- Joined
- Mar 2, 2014
- Messages
- 2,042
- Motherboard
- Gigabyte Z390 I AORUS PRO WIFI
- CPU
- i9-9900K
- Graphics
- RX 580
- Mac
- Classic Mac
- Mobile Phone
Attempted to install Win 7 "Ultimate"on a 2013 13" MacBook Air using Boot Camp, running under Mac OS 10.13.6 (17G65). Very frustrating and always unsuccessful.
First problem: At the beginning of Windows installation, "A required CD/DVD Driver could not be found." The USB flash drive contained an ISO image of the install DVD plus all of Apple's recommended driver bundle. No amount of rescanning or futile browsing got past this blockade.
Second problem: Using an external DVD drive (USB connection) instead of a flash drive failed again at the beginning of Windows installation with error message "No drivers found." Again, no browsing or rescanning worked.
With both the external DVD drive AND the flash drive connected simultaneously, I was able to get past the "missing" CD/DVD driver error message by black magic, i.e. disconnecting the DVD drive, cancelling the Windows install and reverting back all the way to the "Install Windows" screen and starting again. That took me to the license agreement.
Third problem: After agreeing to the license, and seeing the window for choosing the volume on which to install Windows (Apple says it has to be the BOOTCAMP volume and no other), I got the error message "Windows cannot be installed on this partition." Looking at "See details," I get that the format must be NTFS, and Boot Camp has formatted it as MSDOS FAT 32. (In fact, Boot Camp has no provision for choosing the NTFS format.)
The Windows installer software does provide a "Format" icon on the "See Details" page, so I took a chance and clicked it with the BOOTCAMP partition selected. A format activity did take place, since it resulted in losing the "BOOTCAMP" name for that partition, so I assumed it was now NTFS.
Fourth problem: However, when I clicked "Next," I got my final error message: "No [acceptable] partition could be found."
So I guess putting Windows 7 Ultimate on a MacBook Air is just not possible.
I can't believe no one else has had these problems!
First problem: At the beginning of Windows installation, "A required CD/DVD Driver could not be found." The USB flash drive contained an ISO image of the install DVD plus all of Apple's recommended driver bundle. No amount of rescanning or futile browsing got past this blockade.
Second problem: Using an external DVD drive (USB connection) instead of a flash drive failed again at the beginning of Windows installation with error message "No drivers found." Again, no browsing or rescanning worked.
With both the external DVD drive AND the flash drive connected simultaneously, I was able to get past the "missing" CD/DVD driver error message by black magic, i.e. disconnecting the DVD drive, cancelling the Windows install and reverting back all the way to the "Install Windows" screen and starting again. That took me to the license agreement.
Third problem: After agreeing to the license, and seeing the window for choosing the volume on which to install Windows (Apple says it has to be the BOOTCAMP volume and no other), I got the error message "Windows cannot be installed on this partition." Looking at "See details," I get that the format must be NTFS, and Boot Camp has formatted it as MSDOS FAT 32. (In fact, Boot Camp has no provision for choosing the NTFS format.)
The Windows installer software does provide a "Format" icon on the "See Details" page, so I took a chance and clicked it with the BOOTCAMP partition selected. A format activity did take place, since it resulted in losing the "BOOTCAMP" name for that partition, so I assumed it was now NTFS.
Fourth problem: However, when I clicked "Next," I got my final error message: "No [acceptable] partition could be found."
So I guess putting Windows 7 Ultimate on a MacBook Air is just not possible.
I can't believe no one else has had these problems!
