Bootcamping to Vista - Driver problems!

[Methuselah]

So bootcamp makes the process of partitioning my HD and DLing the new OS pretty straightforward, but I'm running into a problem now that I can run Vista.

I popped in my Leopard install disk, as requested. Bootcamp seemed to install the necessary drivers and such, but I'm 99% sure that it failed. In Vista, the laptop (A Macbook Pro, if that matters) doesn't pick up the video card, and the necessary hardware to make a wireless connection. The trackpad isn't working properly (I'm not sure if two-finger scrolling transfers over, but I can't click and drag items) and my USB mouse cannot operate in some windows.

I've tried installing some drivers manually, and when I go to the device manager and tell it to install the drivers from the CD in the drive, even if I locate them specifically, it tells me they can't be located.

Google searches are no help so far, please show me some love Halforums :[

 

[Matt²]

hmmmmmmm.... no love for Apple stuff here.. you might try finding a free "All Drivers" dvd off of torrent sites. You can try XP version but also mainly get the Vista version as well.

 

[PatrThom]

You don't say which model of MacBook Pro you're using (There have been almost a dozen revisions, now). If your unit came with grey install CDs that already contained Leopard, the drivers on that restore disc may actually be newer than the ones on the pretty purple X install disc. Check grey disc #1 to see which version of the OS came with it. If it says "10.5.3" or something, you probably want those instead.

Either that or my best guess is that you're trying to install the 32-bit drivers on 64-bit Vista (or vice-versa). If you can at least get Vista working on a wired network connection, you might try running the Microsoft and Apple software updates. They may find more recent drivers with little to no headache. Or not. Every time I've tried it, the process has been pretty straightforward. Make partition, install Windows, run updates. Time-consuming, but simple.

--Patrick

 

[Methuselah]

The grey disk just reads "10.5", and I'm running in 32 bit Vista. I'll definitely try hooking up to a wired connection to search for updates, thank you :]

 

[SpecialKO]

If you're running a unibody Macbook with an nvidia 9400/600m in it, I had to install a generic mobile driver for the chipset from nvidia after the Windows 7 installation was complete. Didn't have a wireless problem, though, so I can't talk to that.

 

[PatrThom]

Yeah, I'd boot back to Vista and insert that grey disc. It should have a Boot Camp installer on it. Run that. It may contain drivers newer than the ones on the retail disc. Afterwards, run Apple Software Update (both on the Mac side AND the PC side), which should bring you up to the newest Boot Camp (v3.1, I think?) including the drivers for all the Mac-specific hardware. After you restart to apply all the updates, just repeat Windows' update process until you're current.

Incidentally, if anyone else out there has tried to install Win7 on Boot Camp and couldn't get it to work, that's probably because the version of Boot Camp that supports Win7 requires Snow Leopard (10.6). So the only Windows OS versions you can install on 10.5 are WinXP SP2 thru Vista.

--Patrick

 

[Methuselah]

My wired connection isn't working :l srsface

When I install Bootcamp off the grey disk, I get the same utter-fucking-failure of most of my hardware, Vista doesn't pick up the wireless, GPU, etc. And I can't scan for updates in Vista (though I got Apple Software Update up) because I can't connect to the internet, even through a cable.

An odd thing happened when I copied the files from the disk into my C drive (on recieving advice from google), and I dove in and ran only the nvidia mobile graphics installer - The install went further than I had seen before, but I got an error message that read something like "This driver install is meant to run on Windows Vista 32-bit. Please ensure blah blah bloo" Now I KNOW I installed Vista 32 bit, but this message has planted a seed of doubt in my little mind. Would a full partition-delete followed by a fresh install be a reasonable course of action?

 

[Methuselah]

Did a full re-install.... no luck. I'm facing the exact same problems. Anybody?

Could I go online in OSX and download some drivers onto a disk? Just one or two to test. But I don't imagine the filetypes would transfer well. I am not pleased

 

[PatrThom]

Sure. You can download any/everything you want and burn it to a CD and it'll read in Windows just fine, especially if you don't unZIP them first. A datafile is just a datafile, no matter the OS, and CD format can be read by both OSes without too much trouble. I know Vista is picky about driver signatures, but I'm still very, very puzzled as to why this doesn't go as easily as every other Boot Camp install I've ever done. Honestly the usual problem people run into is that they end up using the Windows installer to format over the Mac partition by mistake. Oops.

Only other thing I have for you (without more info) is to make sure you are only using the quick format in the Windows setup wizard, not the long format.

--Patrick

 

[Methuselah]

I was pretty busy this afternoon. Headed out and bought Snow Leopard, then did the whole bootcamp thing with a new OS and a new disk. I ran into a few snags along the way, but now here I am; on Windows XP, in Google Chrome, on my Mac

But my Deathadder still isn't working!! xd

When I plug the mouse in, there is some confusion as to where it can operate. I think that the window I'm currently in works fine with my Deathadder at the moment I plug it in, but any other "layer" won't pick up the cursor. That means my desktop and any other window. The main problem here is the fact that this also applies to my trackpad as soon as I plug in my mouse. So I'm pretty much crippled as soon as I plug into the USB port. I downloaded the lastest drivers, but that's still a no-go. Will a firmware update fix the problem? I have to plug the mouse in for that, obviously. The only reason I don't just wing it is because I have to do a full restart every time I fail, and that's allready getting frustrating.

Halp!

 

[Methuselah]

FIRMWARE DID IT

Looks like pretty smooth sailing from here on out! Please, lock this horrible symbol of my bad luck with technology.

But seriously, thanks Patr for putting in the time to help me out, despite the fact that in the end it took an OS switch to fix.