Windows 8 on unsupported Mac

[2000macman]

Hello

I would like to use bootcamp 3 to install windows 8 on my late 2007 macbook pro 3,1

it is a 64 bit processor. intel core 2 duo.

Is this possible? The reason I would like to use windows 8 is I already own a legal copy. I would like to avoid spending 100 dollars on Windows 7.

I see that these are the drivers for windows 8:
Boot Camp 5.1: Frequently asked questions

but my computer is not listed.

I see these are the drivers for windows 7:
Boot Camp Support Software 4.0.4255

and my computer is listed.

My main question is, should I try out the drivers for windows 8 or the drivers for windows 7 where my computer is listed, and hope that they just carry over to windows 8? Do you know if I will be prompted to load the drivers from a USB stick or should I burn a dvd of them before attempting installation?

This article seems to imply that if I use the bootcamp 4 windows 7 drivers that support my computer I might be OK:

http://arstechnica.com/information-...installing-windows-8-on-a-mac-with-boot-camp/

 

[chscag]

Which model MacBook Pro do you have? There are several listed as 3,1 and both are 2007 models not 2006. I don't believe you can use Boot Camp 3 to install Windows 8 as it is not supported.

My main question is, should I try out the drivers for windows 8 or the drivers for windows 7 where my computer is listed, and hope that they just carry over to windows 8?

I would try the drivers for Windows 8 first but you may run into problems. The driver model for Vista and Windows 7 are the same, however, Windows 8 and 8.1 use a different driver model. Your MacBook Pro might not support the Windows 8 drivers.

 

[2000macman]

Thanks. It is actually a late 2007 macbook pro 3,1 I had a typo in the original post that said 2006. I cannot see my original post now, for some reason, I edited it to fix a few mistakes.

It is the intel core 2 duo macbook pro 2007.

This is an article that made me think it might work...

http://arstechnica.com/information-...installing-windows-8-on-a-mac-with-boot-camp/

 

[chscag]

Looks like it would be worth trying. I noticed the article talks about the vast majority of Windows 7 drivers should work with Window 8. You're not going to know that until you try since the driver model is different. But they're talking primarily about the drivers you need - specifically video which is always critical. Give it a try and let us know how it went. Make sure you have backups before you start. I recommend using either SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner to clone your hard drive to an external drive before you start. That way you can always get back to where you were before without data loss.

 

[2000macman]

Thanks. It looks like the official thing I should do, is buy a copy of windows 7 32 bit and use the drivers from bootcamp 4, as that is the only version officially supported. I may try out doing windows 8 with the drivers from bootcamp 5, to see waht the heck happens. I am home sick form work today, and if it craps the bed, I can probably recover it wit ha few install of snow leopard and my time machine backup. Also, this is my old computer, so its not super urgent if it takes a few days to get it working right again.


As long as, i dont know, the processor doesnt melt or something.

 

[2000macman]

Actually one last question, I have here a 32 bit version of windows 8, and a 64 bit. What do you think, try the bootcamp 4 drivers with the 32 bit version of windows 8 and hope the drivers overlap? Or try the bootcamp 5 drivers with windows 8 64 bit? I am leaning toward the 32 bit bootcamp 4 version.

 

[johnodd4]

isn't going to do you any good let me explain.

you have to update to windows 8.1 after installing windows 8 windows 8.1 needs a processor with s3 support however the core 2 duos don't have this. so you can install windows 8 but can't install 8.1 thank microsoft for changing the system specs on that one

 

[chscag]

Actually one last question, I have here a 32 bit version of windows 8, and a 64 bit. What do you think, try the bootcamp 4 drivers with the 32 bit version of windows 8 and hope the drivers overlap? Or try the bootcamp 5 drivers with windows 8 64 bit? I am leaning toward the 32 bit bootcamp 4 version.

I would try the 32 bit version first. But keep in mind that if you do decide later on to go 64 bit it will mean a complete re-install. There is no upgrade path to go from 32 bit to 64 bit.