post-install situation on a mini to be similar (except, of course, your mini has neither a trackpad nor camera, so fewer things not working).
 
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