Bootcamp and booting problems

[LearningCurve]

I've had my early 2008 imac for several months now and have had some niggles with it but that's another issue.
I wanted to use some cad software which will only run under windows so set about using bootcamp to partition the hard drive and install windows 7 which is the version linked with yosemite.

I followed instructions and used usb stick (sandisk cruzer) for the mac config files. Rebooted and nothing, had to use alt/option to get back up. Drive is partitioned with new partition labelled BOOTCAMP.
I have since tried just about everything to overcome this with no luck and as a side safari no longer works.

I have tried using Windows 7 dvds one from downloaded all in one iso, one pukka win 7 professional and win 7 usb stick.
I have tried using linux dvd, linux on usb stick and even the original snow leopard disc.
I have also tried all dvds via external dvd rom drive.

I also reverted back to single partition and went through the whole process again.
The usb sticks were created using bootable drive maker on the mac and also using unetbootin from both the mac and my linux machine.
So you can see that the usb stick is readable and writable from the mac which not only mounts and reports the stick properly but I can also look at the files on it via Finder.

I have not tried using a virtual machine but am doubtful whether this would be possible from disc, maybe download would work, but I am not really wanting to use VM anyway.
Another worry is that if I had a major problem, would I be able to recover from it if it won't even boot from the genuine os x disc.
Anyway, I'm now completely stumped, my forehead is bleeding and the wall is dented so if you can shed any light on this I would appreciate it.

Thanks in advance

 

[harryb2448]

It would help greatly if you provided operating system information.

Windows 7 for example will only install on OS X.8.2 or later. The iMac is pretty ancient maybe the optical drive has problems which was quite common with slot loaders.

 

[LearningCurve]

Hi harryb2448,
Thanks for reply,
Sorry when I mentioned yosemite I wasn't specific enough. I'm currently on 10.10.5 and have been getting all the updates.
I can't upgrade beyond this as it says that yosemite is the latest version that my hardware is sufficient for.
Full spec is as follows;
imac 20 inch early 2008
2.66 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo
4 GB 800 Mhz SDRAM (was 2GB when I got it but installed 2x2GB upgrade)
ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro 256 MB
SN VM831HAPZE3
320GB HD
I have only minimal data files on it as I use a NAS.
It is surprisingly quick considering it's age, but only with plenty of space on the HDD, I had let it fill up and it was painfully slow.
If you need any other info, please let me know.

 

[ferrarr]

Did you see this discussion?

https://apple.stackexchange.com/que...bootcamp-on-os-x-yosemite-with-usb-key#168812

 

[LearningCurve]

Hi ferrarr,
Thanks for that link, I have not seen that before.
Just had a quick look and it looks like it may be what I need.
I will give it a go tomorrow as I'm just about dead on my feet right now and ready for bed.
I should give it a go before mid morning and will let you know how it goes.
Once again thanks, keep your fingers crossed for me.

 

[LearningCurve]

Well, much messing around following the detail of the article above andwinging it, I am not really any better off.
To start with I couldn't update the plist file but with a little tinkering I overcame that, copying, renaming, replacing etc. and all seemed fine.
Continued on but still hit the same brick walls. I run bootcamp and it goes along nicely, creates the usb stick adds software and so on right up to rebooting to perform the actual install, then back to square one.
Each time it fails, when I run bootcamp, it thinks all is well and I have to "uninstall" win7 and revert the drive to a single partition before I can try again so this wastes a lot of time waiting for this.
Apart from bootcamp fooling itself into thinking it has all gone nicely, everything is apparently working as it should.
The base problem is still that it will not boot from anything but the hard drive OS X partition.
It is creating the usb drive and recognizes it, it is even reporting 4.8GB used and labelled WININSTALL.
However when booting up using the option key, the only options it detects are iMac and Recovery. It will not detect any usb device or CD/DVD even though they are perfectly accessible once in OS X.
I have also tried the startup key options for CD/DVD and USB directly without success.
Hopefully, this is all helpful to somebody and someone may recognise this problem.