"You can?t install Windows 7 from a USB stick to a MacBook."
Um, thats what I did....
Last year I published a ZDNet article about installing Windows 7 as the default operating system on a MacBook Air. It was well-received, and generated a number of questions from the readers.
There’s still a great deal of interest in using Windows 7 as the primary operating system on Apple MacBooks. I should point out that this project is really for those people who are truly enamored with Apple hardware, but not so much with the operating system. If you’re just looking for something like a regular MacBook Pro, consider the HP Envy series.
If you’re looking for a thin and light device like a MacBook Air, take a look at the Acer Aspire TimelineX series. There’s also the Sony Vaio Z series. Both of these laptops have high-end CPUs. Or you could go with a lower-power, more conservatively-priced Lenovo Thinkpad X120e with the new AMD Fusion CPU that doesn’t run so hot that it ruins a man’s ability to father children like the previous model.
If you’re still with me at this point, you’re probably the kind of person for which this article is intended. I am still quite happily using WIndows 7 on my MacBook Air 11, with no real issues. The only major obstacle I face is that I need to boot the system to OSX in order to update the system firmware. I have an external USB hard drive with OSX installed for this very purpose.
One reader asks:
i am sorry can you explain in detail how to install windows. how did you access mdr sector etc. from the very beginning. i have the widnows on my usb, but i wont detect it. also i previously had windows on my mac, but it doesn’t work properly. viruses. also my bootcamp doesn’t open, you know how to fix this. feedback appreciated
The entire hard drive partition had to be wiped and recreated using the Disk Utility function found on the OSX Install disc. On the MacBook Air, the install disc is actually a small USB stick. Once the hard drive is wiped and recreated as a Master Boot Record type with FAT formatting, you can then boot to a Windows 7 install DVD and install directly to the hard drive.
As for the other issues, that’s obviously a problem with your BootCamp Windows install and unfortunately I can’t really help you with that. Create a clean Windows BootCamp install and make sure to install anti-virus and anti-malware apps.
The same reader asks:
hey..can you explain further how you did it…my mac is also not recognizing the usb. i have a windows already installed on mac, but its got viruses. and the bootcamp doesn’t open, u know how i can fix this, i dont have my restore original cds, makes it all so worse
You can’t install Windows 7 from a USB stick to a MacBook without the use of rEFIt. I’ve found this to be an unnecessary added level of complexity if you want to run only Windows 7 on your MacBook. I also ran into a number of issues with rEFIt, and do not recommend it. You should use an install DVD. The DVD drive, however, can be a USB-connected one.
Again, I can’t help you fix your broken BootCamp install. If you don’t have the original discs, contact your manufacturer for a new set or purchase one.
