04-14-2010, 10:21 PM

I have recently bought a used Macbook Pro with a clean install of Snow Leopard on it. I used to have a Macbook Pro but it was lost in a fire, so I am already familiar with the OS, etc.

I need to run Windows XP on this Mac, so that I can use WordPerfect 5.1 (which is DOS-based), when I need to.

I tried to create a partition with Boot Camp, but it failed to partition, because it could not move some unmovable files. I did lots of research online, reading many forum discussions, attempting to solve this seemingly common issue.

I bought iDefrag and defragmented the hard drive, and I still received the same error from Boot Camp.
I repaired disk permissions with Disk Utility (which it did find some permissions to repair) and then restarted my Macbook, and tried to partition with Boot Camp again, only to receive the same error.

At this point, I am unsure what to do next. Is there a way to solve this? Or do I need to look into a third-party program such as iPartition to partition my drive, and then run Boot Camp?

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.

04-14-2010, 10:38 PM

How much free space does your hard disk have?

Does WordPerfect 5.1 actually run on XP? You may actually be better off running it under DOSBox.

04-14-2010, 10:40 PM

could you please post the exact message Bootcamp Assistant is giving you? I remember some people way back with that issue but forget the wording. I know there is a way around it.

One question for you, is this a clean install of Snow Leopard? do you have any files that need backing up just in case?

Just saw CWA's post and agree. WP 5.1 is VERY old. It just might run under what CWA suggested. I cant' remember using 5.1 under XP. It might work but if that is all you need XP for, that can save you a lot of trouble just for one old application.

04-14-2010, 11:32 PM

Thank you for the replies. Here is the exact error message I am receiving from Boot Camp:

The disk cannot be partitioned because some files cannot be moved.
Back up the disk and use Disk Utility to format it as a single Mac OS Extended (Journaled) volume. Restore your information to the disk and try using Boot Camp Assistant again.

When I look in Disk Utility, it shows the format of my drive as being "Mac Os Extended (Journaled)". So I don't know why it is saying that my drive is something else.

Regarding WP 5.1, it does work on Windows XP, and I recall trying to use DOSbox in the past to get it to work on OS X, and it didn't work. But I am going to try again right now, and see what happens.

I am not sure if this is a clean install of Snow Leopard, I think it may have just been an upgrade, but the previous user wiped everything out. When I turned the computer on, I had to register/create an account, etc., go through the whole deal as if it was a new computer.

04-16-2010, 12:58 PM

A much simpler solution for you, especially for WP 5.1, would be to run Windows in a virtual machine. WP 5.1 does not require any native hardware access and won't use any memory to speak of. VirtualBox is free from Sun - I use Fusion but for what you are doing VirtualBox will do just fine. Why not just try downloading VB, install it, then use your windows disc to create a virtual machine. The VM will run WordPerfect just fine (I used that program myself for many years and loved it).

On your specific issue, normally the defrag process and disc repair matters fix that specific problem. You could search the forum. But honestly, the virtual machine solution is likely to work best for you - far simpler than Boot Camp, no drivers to mess around with, etc.

Good luck!

04-16-2010, 03:16 PM

Great suggestion to the OP Sammy. I was just looking through my old box of 3.5" disks and I still have my original set of disks from WP 5.1. Brings back memories! And yes, it was a great word processor.

Have fun.

Regards.

04-16-2010, 07:59 PM

A really good way to find out if you have a full or upgrade install of 10.6 is to look at the discs you got with the computer. If you only got 10.6, then it's probably a full install. If you got 10.4 or 10.5 and 10.6, it's likely an upgrade.

But DOSBox runs fairly well, and fairly easily from what I remember. You don't need a disk image for it, since you can just point it at a folder on your hard disk and it'll use that like a hard disk!

04-23-2010, 12:32 AM

Also you can install Windows without using the Assistant by using Disk Utility to create a FAT partition (if it will let you in this case) and then booting off the Windows Install disk and installing to the created partition.
Afterwards put the OSX disk in and install the Apple hardware specific drivers etc...