HP ProBook 4540s dual boot SUCCESS!

[justein230]

RehabMan already has a fantastic guide on how to install Mavericks on the ProBook, which I religiously followed, so I will not repeat him. However, the gray area for me was the Windows 7 installation. In order to dual boot AND use the OEM key, first find a link to download a retail image of Windows 7 Professional (or whatever version your ProBook came with, from Microsoft, don't t*****t it, you will find a link to Microsoft's Digital River downloads). Then, either make a bootable USB or a DVD. Then, boot into your UniBeast drive, partition your disk and install OS X onto it. Then, once that is done, pop in the DVD/USB with Win7 on it, enter the OEM key under the battery, and if needed activate using the automated phone system. Works like a charm! I have not had experience doing this with HP Recovery Media of any sort, so I will not be able to answer those questions. However, I can say that after downloading the drivers from HP's website and installing them, it works fine, even if it is time consuming to manually install all the drivers.

 

[RehabMan]

RehabMan already has a fantastic guide on how to install Mavericks on the ProBook, which I religiously followed, so I will not repeat him. However, the gray area for me was the Windows 7 installation. In order to dual boot AND use the OEM key, first find a link to download a retail image of Windows 7 Professional (or whatever version your ProBook came with, from Microsoft, don't t*****t it, you will find a link to Microsoft's Digital River downloads). Then, either make a bootable USB or a DVD. Then, boot into your UniBeast drive, partition your disk and install OS X onto it. Then, once that is done, pop in the DVD/USB with Win7 on it, enter the OEM key under the battery, and if needed activate using the automated phone system. Works like a charm! I have not had experience doing this with HP Recovery Media of any sort, so I will not be able to answer those questions. However, I can say that after downloading the drivers from HP's website and installing them, it works fine, even if it is time consuming to manually install all the drivers.

Yes, and even better yet, you end up with a much better Windows install (without all the crapware that HP installs as part of the OEM image), as you get to choose what things you install.