Just bought a new 2011 Macbook Air, going crazy trying to get Windows 7 on it.. Help!

[n00b123]

Hey guys,

As the title implies, just got a new 2011 Macbook Air, I think it's a phenomenal computer. I've been using Lion for a few days now and although I like it, I need Windows 7 on it as well for some work related documents and other features. I know it is possible to have both OS's on it and I would like to do that, but I don't know how. I googled last night for hours on end to no avail, I really need help and don't know who else to turn to. We just got another computer as well, a Dell with Windows 7 already installed. I do not have the Windows 7 installation CD though. So my question is, how can I get the Windows 7 from the Dell onto my Macbook Air? Am I going to need a flashdrive to transfer it? Any responses would be greatly appreciated, thanks so much!

 

[MRU]

You can not.

That copy of Windows 7 is tied to the Dell.

You need a copy of Windows 7, you can download a Windows 7 trial (which you can then activate later with a serial number purchased from Microsoft) from Microsoft's own website.

This will give you a disc image.

You then use bootcamp assistant in the utilities portion on your application folder to install windows 7 and partition your hard drive.

You will need a USB thumbdrive, or an external CD/DVD drive.

The instructions are available within Bootcamp Assistant.

 

[Quad5Ny]

http://www.mydigitallife.info/official-windows-7-sp1-iso-from-digital-river/

You most likely want Home Premium x64.

Remember that after you install it, you only have 30 days to purchase a license key.

 

[n00b123]

Hey guys,

Thanks so much for all the responses, I appreciate it. What I've decided to do is to have both Windows 7 and Lion in a dual-boot scenario, and from my research I'm apparently going to have to use bootcamp to do this. But I still don't know what I'm gonna need exactly to do this. Obviously my macbook doesn't have an optical drive so how am I gonna install the windows 7 installation dvd onto it? And I don't even have a copy of Windows 7 yet, should I get the $200 one or the $100 OEM one, or should I download it online from the microsoft store to avoid the dvd hassle? I'm so confused right now as to how to go about this. Obviously i have the macbook air, and a 16gb usb sandisk flash drive that I just recently purchased. Can someone on here please walk me through this? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[Quad5Ny]

Did you not see the link I posted above? It has all the official ISO's (DVD Images).

Even if you were to buy a retail box version, you could use one those ISO to install. Boot Camp Assistant should walk you through making a bootable thumb drive to install Windows with.