Tuesday 16 December 2014

Win7 on 2014 Macbook Air

2014 MacBook Air 11" (MD711x/B)
  • 1.4GHz Intel Core i5 4250U
  • Intel HD 5000 graphics
  • 4GB DDR3-SDRAM 
  • 128GB SSD
  • 11.6" 1366x768 HD LED screen
  • 2xUSD3.0
  • 802.11ac Wi-Fi
  • 1.1kg

Win7 Installation Procedure
  1. Purchase Win7 and download ISO (I used the very last link to this file "X17-24395.iso") to a USB drive;
  2. Fire up the MacBook Air, connect to the Internet, and insert your USB drive with the ISO file;
  3. Also insert a USB2.0 drive with at least 8GB capacity - this USB key will be wiped and will become the "Win7 install disk" - this USB drive must be USB2.0;
  4. Now go to Boot Camp Assistant (type Command + Space, and enter "Boot Camp") and select these options:

  1. Select the ISO from the source USB drive, and the destination USB2.0 drive;
  2. Now settle in while the Macbook copies and downloads files, and creates the Win7 install disk;
  3. Once done, remove the USB drive with the ISO file - we're done with this one now;
  4. Next you'll be asked to size your Win7 partition (I managed 87GB out of the 128GB);
  5. Then the Macbook will restart and hopefully boot from the Win7 install disk and hopefully you will get to this screen 

  1. At this point, apparently you should take out the Win7 install disk then hit "Install Now" and then reinsert the Win7 USB drive. This is by far the weirdest thing, but it worked for me...

    Troubleshoot - if your screen freezes here, it's most likely because the Macbook isn't able to load the Windows keyboard and trackpad drivers. The solution, sadly, is to go back into Mac OS (which may need you to press the Option key on power up), fire up Boot Camp, delete the Win7 partition, then create a new Win7 partition per Step 8. Note that I don't believe you can boot straight to your Win7 install disk using the Option key at power up, you must reboot via Boot Camp

    Troubleshoot - if you get told "No device drivers were found" and you can't get the MacBook to recognise them, then you may have missed Step 10 above, in which case there's nothing for it but to go back into Mac OS, fire up Boot Camp, delete the Win7 partition, then go back to Step 8.

    Troubleshoot - if you have trouble getting Boot Camp to delete the Win7 partition, it may be because the Win7 partition needs to be re-formatted. Go to the Disk Utility, select the partition and format as "journaled", then go back to Boot Camp to delete the partition.  If all else fails, you can reinstall OS X, by holding down Command+Option+R on power up, and selecting Install OS X.

  2. If everything has gone to plan, you will then get this screen, where you select your Boot Camp partition, format it and hit next.

  1. Once your Win7 install is complete, go into the Win7 install disk, and run the Boot Camp Support Software, which will let you customise a few things, like left clicking and right clicking on the trackpad.



Further Info:
NEW RIG
Mobo for New Rig
Software for New Rig
And Now (Software)
And Now (Hardware)
Getting Closer to Next Project
Next Project
Windows 7 Starter Kit
2nd Baby Arrived (father doing well)
Baby News
RKHTPC

Tuesday 11 November 2014

Friday 1 August 2014

Monday 14 April 2014

[SOLVED] Windows 7 x64 Network Shares (Video and Music) Drop Out Intermittently (WMC7 and Sonos)

So we started noticing that videos streamed from the New Rig to the Living Room PC and music streamed to the Sonos were cutting out after about 5 mins.

Everything was working fine until last week when some security updates from Microsoft were installed.  Why would this be?

  1. Hardware - checked all network connections/cables, and optimised the Wifis channel (using inSSIDer 4). Then updated firmware for router and the network adapter.
  2. Software - checked to see that all network settings were what they were supposed to be (using Homegroup, media streaming on) and ensured Services were set to optimise sharing.  Then did a system restore (which can only do successfully after uninstalling AVG!).  Finally, the problem appears fixed after following these steps to ensure UPnP device host, Windows Media Player Network Sharing services are restarted and set to 'Automatic' and then going into WMP12 Libraries and ensuring that Streaming is turned on.
Why, Microsoft?

Further Info:
New Rig
Software for New Rig
And Now (Hardware)...

Friday 14 February 2014

The Importance of Definitions

Image credit: Unknown but appears here

Wednesday 1 January 2014

Who said...

"Puny god."

"It's not an S."

"This drink... I like it!"
"I know, it's great right?"
"ANOTHER!"

"This isn't a car."

"I can do this all day."

"Yeah, I was. But after five days of agonizing pain, the cobra died."

"I hate working here — they are so weird!"

"No! They expect one of us in the wreckage, brother."

"I have to make sure these people never bother us again in our lives."
"What are you going to do?"
"What I do best."

"You asked me to come say goodbye. Sayonara!"

"There's uh...water in the tap."

"The rest of him was too fat for my horse." (You will NEVER get this).

"Sir, a helmet can interfere with my psychic abilities"
"Think a bullet in the head might interfere with them more."

"Okay, Robin wishes he was me."

"It was considered a very sexy name at the time."
"It sounds like an STD."

"You haven’t killed anybody in months!"
"That’s a positive thing!"

"Maybe I went and did the worst crime of all: I got civilized."

Previously on "Who said..."
December 2012
October 2010
June 2010
January 2010
December 2009
August 2009
January 2009
May 2008