Mac/Windows Problem.. help!

[jdsolo]

So I installed Windows Vista a while back using Boot Camp. Then a new version of BC came out and it required me to upgrade. I did not and haven't used it in months.

But for some reason, stupid me, this morning I wondered what would happen if I started Windows upon restarting so I went to System Preferences and had the computer restart using the partitioned Windows.

Now it's restarting and going to the Windows screen where it says "Safe Mode", "Start Windows Normally", etc etc.. every time I choose an option it restarts and goes back to that screen.

I've tried putting in a Windows reinstallation disc but it hasn't worked.

ANY help would be appreciated! I'm deployed in Afghanistan and it's my only source of comfort lol

 

[Grannyville7989]

So you've tried reinstalling Windows from scratch and it has not solved the problem?

 

[Baby Mac]

You should be able to get out of the loop by hitting the button (maybe the Windows or Mac key on the keyboard) when the computer restarts to get the boot option and go back into the Mac side. It sounds like you are stuck in a loop, but would like to go back to the Mac side if possible. Your other option is to change the order of the boot drive in the BIOS to an external drive and then perhaps you can restore your backup (got one?).

 

[jdsolo]

ok, I'll try holding down the mac button (it's a macbook pro) and see if it works.

The other option, how would I do that? And yes I have a backup harddrive that i used with Time Machine.

 

[Baby Mac]

Based on my PC experience, when the computer starts up, and then the BIOS look for attached hardware, you should have an option of pressing the delete key to enter the BIOS setup. From there, you can specify the boot order sequence, meaning which drive to try to boot from first, second, third...). After you get the computer booted up to the desired drive, I have to step aside because have not tried a restore myself on a mac, so I will leave that up to someone else to step you through it.

 

[jdsolo]

hm.. it's not working.. I hope I'm not screwed..

 

[balamw]

hm.. it's not working.. I hope I'm not screwed..

Did you hold down the Alt/Option button at boot? (Between Control and Command). The "Windows" or "Start" key usually maps to Command, not Alt/Option, and none of these keys have had apple's on them for a while... If you can't find it, there are other ways with a wired USB mouse or Apple remote.

Macs use EFI and don't have a BIOS per se, so you need to get back to OS X before you try anything else.

B

 

[jdsolo]

Holding down the Alt/Option worked! THANK YOU!!!!

 

[gugucom]

The reason for Windows not starting up is a probable overwrite of the AppleHFS.sys and the AppleMNT.sys files. You probably fixed the driver fault when you first installed Windows with Bootcamp. By updating from BC 3.0 to 3.1 the modified files will be overwritten again.

The only way I know to get Windows operational again would be editing the file names again in the Windows/System32/Driver directory. You can do this from OS X if you have access to the Windows NTFS partition. This would be possible with an NTFS driver. Paragon makes one that can be installed for a test period.