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rMBP running WIN7 bootcamp via USB 3.0 Flash Drive. Doable?

phyrexia said:
This is way wrong. I don't know if a MacBook will allow it, but you can certainly boot Windows from a USB flash drive.
Click to expand...

It's possible, but requires a LOT of modification - so it's not "way" wrong, its indeed the truth for most users out there. I'm sure there are some automated tools now, but the changes they do to the OS are still very deep.

The reason why you can't run Windows from a USB drive (as standard), is that the USB bus gets reinitialised upon the Windows boot up process. When that happens, communication between the drive and computer is killed and the boot up stalls, or most likely BSODs.

You have to modify the core OS to NOT reinitialise the bus. I remember doing this back in the days of Windows XP - you had to actually create a custom install disc as once the OS was installed, it couldn't be done. With Windows 7, I believe you can alter the OS once installed, then copy it to a USB drive.

Then there is still the case of will it work on the MacBook as you say.
 
Some findings.

I have a 2011 15" MacBook Pro. Connected the Seagate Thunderbolt adapter - used Winclone to clone my bootcamp image on the external.
Booted into windows and running great!

However, I tried to do the same on my rMBP. It would just show a blinking cursor. It wouldn't boot. The drive would be detected at start up as a pcix device but it just wouldnt boot. Tried both thunderbolt ports too, redid a clean rMBP clean install.

Will report my findings once I figure it out.
 
biohead said:
It's possible, but requires a LOT of modification - so it's not "way" wrong, its indeed the truth for most users out there. I'm sure there are some automated tools now, but the changes they do to the OS are still very deep.

The reason why you can't run Windows from a USB drive (as standard), is that the USB bus gets reinitialised upon the Windows boot up process. When that happens, communication between the drive and computer is killed and the boot up stalls, or most likely BSODs.

You have to modify the core OS to NOT reinitialise the bus. I remember doing this back in the days of Windows XP - you had to actually create a custom install disc as once the OS was installed, it couldn't be done. With Windows 7, I believe you can alter the OS once installed, then copy it to a USB drive.

Then there is still the case of will it work on the MacBook as you say.
Click to expand...

Interesting. I do not have knowledge this deep into the process. I was going by these websites... among those, Microsoft's own website, which seems to give you instructions to boot Win7 from USB. And so I assumed since MS says it can be done, it can be done. A leap of faith, I know ;)

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/...indows-7-installation-disc-or-USB-flash-drive

http://maketecheasier.com/boot-and-install-windows-7-from-usb-flash-drive/2009/01/23

http://arstechnica.com/business/2009/12/the-usb-flash-drive/

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...urjdBg&usg=AFQjCNHAhCVHuOrvQjjbvw62gSboMW3Fzw

http://techcrunch.com/2009/01/21/seven-steps-to-a-bootable-windows-7-thumb-drive/

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...urjdBg&usg=AFQjCNEyrAkfe8UEEBAO1THMWfhNAc6zHQ

etc...

since there are only 65 million google hits when you search for "boot win7 from usb" i figured it was a relatively common process ;)

My MBP won't boot from USB anything, and Apple made it so, so it's a moot ****ing point as far as I'm concerned.
 
phyrexia said:
Interesting. I do not have knowledge this deep into the process. I was going by these websites... among those, Microsoft's own website, which seems to give you instructions to boot Win7 from USB. And so I assumed since MS says it can be done, it can be done. A leap of faith, I know ;)

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/...indows-7-installation-disc-or-USB-flash-drive

http://maketecheasier.com/boot-and-install-windows-7-from-usb-flash-drive/2009/01/23

http://arstechnica.com/business/2009/12/the-usb-flash-drive/

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...urjdBg&usg=AFQjCNHAhCVHuOrvQjjbvw62gSboMW3Fzw

http://techcrunch.com/2009/01/21/seven-steps-to-a-bootable-windows-7-thumb-drive/

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...urjdBg&usg=AFQjCNEyrAkfe8UEEBAO1THMWfhNAc6zHQ

etc...

since there are only 65 million google hits when you search for "boot win7 from usb" i figured it was a relatively common process ;)

My MBP won't boot from USB anything, and Apple made it so, so it's a moot ****ing point as far as I'm concerned.
Click to expand...

Every single one of those links, links to how to INSTALL windows from a USB stick. Installing FROM usb, and installing TO usb are two very different matters :eek:

I am hearing more and more reports that it's certainly possible over thunderbolt though so that looks a good (albeit expensive) option.
 
biohead said:
Every single one of those links, links to how to INSTALL windows from a USB stick. Installing FROM usb, and installing TO usb are two very different matters :eek:
Click to expand...

Heh, you are correct. Live Windows CDs exist, though. Certainly they can boot via a USB disc drive? I make no real claims at this point. (I'm never wrong. I thought I was once, but I was mistaken...)

I am hearing more and more reports that it's certainly possible over thunderbolt though so that looks a good (albeit expensive) option.
Click to expand...


That's something I could dig. I have searched for a lazy method to install a boot camp partition, but it doesn't exist. I'd have to move my SSDs around, reinstall my optical drive...and I don't want to get 10 more FPS in Diablo that badly. VMs will work fine for development and office software for me ;)
 
biohead said:
Every single one of those links, links to how to INSTALL windows from a USB stick. Installing FROM usb, and installing TO usb are two very different matters :eek:

I am hearing more and more reports that it's certainly possible over thunderbolt though so that looks a good (albeit expensive) option.
Click to expand...

https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=15112885#post15112885

According to some people on there, booting is possible from a thunderbolt HDD, however it only seems to work on the standard MBP, and not the retina.
 
wiregen said:
Same here, like I said it works find and boots windows on a MacBook Pro.

When I try to do the same on the retina it just wouldnt boot. It has to be something in the lines of the controller on there.
Click to expand...

When trying from TB, did you try a new install of windows or only the cloned one?

A cloned install is unlikely to work, as the rMBP finally switches the SATA controller to AHCI in 'bootcamp', all previous gens ran in IDE emulation, and windows can't cope with this change automatically due to needing different driver. Though I believe it should result in a bluescreen not a blinking cursor, so perhaps it isn't the issue anyway.

It would be a real shame if you can't boot to windows via thunderbolt though, but I can't yet experiment myself.
 
iMacDragon said:
When trying from TB, did you try a new install of windows or only the cloned one?

A cloned install is unlikely to work, as the rMBP finally switches the SATA controller to AHCI in 'bootcamp', all previous gens ran in IDE emulation, and windows can't cope with this change automatically due to needing different driver. Though I believe it should result in a bluescreen not a blinking cursor, so perhaps it isn't the issue anyway.

It would be a real shame if you can't boot to windows via thunderbolt though, but I can't yet experiment myself.
Click to expand...

I can't select a new partition in bootcamp. It says it's not a valid GPT partition when I try to select the TB drive. Even when formatting it NTFS in the windows setup tool
 
Buffalo now has a 2.5" Thunderbolt HDD out now in 500 and 1TB. They only run around $200 with is pretty good for a TB drive. I am tempted to get one and try installing windows on it for my rMBP, doesn't look like anyone is have much success yet though.
 
seaagg05 said:
Buffalo now has a 2.5" Thunderbolt HDD out now in 500 and 1TB. They only run around $200 with is pretty good for a TB drive. I am tempted to get one and try installing windows on it for my rMBP, doesn't look like anyone is have much success yet though.
Click to expand...

This is a great drive. Also it is possible to swop out HDD for a 3rd party with a bit of effort.

Plus you get a USB 3.0 port for free. :D
 
seaagg05 said:
Buffalo now has a 2.5" Thunderbolt HDD out now in 500 and 1TB. They only run around $200 with is pretty good for a TB drive. I am tempted to get one and try installing windows on it for my rMBP, doesn't look like anyone is have much success yet though.
Click to expand...

I put a Samsung 830 256 gb ssd in the buffalo enclosure and installed win 7 via thunderbolt interface.
 
kimovski said:
So there is no way booting windows from usb port?
Click to expand...

No easy way. Here's the short version of the scoop. Apple does not support the full set of the EFI boot system. So windows USB boot systems will not work on a MAC. You cannot even boot your mac from a USB key to Install windows to the Bootcamp partition. (I have resorted to using a DVD- Yeah I know ). There are 3rd party tools that will extend the MAC EFI boot to allow for windows to boot from a USB stick for install, but I'm not going to recommend you try that.

It should also be noted that Microsoft does not recommend using a USB device as a boot volume in most cases. There are exceptions such as Windows to Go (even though it won't work on a MAC.) Windows sees USB drives as removable - it's not good to boot from a removable drive and in most cases the boot drive becomes the swap drive and that CANNOT be removed while Windows is running without very bad things happening.

Thunderbolt will fix all of this especially with Windows 8, even though you'll still have to install from a DVD.

Note: when I speak of what MACS will do, I am speaking generaly, some MACS (maybe including the rMBP are different)
 
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