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Bounty For Booting XP on the Intel iMac
An anonymous reader writes "The race is on. You can try to get the bounty for booting Windows XP on iMac. At this moment there is $2773 waiting for the winner. However several people have brickified their iMacs when playing with EFI." I imagine those tech support calls are hysterical ;)
From TFA:Here's a suggestion for a charity...how about a charity for all the poor saps who've hosed their iMacs trying this stunt? ^_^
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~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey
Who would want to boot Windows XP normally?
Not to be too picky, but the correct word, I believe, is "bricked". Although whether there's an actual dictionary definiton of the word in this context I do not know.
"The dew has clearly fallen with a particularly sickening thud this morning"
[...]However several people have brickified their iMacs when playing with EFI.
;-)
Aha, but don't worry, just ask these nice people to add bricks to their existing set of architectures
No, it shouldn't. You apparently either have no idea what BartPE is, or ou completely failed to even read the article summary.
BartPE is simply a custom version of XP that can boot from removable media. The EFI rom on the MacTel machines seems to forbid booting an El Torito volume.
"When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
What I want is to boot MacOS on my PC. How about a bounty for that?
in a twist of irony. Or the EFF.
Short answer: Because you can.
Obligatory Soundbite Catchphrase
Therefore getiing XP to boot natively won't happen. There is still a chance at booting Windows Vista though, as it supports EFI. The only thing to overcome is the ACPI requirement that Vista has. The intel chip and mobo inside the iMacs stupport ACPI, but of course it has been removed from Apple's version of EFI. Find a way to get ACPI support onto the Mactel's EFI, and you should be able to have a dual boot config with Windows Vista.
From Dave Schroeder, posted to http://nak.journalspace.com/?cmd=displaycomments&d cid=407&entryid=407
By following these steps, the iMacs that had difficulty with certain EFI modules appear to have been restored to a functioning state:
1. Disconnect the internal hard disk
2. Disconnect the iMac from AC power
3. Plug in AC while holding the power button
4. Power up the iMac and zap NVRAM (cmd-opt-P-R)
The hard disk can be reformatted and the operating system restored.
If I could have a dual core machine with a really nice graphics card, and the machine was also cool, quiet, and attractive for $1300, and I could boot any OS I wanted on it (OS X, Linux, XP), I think I don't qualify as perverse. The iMac is a compact and powerful machine, and there's nothing available like it at the moment. Furthermore, give me the choice between carrying around two laptops or one (especially for developers or on-site technicians), can you possibly guess which one would be less expensive?
So, please, just drop this joke. It's been told a million times. If you don't have anything useful to say, just save your breath.
Does the "Core Duo" processor include the Vaderpool virtualization extensions.
And if Xen is able to use Vanderpool to transparently support WindowsXP/2003 then, would using Xen be the best way to go, with out having to deal with the Boot issue.
no sig yet
1.Walk it into any Apple store or Apple authorized repair shop.
2. Tell them your mac stopped working.
3. When they ask you for the symptoms, tell them it showed a spining ball in many colors, like a rainbow. Then it beeped. Then it told you to reboot in many languages.
4. When you rebooted it, it refused to power up.
5. The proper answer to any probing questions is "uh, I don't know."
Under any circumstances are you to give the impression that you know more about macs than the guy taking your repair order. If the contents of the drive are an issue, take the drive out, connect it to another machine and delete the partitions. Check out the "user installable parts" document for your mac, it will tell you the exact procedure for pulling a drive without voiding the warranty. For the first generation iMac G5 it even tells you the color of the 3 screws that you need to remove, I bet that has not changed with the Intel version.
Pedro
----
The Insomniac Coder
I just got a message from a friend of mine saying I have been /.ed . Now my life is complete
--------- I have no signature
However several people have brickified their iMacs when playing with EFI. I imagine those tech support calls...
.... minutes. Have a great day, sir.
UserX: Hi, is this Apple tech support?
Tech Support Operator 213453098: Yes, how can I help you?
UserX: Well, I was trying to win a contest by booting Windows XP on my iMac and then totally brickified it.
Tech Support Operator 213453098: Oh that's too bad, can you please start from the beginning?
UserX: Okay, I had XP copied to a disc, I put it in the iMac and fiddled with the EFI a bit to boot XP and all of a sudden I had a screen with a bunch of letters and numbers on it. I tried to hardboot it and get back OSX, but it failed...so I brickified it.
Tech Support Operator 213453098: So you corrupted your iMac to the point will it will not boot at all?
UserX: No, I got so mad I just threw a brick at it - now it's just a pile of sparking wires and smoking plastic.
Tech Support Operator 213453098: Please hold, let me transfer you to our anger management department. You estimated wait time is... thirty-five
He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
Right, because no one else has other software needs than yours.
Installing and booting OSX on PCs.
I expect to receive my rightfully earned $2500 by midnight.
Turn your argument around. Nobody really "needs" a Mac in the first place. We could get everything we need to get done on a standard Windows PC, but instead we buy Macintoshes because we *want* to, not because we need to.
Surely you will admit that there are some very popular Windows packages that have not been ported to the Mac. As well about a million inhouse and vertical software packages designed for Windows. A lot of people in the Mac community see this as something that would be legitimately useful to them, and not just "because it's there". They're doing this because they think it would add value to their Mac system.
Whenever I hear the word 'Innovation', I reach for my pistol.
...you insensitive clod!
With spending like this, exactly what are "conservatives" conserving?
A bounty for booty ye say?
ARRRRRRRRRRR!
He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
- there is no legal way to do it (there is also currently no way to buy a standalone copy of Mac OS X for Intel, even if you choose to ignore the license agreement)
- the Mac OS X license agreement specifically states that Mac OS X can only be installed on a single Apple-branded computer
However,
- the Windows license agreement allows for this
- it is legal to purchase a license for Windows and use it on any machine desired, including an Intel-based iMac
Microsoft is a software company. Apple is a hardware company.
The "restore" DVD contained a normal Mac OS X 10.4 installer
It has recently been established that the "normal" Mac OS X 10.4 DVD which comes with the new iMac will not work on other Macs.
I believe that's what the grandparent post wast bitching about.
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
Um, I'm one of the people who originally was left with an Intel-based iMac that would no longer boot. Both the blog's owner (Nakfull Propaganda) and one of the other posters in the comments also had the exact same issue when attempting to load EFI modules that presumably were unsupported by, or otherwise disagreed with, Apple's EFI implementation.
The steps I posted apparently reset something related to the NVRAM or firmware in the machine, and allow the machine to be revived (albeit after formatting the hard disk). Considering my contact information is everywhere, and I posted all of my contact details in every blog post I made, it's ridiculously easy for people to contact me and/or see who I am and what I do.
If you do webdesign, you need to check your pages in Explorer.
If you do application software, and your users are on windows.
If you do embedded software, and the dev kits are windows only.
If you do electrical design, you will probably need to run OrCAD.
If you do drafting, you will probably need to run AutoCAD.
If you teach and your school requires a specific application for grades.
Since MS Office was ported to the Mac, most business people will probably be able to get by without using windows. For graphics work, all the professional tools are also on the Mac, so they can get by just fine as well. There are also many good audio tools as well, although most professionals use a mix of Mac and Windows software (plus that one that boots up without a seprate OS).
However for many people, they really don't have that option. Even if there are replacements apps on the Mac that are as good or better than the windows based industry standards, compatibility with others pretty much forces you to have a copy around.
EFI isn't the only problem for the new Macs to run Windows. I wrote an article that looks at a range of problems: http://www.roughlydrafted.com/Jan06.IntelMacsWin1. html
This is a really great story. Here is my example Apple tech support call:
...Ok (gives name and telephone number)
Apple: Hello, Apple Tech Support this is iMac, how can I help you?
Nerd: My new iMac Core Duo won't boot up.
Apple: Ok, could I get your name and telephone number?
Nerd:
Apple: Hmmm....
Nerd: What?
Apple: Have you called about problems with this computer before?
Nerd: Yes. It's been very buggy.
Apple: I'm showing 10 other tech support calls and 10 replacement iMac's sent to you.
Nerd: Yeah, like I said they are really buggy machines.
Apple: You know what? Do I look stupid? DO YOU THINK WE WEREN'T TOLD THIS WOULD HAPPEN?
Nerd: Well I just....
Apple: (interrupts) Stop messing with the EFI!!!
Nerd: But I WANT to boot Windows!! How else am I supposed to do it?
Apple: I think we need to start seeing other people.
Nerd: What... WHY?
Apple: I need some space, and I feel like you can never be honest with me.
Nerd: I'm honest with you most of the time....
Apple: It's over guy, get a new girlfrield. Maybe you can go back to Dell, I hear she's available.
Nerd: But iMac you are so sexxxy!! You're breaking my heart!
Apple: No, you are literally breaking mine. My motherboard > you. (click)
(Nerd goes into corner, cries, and calls Dell.)
Dell: Hello you have reached Dell Tech Support.
Nerd: My iMac just dumped me, I need a friend....