MacUser: Using Service Pack 1 with Boot Camp

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April 08, 2006

Using Service Pack 1 with Boot Camp

Authored by Scott Silverman at 10:04 AM

Category | Software » XP on Mac

According to the Boot Camp requirements page, Windows XP Service Pack 2 must be used with Boot Camp. However, this requirement is not actually enforced by the Boot Camp installer. The only problems you will encounter should be when loading drivers into Windows from your Boot Camp Drivers CD. There are several ways around this problem by manually installing drivers obtained from a few different sources. I successfully did this the other day as mentioned in My experience at Boot Camp. I received a few questions since then as to how I loaded the drivers in XP SP1, so I decided to post my methods. A downloadable PDF file with instructions can be found here. Let me know how it goes!

Comments

After reading a sufficient amount of posts regarding running Windows XP on the IntelMacs, I really must say something. I switched from PCs to Macs in December. Technically, it was my second switch because my high school had a Mac requirement, but that was back in the days of G3s and Mac OS 9, which I absolutely loathed by the way. I digress. The real point I want to make is why is everyone making such a fuss about this? I let it go at first when it was just a technology achievement piece, but now it has gone much further. I came to the Mac world and I could not be more happy than I am now. I loath when I have to use my IBM Thinkpad for classes or to test a web design in Windows. Yet, with all of this chatter, you all seem so cheery to be bringing Microsoft onto your machine. In the past 5 months, there have only been two programs I needed Windows for: SmartDraw and SAP, both are business programs. SAP was unavoidable, but I could have made it around SmartDraw. I have Microsoft Office for when all my classmates send me files, but a lot of the time I copy and paste the text into Pages. I ALWAYS use Pages and Keynote for my own work, which was surprising because I never thought they would be so splendid and that Office was so wretched. I am sorry to be on the offense here, but you won't find me a bit excited until I can run Mac OS X on my IBM ThinkPad. I love my Mac so much that I actually want to get an Apple laptop just so I don't ever have to touch Windows. Have you all gone bonkers?! Also, whether or not Apple will stand to make money off of this because of Boot Camp making it easier for "switchers", Microsoft will definitely bring in some bank. As beautiful as I think my 20" iMac G5 w/ iSight is, Mac OS X brought me to Apple, not the computer. It's wonderful, but it's also expensive and I know I can build a faster desktop myself. Provided that Apple does not do anything to alienate its fans, I will own an IntelMac some day. And rest assured that when I do, the last thing I will do is celebrate the fact that I can dual-boot a Microsoft product on it. Loading Office is already a big enough kick in the face. Fin.

Posted by: Christopher | April 8, 2006 11:21 PM

Can you not just install windows with SP1 then update to SP2 before installing the drivers. Obvviously one wouldn't have an internet connection yet so you could download it in OS X then transfer it to your windows partition.

Posted by: Pierce Glennie | April 9, 2006 12:23 AM

In response to Christopher's comment: Yes, I agree with you that Mac OS X is far superior to Windows. However, many people will still have a need to run Windows because of the simple fact that 95% of computers run it. Thus, there are certain applications and uses that some people will have to use Windows for. Additionally, many people (like me) will install Windows simply for the wow-factor of being able to dual boot the two OSes.

In response to Pierce's comment:
Yes, I suppose you could do that. I thought about that, and searched for SP2 to download off Microsoft.com and couldn't find it for pure download to burn to a CD. However, here is a site which has SP2 for download. If anyone tries this and it works, let us know!

Posted by: Scott Silverman | April 9, 2006 08:55 PM

In response to Scott and Pierce's question: No, I've tried 2 different download sites, and it always encounters the same glitch. In my experience, it must be done over the internet (after installing drivers)

Posted by: Justin Sedor | April 10, 2006 10:45 AM

You can download it from Microsoft's site at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads (Go to "Windows" then "Windows XP Service Pack 2 for IT Professionals and Developers")

Posted by: Pierce Glennie | April 10, 2006 11:27 AM

Does anyone else feel like the size of applications/programs/music libraries etc. are catching up to the size of the hard drives being produced. I'm getting a new MBP this fall and I'm just worried about HDD space if I want to install a few pro apps and things like Adobe Web Bundle (that is, when the CS3 Web Bundle comes out), a few Jam Packs, a couple thousand MP3's. I really prefer to not put Windows on but if I have to I'm scared for space. Can anyone give me an idea of how much stuff they have on theirs and how much space is there?

Posted by: Dan | April 10, 2006 07:10 PM

Dan, I share your thoughts exactly. So much so that I actually wrote an entry on this rising problem. Have any ideas for solving/bettering it?

Posted by: Scott Silverman | April 10, 2006 10:34 PM

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April 08, 2006

Using Service Pack 1 with Boot Camp

Authored by Scott Silverman at 10:04 AM

Category | Software » XP on Mac

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