Bootcamp, Drivers & Win7 - MBP13

Not sure if this should have gone into the Windows forum, if I should have put it there I'm sure a mod will move it though.

I recently decided to put one of my copies of Win7 on my 13" MBP and well... I used the disc that came with the computer and it put tons of drivers that are not for my laptop. Like Intel and ATI drivers on an NVidia based notebook... But not too big a deal, I can just uninstall that stuff later.

Then I run the 3.1 update for Win7 32bit and well... Either it did something to my password or remapped the keyboard or something cause my password no longer worked to log in.

So I decided to try and just install the drivers I need this time... But now things like the keyboard illumination and backlight adjustment don't work. The keyboard, display and other drivers don't install properly...

So it seems like one of the bootcamp programs unfortunately makes all the drivers and such work properly? Not sure how they pulled that one off, but I'm at a loss as to what else could be causing it at this point.


Soooo... Anyone have any advice for installing the drivers yourself? Or getting the 3.1 update not to kill my install again?

I figured it would be a bit... easier as Apple likes to say their stuff is. But I shoulda known buying a Mac to run Windows wasn't the best idea out there ;D

Installing drivers for Windows is simply a matter of inserting your Snow Leopard install DVD after Windows 7 is installed. Drivers will automatically be installed. The Boot Camp 3.1 update does the same thing but must be downloaded and run from within Windows 7.

Why are you worring about drivers being installed for hardware you don't have? The Windows installer knows which to install for what type of hardware you have; be it an nVidia or ATI GPU. Inactive drivers take up little space and are stored in your windows folder\system32\drivers.

Just insert your Snow Leopard DVD while Windows 7 is running, go to "My Computer" and double click "setup.exe". Drivers will be reinstalled. Afterward, go to the Apple site and download Boot Camp 3.1 and run the installation from Windows 7. Make sure you download the correct version for your Windows 7, either 32 bit or 64 bit.

Regards.

I'm not so much worried about the drivers as I'm very particular about my installs and whatnot. One of those things I just do, less stuff that shouldn't be there the better in my mind.

And the 3.1 update is was killed my windows install last time. Which was why I wanted to do everything the "hard" way, since there should have been no reason for the update to either somehow mess with my password or more likely mess with the keyboard mappings. I guess the updated keyboard driver in 3.1 did something though *shrug*. It was a fresh Win7 install too.

So I removed my password first this time. Did the DVD install, then the 3.1 install (Though I did extract the installer from the download which was most likely not needed, just saw it suggested elsewhere when having issues with the install). Removed the un-needed drivers (Which yeah I know I don't need to do...), removed the NVidia drivers and installed the latest from their site and everything seems to be working perfectly.

The best fix are the audio fixes though. Turning off the optical light and making the volume finally work is great. Though having it next to my desktop makes my desktop screen look kinda dull and grainy and the desktop has a Dell Ultrasharp! I'll have to get a Apple Cinema when they make LED ones

And thanks for the reply chscag.