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Windows 7 Won't Complete Install on 27" iMac

mpuck972

mpuck972

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 31, 2007
400
0
So I just spent the past 5 hours trying to install Windows 7 via BootCamp on my new 27" iMac. It would get past the initial installation and then after the final reboot just before it runs off the hard drive and asks you for a serial number, the screen would go black and I couldn't do anything. So I found this solution here:

http://geekswithblogs.net/ajames/ar...an-imac-and-windows-7-rtm-ndash-and-have.aspx

Except the instructions on that site are for an iMac with an NVIDIA Graphics Card. The 27" iMac has an ATI card. So at step 6 I deleted the file named: ATIKMDAG.SYS from the same directory.

Then clicked restart and was able to finish through the install process.

Summary: (from a response below)
The way the iMac 27" DisplayPort works in the system, when installing windows it will output to BOTH the iMac screen and DisplayPort. When Windows 7 install is reaching a certain point it is making a choice as to which display it believes it the primary display. If you have a display plugged into your iMac's display port or have that ability you will see your install is working just fine, the problem is just that windows believes the active displayport on the back of the iMac is the primary display and moves all video to the port.. that is why you see a black screen. Rebooting and doing the driver deletion steps does work as it will allow windows to run on a generic driver unable to make that choice.

Note: you will need an additional monitor and a Mini-Display Port adapter to plug the monitor into the iMac to use the above method.

The BootCamp driver that loads only give a max resolution of 1980 X 1440 so everything looks stretched. Installing the ATI drivers from ATI did no good. (See the update below to fix this)

Also be aware that only the keyboard will be active during the install so you will need a usb mouse unless your really good at navigating Windows with only a keyboard.

UPDATE:

After installing Windows 7 if you run windows update there is an update available for the ATI card. Once installed and restarted the resolution is now fixed. When you go into the resolution settings in Windows 7 the display now shows up as a color LCD and the max available resolution is 2560 x 1440.
 
N

njl

macrumors regular
Mar 15, 2009
148
0
SAT
all i can say, as to the sound drivers, google that issue.. i had to install drivers for Win7 on my MBP, BUT i'm running it as a VM via Virtual Box..

good luck :)
 
mpuck972

mpuck972

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 31, 2007
400
0
njl said:
all i can say, as to the sound drivers, google that issue.. i had to install drivers for Win7 on my MBP, BUT i'm running it as a VM via Virtual Box..

good luck :)
Click to expand...

I manually ran the driver install files and then did a restart and the sound started working. Only two issues left in Windows device manager id the bluetooth usb hub, and the ati driver. Still stuck at the 1920 x 1440 resolution.
 
gasport

gasport

macrumors 6502
Mar 10, 2007
363
0
dukebound85 said:
apple has not provided support for windows 7 under bootcamp yet

theres a news article about it somewhere on these forums
Click to expand...

Has anyone installed Windows 7 on a 27" iMac in either VMWare Fusion or Parallels? I know VMWare is coming with a paid upgrade shortly and Parallels 5 is in Beta.
 
mpuck972

mpuck972

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 31, 2007
400
0
Updated first post with info on how to fix the resolution issue.
 
Eidorian

Eidorian

macrumors Penryn
Mar 23, 2005
29,190
386
Indianapolis
OP can you run CPU-Z and post the screenshots? You can open multiple instances and grab all of them instead of going tab by tab.
 
M

Mork

macrumors 6502a
Jan 9, 2009
538
29
Why not install VM Fusion?

Wouldn't you want to run windows 7 (aka Vista, Service Pack 3) side by side with the mac and not have to "boot into it"?

- M
 
Heilage

Heilage

macrumors 68030
May 1, 2009
2,592
0
Windows 7 went into retail a few days ago, you can't expect Apple to have full support of it through Boot Camp just yet. They will problaby release some new drivers and an update of sorts to fix all these small issues. :)
 
Captain Spekkie

Captain Spekkie

macrumors member
Oct 24, 2009
44
4
The Netherlands
Hi Guys,

Had the same issue last night when i was installing Windows 7 on my2 day old 27 inch iMac.

Had to finish the installation through Parallels and then reboot. Finally went to the safe mode of W7 and there i changed the driver to a standard VGA one.

Once booted into normal windows with picture, i downloaded the latest drivers off the ATI.com website. Worked like a charm.

The sound can be fixed by deleting the drivers and then let Windows sort it out. It will install a windows default driver that works.

Only thing i cant en will not fix is the bluetooth. 1, because there is no driver or i haven't found it yet and 2, the keyboard and mouse are now controlled through the EFI.

Oh yeah, i noticed a little bug!
When in Windows 7 and you play a game @ let say 1920x1080 because the game cant handle 2560x1440 and then quit it. The screen is distorted.
The lower part is on the top and vice versa.
Only way to set it right is go into the settings and change resolutions a few times.

Well i hope we can all find some solutions for these problems.

Greatings,
Patrick
 
M

macaddiict

macrumors regular
Oct 22, 2005
146
193
Albuquerque, NM
I had the same problem with the Win7 install ending with a black screen and nothing else on my base 27" iMac. I had an external display available, so I plugged it in... lo and behold Win7 was using the external screen and didn't seem to "see" the internal LCD. Weird. A quick visit to Windows Update fixed that in minutes.

So, if you don't have a VM solution to finish the Win 7 install, you can also use an external display.

Thanks so much for your post. I was starting to go crazy trying to figure it out!
 
R

robbr2084

macrumors newbie
Oct 26, 2009
4
0
Still Having Problems

Hi all, I have the brand new iMac 27" with the ATI card in it.

I tried installing Windows 7 Professional x64.

I ran into the black screen problem also.

First I tried deleting the ATIKMDAG.SYS file as recommended.

I know see the screen, but Windows puts up a dialog a few seconds later: An unexpected error has occurred. Windows 7 setup cannot continue. Click ok to reboot and restart Windows 7 setup.

I then put the ATI driver back into the \windows\system32\drivers folder and tried the plug in a second monitor suggestion. That also worked to the extent that I got to see video, but the same error dialog pops on screen and hosed me from completing the install.

Ack! Any help!?

thanks,
-robb
 
R

robbr2084

macrumors newbie
Oct 26, 2009
4
0
Windows 7 32-bit Works, 64-bit DOES NOT WORK

I have an MSDN subscription, so I have the luxury of trying out various build of Windows 7 to test on the new iMac 27".

I tried a clean install of Windows 7 Professional 64-bit, four times. It fails the same way everytime. (after solving why it goes black when nearly finished).

I did however, successfully install Windows 7 Professional 32-bit on the same new machine. No problems (black screen aside).

Bottom line, something causes Windows Setup to fail when it's on the last reboot prior to finishing the setup.

-robb
 
T

tlou37

macrumors newbie
Nov 3, 2009
1
0
edit: never mind.
 

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G

GFitz

macrumors newbie
Nov 19, 2009
1
0
jbyckowski said:
Ok, I know the initial post claimed it was an nvidia driver being installed or whatever, and the extra step of deleting the ati driver that is installed will work, however there is NO problem with the windows install itself at all. The way the iMac 27" DisplayPort works in the system, when installing windows it will output to BOTH the iMac screen and DisplayPort. When Windows 7 install is reaching a certain point it is making a choice as to which display it believes it the primary display. If you have a display plugged into your iMac's display port or have that ability you will see your install is working just fine, the problem is just that windows believes the active displayport on the back of the iMac is the primary display and moves all video to the port.. that is why you see a black screen. Rebooting and doing the driver deletion steps does work as it will allow windows to run on a generic driver unable to make that choice.

Bluetooth keyboard and mouse should be working fine although in windows you cannot add new devices until the driver issue there is fixed.

The sound driver can be fixed as stated earlier in this thread by deleting the CirrusLogic driver and just allowing windows to use it's own driver.

As other things come up I will post them here for everyone.

Jake Byckowski
System Tech., Intelligent Design
Click to expand...


So, are you saying that deleting the driver is an unnecessary step, and that plugging in an external monitor is all that is required?

I tried last night to install Windows 7 and received the same blank screen as everyone else and found this thread this morning. I think I'll try the second monitor method without deleting the drivers and re-post my results. Has anyone else tried this?

Gregory Fitzgerald

UPDATE:

I was able to install Windows 7 - 32 bit via bootcamp by using a second monitor. I did not delete any drivers or have to do anything else but follow the bootcamp instructions. At the end of the install Windows automatically installed the new ATI driver, so I did not even need to download it manually. I did run into some problems installing the Bootcamp drivers via my Snow Leopard disc, so am waiting until Apple updates its support for Windows 7.
 
mpuck972

mpuck972

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 31, 2007
400
0
jbyckowski said:
Ok, I know the initial post claimed it was an nvidia driver being installed or whatever, and the extra step of deleting the ati driver that is installed will work, however there is NO problem with the windows install itself at all. The way the iMac 27" DisplayPort works in the system, when installing windows it will output to BOTH the iMac screen and DisplayPort. When Windows 7 install is reaching a certain point it is making a choice as to which display it believes it the primary display. If you have a display plugged into your iMac's display port or have that ability you will see your install is working just fine, the problem is just that windows believes the active displayport on the back of the iMac is the primary display and moves all video to the port.. that is why you see a black screen. Rebooting and doing the driver deletion steps does work as it will allow windows to run on a generic driver unable to make that choice.

Bluetooth keyboard and mouse should be working fine although in windows you cannot add new devices until the driver issue there is fixed.

The sound driver can be fixed as stated earlier in this thread by deleting the CirrusLogic driver and just allowing windows to use it's own driver.

As other things come up I will post them here for everyone.

Jake Byckowski
System Tech., Intelligent Design
Click to expand...

I update the original post because people are still searching for this problem, and your solution is much easier as long as you have an extra monitor and a display adapter.
 
Uncle Pinny

Uncle Pinny

macrumors regular
Jul 15, 2008
122
11
London
Anyone point me in the right direction to sort out the screen resolution problem? Still only getting 1920 1080.

Installed via Bootcamp and everything seems fine. Black screen issue was there but as I have my TV plugged in I just used that to complete the install. Bluetooth sorted by disabling it's power management.

Installed the latest ATI drivers from their website which seem a newer version that those on the OSX install disc. Still no luck.
 
W

wodeh

macrumors regular
Nov 18, 2007
223
0
Norwich
Happy times!

Has anyone successfully installed Windows 7 64 bit via bootcamp?

Has anyone successfully installed Windows 7 via bootcamp and also booted the same installation in Parallels 5 and successfully activated?

I would, preferably, want to install Windows 7 64bit, and then use it also as a Parallels VM for those little things that don't need a reboot- that said, I've got a license spare if separate installs are necessary. This used to work fairly well with XP and Parallels 4.

I'm tempted to just shove it in a VM for now, and wait until official Bootcamp support arrives before installing Win7.
 
Uncle Pinny

Uncle Pinny

macrumors regular
Jul 15, 2008
122
11
London
wodeh said:
Happy times!

Has anyone successfully installed Windows 7 64 bit via bootcamp?

Has anyone successfully installed Windows 7 via bootcamp and also booted the same installation in Parallels 5 and successfully activated?
Click to expand...

Installed via bootcamp, yes. That's what this thread is about. All good apart from the resolution issue mentioned above.

I'm accessing my bootcamp partition via VMware Fusion 3
 
mpuck972

mpuck972

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 31, 2007
400
0
Uncle Pinny said:
Anyone point me in the right direction to sort out the screen resolution problem? Still only getting 1920 1080.

Installed via Bootcamp and everything seems fine. Black screen issue was there but as I have my TV plugged in I just used that to complete the install. Bluetooth sorted by disabling it's power management.

Installed the latest ATI drivers from their website which seem a newer version that those on the OSX install disc. Still no luck.
Click to expand...

Did you run Windows Update? I tried to google around to find the specific update number, but couldn't find anything for you. But the update solved my issue.
 
Uncle Pinny

Uncle Pinny

macrumors regular
Jul 15, 2008
122
11
London
mpuck972 said:
Did you run Windows Update? I tried to google around to find the specific update number, but couldn't find anything for you. But the update solved my issue.
Click to expand...

Yeah but no updates were found. Maybe that's cause I downloaded the most recent driver from the ATI site.
 
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