XP not installing using Boot Camp

[NeoMac]

Hi, I'm trying to install Windows XP on my Mac Mini using Boot Camp, but between the point where it copies files and the point should move on to the install it just goes to a black screen and does nothing. It does get to the point where the computer restarts and says setup is resuming or something similar, but then it just goes to the black screen.

I tried formating with NTSC (Quick) and Fat (Quick) and I'm using a retail OEM copy of XP Pro. By OEM I mean the unpackaged version you can buy from NewEeg and such, not the discs that come with Dells.

It's worth noting that the first Mac Mini I got had a broken DVI port and had to be returned, but it had the same problem with Boot Camp as the new one. So it's not the computer.

Any help will be greatly appreciated since I bought the Mini to play high-def content, and that's not possible without XP installed via Boot Camp.

 

[secretanchitman]

does your copy of xp have sp2 integrated on it? that might be why...the installer says to use xp home/pro sp2 and vista 32 bit...

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: NeoMac
Hi, I'm trying to install Windows XP on my Mac Mini using Boot Camp, but between the point where it copies files and the point should move on to the install it just goes to a black screen and does nothing. It does get to the point where the computer restarts and says setup is resuming or something similar, but then it just goes to the black screen.

I tried formating with NTSC (Quick) and Fat (Quick) and I'm using a retail OEM copy of XP Pro. By OEM I mean the unpackaged version you can buy from NewEeg and such, not the discs that come with Dells.

It's worth noting that the first Mac Mini I got had a broken DVI port and had to be returned, but it had the same problem with Boot Camp as the new one. So it's not the computer.

Any help will be greatly appreciated since I bought the Mini to play high-def content, and that's not possible without XP installed via Boot Camp.

As an aside from figuring out your problem, why do you need XP to playback your HD content?

 

[Injury]

Originally posted by: NeoMac
It's worth noting that the first Mac Mini I got had a broken DVI port and had to be returned, but it had the same problem with Boot Camp as the new one. So it's not the computer.

So if it's not the computer.... it's probably the copy of Windows.


I had no issues putting XP on my mac mini... it was just as painless as it was on a PC.

 

[Viper0329]

When it asks you if you want to format the file system, format it using a full. There's a bug when quick formats are used.

 

[NeoMac]

I'm using a 32 bit copy with SP2.

If you can tell me what software will allow me to play back mpeg2 and h264 .ts files as well as HD-DVD's and BD's on OS X then I'll give it a try.

I'll try using full format. Does NTFS or FAT matter?

Thanks for the help so far everyone.

EDIT: And I used the same disc to install Windows using VMware Fusion, but as a VM it doesn't have enough power to do HD like I want it to.

 

[Kmax82]

I second theStu's question, why can't you playback HD content in OS X? It works fine on my machines.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Kmax82
I second theStu's question, why can't you playback HD content in OS X? It works fine on my machines.

There aren't any Blu-ray or HD-DVD disc software players for Mac at the moment

 

[NeoMac]

Also I play .ts files. I'm not sure if you're only thinking of QuickTime HD files, but I'm talking about full movies and tv shows with mpeg2 or h264 encoding in a ts container. And I'm not talking about xvid or divx "HD" either. From what I've seen OS X support for these files isn't as good as XP, if anyone knows otherwise please let me know as I love Leopard. Further, as Kaido stated, I don't know of any HD-DVD or BD player for OS X. I just got the Mini and before this I had always used a PC with XP for my HTPC, so it's also that I'm used to XP and use a lot of advanced playback software that is Windows only.

Anyways back to the real topic, getting XP to install via Boot Camp. I tried doing a full format with FAT and it does the same thing, so that must not be it unless it would only work with NTFS full format, which I don't see happening. I read that you need the latest firmware on your Mac to use Boot Camp. I don't get any warnings about it but I'll see if I have the latest when I get home.

EDIT: Just to have the info out there; I'm using the Mini on a 60" DLP. So I wonder if it's possible I'm not seeing some text on the extreme edge of my dreaded black screen due to overscan. I'll try installing Windows using a LCD monitor when I get home. I don't think this is a problem though since the Mini seems to correct for overscan at a hardware level, which is very nice.

 

[NeoMac]

I got it working. I had been using my 60" DLP HDTV for a monitor, connected to my TV's HDMI port via a DVI to HDMI cable, but I tried using a 20" LCD via VGA and it worked. It seems that Windows doesn't have the correct drivers to support the Mac Mini's GPU connected to a TV during the install process.

Hope this helps anyone else having this problem since I've found no mention of it online.