Boot Camp: Mac Pro displays a black screen during installation of Windows 7

I recently burned an Windows 7 .iso image to a disk to perform a Windows 7 installation on my Mac Pro via Bootcamp. The installation seemed to be running fine but after a couple of reboots, I get a complete black screen with no cursor at all. I've read a few forums that had resolutions, but they were for iMacs only. Does anyone know if the iMac Resolution works for Mac Pro and/or if there is a resolution for Mac Pros?

Some say its the graphic card issue and other forums say iyou need specific drivers. Not sure where to go from here.

To get details on the iMac resolution, please click on link(but remember I am on a Mac Pro).

Thank you in advance!!

http://support.apple.com/kb/ts3173

The solution is basically the same. A black screen means that either the wrong graphic driver is being used or there are no drivers for your graphics card. That should get you started on a way to resolve the problem.

Cool, thanks chscag(Glad to know that I was thinking along the same lines),

My only concern was whether I should be deleting the same files(drivers) and such or are there any other files/drivers I should be deleting/manipulating. I just didn't want to start messing around with things not having much experience with this sort of issue.

Thanks again!

Definitely do not delete anything. Once you download the proper driver for your graphics card and install it, it should come right up. If you know which graphics card your Pro is using you can probably go directly to the manufacturer's site and download their latest driver for Windows 7.

One thing to check - and you didn't provide us with any info about your Pro - is to make sure you're using the correct version of Boot Camp. The Boot Camp download should include the correct drivers for everything (graphics, WiFi, sound, etc). We've solved numerous problems of bad graphics, no WiFi, keyboard not working, and so on, by just pointing to the correct Boot Camp download.

Yes sir,

I should have downloaded the correct drivers since I didn't go to the apple support site to choose between what drivers I should use. I downloaded directly from Bootcamp that was installed on my Mac. Here's that thing I am trying to understand is that I haven't had a chance to install any of it since I hadn't gotten to the Windows desktop yet. I assumed you only could install Bootcamp drivers once Windows 7 was installed.

As far as the specs on my Mc Pro, I currently do not have it with me, otherwise, I definitely would have gotten this for you. Thanks for the insight!

OK, when you gather the specs for your Pro, post them here for us to look over. Include the version of OS X you're running also. Then we'll take a look and see which version of Boot Camp you need. There are several things that can cause the black screen you encountered but it's usually because of something to do with graphics. Since there are so many different graphics cards that can be used in a Mac Pro, we need to nail it down. Make sure you tell us which card your Pro has installed.

Here are my specs

MacPro
Mac OSX Lion - Version 10.7.5
Year Built - 2006
Processor - 2 X 2.66 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon
Memory - 8 GB 667 MHz DDR2 FB-DIMM
Graphics - NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256 MB

Thanks for the specs. Now we need to ask you... Are you trying to install the 64 bit version of Windows 7 or the 32 bit version? Keep in mind that your Mac Pro will not support a 64 bit version of OS X. Lion is as far as you can go.

I'm trying to install the 64-bit version of Windows 7. So does this mean I'll have to find a 32-bit version of Windows 7 somewhere. Also, does this mean I'll have to remove the bootcamp (Windows) partition in order to remove the already half-installed version of Windows 7?

If so, what steps will follow? After going through the Bootcamp process again and then trying to install a 32-bit Windows 7, should I expect a black screen as well or will the 32-bit version prevent a black screen scenario?

Thanks so much for your help so far!

Yeah, seems like we found the problem. I should have asked you before... anyway, yes, you should be able to install the 32 bit version of Windows 7. Here's what you'll need to do:

Boot back to Lion. Run the Boot Camp Assistant again but this time tell it to remove the Boot Camp partition you created. It will give you a warning about losing all your Windows data. Since you haven't any, just press OK and let it remove the partition. It will also merge the Boot Camp space back into your hard drive. After you verify everything is back to normal, go ahead and run Boot Camp again but make sure you first download the latest version of the Boot Camp software that supports your Mac Pro and Lion.

This time Windows 7 x 32 bit should install OK.

Sounds good,

Not sure at this point where I can get this and when, but at least I know what the issue is. I'll update you on my progress going forward and thanks again!

wattsand I don't know if this will help, however when Windows 7 Ultimate was first released, it came with two CDs in the pack, one 32bit and one 64bit. It is confusing as the Mac Pro is 64bit architecture, but for some reason Apple strangled it with 32bit firmware.

Why it will only run up to Lion without a hack also.

My Microsoft copy of Windows 7 standard came on one DVD with both the 32 and 64 bit versions. I believe the Ultimate and Pro versions came on a two disk set like Harry said.