Thanks for your help with this one mrplow - I really appreciate it.
Okay so I get to the screen where you choose the partition and I see this:
"238473 MB Disk 0 at Id1 on bus 0 on atapi [MR]
E: Partition1 [unknown] 200mb (200mb free)
F: Partition2 [unknown] 205696mb (202696mb free)
Unpartitioned space 128mb
C: Partition3 (BOOTCAMP) [FAT32] 32451mb (32434 free0
305243mb Disk on disk [MBR]
Unpartitioned Space 305243mb"
So I highlight C: and press enter...
Then it says "please wait while setup examines your disks"
Then "Please wait while setup copies files to the Windows instillation folder"
When it finishes copying files it tries to restart into GUI installation with no success.
Two things to note:
I don't get the option to reformat the windows partition prior to the files being copied.
That E: partition is weird, I don't know why that's there, and that's the one that btdicky is talking about in his reply.
Where should I try from here?
The 200mb partition is the EFI boot partition. Some people as btdicky have deleted it and then had success installing windows. However some people have then reported disk problem in Leopard. So you have to weigh up the risk on that one.
I've trawled around and there seem to be 2 solutions that seem to be working .
The info below has come from various sites but mainly from
this posting on the Apple discussions page. So thanks to those involved if these work etc.
Usual disclaimers apply. Backup first before messing with partitions and OS installs etc.
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Solution 1:
1. download fdfullcd.iso at
http://www.freedos.org/freedos/files/ . And burn it on CD. This CD is bootable and be able to format disk.
2. use Boot Camp in Utility to partition the hard drive for XP. Choose something <32gb. Don't start installing XP yet. Restart your mac. Make sure the bootable CD is in.
3. hold "option" key during rebooting. THen boot your mac from CD.
4. Then click "1" : continue to boot Free DOS from CD-ROM
5. Then click "1" : Install to hard disk using Free Dos setup ( Default )
6. Then click "1" to choose English (US) keyboard
7. Click "5 to run Free Dos From CD-ROM
8. Key in " format c: " - without the quotes - press enter
9. Once format is done. Reboot to Mac OS.
10. Eject the freedos cd. Put the XP CD in and restart the bootcamp assistant
10. Start the xp install in Boot Camp ( don't do anything to the partitions. )
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Solution 2:
Boot into OS X, put the XP CD in. Use the Boot Camp Assistant to start the XP install.
Once your mac reboots and starts the windows install you will get a blue screen with white text in the upper left hand corner that says "Windows Setup." On the bottom of the screen there will be some info telling you this and that is loading. Keep an eye on this. It will slowly list a bunch of things that it is loading. Toward the end, it will say something like "Starting Windows Setup." At this point, press and hold the F10 button. Keep holding it until you get a black screen with white text.
You are now in the Recovery Manager. You will be asked what volume you want. The only choice you should have is 1. This is your new Windows partition, it is not your Mac OS partition. You may safely type "1" (without quotes) and press return. Then, the prompt will look like this:
C
WINDOWS\
At the prompt, you type "cd\" (without quotes) and press return, the prompt will now look like this:
C
Now, to format your windows partition. To do so, at the prompt type the following without quotation marks "format c: /fs:FAT32" When typed into the prompt, it will look like this (pay close attention to spacing)
C
format c: /fs:FAT32
It will give you a warning and ask if you are sure. Type "y" and press return.
It will take some time to format and you will see a percentage counter counting up from 1% to 100%. When it is done, you will be back at the C
prompt where you will just type "exit" and press return.
Now, Windows Setup should proceed normally.
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Good luck.
Please post back and let us know how it goes.
mrplow