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Windows 7 Pro 64 Bit and Mac Pro 2006: EASY

R

Rad

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 8, 2006
130
14
:)

Just upgraded a bootcamp partition from XP Pro 32-bit to a Windows 7 64 bit clean install without any significant problem on my 2006 Mac Pro. The bootcamp partition was on a hard drive also containing a normal Mac partition. The onyly preparation that I did was make a copy of the Windows 7 Pro Update install disk via instructions found at:

http://jowie.com/blog/post/2008/02/...t-from-Vista-x64-DVD-burnt-from-iso-file.aspx

The ONLY issue was when the install program reboots during installation after booting from the DVD, I had to hold the "option" button on the keyboard to make sure it rebooted to the hard drive, rather than the DVD as it did the first time.

My startup time is about a minute. Windows recognized all 12 GB of memory. Runs REALLY well - better then Vista Ultimate I briefly installed when it first came out (Bill Gates Signature Edition no less!). Sound is finally is coming out of the Line Out jack - which I could never get XP to do. The volume is low, as others have reported. I just turn my speakers up - just turn them back down when I go back to Mac. I am going to install the latest RealTek audio drivers next:

http://www.realtek.com.tw/DOWNLOADS...=24&Level=4&Conn=3&DownTypeID=3&GetDown=false

I am using a Logitech Edge bluetooth keyboard via a small bluetooth dongle without any problem. I have a NVidia 8800 GT and Windows had no problem finding a driver for it. My dual 30" monitors work perfectly.

I am running a 64-bit version of Windows 7 on my "ancient" 2006 Mac Pro. It is very frustrating that Apple cannot be bothered to create a workaround so I can use Snow Leopard in 64-bit mode. I do intensive medical imaging-related work, as well as video and audio pro apps. Breaking the 4 GB per app barrier would be very helpful. It is ridiculous that Snow Leopard cannot take FULL advantage of my 64-bit computer (advertised as such) but Windows can! Of course I will use my Mac for most everything, but at lease now I can tap into all of the raw power my computer has, despite Apple's pathetic abandonment of my 2006 Mac Pro.
 
Ooh this is fun stuff! ! Woke up this morning (que the Sopranos music) thinking of doing just this very thing.

I succesfully installed W7 Pro (64-bit) on my 3 yr old Latitude D620 (that the MSFT support rep in India claimed would not let me install the 64-bit version). I got W7 for $30 by using my daughter's edu address -- hihi, such a deal

I'll report on my success/failure later today. Hell, even if I can't get it to activate on my MacPro, I'll just go ahead and buy another legit copy for $30, after I confirm that it runs on my Mac Pro.
 
I clean installed W7Pro64 on a fresh boot camp partition without any problems. Well, not quite. I don't have sound (yes, I did download the Realtek drivers), and I can't figure out how to make Windows see my internal drives (but I guess this was not possible even before W7). Other than that everything is performing just fine. Windows is seeing all of my RAM, I'm able to connect to the intrnet over my WiFi, my dual-monitor setup is working just as it does on the Mac side, I'm able to print.

I've gotta say that so far I'm liking what I see. I've only just begun expoloring, but I've already noticed some real nice touches, e.g., the visual (coverflow like) program switching (CMD-TAB). That said, I'm doing this mostly as a challenge and out of curiosity. I'm perfectly happy with OS X.
 
Rad said:
I am running a 64-bit version of Windows 7 on my "ancient" 2006 Mac Pro. It is very frustrating that Apple cannot be bothered to create a workaround so I can use Snow Leopard in 64-bit mode. I do intensive medical imaging-related work, as well as video and audio pro apps. Breaking the 4 GB per app barrier would be very helpful.
Click to expand...
Erm, unless I'm missing something, although we cannot boot into the 64-bit kernel, 64-bit apps can still use all the memory they want?

Anyway I've been running Win7 since the RC download became available without issue. Partitioned my Bootcamp drive (separate from my boot drive) and Windows dual-boots 7 and XP fine. Once I get a retail copy of 7 I'll probably wipe XP though.
 
Rad said:
… I am running a 64-bit version of Windows 7 on my "ancient" 2006 Mac Pro. …
Click to expand...

does Windows 7 x64 have a 64-bit kernel?

Rad said:
… Apple cannot be bothered to create a workaround so I can use Snow Leopard in 64-bit mode. I do intensive medical imaging-related work, as well as video and audio pro apps. Breaking the 4 GB per app barrier would be very helpful. …
Click to expand...

do you know that Snow Leopard is 64-bit on the application layer but by default the kernel is 32-bit? this still allows your system and applications to use more than 4 GBs of RAM. the 64-bit kernel will improve the addressing of more than 32 GB of RAM.

http://gizmodo.com/5343443/snow-leopard-currently-restricts-64+bit-booting-to-newer-macs
 
I installed MacDrive 8 and I'm now able to see my other internal drives. Is there any other way to trick Windows into seeing the rest om my Mac Pro? I already paid Mediafour $20 bucks to install MacDrive on my Dell laptop, and now they want me to pay again (probably $50, since I already upgradaed once from MacDrive 6) to load it on my bootcamped W7. I used to be able to install MacDrive 6 on any number of machines. Greedy bastards!

@apfhex
Do you have your audio working? What's the trick?
 
Sound

I have sound immediately after installing on my 2006 Mac Pro. I did not install any new drivers yet. Only the volume is low.
 
Rad said:
I have sound immediately after installing on my 2006 Mac Pro. I did not install any new drivers yet. Only the volume is low.
Click to expand...

It's working. I must have turned the volume down on my speakers instead of up earlier :) And oh, the level seems normal to me. I don't have to change it when going back to OS X.

Are you able to see the rest of your Mac Pro?
 
Devices

akadmon said:
It's working. I must have turned the volume down on my speakers instead of up earlier :) And oh, the level seems normal to me. I don't have to change it when going back to OS X.

Are you able to see the rest of your Mac Pro?
Click to expand...

One USB peripheral is not identified, but under device manager everything else has a driver including all motherboard components and networking, unlike Windows XP or Vista where I really needed Bootcamp drivers. The Mac Pro is really more generic than iMacs or MacBooks, which has Eyesights and touchpads, integrated graphics, etc. I just make sure I have a current Winclone backup in case I mess it up with some installation.
 
Since you've just installed windows 7 64 bit, do you mind checking how much space on the windows partition is used? Also could you check your system restore percentage, page file size, and hybernate file sizes?

Thanks.

Rad said:
:)

Just upgraded a bootcamp partition from XP Pro 32-bit to a Windows 7 64 bit clean install without any significant problem on my 2006 Mac Pro. The bootcamp partition was on a hard drive also containing a normal Mac partition. The onyly preparation that I did was make a copy of the Windows 7 Pro Update install disk via instructions found at:

http://jowie.com/blog/post/2008/02/...t-from-Vista-x64-DVD-burnt-from-iso-file.aspx

The ONLY issue was when the install program reboots during installation after booting from the DVD, I had to hold the "option" button on the keyboard to make sure it rebooted to the hard drive, rather than the DVD as it did the first time.

My startup time is about a minute. Windows recognized all 12 GB of memory. Runs REALLY well - better then Vista Ultimate I briefly installed when it first came out (Bill Gates Signature Edition no less!). Sound is finally is coming out of the Line Out jack - which I could never get XP to do. The volume is low, as others have reported. I just turn my speakers up - just turn them back down when I go back to Mac. I am going to install the latest RealTek audio drivers next:

http://www.realtek.com.tw/DOWNLOADS...=24&Level=4&Conn=3&DownTypeID=3&GetDown=false

I am using a Logitech Edge bluetooth keyboard via a small bluetooth dongle without any problem. I have a NVidia 8800 GT and Windows had no problem finding a driver for it. My dual 30" monitors work perfectly.

I am running a 64-bit version of Windows 7 on my "ancient" 2006 Mac Pro. It is very frustrating that Apple cannot be bothered to create a workaround so I can use Snow Leopard in 64-bit mode. I do intensive medical imaging-related work, as well as video and audio pro apps. Breaking the 4 GB per app barrier would be very helpful. It is ridiculous that Snow Leopard cannot take FULL advantage of my 64-bit computer (advertised as such) but Windows can! Of course I will use my Mac for most everything, but at lease now I can tap into all of the raw power my computer has, despite Apple's pathetic abandonment of my 2006 Mac Pro.
Click to expand...
 
I am looking to buy a Macbook Pro and run Windows 7 on it. Has anyone noticed if your computer has slowed down due to the partitioning of the OS's?
 
akadmon said:
I clean installed W7Pro64 on a fresh boot camp partition without any problems. Well, not quite. I don't have sound (yes, I did download the Realtek drivers), and I can't figure out how to make Windows see my internal drives (but I guess this was not possible even before W7). Other than that everything is performing just fine. Windows is seeing all of my RAM, I'm able to connect to the intrnet over my WiFi, my dual-monitor setup is working just as it does on the Mac side, I'm able to print.

I've gotta say that so far I'm liking what I see. I've only just begun expoloring, but I've already noticed some real nice touches, e.g., the visual (coverflow like) program switching (CMD-TAB). That said, I'm doing this mostly as a challenge and out of curiosity. I'm perfectly happy with OS X.
Click to expand...

Akadmon - I am desperate for your help. You've done what I've not been able to do, and I've been tinkering with this for over a year - off and on - there are many other aspects to my life than installing Win7 64bit onto my first gen MacPro ;)

I am a CSWP in SolidWorks, and my business relies on SW being up and running - efficiently. Having said that, I dread having to spend the bux on buying a full-blown PC system solely for use in SW, when I have an extremely capable MacPro for this task... Hardware rationale hence forth stated.

I'd really love to get SW into Win7 64bit - but when I try the install I get the Win Server error for these early Dual-cire Xeon processor MacPros...

1.
2.
Identify CD-ROM type: _


Like I said, I am desperate for technical assistance and you seem like an expert! Is there a way I can get in touch with you directly, perhaps via email, and discuss financial arrangements to compensate you for your time in assisting me with this task? I am serious about this invitation/request. I eagerly await your reply. Thanks in advance, MM007
 
Sound

I have a 2006 Mac Pro 3.0 quad with Windows 7 Pro 64-bit installed and everything works, including sound. Have you tried installing the 64-bit Bootcamp drivers? There are other threads discussing how to extract them since they normally will not run for our 2006 model. The only Windows update to stay away from is related to IDE drivers, which trashed my install and had to start over. otherwise it works perfectly.
 
Rad said:
I have a 2006 Mac Pro 3.0 quad with Windows 7 Pro 64-bit installed and everything works, including sound. Have you tried installing the 64-bit Bootcamp drivers? There are other threads discussing how to extract them since they normally will not run for our 2006 model. The only Windows update to stay away from is related to IDE drivers, which trashed my install and had to start over. otherwise it works perfectly.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your lightening-fast reply Rad - I sincerely appreciate that!

No, I haven't seen those threads, although I've downloaded (from Apple) every stinkin' driver and update for BootCamp, 32 & 64bit - v2.2-3.1. May I humbly ask, what search criteria would be most efficient, "64-bit Bootcamp drivers" ?

I had XP-Pro running quite nicely; very stable, etc. until I downloaded a BootCamp "update" from within Windows - about 2 months ago or so - then, no matter WHAT I did, I got a blue screen.

I finally bit the bullet and tried to clean-wipe-reload XP-Pro, and THAT won't go now, I'm getting a "hal.dll" missing or corrupt error msg.! I cannot boot off of the XP CD to repair that dll ! :mad::mad::mad::mad:

The other question/frustration I'm hitting is this: Any of the BootCamp driver updates I download from Apple are all for running within Windows, as .EXE files, so - and they're no use t me as I cannot boot into Windows. So, how can I upgrade or downgrade the BootCamp Assistant on the OS-X side of life?
 
I know this is an old thread now, but the links to modify a 64-bit windows install are long dead. Does anyone have an ISO already modified? I have a serial number for my machine already as I want to use 16GB RAM.
 
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