[HolyReaver]

I will just give a brief overview of the issue here, and if any more details are required, I will give them.
I am a student worker at a university library, and I was offered the task of creating a new PE image. Really simple setup, we just use the PE disc to lauch Ghost32 and install various Windows XP images for the appropriate machines. The trick however, is that some 100 or so computers that we use this method for are 17" Silver Intel iMacs, roughly 2 years old. They run strictly XP, not an ounce of Mac on them except for drivers necessary to make the hardware run properly.
The current PE disc we have is based off WinPE 2.0 and has a cmd prompt interface with various options, specifically one to install the iMac NIC to allow for smoother ghosting. The person who created this disc has since left, and it was suggested that we redo the PE image so documentation can be written up for it. As well, we wanted to try to build an image on a flash drive, as using a CD is clumsy enough, let alone when you are using it in an iMac.

So now the problem, I have built a new PE image using WinPE 3.0, and a few files from VistaPE to create a GUI. It works, boots fine from the flash drive on any PC. It won't however boot on the iMacs. I have researched as much as my limited knowledge allows me to understand. I know that the iMacs don't support legacy usb, yet you can get around that and install OSX on a flash drive that the Mac will recognize as a bootable device. I have managed to create a boot.efi file on my flashdrive that makes the device show on the boot screen, but it doesn't target the PE files so it just boots into the Mac's OS. I also know that my PE image will show up as bootable when put it on a firewire drive, but Windows won't actually boot through firewire.

So my question is, is there a solution here? I suspect there is something simple and obvious I missed, but I wouldn't put it past Apple to have made it impossible.

[leen2]

What you are trying to do is not as easy as you might think. One of the problems you face is that XP is designed to boot from a machine that includes a standard BIOS. An Intel IMac does not use a BIOS. Instead it uses Intel's EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface) shell that they developed as a replacement for the standard x86 BIOS when they produced the Itanium line of systems (IA64 architecture). I don't believe that XP natively supports the EFI interface, I may be wrong.

[Tripredacus]

leen2, on Jul 28 2009, 05:16 PM, said:

What you are trying to do is not as easy as you might think. One of the problems you face is that XP is designed to boot from a machine that includes a standard BIOS. An Intel IMac does not use a BIOS. Instead it uses Intel's EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface) shell that they developed as a replacement for the standard x86 BIOS when they produced the Itanium line of systems (IA64 architecture). I don't believe that XP natively supports the EFI interface, I may be wrong.

WinPE 2.x and 3.0 use the Vista and Windows 7 kernels. Older Win PE used XP as a base. However this might still apply.

[jaclaz]

HolyReaver, on Jul 28 2009, 11:04 PM, said:

but Windows won't actually boot through firewire.

Not easily, NO : I guess that it can be done with the "XP Kansas City Shuffle" trick, though it won't probably be useful in your case, and however I have never seen anyone reporting it, firewire is a less than "common" interface, I guess.

About EFI booting, I guess you should read these:
http://homepages.tesco.net./J.deBoynePolla...ot-process.html
http://homepages.tesco.net./J.deBoynePolla...ot-process.html
but I don't think it exists a bootmgfw.efi for 32 bit :
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library...040(WS.10).aspx

This remained unsolved/unfinalized:
http://www.msfn.org/...howtopic=104629

But you can boot a Linux Kernel allright with the elilo EFI loader....
http://en.wikipedia....mware_Interface

Grub2 may in the feature support EFI architecture AND integrate grub4dos features, but cannot say if that will be enough to boot a Windows on EFI:
http://ubuntuforums....ad.php?t=995704


jaclaz

[JustinStacey.x]

HolyReaver, on Jul 28 2009, 10:04 PM, said:

They run strictly XP, not an ounce of Mac on them except for drivers necessary to make the hardware run properly.

Why?!?!
They need to be set up with bootcamp which requires the Mac OS...
smh bigtime...

[gamehead200]

JustinStacey, on Jul 31 2009, 06:37 AM, said:

HolyReaver, on Jul 28 2009, 10:04 PM, said:

They run strictly XP, not an ounce of Mac on them except for drivers necessary to make the hardware run properly.

Why?!?!
They need to be set up with bootcamp which requires the Mac OS...
smh bigtime...

Not true: http://derekhat.com/install-vista-on-a-mac...thout-bootcamp/ <-- He got Vista running without Mac OS on the drive.

[JustinStacey.x]

Good for him... but I still can't see any logic at all in why someone would go out, spend a premium on Macs, wipe off the great OS that comes with it, and then run only Windows?

[gamehead200]

JustinStacey, on Jul 31 2009, 07:24 AM, said:

Good for him... but I still can't see any logic at all in why someone would go out, spend a premium on Macs, wipe off the great OS that comes with it, and then run only Windows?

The best person to comment on this would be cluberti (I'll send him a PM). I know he's got a MacBook Pro which he only uses with Windows Vista (but maybe Windows 7 now); I can't remember what his exact explanation was for doing so. I've got one too, but I run Mac OS 10.5 as my main OS and virtualize Windows 7 for when I need to use Office.

[cluberti]

I use it for the hardware inside - it is the best-made Intel laptop money can buy, period. As to the OS, that's personal opinion, and I find Mac OS X to be useless for me due to the apps I run, so I wouldn't consider it a "great" OS for me by any means.

[amit.shukla]

I was able to boot a quad core xeon based mac (2.66GHz, 3 GB RAM) using USB bootable (WinPE 2.0 standard image with no customizations) but same usb could not boot older dual core macs (2.66 GHz).
I am also trying to prepare a bootable USB that can boot both PC and macs.

[Atheros]

you could always try the bootmgr.efi on the windows 7 install cd?

i dont know if you have to rename it. but i know that a lotta new tech now is heading to efi. so if you do get it working can you post your solution for the community?

thanks