Very simple Boot Camp questions

[doxavita]

a. First of all, to get started I should read this: http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/Boot_Camp_Install-Setup_10.6.pdf right? (I'll be installing Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit)

b. On page 8 under "Selecting and Formatting the Windows Partition"

To select and format the correct partition for Windows Vista or Windows 7:
1. Select “Disk 0 Partition 3 BOOTCAMP.”
2. Click “Drive options (advanced).”
3 Click Format, and then click OK.
4 Click Next.
The Windows partition is formatted using the NTFS file system.

So, Selecting “Disk 0 Partition 3 BOOTCAMP.” is the right thing to do, right? don't want to mess up my iMac, it's pretty much brand new, so I haven't messed up with any Partition/Hard Drive settings at all

c. Do you guys recommend calling AppleCare for further guidance along the way?


d. The installation of the drivers from the OS X disc, should be pretty easy and straightforward?

Haven't done this before, so your help will be really appreciated.

 

[balamw]

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Yes. Yes, though this may vary if your iMac has an SSD and HDD or if you are running Lion (with its new restore partition) Boot Camp Assistant will label it BOOTCAMP to help you find it. AppleCare is up to you, but be aware that Apple's support in this area is superficial to say the least. Installing the drivers from the OS X install disc is easy, it's the added complication of broken downloads that sometimes makes it harder than it should be.

Just have a good backup and you will be fine.

B

 

[doxavita]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8H7 Safari/6533.18.5)

Yes. Yes, though this may vary if your iMac has an SSD and HDD or if you are running Lion (with its new restore partition) Boot Camp Assistant will label it BOOTCAMP to help you find it. AppleCare is up to you, but be aware that Apple's support in this area is superficial to say the least. Installing the drivers from the OS X install disc is easy, it's the added complication of broken downloads that sometimes makes it harder than it should be.

Just have a good backup and you will be fine.

B

At what point does it check if I have the latest version of Boot Camp? and the drivers? (is it once Windows 7 has been installed, within Windows will that check take place?) I assume this should be simple like you say, I'll probably be doing this in the afternoon, and then link to parallels. I'll follow the exact instructions from that .pdf , I hope I don't encounter any complications...

 

[riptideMBP]

At what point does it check if I have the latest version of Boot Camp? and the drivers? (is it once Windows 7 has been installed, within Windows will that check take place?) I assume this should be simple like you say, I'll probably be doing this in the afternoon, and then link to parallels. I'll follow the exact instructions from that .pdf , I hope I don't encounter any complications...

after installing windows 7, you have to put in the osx install dvd to install drivers. once that is done, you can run apple software update in windows to make sure everything is up to date.

 

[doxavita]

after installing windows 7, you have to put in the osx install dvd to install drivers. once that is done, you can run apple software update in windows to make sure everything is up to date.

You guys went through all this before, and no problems?

 

[laurenr]

a.

Haven't done this before, so your help will be really appreciated.

Seeing as this is your first time doing the Windows setup, I have a guide that is far more detailed than the Apple PDF. Send me a PM if you need it. There are quite a few details in there, that would be of great help to you as a "first timer".

 

[doxavita]

Seeing as this is your first time doing the Windows setup, I have a guide that is far more detailed than the Apple PDF. Send me a PM if you need it. There are quite a few details in there, that would be of great help to you as a "first timer".

This is my first time installing Windows 7 through Boot Camp. I have done other Windows installations (like windows xp and vista) on other PC's, I assume the procedure should be simple, straightforward and intuitive. But thanks for the offering This should be something I can do myself, right?

 

[laurenr]

This is my first time installing Windows 7 through Boot Camp. I have done other Windows installations (like windows xp and vista) on other PC's, I assume the procedure should be simple, straightforward and intuitive. But thanks for the offering This should be something I can do myself, right?

There is a slight difference in the installation of the Windows OS on a Mac computer, as opposed to doing it on a PC. For instance, once you start the Windows 7 install, your computer will restart more than once. During one of these restarts, a message will appear to "press any key to start from the DVD or CD." It is very important that you ignore this, do NOT press ANYTHING, otherwise the computer will go into a constant loop, attempting to restart of off the Optical drive disk, when in actual fact, you want it to restart off your Hard Disk.

 

[doxavita]

There is a slight difference in the installation of the Windows OS on a Mac computer, as opposed to doing it on a PC. For instance, once you start the Windows 7 install, your computer will restart more than once. During one of these restarts, a message will appear to "press any key to start from the DVD or CD." It is very important that you ignore this, do NOT press ANYTHING, otherwise the computer will go into a constant loop, attempting to restart of off the Optical drive disk, when in actual fact, you want it to restart off your Hard Disk.

Thanks! I did not know that, anything else I should be aware of? I really hope this all goes smoothly...

 

[balamw]

Thanks! I did not know that, anything else I should be aware of? I really hope this all goes smoothly...

The press the any key to boot from CD one happens even on "PCs". It threw me for a loop when I fist tried Vista on a Dell many moons ago.

The main issue on the Mac is that you need to pay attention and boot from the right source, CD, HDD OS X, HDD Windows during the entire boot process. Esp. for those of us who bypass Boot Camp Assistant during the several times Windows expects to reboot to itself it ends up in OS X unless you hold Alt/Option during boot.

B

 

[doxavita]

Ohh my, this is getting trickier by the second. I'm right about to start doing all this procedures, wish me luck!

 

[laurenr]

Thanks! I did not know that, anything else I should be aware of? I really hope this all goes smoothly...

Just remember to IGNORE that message; it will disappear in a few seconds. Good luck with your install!