Windows 64 Bit Unsupported??

[powz]

Does anyone know why Boot Camp doesn't officially support 64 bit versions of Windows XP or Vista? Link

Has anyone tried installing 64 bit Windows anyway, and what were your results? I'd really like to install 64 bit Windows to take advantage of my 4 GB of RAM...

Any thoughts/experiences would be greatly appreciated!

Edit: I'm asking specifically about 64 bit Windows for Macbook Pro. Apparently, Apple officially supports 64 bit Windows for Mac Pros as of January -- just wondering if this has since spilled over to other Macs like the Macbook Pro. Thanks!

 

[steveza]

Vista 64bit is supported by boot camp 2.1. That article is out of date (I think). I'm running Server 2008 64bit without any problems at all.

 

[powz]

Sorry, I forgot to mention I have a Macbook Pro. Does this make a difference? I know that Apple released special drivers for the Mac Pro to support Windows 64 bit back in January but I haven't heard anything about other Macs. Which Mac do you have?

Thanks!

 

[Mr. Zarniwoop]

I'm asking specifically about 64 bit Windows for Macbook Pro.

Boot Camp 2.0.1 and higher officially supports Vista 64-bit on 2008 MacBook Pros and 2008 Mac Pros. You'll find it also works fine on pre-2008 Pros.

This is purely Vista 64-bit support. No Boot Camp supports XP Professional x64 Edition.

Boot Camp Update 2.1 for Windows Vista 64

Boot Camp: Macs that work with 64-bit editions of Microsoft Windows Vista

 

[steveza]

Sorry, I forgot to mention I have a Macbook Pro. Does this make a difference? I know that Apple released special drivers for the Mac Pro to support Windows 64 bit back in January but I haven't heard anything about other Macs. Which Mac do you have?

Thanks!

I should have said that I'm using a Mac Book Pro, March '08 version.

 

[powz]

You'll find it also works fine on pre-2008 Pros.

Thanks, that's what I wanted to hear...I have a mid-2007 Macbook Pro. But how do you know it works? It's odd that Apple only officially supports 2008 models. After a bit more Googling I found that the 2008 models apparently have a new EFI version -- does that make any difference in terms of running Vista 64 bit? Also, people seem to be having some problems locating the proper drivers. Will the official Apple downloads posted above suffice, or will I need any other drivers?

Thanks again!

 

[steveza]

I believe that the Boot Camp 2.1 download will have all the drivers you need. The only difference (AFAIK) between the 07 and 08 MBPs is the processor so everything else should be the same.

 

[powz]

I believe that the Boot Camp 2.1 download will have all the drivers you need. The only difference (AFAIK) between the 07 and 08 MBPs is the processor so everything else should be the same.

I think the EFI is a newer version (can this be updated?), but if someone can confirm this method works on a pre-2008 MBP, that would be great! I'd just install it right now to try, but that would entail deleting my current Windows installation...and I don't want to do that unless I know Vista 64 bit will work!

 

[steveza]

Try having a search of this forum - there are many posts on the subject.

 

[powz]

I did do a bit more searching, and here's what someone said about Boot Camp 2.1 for Vista 64 bit:

It doesn't open because the executable looks for Boot Camp v. 2.0.1 drivers which only come on Mac Pro Leopard Update discs since April.

Search TPB for "Mac Pro Boot Camp Drivers" and download that package. Run the x64 driver package in there and then run the Boot Camp 2.1 update.

This is for Vista 64bit versions.

So apparently you can't install the Boot Camp 2.1 Vista 64 bit update without the original Vista 64 bit drivers (included with 2008 Pros). But if I can get a hold of the original drivers and update to 2.1, I should be good to go...Can anyone confirm?

 

[Mr. Zarniwoop]

I have a mid-2007 Macbook Pro. But how do you know it works?

Tried it using an April 2008 MacBook Pro Leopard DVD in a 2007 MacBook Pro with Leopard and Boot Camp 2.0.1. Worked. Tried on a 2006 Mac Pro. Worked.

"Worked" in this case meant it loaded drivers for all the same devices that it loads drivers for in the 2008 versions of the hardware. I'm assuming that MacBook, iMac, and Mac mini owners can also use Boot Camp 2.0.1 or higher with Vista 64-bit, but that there will probably be the need to hunt down a few non-Apple-supplied Vista 64-bit drivers.

 

[ayeying]

The only reason apple states those models are compatable is because their Disk 1 contains the 64-bit drivers and can easily access them without any searching through explorer.

If you have a MacBook/MacBook Air/MacBook Pro/iMac/Mac Pro/Mac Mini(?) and are within at least 1 generation of the current one, you have a possibilty of having the 64-bit drivers in your disk 1. It won't install automatically however, you will need to search for it inside the disk.

For me, I have 64-bit drivers on the disk 1 for my MacBook Air (10.5.2 disk).

 

[powz]

Tried it using an April 2008 MacBook Pro Leopard DVD in a 2007 MacBook Pro with Leopard and Boot Camp 2.0.1. Worked. Tried on a 2006 Mac Pro. Worked.

Thanks! So you didn't have to hunt down any drivers at all? I guess the trick is to get a hold of the Macbook Pro 2008 DVD (or at least the Boot Camp drivers from it)..... I wish Apple would just officially release the drivers for older MBP...kind of stupid, really, that I have to hunt these down for a machine with almost identical components. I'm assuming the Macbook Pro 2008 DVD contains the Boot Camp 2.0.1 you're referring to? The most up-to-date Boot Camp I can get for OS X right now is 2.0.

 

[jerryrock]

The only reason apple states those models are compatable is because their Disk 1 contains the 64-bit drivers and can easily access them without any searching through explorer.

If you have a MacBook/MacBook Air/MacBook Pro/iMac/Mac Pro/Mac Mini(?) and are within at least 1 generation of the current one, you have a possibilty of having the 64-bit drivers in your disk 1. It won't install automatically however, you will need to search for it inside the disk.

For me, I have 64-bit drivers on the disk 1 for my MacBook Air (10.5.2 disk).

This is not exactly correct. Pre 2008 MacBook Pro and Mac Pro have an EFI that is not compatible with Vista64 SP1. The disk will not boot in these machines without modification of the boot loader. There are a few sites on the web that describe the process of reconfiguring the boot loader and burning a new Vista 64 SP1 installer disk that will work. The necessary drivers then need to be installed manually before the BootCamp 2.1 upgrade will work.

 

[ayeying]

This is not exactly correct. Pre 2008 MacBook Pro and Mac Pro have an EFI that is not compatible with Vista64 SP1. The disk will not boot in these machines without modification of the boot loader. There are a few sites on the web that describe the process of reconfiguring the boot loader and burning a new Vista 64 SP1 installer disk that will work. The necessary drivers then need to be installed manually before the BootCamp 2.1 upgrade will work.

I had a MacBook Pro that was purchased about one month before Leopard came out and it installed Vista 64-bit without any problems. You can run BootCamp64.msi in vista after you disabled UAC.

 

[jerryrock]

I had a MacBook Pro that was purchased about one month before Leopard came out and it installed Vista 64-bit without any problems. You can run BootCamp64.msi in vista after you disabled UAC.

You may be able to install a version of Vista64 without SP1 on machines produced before 2008. Versions of Vista 64 bit purchased today all have SP1 integrated. The source of the problem are the changes implemented with SP1.

Vista 64 bit is not an upgrade from 32 bit, it requires a complete install from a bootable DVD.

 

[powz]

If you have a MacBook/MacBook Air/MacBook Pro/iMac/Mac Pro/Mac Mini(?) and are within at least 1 generation of the current one, you have a possibilty of having the 64-bit drivers in your disk 1. It won't install automatically however, you will need to search for it inside the disk.

Where did you find yours? When I look at my Disc 1 I can't locate any Boot Camp drivers (64 bit or otherwise).

I had a MacBook Pro that was purchased about one month before Leopard came out and it installed Vista 64-bit without any problems. You can run BootCamp64.msi in vista after you disabled UAC.

I have the same model MBP as you, then. How exactly did you go about installing Vista 64 bit? And what's the UAC and how do you disable it?

Thanks!

 

[Spankey]

See THIS THREAD for information on getting the boot camp drivers for Vista 64 bit.

 

[ayeying]

Where did you find yours? When I look at my Disc 1 I can't locate any Boot Camp drivers (64 bit or otherwise).

Suppose D Drive is my Optical Drive, its in:

D:\Boot Camp\Drivers\Apple\BootCamp64.msi

I have the same model MBP as you, then. How exactly did you go about installing Vista 64 bit? And what's the UAC and how do you disable it?

Thanks!

UAC = User Access Control. Its what makes Vista do that "Do you wish to continue?" thing. To disable it, goto the User Control in the Control Panel, The last link on the page where you can change oyur pic, add password, etc. (Sorry, Im thinking off the top of my head right now)

 

[Future Blues]

This is not exactly correct. Pre 2008 MacBook Pro and Mac Pro have an EFI that is not compatible with Vista64 SP1. The disk will not boot in these machines without modification of the boot loader. There are a few sites on the web that describe the process of reconfiguring the boot loader and burning a new Vista 64 SP1 installer disk that will work. The necessary drivers then need to be installed manually before the BootCamp 2.1 upgrade will work.

This is true too. You have to burn a modified version of the retail disk so you need a computer already running windows to get the install done, but Vista x64 works without any problems once you do all this stuff.

 

[powz]

Suppose D Drive is my Optical Drive, its in:

D:\Boot Camp\Drivers\Apple\BootCamp64.msi

Thanks, but unfortunately my MBP Disc 1 has Tiger and doesn't even include Boot Camp

My Leopard DVD has Boot Camp but I don't see any BootCamp64 drivers...

 

[ayeying]

Thanks, but unfortunately my MBP Disc 1 has Tiger and doesn't even include Boot Camp

My Leopard DVD has Boot Camp but I don't see any BootCamp64 drivers...

These are only included in NEWER "Disk 1" disks (10.5.1/2 I think). My Leopard CPU Drop-in for my dad's iMac did not include 64-bit drivers. My first MacBook Air came with 10.5 Leopard and didn't have 64-bit drivers. My current MacBook Air came with 10.5.2 and did include the drivers.

 

[Spankey]

Thanks, but unfortunately my MBP Disc 1 has Tiger and doesn't even include Boot Camp

My Leopard DVD has Boot Camp but I don't see any BootCamp64 drivers...

Again, see the link to the thread that I posted in that links to the page with Bootcamp64. I used my Leopard DVD to install Boot Camp normally. You can install 64 bit Windows. Then run Boot Camp 64 from the folder I linked to. The folder is in 4 parts and is a large download.

 

[Overlap12]

iMac 64 Bit Vista Clean Install

I have the new 3.06 ghz iMac and has anyone been able to run a clean install of windows vista 64-bit without having a previous version of windows already installed on bootcamp?

 

[CWallace]

I have the new 3.06 ghz iMac and has anyone been able to run a clean install of windows vista 64-bit without having a previous version of windows already installed on bootcamp?

Yes. I have installed Vista Ultimate x64 OEM Edition on my MacBook Pro onto a new Boot Camp installation and then also subsequently successfully booted it from VMWare Fusion.