Boot Camp using Windows 8.1 .iso file?

[tuna]

I have an MSDN subscription so I was able to download an .iso file of Windows 8.1 (and I have valid license keys to go along with this).

What do I need to do with the .iso to prepare for installing Windows 8.1 using Boot Camp?

Burning a DVD would be straightforward but the relevant computer doesn't have an optical drive.

Do I need to make a bootable USB? How would that be done on a Mac computer?

Alternatively, can I just use the .iso in Boot Camp without any other preparation?

 

[TurnerMartin]

I have an MSDN subscription so I was able to download an .iso file of Windows 8.1 (and I have valid license keys to go along with this).

What do I need to do with the .iso to prepare for installing Windows 8.1 using Boot Camp?

Burning a DVD would be straightforward but the relevant computer doesn't have an optical drive.

Do I need to make a bootable USB? How would that be done on a Mac computer?

Alternatively, can I just use the .iso in Boot Camp without any other preparation?

Boot camp Assistant gives you the option to prepare a USB drive from there, you need obviously the .iso downloaded from your MSDN site.

Don't think you can bootcamp your mac using only the .iso image.

 

[tuna]

Boot camp Assistant gives you the option to prepare a USB drive from there, you need obviously the .iso downloaded from your MSDN site.

Don't think you can bootcamp your mac using only the .iso image.

Yeah since nobody was helping me last night I was doing some research on my own. Turns out that only Macs that don't come standard with optical drives support the "prepare Windows USB drive" option and then the eventual install from USB rather than from a DVD. Macs that come standard with optical drives only support installing Windows using an actual DVD. Which is a dumb arbitrary limitation, there are obviously several macs with optical drives that are newer than many of the earlier models to drop the optical drive.

I am trying to install this on a 2011 17" MBP, which came with a Superdrive, but I had taken it out to install an SSD .

On a different computer, a Macbook Air, I was just able to use an external USB Superdrive to create a Windows DVD from the .iso. On this separate computer it appears that Boot Camp Assistant recognizes the Windows DVD in the external Superdrive. I am hopeful that when I get home and am able to plug the USB Superdrive into the 17" MBP it too will recognize the Windows DVD. However I would also not be surprised if that didn't work either and it turns out that only Macs sans internal Superdrives support using an external superdrive.

 

[Fzang]

You can disable this nerf. Google "bootcamp plist hack". Involves something about changing some model numbers in the plist to spoof access to the feature.

 

[TurnerMartin]

Yeah since nobody was helping me last night I was doing some research on my own. Turns out that only Macs that don't come standard with optical drives support the "prepare Windows USB drive" option and then the eventual install from USB rather than from a DVD. Macs that come standard with optical drives only support installing Windows using an actual DVD.

Not really, Ive been using a MBP 13" Mid '11 with superdrive and the Windows USB drive has been always there.