MacBook Air - Boot Camp Windows 7 without an external DVD Drive

I'm a big fan of the new MacBook Air (especially the 11-inch model) and although I use Mac OS X as my primary operating system at home, I'm still forced into a Windows world for work. This is actually a bit of a pain with the MacBook Air, especially if you don't have the Apple external DVD drive.

Obviously there are options to install Windows in a virtual machine using VMware Fusion or Parallels, however this can be a little limiting, specifically if you need to use "real time" voice and video applications, such as Microsoft Lync or Cisco Unified Communications.

Therefore, the only other option is to dual boot your Mac, using Boot Camp. This guide will explain how to achieve this using a USB Stick, instead of having to purchase an external DVD drive.

Before we start you will need the following things: 

• Windows 7 (x86 or x64) PC (to create the bootable USB Stick)
• Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool
• Windows 7 Installation ISO (x86 or x64)
• rEFIt (DMG file)
• 8GB USB Stick
• MacBook Air (this process will actually work on any Intel based Mac)

Once you have everything, we can start the installation process. This will take approximately 40mins (including the Windows 7 install time). As we will be making changes to your partition table, please ensure you have completed a full system backup before proceeding.

Creating a bootable Windows 7 installation USB Stick

1. Download and install the Windows USB/DVD Download Tool from Microsoft, on your Windows 7 PC.

2. Start the tool and insert your 8GB USB Stick.

3. Specify the location of your Windows 7 Installation ISO. This can be any version of Windows 7, including x86 and x64.

4. When prompted, select "USB" and "Begin copying". This will take a few minutes to complete.

rEFIt Installation

5. Download and install rEFIt, using the "rEFIt.mpkg".

rEFIt is a boot menu and maintenance toolkit for EFI-based machines like all Intel Macs. It allows you to dual (or triple) boot your Mac into multiple operating systems, as well as boot from USB. The installation is quick and simple, however you will need to reboot your Mac twice before the new boot menu appears.

Finally, it is worth noting that rEFIt can be easily removed (see step 16) once Windows 7 has been installed.

Boot Camp & Drive Partitioning

6. Boot into Mac OS X and launch the "Boot Camp Assistant" (Applications > Utilities).

7. When prompted download the Windows Support Software. These are the drivers for Windows 7 (x86 and x64). They can be copied to a USB Stick or just stored locally for now.

8. Once complete you will be prompted to specify your partition size. Windows 7 requires a minimum of 10Gb for the installation, however I would recommend at least 30GB for x86 and 40GB for x64. You can also simply select to "Divide Equally".

9. Your drive will now be partitioned. When finished, select "Quit and Install Later". 

Installing Windows 7

10. Insert your Windows 7 Installation USB Stick into your MacBook Air and reboot.

11. When prompted at the rEFIt boot menu, select the USB drive (normally the far right option). This will now launch the Windows 7 installation wizard (just like if you were installing from a DVD).

12. Follow the standard Windows 7 installation wizard until you reach the partition options. From here you want to select the newly created "BOOTCAMP" partition to install Windows. If Windows states it cannot be installed on this partition, select "Drive Options" and delete the "BOOTCAMP" partition. Now select the "Unallocated Space" and click "New" and then "Format". Finally, exit the installer by clicking the "x" button and reboot your Mac. When you return to this part of the wizard you will be able to proceed with the installation on the newly created partition.

13. The Windows 7 installation will now complete. During this process it will reboot several times, at this point you should select the new Windows 7 partition from the rEFIlt boot menu. This will probably be named "Legacy OS". If you re-select the USB Stick, it will restart the Windows installer.

14. Once you reach the Windows 7 desktop you should first install the "Windows Support Software" that you downloaded during the Boot Camp setup (step 7). This will install all the required drivers for your Mac and require a reboot.

15. Once installed it is critical that you immediately run the "Apple Software Update" found in the Windows 7 "All Programs" folder. If a "Boot Camp" update is available download and install it. Due to a bug in the driver stack, this update should be completed before attempting to install any Windows Updates, otherwise it will result in a BSOD. Once the Boot Camp drivers are up to date you are free to install Windows Updates like normal.

Finishing Touches

16. rEFIt is actually a great tool that allows you to install multiple operating systems on your Mac. It can also easily be customised with different icons (head over to the eEFIt website to find our more). If you want to return to the default Mac boot menu you can safely uninstall rEFIt by entering Mac OS X and deleting the following folder and file.

/efi/
/Library/StartupItems/rEFItBlesser

On the next reboot you will be back to the default Mac boot menu (remember you will now need to hold the "option" key to access your Windows partition).

That brings me to the end of the guide. You should now have Mac OS X and Windows 7 natively installed on your MacBook Air. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Dual Boot Windows XP and Windows 7

So I have assumed that you didn't "upgrade" to Windows Vista... However Windows 7 is starting to look like the product Vista should have been from the beginning, therefore it’s probably worth a look.

The simplest way to test Windows 7 is in a Virtual Machine; however this means that you can’t use the new Aero effects or the full features of the superbar. To get a real insight into Windows 7 you need to run it natively on your hard drive. If you have a spare drive then you can easily install Windows 7 on that, if not you will need to dual boot. This article will explain how to do this quickly and easily without breaking your existing Windows XP installation.

Although this guide should mean that your Windows XP installation is left untouched it is always possible for partitioning to go wrong, therefore please backup all your important data before starting.

Step 1 – Partition your drive:

First you will need to partition your hard drive. Windows 7 requirements state it needs a minimum of 16GB; however I would recommend at least 20GB if possible. To partition your drive you will need to download GParted which is a free Linux based partition editor available as a desktop program or as a Live-CD. I always use the Live-CD and will assume it is the one you will use for the rest of this article. GParted supports ext2, ext3, fat16, fat32, hfs, hfs+, jfs, linux-swap, reiserfs, reiser4, ufs, xfs, and ntfs making it incredibly versatile.

Once downloaded burn the live-CD image (iso) to a disk (use imgburn if you don’t have an image burning application) and re-start your computer (ensure your BIOS is set to boot from CD/DVD). Wait for GParted to load and follow the simple on screen instructions to select your language etc, (any issues just select the default option). Once at the main GParted desktop click on the partition you would like to split and select: Partition > Resize/Move from the taskbar. Resize your drive to create the new partition and apply the settings. Finally wait for GParted to complete the operation and exit.

You will now be able to reboot into Windows XP to confirm the partition has been a success (Note: Windows may need to complete a Check Disk on your first re-start).

Step 2 – Install Windows 7

Pop your Windows 7 DVD into your drive and follow the wizard until you get to choose Installation Type. At this point select Custom (Advance) and chose the partition you set up earlier. Be sure to select the right one as you will otherwise overwrite your Windows XP install.

 

Finally wait for Windows 7 to install (this will require several reboots). Once complete you will be greeted with a boot option after POST asking which Windows version you would like to load.

 

Congratulations you now have a dual booting Windows XP, Windows 7 computer. If you need to re-install either version of Windows you can easily do so by selecting the correct partition during install.