MBP Windows OS Bootcamp Issues & Questions

[therealdeal]

Hello forum,

I have noticed that 64-bit editions of Microsoft Windows take a *long* time to boot up. I have tested 32-bit editions and they don't take nearly as long, but then again they only see about 2.8 GiB of my 4 GiB of RAM. I really need to use Windows so that I can play my favorite games, but the startup time is just unbearable. Unfortunately, as someone with some technical knowhow, this looks incapable of being solved. Still, I'd like to hear from some Mac gurus about it.

To note, I tested the Windows 7 Ultimate OS editions, using Bootcamp and it's accompanying drivers, on my 2010 Baseline 13' MacBook Pro 13', which is my first(!), and recently acquired(!) Mac.

Another issue I experienced in my various attempts and do-overs of Windows re-installs, is that, once again, the 64-bit edition gives me some trouble. When Windows is first installed, it freezes on the boot-up immediately after I install the various Bootcamp drivers, while it appears to be installing the MCP89 drivers. This has completely botched some of my Windows installs on the machine, somehow rendering it unable to advance past the UI initialization loading screen. 32-bit doesn't seem to give me so much trouble, and Windows XP installs seem to go absolutely perfect.

My last query is how can I install Windows OS'es natively on a Mac, and have it feel like a Windows-based PC? (If even possible. [Especially the boot-up process])
EDIT: For clarity, I mean without Mac OS X at all, making Windows the only OS, and giving me a Windows-PC experience...

I actually do like Mac OS X, really, but constantly switching Os'es annoys me. I figure, if I spend 99% of my time on one OS, I might as well use it as my sole OS anyhow.

Please, please, offer me some more technical viewpoints on my issues, not just some frivolous post-count increment-er. I really do appreciate you guys though, helping me for free.

Sincerely ,

--Andrew

 

[balamw]

My last query is how can I install Windows OS'es natively on a Mac, and have it feel like a Windows-based PC? (If even possible. [Especially the boot-up process])
EDIT: For clarity, I mean without Mac OS X at all, making Windows the only OS, and giving me a Windows-PC experience...

There are many folks doing just that and many threads already dedicated to it. Unless you need to free the disc space used by Mac OS there is no difference between a Windows only vs dual boot configuration.

My i5 Dell running W764 takes a long time to boot too, and I don't think my 2009 MBP boots significantly slower than that?!?

B

 

[therealdeal]

There are many folks doing just that and many threads already dedicated to it. Unless you need to free the disc space used by Mac OS there is no difference between a Windows only vs dual boot configuration.

My i5 Dell running W764 takes a long time to boot too, and I don't think my 2009 MBP boots significantly slower than that?!?

B

I had a Netbook, with obviously significantly lower specifications, and it loaded Windows 7 Ultimate x86 about twice as fast...

Bootup time, especially when dealing with Windows, can mean quite a lot, since it often requires reboots.

Thanks for your reply though...

 

[balamw]

Bootup time, especially when dealing with Windows, can mean quite a lot, since it often requires reboots.

LOL. And you want this to be your default/main OS?

How long are we talking here for your MBP to boot.

B

 

[therealdeal]

[sarcasm]
What a wonderfully helpful post!
[/sarcasm]

Indeed, I want it to be my main OS. For reasons stated above...
To re-iterate, I spend most my day using a few Windows-only games. I also love Microsoft's Visual C++ IDE/Compiler. (As compared to XCode.)

The boot-up time is ~2:30. The majority of the time is with a blinking white underscore in the upper-left corner on a black background. Physical examination during the aforementioned problem leads me to believe the machine is literally sitting there I/O idling...

Thanks...

 

[balamw]

My main computers are Macs, my OS is OS X precisely because Windows on any hardware is less than optimally stable. I spend a fair amount of time in W7, both on my Macs and on various PCs and spend a lot of time here helping folks like you.

After spending about a year with my MBP dual booting as my main W7 box, I broke down and got a Dell laptop for work to avoid dual booting. It's still less than perfect. EDIT: Had to reboot for updates and it gets to the login prompt in ~1:30 so 2:30 does seem out of line.

The boot-up time is ~2:30. The majority of the time is with a blinking white underscore in the upper-left corner on a black background. Physical examination during the aforementioned problem leads me to believe the machine is literally sitting there I/O idling...

Search for "black/blank screen white cursor" in the forums there are plenty of threads with similar issues. e.g. https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/834684/ one of those reported "improved" boot times of 2:30.

There are many things you can try in those threads. Some hardware, some software...

EDIT: This is not a Mac specific problem: http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=windows+7+slow+boot+"black+screen"+site:sevenforums.com

B

 

[therealdeal]

2:30 is super slow for me.
On my netbook I could get a 10 second boot-up into GNOME with Arch Linux and a custom kernel.
Great links though, will definitely check 'em out later this afternoon and post my results.

G'day and Thanks balamw

--Andrew

 

[Nordichund]

If I were you I would just go Windows because that clearly seems to be your favourite OS.

Personally one of the main reasons I quite Windows for Mac was because of how long the PC would take to boot up when all the software was installed that I used. It took ages. Rebooting was worse after it crashed. I really don't miss WINDOZE.

 

[eves-son]

windows 8 natively on mbp 2010

Hello everyone.

As the title suggests, I have installed windows 7 and windows 8 on my 2010 17" MBP, on a Corsair Force Series 3 SSD. Both installations were without boot camp. I followed the instruction here http://derekhat.com/install-vista-on-a-macbook-without-bootcamp/.

The win 7 installation has absolutely no problems. Everything works as expected and it is quick.

Windows 8 also runs flawlessly, or as flawlessly as a release preview can be.

I have 2 problems, 1 regarding boot up time , the other regarding shutting down win 8.

1. When I start the machine, I hear the sound that lets me know it is a mac I just turned on. Then about 35 seconds go by, with just a grey screen showing, before I see the black dos screen with a white cursor of DOS. I am not sure whether this is supposed to happen, but it seems as lengthy a boot as under boot camp and rEFIt.

2. When I shut down win 8, the machine does not turn off. The back light remains on. This only happens with win 8. I think it goes to sleep.

Does anyone have any experience with windows natively on a mac? Is this startup normal with an SSD?

How do I fix the shut down issue with win 8?

Thanks.

Oh! I almost forgot. For those of you about to accuse me of blasphemy for the sin of separating mac hardware from OSX, I bought 2 SSDs, and OSX is alive and thriving on the other one.

Finally, what version of boot camp comes with Mountain Lion? I ask because I am wondering whether the drivers in that version of boot camp would resolve some of the problems described here.

Thanks again.

 

[tillsbury]

Something's probably broked. On this rMBP, Windows 7 (64-bit Professional) takes about 14 seconds to boot from selecting "Windows" under the bootcamp menu, to being responsive to mouse actions. This is about the same time it took from power-on on my old Windows desktop.

This link shows in detail how to set up an event log which will let you identify exactly what is taking the time during your bootup. I haven't tried it on a Mac but don't see why it shouldn't work. It was very useful to me when I had a PC.

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/wi...down-issues-that-cause-slower-boot-times/3253