Boot Camp without Boot Camp?

[GFLPraxis]

For some reason, the Boot Camp wizard is being retarded and refuses to partition my drive. This is a new hard drive I just installed in my MacBook and formatted and installed OS X clean on, yet it acts like I have some funky partition setup.

Could it be Parallels? I dunno.

Anyway, I have the Boot Camp driver CD and my Windows XP CD...is there any way to get XP running when the Boot Camp wizard refuses to partition the drive?

 

[gr8tfly]

Parallels doesn't partition your harddrive, so I can't see how that would affect the Boot Camp Assistant.

When you setup your new harddrive, what format did you specify? It should be GUID Partition Table, Mac Extended (Journaled).

In order to install XP, you will need a FAT32 or NTFS partition.

 

[millar876]

im having a similar problem. I wanted as bigger partition for bootcamp, so i mede a restore image of the old one (to an external HDD), used bootcamp assistant to "restore drive to one volume" (or whatever) restarted from the OSX install CD and used disc utility to repair permisions and the disk, restarted and asked buutcamp to partition me a 32GB drive and it said words to the effect of "unable to partition the drive, please use disk utility to restore the disk to one volume and try using bootcamp assistant again"

os10.4.9, and bootcamp 1.2 on my intel CD 2.0 20' iMac

 

[GFLPraxis]

Parallels doesn't partition your harddrive, so I can't see how that would affect the Boot Camp Assistant.

When you setup your new harddrive, what format did you specify? It should be GUID Partition Table, Mac Extended (Journaled).

In order to install XP, you will need a FAT32 or NTFS partition.

It is HFS+.

I'm a major nerd, so feel free to use the complex terms in me. I'll probably use FAT32 since OS X can read/write to it. Can I create a 30 GB FAT32 partition using Disk Utility and then install XP, or does it HAVE to be created in Boot Camp? Is the Boot Camp boot loader installed when I install the app, or do I have to finish the wizard?

 

[gr8tfly]

The nice thing about partitioning with Boot Camp assistant is it's non-desctructive for the OS-X partition. From what I have read, you could partition with another app, but I don't know 100% on that.

I see your partition is HFS+, but is the partition table GUID Partition Table or Apple Partition Table? (In Disk Utility, select the device rather than the partition, and it'll say which in the info block).

My thought is Boot Camp Assistant may be looking for that. Supposedly, to boot an Intel Mac, it needs to be GUID (according to Apple docs). I say supposedly, as I have an image of this machine (MBP C2D) on an external FW800, initialized with an Apple Partition Map, and it boots just fine.

 

[GFLPraxis]

Any help here guys?

"The disk cannot be partitioned because some files cannot be moved."
Then it suggests formatting the drive.

Ugh.

Yes, it's GUID.

Google found other people that had the problem; they solved it by deleting their largest files and/or defragging. Can anyone get me a defrag tool for Mac OS X? I can't find anything that doesn't charge (for something that should be a basic built-in feature, like it is on EVERY OTHER OS).

 

[killmoms]

Except that, in most cases, OS X doesn't really need to be defragged. The OS itself auto-defrags files under 20MB (the vast majority of files on MOST people's systems). Only if you're regularly moving, deleting, and adding files over 20MB is a third-party de-frag ever necessary, which sounds like (in this case) it is.

This, incidentally, is why I set up Boot Camp FIRST THING if I think I'll need it.

 

[GFLPraxis]

Except that, in most cases, OS X doesn't really need to be defragged. The OS itself auto-defrags files under 20MB (the vast majority of files on MOST people's systems). Only if you're regularly moving, deleting, and adding files over 20MB is a third-party de-frag ever necessary, which sounds like (in this case) it is.

This, incidentally, is why I set up Boot Camp FIRST THING if I think I'll need it.

Okay, well, are there any third party defrag tools I could use?

 

[Bill Gates]

iDefrag will fix that error message.

 

[GFLPraxis]

And there's nothing that DOESN'T cost $30?
This should be built in.

 

[MRU]

Praxis. This is V. Common.


Basically when you first install bootcamp and then go to format / partition you will get an error saying it cant do it - repair disk.

However to repair the disk, you must use the install disc that came with your mac.

Boot up holding down C.

Then when the installer starts - simply click on UTILITIES on the menu bar, and then Disk Utility.

You will now be able to repair the disk, once done restart



Go back into Bootcamp and you will now be able to partition.

I have a feeling this problem is caused by the bios update. However do as I have posted above and you'll have windows installed in no time

 

[millar876]

im tyring to fix with iDefrag, but first i need to find new homes for the files on my external HD, reformat said external drive to HFS+ journaled and use CCC to make a bootable backup/copy of my internal HD, reebot off of that then defrag the internal, restart, check permissions and verify the disk, then try boot camp assistant. SO it may take a while to get the results reported.

 

[GFLPraxis]

iDefrag solved it.

MRU???!?!!!!?!? I thought you left? You're still here? YAY!

 

[MRU]

iDefrag solved it.

MRU???!?!!!!?!? I thought you left? You're still here? YAY!

Still here

 

[TBi]

iDefrag solved it.

MRU???!?!!!!?!? I thought you left? You're still here? YAY!

He's like a bad cold. We'll never be rid of him!

 

[MRU]

Trust you TBi.

At least ye can put that question out of your head "Is MRU gone or here ?"

Answer - I'm not Gonorrhea

 

[TBi]

Trust you TBi.

At least ye can put that question out of your head "Is MRU gone or here ?"

Answer - I'm not Gonorrhea

I know... you are teh clap

 

[millar876]

yup, idefrag worked for me too. but man that was complicated

 

[taylorwilsdon]

I would recommend against Fat32. While both OS's can read/write, it has a nasty habit of losing your data frequently.

 

[Bill Gates]

I would recommend against Fat32. While both OS's can read/write, it has a nasty habit of losing your data frequently.

With NTFS-3g and MacFUSE both OS's can again read and write, so FAT32 really is unnecessary.