Go Back  Mac-Forums.com  > Software > Windows, Classic, Linux, and Other OS > Windows - Boot Camp: Installing Windows WITHOUT disc drive

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 06-06-2008, 03:40 PM   #1 (permalink)
alexlane

 
Member Since: Jun 06, 2008
Location: Barcelona - Spain
Posts: 2
alexlane is on a distinguished road
Mac Specs: Mac OS X 10.5.3 - MacBook Pro 15" 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo - 2GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
Question Windows - Boot Camp: Installing Windows WITHOUT disc drive

I everybody,

I'm trying to install Windows XP using Leopard's Boot Camp on my system, but the cd drive on my MacBook Pro is broken and doesn't read cds well.
BootCamp keeps telling me to insert the windows cd and when I insert the disc finder tells me that I inserted a blank cd.

So, having the cd unit unusable, I wonder if there's any way of installing Windows XP using an image of Windows XP install disc mounted into an external drive (I have an external FireWire HDD), or by any other ways.

TIA
alexlane is offline  
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!Stumble this post
Reply With Quote
Old 06-06-2008, 03:42 PM   #2 (permalink)
cwa107

 
cwa107's Avatar
 
Member Since: Dec 20, 2006
Location: Middletown, PA, USA
Posts: 14,607
cwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond repute
Mac Specs: 15.4 MBP 2.4GHz Penryn C2D, 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD
Quote:
Originally Posted by alexlane View Post
I everybody,

I'm trying to install Windows XP using Leopard's Boot Camp on my system, but the cd drive on my MacBook Pro is broken and doesn't read cds well.
BootCamp keeps telling me to insert the windows cd and when I insert the disc finder tells me that I inserted a blank cd.

So, having the cd unit unusable, I wonder if there's any way of installing Windows XP using an image of Windows XP install disc mounted into an external drive (I have an external FireWire HDD), or by any other ways.

TIA
I'd recommend a cheap, external USB CD-ROM drive. While it is possible to install Windows from a network drive, you'll save yourself a lot of hassle and headache just using a CD.
__________________

Community Guidelines
cwa107 is offline  
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!Stumble this post
Reply With Quote
Old 06-06-2008, 03:54 PM   #3 (permalink)
alexlane

 
Member Since: Jun 06, 2008
Location: Barcelona - Spain
Posts: 2
alexlane is on a distinguished road
Mac Specs: Mac OS X 10.5.3 - MacBook Pro 15" 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo - 2GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
Yeah, that's probably a good idea

I'll check for prices... even thou I just spent a lot of money replacing my MBP HDD...

Anyway, would it be possible to trick Boot Camp into thinking you have a bootable Windows inserted so it "prepares" the installation from somewhere else than an actual cd? just to know
alexlane is offline  
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!Stumble this post
Reply With Quote
Old 08-19-2008, 02:04 PM   #4 (permalink)
unjosnav

 
Member Since: Aug 19, 2008
Posts: 15
unjosnav is on a distinguished road
Exclamation

Quote:
Originally Posted by cwa107 View Post
I'd recommend a cheap, external USB CD-ROM drive. While it is possible to install Windows from a network drive, you'll save yourself a lot of hassle and headache just using a CD.
some body knows the steeps to do it please ?
or how install windowx xp on bootcamp via network ?

thank a lot
unjosnav is offline  
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!Stumble this post
Reply With Quote
Old 08-19-2008, 02:08 PM   #5 (permalink)
cwa107

 
cwa107's Avatar
 
Member Since: Dec 20, 2006
Location: Middletown, PA, USA
Posts: 14,607
cwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond repute
Mac Specs: 15.4 MBP 2.4GHz Penryn C2D, 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD
Quote:
Originally Posted by unjosnav View Post
some body knows the steeps to do it please ?
or how install windowx xp on bootcamp via network ?

thank a lot
That's beyond the scope of this forum. There have been *books* published that get into the intracacies of such an install, and honestly, I don't believe it's even possible on a Mac.
__________________

Community Guidelines
cwa107 is offline  
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!Stumble this post
Reply With Quote
Old 08-19-2008, 02:15 PM   #6 (permalink)
unjosnav

 
Member Since: Aug 19, 2008
Posts: 15
unjosnav is on a distinguished road
is there any way to install xp on bootcamp WITHOUT using dvd internal drive please ?

using external dvds, usb flash, network or another ?
unjosnav is offline  
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!Stumble this post
Reply With Quote
Old 08-19-2008, 02:46 PM   #7 (permalink)
cwa107

 
cwa107's Avatar
 
Member Since: Dec 20, 2006
Location: Middletown, PA, USA
Posts: 14,607
cwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond repute
Mac Specs: 15.4 MBP 2.4GHz Penryn C2D, 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD
Quote:
Originally Posted by unjosnav View Post
is there any way to install xp on bootcamp WITHOUT using dvd internal drive please ?

using external dvds, usb flash, network or another ?
Yes, you can use an external DVD drive. You just need to hold down the option key to select it during boot up.
__________________

Community Guidelines
cwa107 is offline  
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!Stumble this post
Reply With Quote
Old 08-20-2008, 11:42 AM   #8 (permalink)
unjosnav

 
Member Since: Aug 19, 2008
Posts: 15
unjosnav is on a distinguished road
Exclamation

Quote:
Originally Posted by cwa107 View Post
Yes, you can use an external DVD drive. You just need to hold down the option key to select it during boot up.
Not work like this, not on my computer.
why on boot can not show this new external drive.

i can see mounted on leopard when the leopard finish the start up, but not at the begining holding option key
what can i do please !
unjosnav is offline  
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!Stumble this post
Reply With Quote
Old 08-21-2008, 01:58 AM   #9 (permalink)
itech12

 
Member Since: Aug 21, 2008
Posts: 7
itech12 is on a distinguished road
This is a common problem for us, Air users as well, Using external drive here.
itech12 is offline  
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!Stumble this post
Reply With Quote
Old 10-15-2008, 06:37 PM   #10 (permalink)
cevicker

 
Member Since: Oct 15, 2008
Posts: 7
cevicker is on a distinguished road
I've been having problems installing Windows on my MacBook Pro, and I'm not sure if it's because I'm using an external dvd drive or what. So I've partitioned my hard drive just fine, but when I try to boot up the Windows cd, it says "no bootable device found, press any key to continue" (or something along those lines). I'm wondering if anyone else has had this problem? I've searched all over this as well as other forums about the no bootable device thing, and tried a bunch of options, but nothing has worked so far. so maybe it's becuase I have an external drive? I have no idea. But any help would be much appreciated
cevicker is offline  
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!Stumble this post
Reply With Quote
Old 10-15-2008, 07:06 PM   #11 (permalink)
cwa107

 
cwa107's Avatar
 
Member Since: Dec 20, 2006
Location: Middletown, PA, USA
Posts: 14,607
cwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond repute
Mac Specs: 15.4 MBP 2.4GHz Penryn C2D, 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD
Quote:
Originally Posted by cevicker View Post
I've been having problems installing Windows on my MacBook Pro, and I'm not sure if it's because I'm using an external dvd drive or what. So I've partitioned my hard drive just fine, but when I try to boot up the Windows cd, it says "no bootable device found, press any key to continue" (or something along those lines). I'm wondering if anyone else has had this problem? I've searched all over this as well as other forums about the no bootable device thing, and tried a bunch of options, but nothing has worked so far. so maybe it's becuase I have an external drive? I have no idea. But any help would be much appreciated
OK, this begs the question... why not just use the internal drive?
__________________

Community Guidelines
cwa107 is offline  
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!Stumble this post
Reply With Quote
Old 10-15-2008, 08:17 PM   #12 (permalink)
cevicker

 
Member Since: Oct 15, 2008
Posts: 7
cevicker is on a distinguished road
Quote:
Originally Posted by cwa107 View Post
OK, this begs the question... why not just use the internal drive?
well i guess i forgot to mention that my internal drive is not working, and i can't get it fixed yet. so i'm using this external drive in the meantime...
cevicker is offline  
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!Stumble this post
Reply With Quote
Old 10-15-2008, 09:56 PM   #13 (permalink)
cwa107

 
cwa107's Avatar
 
Member Since: Dec 20, 2006
Location: Middletown, PA, USA
Posts: 14,607
cwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond repute
Mac Specs: 15.4 MBP 2.4GHz Penryn C2D, 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD
Quote:
Originally Posted by cevicker View Post
well i guess i forgot to mention that my internal drive is not working, and i can't get it fixed yet. so i'm using this external drive in the meantime...
OK. You should be able to just hold the Option key down during startup (immediately after turning the machine on and when the screen first comes up). Assuming the disc is in the drive, it should eventually give you the option to boot from it (keep holding it until you see the selection appear).
__________________

Community Guidelines
cwa107 is offline  
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!Stumble this post
Reply With Quote
Old 10-16-2008, 12:15 AM   #14 (permalink)
cevicker

 
Member Since: Oct 15, 2008
Posts: 7
cevicker is on a distinguished road
Quote:
Originally Posted by cwa107 View Post
OK. You should be able to just hold the Option key down during startup (immediately after turning the machine on and when the screen first comes up). Assuming the disc is in the drive, it should eventually give you the option to boot from it (keep holding it until you see the selection appear).
yeah, i've tried that... the cd is recognized as windows, but it still says "no bootable device"

really, i could get my internal fixed if that's the problem... but if it's something else, than i'd rather just leave my drive be for the meantime... (hah i hope that makes sense).
cevicker is offline  
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!Stumble this post
Reply With Quote
Old 10-16-2008, 09:10 AM   #15 (permalink)
cwa107

 
cwa107's Avatar
 
Member Since: Dec 20, 2006
Location: Middletown, PA, USA
Posts: 14,607
cwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond reputecwa107 has a reputation beyond repute
Mac Specs: 15.4 MBP 2.4GHz Penryn C2D, 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD
Quote:
Originally Posted by cevicker View Post
yeah, i've tried that... the cd is recognized as windows, but it still says "no bootable device"

really, i could get my internal fixed if that's the problem... but if it's something else, than i'd rather just leave my drive be for the meantime... (hah i hope that makes sense).
What kind of disc are you using? Note that it must be a retail copy or OEM for system builders (you can NOT use a system restore disc from another vendor like Dell, HP, Acer, etc).

I ask this because it sounds like the drive is being recognized just fine - it just doesn't see the disc as bootable.
__________________

Community Guidelines
cwa107 is offline  
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!Stumble this post
Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
The Official Mac AntiVirus and Firewall FAQ schweb Switcher Hangout 311 11-16-2009 10:38 AM
Installing Windows XP via boot camp quynvan Windows, Classic, Linux, and Other OS 2 12-09-2007 05:46 AM
Can You Install Boot Camp AFTER Parallels? bluto00 Windows, Classic, Linux, and Other OS 2 11-03-2007 11:34 PM
Can I change size of Boot Camp Windows XP Drive? markw10 Windows, Classic, Linux, and Other OS 1 01-22-2007 09:11 AM
Switcher Article in Today's Times studio34 Switcher Hangout 9 08-11-2006 04:10 PM

 
 
 
     
Home Calendar Get New
     

Copyright ©2001-2009 Mac-Forums.com. All Rights Reserved. A division of iNET Interactive.

Other iNET Interactive Sites: Web Hosting Talk | Swish Talk | Hosting Catalog.com| Dev Papers| Deleted Domains| Hot Scripts

Powered by vBulletin
Copyright ©2000 - 2009, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.