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Ok, here's my unformatted guide for Boot Camp. Please give it a read-through and let me know if you have any suggestions or corrections! Also, feel free to email me some screenshots to go along with this!

 

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Boot Camp

 

It’s essentially the best of both worlds. Thanks to Apple’s new beta version of “Boot Camp,” Intel Mac users can now install Windows right alongside OS X… meaning that compatibility on the Mac platform is now a moot point. In this guide, we’ll walk you step by step through the process. We’ve tried to make things as simple as possible, and if you have any questions along the way, feel free to head over to our Forum to find your answers.

 

What you’ll need to get started.

 

An Intel Mac with OS X 10.4.6 or higher

The latest Intel Mac firmware update

Licensed Copy of Windows XP Service Pack 2

A printed copy of this guide (so you can read it while your computer is off)

A black CD-R or CD-RW

At least 10 GB of free space

 

1. Back up everything.

 

Standard precaution, but one that is easy to forget. No matter how easy you think Boot Camp is to install (and it is easy), it’s always safest to have a nice backup of all your important files. Make one last browse through your important files to make sure you’ve got a spare of everything.

 

2. Ensure that your Mac is using just 1 partition.

 

Boot Camp needs a Mac with just one partition to work properly. We’re not sure why, but right now that’s the way its got to be. It’s still a beta, remember?

 

3. Create a firmware Restoration CD

Find the latest version here: http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/

 

Although “better safe than sorry” is a worn out cliché, it’s advice is sound… especially when working with firmware updates that could ruin your computer.

 

4. Update your firmware (if necessary)

Download Apple’s Firmware updater from here:

 

If your system needs updating, go ahead and install it onto your single Mac partition. You’ll need to shut down your computer (following the prompts) and carry out the instructions the firmware update application gives you. Make sure that you don’t interrupt the installation once you’ve shut it down and restarted – a mistake here could seriously damage your system. After the firmware is finished installing your Mac will reboot once again into OS X.

 

5. Download Boot Camp Assistant

Get your copy of the Boot Camp beta from Apple’s website. Remember, it’s just a beta, so there may be some bugs. (Fully supported Windows integration won’t come around until Leopard is released later this year).

6. Burn “Macintosh Drivers” CD

 

This is the CD that will help Windows recognize and use your Mac’s hardware. Don’t forget to label the CD, just so it doesn’t get lost in the sea of other unlabeled CDs lying around…

7. Set the partition sizes

 

2 Things to remember here:

 

1. The minimum size of your XP partition must be 10 GB. You can use more but not less.

2. When you’re installing XP you’ll be given the option of choosing a filesystem: FAT32 or NTFS. FAT32 is older but allows you to read and write to it from within OS X – if you opt for this one, make the XP partition size is no larger than 32 GB (the limit of what FAT32 can read). NTFS is newer and faster than FAT32 but cannot be written to from OS X – you can still access your Windows files, just not edit or create them.

 

8. Click “Start installation” after the partitioning is finished to begin setting up windows!

 

After clicking on the “start installation” button, your Mac will restart and flash a few different colors up on the screen. Next, you’ll be presented with the familiar blue screen of Windows. Don’t worry, though – it’s not the Blue Screen of Death. We can’t make any guarantees about seeing them after Windows is installed…

 

9. Install Windows Drivers

Once Windows is fully installed and your Mac (automatically) restarts into Windows, your first step should be to install those handy-dandy drivers for which you made the disk earlier. Locate that CD (see, we told you it would be wise to label it) and insert into your computer. The CD will install the necessary drivers and restart Windows. After logging into Windows again, follow the instructions in the “Found New Hardware Wizard” to complete the driver installation.

 

If you’re looking for a specific driver for some hardware, head over to our forum for the latest info. If you are looking to use Bluetooth in Windows, see this thread. (Our Bluetooth thread)

Also...

 

-Set startup disk

 

You can tell your Mac which operating system – Windows or OS X – to automatically choose when starting up. To do so, go to “System Preferences” in OS X and click on “Startup Disk.” Select either OS X or Windows.

 

-Choosing your OS at startup

 

If you’d like to choose between OS X and Windows as you are starting up your computer, simply hold down the Option key while booting to bring you to a menu with both operating systems listed. Just use the left or right arrow key to select the OS you want and hit Return.

 

Other Resources.

 

Apple’s Boot Camp Homepage

Apple’s Boot Camp FAQ

VersionTracker’s Boot Camp Resource Center

OSx86 Project Dual Booting Forum

Link to comment
https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/15927-boot-camp-guide-draft/
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Nice job with the guide. I hope to try it out soon when I get an Intel Mac.

 

I could be wrong, but I thought it needed 5GB minimum, not 10?

 

I agree with DaxTsurugi. I thought Windows only needs a 5GB partition. Isn't the boot camp default 5GB? I've installed XP on a 3GB but that was really small.

I could be wrong, but I thought it needed 5GB minimum, not 10?

The Boot Camp Assistant also requires that you leave at least 5 GB of free space on the Mac OS X partition after re-partitioning, so in total you need 10 GB free space before re-partitioning.

I just tried this, when partitioning with boot camp I got an error, and boot camp basically told me to restart the computer and repair my disk. You might want to add that when this happens after repairing the disk, you have to restart the computer into osx and repartition with boot camp. after repairing the disk I tried going strait to installing windows xp which was a waste of time :angel: .

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