Question about windows install on Macbook

On my MBP (which is most likely the same on the Macbook) it is Ctrl+Option+Fn+Backspace.

Since on my MBP there is no delete key (removing characters on the right) but just a backspace key (removing characters on the left) you will have to use fn+delete if you want the Windows version of the delete key. (The Mac keyboard has the backspace label as delete).

Also, for scrolling, it's with two fingers (upward and downward movement)

You'll notice Apple has really well integrated their drivers in Windows XP/Vista (ie Volume controls, screen brightness etc) just like OS X. If you have the remote, I believe it will allow you to control iTunes.

Jeff

There are easier ways, you can remap using free software. Google bootcamp + remap keyboard.

As to your first question about uninstalling MAC OS X and running only Windows Vista? Not without a lot and I mean ALOT of programing (not to mention the knowledge and skill to do it . Windows can be installed because of BootCamp doing that work for you. If you want to only use Windows you could always use BootCamp and allot all remaining hard drive space to Windows and use the min. amount for MAC OS X, but no you can't have Windows without MAC OS X.

BootCamp doesn't do anything but partition the hard drive and burn a cd containing drivers. Never have I heard anywhere that OS X is required for Windows.

Um it doesn't require any programming actually. It does require a bit of skill on the commandline yes, but that is about it. To my knowledge, The way I would look at doing it is:

Burn a driver disk of Windows drivers from bootcamp.
Install rEFIt boot loader.
Use diskutil from the Mac OS install disk to reformat the second partition(And possibly the first as well since we would be using rEFIt, not sure) as a MBR partition, not GPT. To do this I believe we need to tell it to format the partition as msdos/fat32 (We can tell windows to actually format using NTFS later) which will make a MBR partition for Windows to install on. Then boot to windows install CD and continue.

Now to be honest, due to upgrades in boot camp drivers coming in on the mac side of things, I don't really recommend this(Also Mac OS being a better OS IMO also makes me not recommend it. Also keep in mind this is merely off the top of my head, so it may not be exactly correct, but a quick Google should correct anything wrong with it.

But programming? Not really.

Seablade

Kakaze as far as I know the only trick to it is partitioning the disk to use a MBR scheme instead of GPT, and handling boot of it. Since windows doesn't understand GPT partitioning this is necessary. Now Linux, and I believe BSD, however do understand GPT and don't need this themselves.

To tell the truth rEFIt may not even be necessary, the default bootloader may be able to handle this fine.

Seablade

I need to get an Intel Mac so I can test these things for myself but from what I understand of it you shouldn't have to go through any of that stuff to get Windows on there by itself.

A google search didn't turn up anything but old articles from before BootCamp.

Sorry, I was spewing old info I had off the top of my head, should probably do a little up to date research before I post next time I Googled the subject as well and I certainly didn't find anything that looked too hard to do at all. I have a MBP 2.4 GHz I think I will have to try this just to see hard/easy it actually is. I will get back to you guys hopfully later today.

Nah you at least need to change the partitioning scheme. By default on the mac they use GPT partitioning, which Windows cannot understand (And has its own limitations that I hate). All of the following assumes a single drive.

Also by default on a Mac youa re looking at:
Partition 1: GPT, Hidden EFI boot partition, needed for OS X as far as I am aware, but I don't know if it is needed for other OSes, especially after installing rEFIt
Partition 2: GPT, Mac OS X

If using Boot camp, the last partition on the drive is made by turning the disk into a hybrid MBR/GPT partitioning scheme, and the last partition follows the rules for MBR partitioning so that Windows can boot off of it. Note this is the LAST partition, for some reason based off what I have read it has to be last.

If triple booting with Linux or another OS, the Linux partition has to be before the Windows partition. Linux can understand the GPT partitioning scheme fine, but I don't know if any of its tools can create a hybrid GPT/MBR partitioning scheme like diskutil can, so most walkthroughs use diskutil to create the partitioning on it.

Sadly you get the worst of both worlds when doing a hybrid partitioning setup like that, and can only use 4 partitions total (Limitation of GPT I hate). Means triple booting is a bit more difficult than normal.

Seablade

I thought the way GPT worked was that it kept the MBR for backwards compatibility? Which is why Windows is able to install on a Mac.

Seems to me if you tell the Windows install to wipe the OS X partition that it should still install and work.

Plus, doesn't 64 bit Windows recognise GPT natively?

Except you are dealing with an EFI based machine, not a BIOS based machine, so I can't comment exactly on how well that will work, seeing as EFI is not commonly supported on Windows. But hey it could always be tried sometime.

I don't believe ANY windows versions deal with GPT to my knowledge. I believe I may have read Vista might be EFI compatible if I remember right(Just double checked, Vista SP1 has 64 Bit EFI capability, which qualifies the newest macs I believe). More importantly 64 bit windows-xp drivers for the mac hardware do not exist to my knowledge.

Seablade

Did a quick search, seems that a firmware update solved the problem of booting to a Windows install or CD by default in 2005, so I stand corrected there. You should be able to pop a disk in and completely trash the HD to install windows on it.

Windows does not however, understand GPT to my knowledge, not that it is an issue in this case.

Seablade

The Question is Answered...

Well, I'm back, and I am on my MacBook Pro running only Windows XP no OS X 10.5. It was just as easy as popping the install disk in and deleting all partitions, then reformatting and letting Windows have it way with me...I feel dirty...but it was a little exciting to. From there I just used the OS X install disk and installed the drivers...BootCamp also installed of course but I didn't take the time to extract only the drivers from the OS X install disk. The only weird thing is that Windows won't boot up like normal. When I start up my MBP it will pop up a screen that asks me which Windows XP Home Edition I wish to boot from. It says there are two Windows XPs but if you try to boot the second one listed it says there is no bootable windows volume located. If you choose the first one listed it will boot like normal. Well, I guess that question has been answered, it is possible and easy to install and run only Windows on an Intel Mac, so if you'll pardon me I need to go shower (I still feel dirty) and put Leopard back where it rightfully belongs

Heh am I sad for wanting ReactOS to succeed so that I don't have to bother with Windows anymore?

Thanks for the objective test. I can't afford my HD at the moment to test.

Seablade

Course I only use it for acoustic simulation software and programming software for DSP units, but still...

I thought you could trash OS X.

The only reason Windows installs in the first place is because Apple added the BIOS emulation plugin for EFI in the firmware that came out with the release of BootCamp beta. And the GPT partition is, from what I understand, set up for backwards compatibility.

Also, I did some research...that EFI partition you mentioned, apparently OS X doesn't even touch it. It'll place one on there if you do a clean install from what I understand, but beyond that doesn't use it at all. And OS X runs quite well on GPT, MBR, and even APM on the Intel Macs, but it just won't install on a disk that's not GPT.

Did you confirm that Mac OS will boot from MBR partition schemes? It used to not to that I have heard rumors the newer machines will allow it. I haven't looked into it to much, and haven't had time to confirm it, but it would make my life MUCH easier to be able to set up more than 4 partitions on my new HD.

Seablade

From everything I read, if you copy an install of OS X to an MBR drive—the installer won't let you put OS X on MBR—OS X will boot up happily.

Regarding partitions: apparently, from what I've read, GPT supports up to 128 primary partitions but doesn't support extended partitions. MBR only supports four primary partitions but uses extended partitions for more. You're limited to only four on the Mac because you need to use the GPT/MBR hybrid and since GPT is the main partitioning scheme and it doesn't support extended partitions you can only use the four primary partitions available by MBR.

EDIT: further reading seems to suggest that, while MBR based OSes such as Windows need to be in the first four partitions, any OS that can understand GPT can use partitions beyond the fourth one, which means you're not limited to four as long as the OSes you use beyond the fourth partition understand GPT. And OS X doesn't have to be in the first four partitions.