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Partition won't show at load-in

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berryhedgehog

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 30, 2010
8
0
My friend is giving me his entirely legitimate key for Vista Ultimate 32 bit, but he and his disk are in the other hemisphere, so I am trying to install it from a flash drive.

I already set up the new partition, and it shows up in Finder; however, only my Mac partition shows at start-up (holding down alt/option). I think that this is because I stopped before the "install" step in Boot Camp Assistant; I can't continue using the assistant because it only looks for an installation disk, which I don't have. I've copied the .iso file into the partition and it's on my 8gb flash drive too. Any ideas on how to make the partition show when I start my computer?

inb4 "get a dvd" - I'm not buying a stack of DVDs to only use one unless it's the last resort.

Thank you :)
 
Which part explains how to boot from the flash drive? I already have the partition set up and the files on the flash, and after that the guide lost me. I'm not super-pro and I've never used command prompt before. Sorry, and thanks.
 
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berryhedgehog said:
Which part explains how to boot from the flash drive? I already have the partition set up and the files on the flash, and after that the guide lost me. I'm not super-pro and I've never used command prompt before. Sorry, and thanks.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, the command line stuff is what makes it bootable. Any command line happy friends?

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Are the Windows and Mac commands the same? Because the guide screenshots don't look like Mac. They probably are, and this is probably a silly question, but I'd really like to get this done myself.
 
berryhedgehog said:
Are the Windows and Mac commands the same? Because the guide screenshots don't look like Mac. They probably are, and this is probably a silly question, but I'd really like to get this done myself.
Click to expand...
No, they are Windows. You need a running Windows OS to get this to work. Good news is you can use VirtualBox/Parallels/VMWare Fusion and your ISO without a product key to follow the guide.

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But I only have Mac OS. That's why I'm trying to get Windows in the first place. Anything like this for Mac?
 
You have to use a windows OS to use the command line, or you will have to burn a dvd.
 
Simmity said:
You have to use a windows OS to use the command line, or you will have to burn a dvd.
Click to expand...

There are two ways to install Windows on a Mac. Native (i.e. Boot Camp) or Vitrualized (Virtualbox/VMWare Fusion/Parallels Desktop).

Since you don't have a Windows box, you can install twice. Once in a Virtualized environment so you can create a bootable USB media, and the second time from said bootable USB media.

Or, as Simmity says, you can burn the ISO to DVD, but you already said you didn't want to do that.

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I just don't want to buy a whole stack of DVDs if I'll only use one. And I can't save them for later or give them to a friend because I'm studying abroad and I don't have free luggage weight left.

Also it would be really neat to know how to do this from a usb drive for later, especially if I only have to make the usb bootable once.
 
Is it possible to boot the Windows to VirtualBox from my usb and maybe use it on trial? Or do I not even need the Windows os since all I need is the command prompt? And I imagine I won't be doing the partition stuff in VirtualBox - only making the usb bootable - so which commands do I type in to make my usb bootable for this specific bit of brain surgery?
 
If you have an ISO of Windows Vista or 7 you can use that in Virtualbox, Parallels Desktop or VMWare Fusion. Specifically, how you do that depends on which virtualization tool you pick. You can choose to create the virtual machine on your internal HDD or on an external USB drive.
berryhedgehog said:
so which commands do I type in to make my usb bootable for this specific bit of brain surgery?
Click to expand...
Just follow the guide I linked to. Step by step, from a virtual installation of Windows Vista or 7.

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Okay, I think I'm finally caught with what you've been saying all along, and I downloaded VirtualBox.

How do I get the iso to work from my usb? Maybe you can refer me to a link. If it's easier in one of the other two programs, just write/link me the instructions for that one and I'll download it, np.

I'm not sure why I'd need to go through the steps of partitioning the virtual setup, but I'll go along with it since making the usb bootable is mixed in there somewhere.
 
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