Trying to Install Win7 under Bootcamp, but bootcamp thinks it's Win 10

Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Messages
15,453
Reaction score
3,808
Points
113
Location
Winchester, VA
Your Mac's Specs
MBP 16" 2023 (M3 Pro), iPhone 15 Pro, plus ATVs, AWatch, MacMinis (multiple)
OK, I'm stumped.

Thought I would install Win7 in a BootCamp partition on my early-2011 17" MBP running High Sierra. I do have an install disk from MS (full retail), so should be a piece of cake, right?

1. Fired up Boot Camp Assistant, read the directions and printed them off. Left BCA.
2. Went to Apple to search for anything more, got to this article on installing Win7 from HS. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205016
3. Fired up BCA again. First problem, the article shows this image:
macos-high-sierra-boot-camp-assistant-create-windows7-install-disk.png
but that first option, the one checked, is NOT on my version of BCA. Uh, oh. (Ominous music comes in here.) No matter. more research in order.
4. OK, cancel BCA. Back to Apple. Found this: https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1720?locale=en_US
5. Downloaded the associated file for 64-bit Win7, which is what I have. Followed directions and put the contents of the downloaded zip onto the USB thumb drive as directed.
6. Made an iso from my install disk for Win7 using Disk Utility, put it on the USB drive, also in the root.
7. Fired up BCA, still not the same as the article, but hey, it's got an option for Installing Win7 or WIn8.1 where the third option in the image is, so check that, uncheck the download stuff box since I've already done that. Click Continue.
8. BCA gurgles for a bit, then throws up a box saying it could not find the install disk. Curious, it's right there on the USB thumb drive where all the Boot Camp stuff is. Oh, well, no problem, I pop it in the drive, wait for it to mount, click continue again and wait.
9. BCA says it cannot install Win10. ?????? I'm trying to install Win7, the disk is Win7. Who brought up Win10? What is going on?
10. Only option is Cancel, so I cancel.
11. Unmount and eject install disk, mount the .iso file instead. Back to step 7. Can't find the install disk (mounted image) so put the disk back in. Exact same result with Win10.
12. Go to MicroSoft, download their version of Win7 iso file, put it in place of my created iso on the USB thumb drive. Back to step 7. Same results. Can't find disk, put in disk, can't install 10. Unmount install disk, eject it, mount iso from MS, repeat, same results. Yada, yada, yada.
13. Back to Apple, no more articles to help.

So, I'm here, stumped. How can I convince BCA that a Win7 disk is a Win7 disk? Is there a cleaner set of install directions for Win7 under HS? Anybody got a solution to this one? Do I need to burn the iso to the thumb drive and then put the Boot Camp folder on that drive? When I had the iso mounted I tried to copy the BootCamp downloaded drivers files to the iso, but it's read only and Get Info won't change it to read/write.
 
Joined
May 21, 2012
Messages
10,703
Reaction score
1,158
Points
113
Location
Rhode Island
Your Mac's Specs
M1 Mac Studio, 11" iPad Pro 3rdGen, iPhone 13 ProMax, Watch S7, 2018 15" MBP, AirPods Pro
What version of Boot Camp are you using? High Sierra comes with 6, but I believe win 7 is not compatible with that version.


Sent from my 12.9” iPad Pro 1stGen using Mac-Forums
 
OP
MacInWin
Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Messages
15,453
Reaction score
3,808
Points
113
Location
Winchester, VA
Your Mac's Specs
MBP 16" 2023 (M3 Pro), iPhone 15 Pro, plus ATVs, AWatch, MacMinis (multiple)
It is 6.1.0, but according to the article I posted it is supposed to work. Here is a screenshot I took of my BCA at the same point as the one in the previous post. Note that it refers to installing Win7, so it should be able to do that.

Screen Shot 2019-01-06 at 9.53.33 PM.png
 
Joined
May 21, 2012
Messages
10,703
Reaction score
1,158
Points
113
Location
Rhode Island
Your Mac's Specs
M1 Mac Studio, 11" iPad Pro 3rdGen, iPhone 13 ProMax, Watch S7, 2018 15" MBP, AirPods Pro
OP
MacInWin
Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Messages
15,453
Reaction score
3,808
Points
113
Location
Winchester, VA
Your Mac's Specs
MBP 16" 2023 (M3 Pro), iPhone 15 Pro, plus ATVs, AWatch, MacMinis (multiple)
Bob, I think you misunderstand the article a bit. It says, above the table
Depending on which Mac you have, you can install Windows 7 in 64-bit or 32-bit version. If you don't know which Mac you have, choose About This Mac from the Apple menu. Then find your Mac in the tables below and click a download link next to it.
A 4 or 5 links to a manual download for the related version of the Windows Support Software (drivers) that you need to install Windows 7 on your Mac.
and the 4 or 5 link to https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1720?locale=en_US or https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1630?locale=en_US depending on whether or not you are installing the 64bit version or the 32 bit version. Nothing there on any page about having to have a different version of BCA at all. The 4 and 5 refer to the version of BootCamp tools, not Boot Camp assistant, at least according to the article. On one of those pages is a link to this https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204048 where Apple specifically says Windows 7 can be installed in High Sierra using BCA.
In macOS High Sierra and earlier, you can install Windows 10, Windows 8.1, and Windows 7 using Boot Camp Assistant on supported Mac models.
Yes, my early-2011 17" MBP is listed as a supported model.
 
Joined
May 21, 2012
Messages
10,703
Reaction score
1,158
Points
113
Location
Rhode Island
Your Mac's Specs
M1 Mac Studio, 11" iPad Pro 3rdGen, iPhone 13 ProMax, Watch S7, 2018 15" MBP, AirPods Pro
Yes, I didn’t realize the compatibility list, was the same page, and only referenced the needed Boot Camp associated files.

Did you see this discussion at Apple Communities, https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8291321?

One of the replies mentions that the iso on the thumb drive should be 64 bit only, is that what you have? Or are you using the instal DVD?


Sent from my 12.9” iPad Pro 1stGen using Mac-Forums
 
OP
MacInWin
Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Messages
15,453
Reaction score
3,808
Points
113
Location
Winchester, VA
Your Mac's Specs
MBP 16" 2023 (M3 Pro), iPhone 15 Pro, plus ATVs, AWatch, MacMinis (multiple)
The iso (and the DVD from Microsoft) are both 64 bit. The challenge is that unlike in the article and image in post #1, my BCA doesn't have the "Create an install disk" option. See post #3 for what I see. So while I have the iso and I have the disk, BCA doesn't recognize the iso and the disk is seen as a Win10 disk, not Win7. And I can't find a clear explanation of how to burn the .iso onto a thumb drive to make it bootable, which is, I think, what i need to do. Although if bootability is the key, why doesn't it see the Win7 install disk as Win7 and not Win10?

I wonder if the fact the boot drive has been converted to APFS is a factor? I have read several article saying that it isn't, that BCA will shrink the APFS partition to make room for the Windows partition. In fact, one article was quite effusive in praise for Apple for how clever it was to do that and how well APFS played with BCA.
 

chscag

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
65,248
Reaction score
1,833
Points
113
Location
Keller, Texas
Your Mac's Specs
2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
That article referred to by Harry is confusing and is in conflict with what Apple now says about APFS. Besides all that, there are users over at MacRumors who have installed Windows 7 via Boot Camp to High Sierra. Also, the Microsoft Windows 7 DVD contains both the 32 bit and 64 bit versions.

I think Jake has a "stepchild" early 2011 17" MBP that doesn't want to cooperate, considering the other difficulties he's had with that machine.
 
OP
MacInWin
Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Messages
15,453
Reaction score
3,808
Points
113
Location
Winchester, VA
Your Mac's Specs
MBP 16" 2023 (M3 Pro), iPhone 15 Pro, plus ATVs, AWatch, MacMinis (multiple)
I cracked it. Basically, brute force. When I got the "Cannot install Win10" message, I clicked on the button to make it go away and repeated the "Continue" button in BCA. After a couple of repeated warnings about Win10, it started, let me do the partitioning. BTW, the APFS was a red herring, the drive is actually HFS+. Don't know why I thought it was APFS, but anyway, back to the story.

It would NOT let me use the iso for the installation media, mounted or not. Only wanted the DVD. So I put it in and Windows installed and booted. Nice, but not quite there as none of the BootCamp tools were installed, so I had to figure out how to get them installed. Found a KB article that said I could manually install them, so that was good, but I had to get them there in the first place, which turned out to be a bit of a saga. It had no network, couldn't see the hardware, barely functioned. It would NOT read a USB Thumb drive I had formatted to FAT on my other MBP and on which I had put the tools. I had another thumb drive that it would read, so I copied the files from the one it would not read to the one it would using my other MBP. OK, booted into Windows on the BootCamped machine, ran the setup application manually and hey, presto! it all installed. Rebooted into Windows 7, got full screen resolution, network, internet, everything. But the IE8 on Win7 is pretty much unacceptable to every website everywhere, so I installed Opera to get into the web. Will need to find a good browser at some point.

Now for some AV software because it is Windows, after all. Fortunately my ISP provides Norton free, so got that going as a download, then installed it and let it do what it does for Windows. Tested that Option-Boot lets me get back to High Sierra, then back to Win7. Seems to be running fine. Will need to do more testing, but at this point it's installed and functional enough to press on.

Thanks for all the assistance.
 
Joined
May 21, 2012
Messages
10,703
Reaction score
1,158
Points
113
Location
Rhode Island
Your Mac's Specs
M1 Mac Studio, 11" iPad Pro 3rdGen, iPhone 13 ProMax, Watch S7, 2018 15" MBP, AirPods Pro
Great work Jake.


Sent from my 12.9” iPad Pro 1stGen using Mac-Forums
 

IWT


Joined
Jan 23, 2009
Messages
10,218
Reaction score
2,175
Points
113
Location
Born Scotland. Worked all over UK. Live in Wales
Your Mac's Specs
M2 Max Studio Extra, 32GB memory, 4TB, Sonoma 14.4 Apple 5K Retina Studio Monitor
My word, Jake, you have shown a masterclass in patience and determination. Well done.

Ian
 
OP
MacInWin
Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Messages
15,453
Reaction score
3,808
Points
113
Location
Winchester, VA
Your Mac's Specs
MBP 16" 2023 (M3 Pro), iPhone 15 Pro, plus ATVs, AWatch, MacMinis (multiple)
Ian, it's more pigheaded stubbornness than patience or determination. Basically, I refuse to let the machine win until I'm totally defeated.
 

Slydude

Well-known member
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Nov 15, 2009
Messages
17,596
Reaction score
1,072
Points
113
Location
North Louisiana, USA
Your Mac's Specs
M1 MacMini 16 GB - Ventura, iPhone 14 Pro Max, 2015 iMac 16 GB Monterey
Way to go. I’ve been trying to set up Win 10 under Bootcamp off and on for months with no luck. In my case the errors occur when running the Windows installer. Would like to have it for one work related program but can use wife’s old PC.




Sent from my iPad using Mac-Forums
 
OP
MacInWin
Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Messages
15,453
Reaction score
3,808
Points
113
Location
Winchester, VA
Your Mac's Specs
MBP 16" 2023 (M3 Pro), iPhone 15 Pro, plus ATVs, AWatch, MacMinis (multiple)
Sly, I read at least one place that suggested installing something other than 10, maybe 7 or 8, and then upgrading from within to 10. Not sure how all that might go, but might be worth a shot.
 

Slydude

Well-known member
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Nov 15, 2009
Messages
17,596
Reaction score
1,072
Points
113
Location
North Louisiana, USA
Your Mac's Specs
M1 MacMini 16 GB - Ventura, iPhone 14 Pro Max, 2015 iMac 16 GB Monterey
Think I have a Win 7 disc and probably 8 as well. Maybe I can find them. Thanks


Sent from my iPad using Mac-Forums
 
OP
MacInWin
Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Messages
15,453
Reaction score
3,808
Points
113
Location
Winchester, VA
Your Mac's Specs
MBP 16" 2023 (M3 Pro), iPhone 15 Pro, plus ATVs, AWatch, MacMinis (multiple)
I will say this: WIn7 in BootCamp on that 2011 MBP is pig-ugly slow. Slower than Win7 in Parallels on my 2015 MBP by a wide margin. I'm a bit surprised by that, I expected some fall off, but not this much.
 
Joined
May 21, 2012
Messages
10,703
Reaction score
1,158
Points
113
Location
Rhode Island
Your Mac's Specs
M1 Mac Studio, 11" iPad Pro 3rdGen, iPhone 13 ProMax, Watch S7, 2018 15" MBP, AirPods Pro
Is there an SSD in the 2011?


Bob -

Sent from my 12.9” iPad Pro 1stGen using Mac-Forums
 
OP
MacInWin
Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Messages
15,453
Reaction score
3,808
Points
113
Location
Winchester, VA
Your Mac's Specs
MBP 16" 2023 (M3 Pro), iPhone 15 Pro, plus ATVs, AWatch, MacMinis (multiple)
No, it's a spinner. That could be part of the speed difference. But even in operations that don't require any drive activity the thing is really slow. And IE8 hangs up in the BootCamp edition but not in the Parallels version, so there is something else going on there, too. Not sure this whole effort is worth the time and effort I've already put into it.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top