Late 07' Macbook and windows 7 or even 8

[comda]

Greetings Macrumors,

As many of you know my daily driver is still a Macbook 3,1 non unibody macbook driven by a Core 2 Duo 7400 CPU, 4Gb of DDR2 RAM, a 240Gb Kingston Solid state drive and snow leopard with TRIM enabled.

Over the summer i wish to perfect a MLPOSTFACTOR install of Mountain lion on it but i would like to fit a windows partition on the boot camp side aswell. Currently i have used 105Gb of my 240Gb. My delema lies here.

Firstly. Has anyone used bootcamp on one of these through Mountain lion or should i set up bootcamp while in lion still before i make Mountaion lion?

The 64/32 bit issue. I had windows 7 Home Premium 32bit running as the snow leopard disk did not have 64bit drivers for my system. But i know for a fact that the 7400 C2D is and can do 64bit. Hell my second Pc is an Old Lenovo mini tower running a 4300 C2D 1.8Ghz and i run 64 bit windows 7 home on it. I have heard reports of some people getting the drivers for these systems because that was my issue. The install CD told me this machine wont do 64bit which it will and it did. Drivers was my issue. Couldnt i get the drivers separately from the installer files or what?

Yeah i know this machine is getting old, however im only 19 this was and is my first ever laptop, being short on cash and over the last 7 years owning it i've grown quite attached. Im running Snow Leopard right now but ill install lion when i want to do mountaion lion on this unsupported macbook!

Long story short, can i get windows 7 or 8 64bit working on this machine? when i try and boot off the 8 DVD i get an option menu and cant select anything. so can i install 7 then upgrade it to 8?

 

[Altemose]

Apple does not officially support 64 bit versions of Windows on those MacBooks. That being said, you may be able to install the appropriate Boot Camp software for the 32 bit version on the 64-bit copy of Windows from here.

 

[comda]

Apple does not officially support 64 bit versions of Windows on those MacBooks. That being said, you may be able to install the appropriate Boot Camp software for the 32 bit version on the 64-bit copy of Windows from here.

Yeah. I know apple does not support this, but im sick of apple being a controlling company. This machine is MORE then capable of doing tasks today. Im sick of apple being controlling and cutting support for MORE then capable machines. I need this machine to last me through University and i will give this a shot.

However since it wont boot from the windows 8 machine is it possible to maybe try to install 7, then do an upgrade install to 8 while using the drivers from 7?

 

[Altemose]

Yeah. I know apple does not support this, but im sick of apple being a controlling company. This machine is MORE then capable of doing tasks today. Im sick of apple being controlling and cutting support for MORE then capable machines. I need this machine to last me through University and i will give this a shot.

However since it wont boot from the windows 8 machine is it possible to maybe try to install 7, then do an upgrade install to 8 while using the drivers from 7?

I bet this has to do with the theoretical 4 GB limit. At the time, Windows Vista was the only mainstream 64-bit release of Windows and it was kind of a mess. Windows XP 64-bit never took off enough for Apple to support it. I think the reason why they only made 32 bit support software for this MacBook is due to their 4 GB maximum RAM specification (which is really 6 GB) coupled with the fact that most did not want or need Windows Vista 64-bit.

I just did some research on the matter for you. Some have stated that they got Windows 7 64-bit running and the Boot Camp software I linked to installed. However, they state that it does not run properly and is rather buggy. You may be able to piece meal the Boot Camp software by only using the Apple software for the iSight camera, trackpad, Boot Camp Control Panel, etc. and using OEM drivers for the other parts like the AirPort card (most are generic Broadcom chipsets), GPU, chipset, etc. The other option is to load a 32-bit copy of Windows, which should be just fine since you only have 4 GB of RAM. Windows 8 comes in a 32-bit edition as well, so you may be able to use the Boot Camp 4 software I linked to under Windows 8 as well.

 

[comda]

Yeah i only do have 4gb of RAM. But in 32bit doesnt that mean i will only use 3.5GB? Wont 64bit edition of windows run faster on this machine as it will take advantage of the hardware? Isnt a Core 2 Duo at 2.2GHz with a 4mb Cache 64bit anyways?

And as for the drivers, maybe if i individually installed the drivers for the isight, and track pad and do the rest of the drivers from OEM, but take a newer version of bootcamp that has 64bit and just use it to install the keyboard shortcuts? (ie the volume control brightness etc)

And as for the windows, The system refuses to boot from the windows 8 DVD. The selection screen is from that and both options give me that black screen with the selection but i cant do nothing. Its a Legal windows disk so i know its the macbooks firmware that isnt liking it.

Do you think an upgrade from 7 to 8 will work bypassing the macbooks firmware?

 

[Altemose]

Not sure why you would want Windows 8 over Windows 7. Not sure that it would run better as I found the 64 bit version to be more RAM hungry.

 

[BrettApple]

I had Windows 8.1 64bit working on a 2008 model. But it was a complete pain and wasn't 100% with the drivers. So you can,

In the end I went back to my Snow Leopard and Windows 7 32bit combo. It works perfectly fine, and is completely supported under Boot Camp 4. All drivers work perfectly.

Sure it couldn't use ALL my RAM like X64 did, but I really didn't need it to. I ran only a few simple programs.

On my Late 2008 model I kept 64 bit Windows 7 on there for 6 years and never had a single issue. It wasn't "officially supported" but the Mid 2009 MBP was almost IDENTICAL, so you just had to bypass Apple's little system checker and it installed everything just fine.

But the late '07/early '08 are much different. Keep Win 7 32 and you'll be fine.

 

[comda]

I had Windows 8.1 64bit working on a 2008 model. But it was a complete pain and wasn't 100% with the drivers. So you can,

In the end I went back to my Snow Leopard and Windows 7 32bit combo. It works perfectly fine, and is completely supported under Boot Camp 4. All drivers work perfectly.

Sure it couldn't use ALL my RAM like X64 did, but I really didn't need it to. I ran only a few simple programs.

On my Late 2008 model I kept 64 bit Windows 7 on there for 6 years and never had a single issue. It wasn't "officially supported" but the Mid 2009 MBP was almost IDENTICAL, so you just had to bypass Apple's little system checker and it installed everything just fine.

But the late '07/early '08 are much different. Keep Win 7 32 and you'll be fine.

Do you mind me asking how you bypassed apples little system checker? the only idea i had was to install all the drivers manually and get some from OEM? IS this what you did? And is Snow leopard even 64 bit? or it too is 32?

 

[BrettApple]

Sure! It was similar to this.

If you have encoutered the error “Boot Camp x64 is unsupported on this computer model” on an older model intel mac then do the following to get things installed:
Launch CMD.exe as an administrator. You can do this by right-clicking on it and selecting RUN AS ADMINISTRATOR or left-clicking on it while holding CTRL+SHIFT to do the same.
Traverse to your boot camp installation directory
Execute the following command: msiexec /i Bootcamp64.msi

Or by enabling the built in Administrator account in an elevated command prompt -

net user administrator /active:yes

and then running the bootcamp64 installer. Originally I ran the one off the Snow Leopard disk. But it's available for download on Apple's site too.

It's been a while, but I'd imagine it's pretty much the same. I upgraded myself to a Late 2013 13" rMBP last July when they were on sale at BestBuy. My brother still has my Late 2008 though. I just use Parallels for everything now. Win 7 and 8.1. I do web coding so I need IE to test in.

Only problem you might run into would be the Intel video driver from Apple not being 64bit. But you should be able to get them straight from Intel. It's just the GMA X3100. They have them in 64 bit.


As to Snow Leopard. It IS 64-bit, but the MacBook's boot into a 32bit kernel. It will still run 64bit apps and all, and it was for a good reason then. Mostly for compatibility. It is 64 bit though, yes. Unless you're running it on a 2006 Core Solo/Duo. But that isn't the case here.

One last addition, here is my Late 2008 MacBook (Alu/unibody) running Win 8 X64. Didn't keep it for long because I dislike Windows 8's UI, but it worked.

 

[comda]

Sure! It was similar to this.



Or by enabling the built in Administrator account in an elevated command prompt -

net user administrator /active:yes

and then running the bootcamp64 installer. Originally I ran the one off the Snow Leopard disk. But it's available for download on Apple's site too.

It's been a while, but I'd imagine it's pretty much the same. I upgraded myself to a Late 2013 13" rMBP last July when they were on sale at BestBuy. My brother still has my Late 2008 though. I just use Parallels for everything now. Win 7 and 8.1. I do web coding so I need IE to test in.

Only problem you might run into would be the Intel video driver from Apple not being 64bit. But you should be able to get them straight from Intel. It's just the GMA X3100. They have them in 64 bit.


As to Snow Leopard. It IS 64-bit, but the MacBook's boot into a 32bit kernel. It will still run 64bit apps and all, and it was for a good reason then. Mostly for compatibility. It is 64 bit though, yes. Unless you're running it on a 2006 Core Solo/Duo. But that isn't the case here.

One last addition, here is my Late 2008 MacBook (Alu/unibody) running Win 8 X64. Didn't keep it for long because I dislike Windows 8's UI, but it worked.

Image

Thanks for all the help guys. I will give this a shot next week once im done my assignments.
As for parrallels, im running windows XP, but this machine has a tendency to get really hot when using flash or anything graphic wise. Right now im at 50 Degrees celcius running fans at min 1800RPM.

I dont really have a current need for the bootcamp but when i had my old 750Gb seagate drive i had windows an an occasional PC game was nice. It ran quite well. With the SSD i have 134Gb free but i think i will make only a 60Gb partition...

My Macbook is a 3,1 Core 2 Duo. I think the E7400. I love this machine. Thanks for the help everyone. Ill post My Results end of the week..

Odd thing with these machines is in windows the display adapter shows 384mb VRAM. Cant wait to have a PC Macbook

Just for kicks after i get 64 7 working ill pop the 8 DVD and see if i can do an upgrade.. we shall see what happens.

 

[BrettApple]

Thanks for all the help guys. I will give this a shot next week once im done my assignments.
As for parrallels, im running windows XP, but this machine has a tendency to get really hot when using flash or anything graphic wise. Right now im at 50 Degrees celcius running fans at min 1800RPM.

I dont really have a current need for the bootcamp but when i had my old 750Gb seagate drive i had windows an an occasional PC game was nice. It ran quite well. With the SSD i have 134Gb free but i think i will make only a 60Gb partition...

My Macbook is a 3,1 Core 2 Duo. I think the E7400. I love this machine. Thanks for the help everyone. Ill post My Results end of the week..

Odd thing with these machines is in windows the display adapter shows 384mb VRAM. Cant wait to have a PC Macbook

Just for kicks after i get 64 7 working ill pop the 8 DVD and see if i can do an upgrade.. we shall see what happens.

No prob.

That's a pretty normal temp, and that is also the lowest speed the fan will go (as far as I know). So it's just idling. They'll get over 6,000 if things are getting too toasty.

I reapplied the thermal paste on mine and put a fresh install of Snow Leopard on it, nothing else other than Office, CS5 and Chrome. Worked like a charm.

Also look into AdBlock Plus and Flash Block. They will help tremendously with page load times and scrolling. Not to mention CPU usage and heat.

The SSD is already the single best thing you can do for it too.

 

[comda]

Alright. Because i did aswell replace the thermal compound on it before summer ended but i have a bad feeling i should redo it again. Then again when i had ML running on this it ran a LOT cooler cause of the newer software.. Tell you something, whoever this wayne fellow is that made MLPostFactor, if he made the drivers for the X3100, he did a better job then apple.

And yes. Loving the SSD. Question about that though. TRIM support.. Is that embedded with windows 7 Home premium? or do i need to install a driver or what?

 

[Altemose]

And yes. Loving the SSD. Question about that though. TRIM support.. Is that embedded with windows 7 Home premium? or do i need to install a driver or what?

Windows 7 natively enables TRIM on most SSDs without any action. You can verify if you are using TRIM under Windows with these instructions.

 

[comda]

Sure! It was similar to this.



Or by enabling the built in Administrator account in an elevated command prompt -

net user administrator /active:yes

and then running the bootcamp64 installer. Originally I ran the one off the Snow Leopard disk. But it's available for download on Apple's site too.

It's been a while, but I'd imagine it's pretty much the same. I upgraded myself to a Late 2013 13" rMBP last July when they were on sale at BestBuy. My brother still has my Late 2008 though. I just use Parallels for everything now. Win 7 and 8.1. I do web coding so I need IE to test in.

Only problem you might run into would be the Intel video driver from Apple not being 64bit. But you should be able to get them straight from Intel. It's just the GMA X3100. They have them in 64 bit.


As to Snow Leopard. It IS 64-bit, but the MacBook's boot into a 32bit kernel. It will still run 64bit apps and all, and it was for a good reason then. Mostly for compatibility. It is 64 bit though, yes. Unless you're running it on a 2006 Core Solo/Duo. But that isn't the case here.

One last addition, here is my Late 2008 MacBook (Alu/unibody) running Win 8 X64. Didn't keep it for long because I dislike Windows 8's UI, but it worked.

Image

Alright. I dont understand how this command line works.. The bootcamp files are on my flash drive. I used command to get to E\bootcamp.. BUt confused about what do next. the command didnt work. it said it did not find such directory.

As to the driver i have device manager full. The track pad is still a little buggy and the volume and brightness control doesnt work.

I did however get windows 8 pro running on this system.

 

[comda]

Alright. I actually managed to get everything 99% working in windows 8 Pro. The only thing that doesnt work which doesnt really bother me much is the fact that when i use the volume keys or brightness adjust it doesnt show the bar.

However the system runs exceptionally fast especially with my SSD. I might upgrade to 8.1 but for now im more then happy the system works!

My last question is the following: Is there a program similar to SMC Fan control? im not looking to control the fans as i am to see their speed and temp. So far i found Real Temp 3.7 to monitor my temperatures but what about fan speed? Any ideas?

 

[comda]

I'm not sure that it will run better than I found the 64-bit version is much RAM hungry.

Actually to my surprise it runs very well and smoothly. As you can see in the photo attached below im only using about 33% of my 4Gb Ram as i am download windows 8.1 from the Microsoft store, on the internet writing this post and doing some clean up of the system. This is Legit windows 8 Pro given by the school running in 64 Bit on my Macbook 3,1 from 2007. Im amazed of the speed.

For some reason when i tried to install windows my 64 bit legal windows 7 DVD gave me the same EFI boot screen without allowing me to install 64 bit. So to get windows 8 on this machine i used a Fixed windows 7 DVD that had both 32 and 64 bit windows and installed 64bit. then from there I installed windows 8.1 from a legit dvd and did an upgrade "without keeping anything". and did the upgrade.

Once i got into windows 8.1 and i couldn't install the bootcamp drivers even using the method provided by BrettApple. I got an error stating these are windows 7 drivers only. So i then used a windows 8 Pro disk and downgraded while in the OS. Once i got back into windows 8 Pro i activated windows and installed the bootcamp drivers. Everything works 99%. The only thing not displaying is the volume bar and brightness bar. But the keys themselves work.

Currently downloading updates and windows 8.1 through the store so i dont have to install drivers again. Hopefully everything works. If not ill just downgrade back to 8 and stay there.

Thanks for everyones help here! This machine can now live longer! With the 4gb Ram, SSD and soon using MLpostfactor this old timer will live on!