OS X Dual-Boot Problems

mqudsi

mqudsi

Mostly Harmless
Staff member
We'd kindly request that anyone experiencing problems with dual-booting OS X and Windows Vista refrain from opening a thread on the issue for the time-being.

At the moment, EasyBCD is capable of dual-booting OS X and Windows Vista in accord with the instructions found at http://neosmart.net/wiki/display/EBCD/Mac+OS+X. Other instructions created and maintained by 3rd parties can be found elsewhere on the web.

We are aware of certain difficulties in dual-booting the two operating systems with EasyBCD, and we are working on a solution with certain members of the OS X community with much experience in this field in hopes of adequately addressing this issue in a satisfactory manner for all involved.

You can expect beta versions of EasyBCD 2.0 in the near future that address this and other issues, along with a host of other new features and functionality.

Thank you for your patience.
 
Does not work for me:
I have a Mac Pro (latest version), with OSX Leopard 10.5.2 installed on Drive #1
I have XP and Vista 64 installed on partions #1 and #2 of drive #2
Everything works OK to execute the desired OS when I first choose Mac vs Windows (then XP vs Vista), but if I add an entry with EasyBCD to boot to OSX, this does not work. The entry is present, near XP and Vista entries, but when selecting OSX, I get an error message about Windows not being able to start.
File : \NST\nst_mac.efi
Status: 0xC000000F
I press Enter and fall back to the menu where I can then boot to XP or Vista.
As instructed by EasyBCD, I copied that .efi file from the mac partition to the vista partion.
 
Most people have the mistaken idea that EasyBCD's current OS X support is wholly broken - but that's not really the case. In some really rare circumstances, EasyBCD won't boot a copy of OS X, but 90% of the time, errors encountered are as a result of corrupt installation media or neglecting to follow one or more of the OS X dual-boot guiderules.

HFS+ errors are not caused by EasyBCD incompatibility, their cause remains bad installers or incorrect partitioning.

Chain0 errors are also caused by incorrect partitioning practices.

The only confirmed issues with EasyBCD involve dual-booting more than one OS X instalation and EFI-based booting of OS X.
 
Dual Boot Dual Core

Can EASY BCD be used to limit the number of cores running in an OS x boot? I see the option for my normal install of VISTA, but under the advanced option screen, I am unable to select the NST install of OS x. This would be a wondrous thing, because anytime I want to boot OS x on my core duo processor, I have to go into the bios and disable multicore support. It also slows down going back to vista. Any help would be MOST appreciated. Great product by the way.
 
Hi Teckanto, welcome to NST.

Long answer: EasyBCD can't edit anything to do with OS X because Apple are some of the worst at getting developers the information they need. For them, the bare-minimum amount of access they can give developers to the settings of their OS the better - and they've totally locked us out of the boot process.

It's only thanks to the hacking community that we've gotten as far as we have w/ EasyBCD.

Short answer: Sorry, no can do.
 
You guys do know that installing OS X on a pc is illegal, right? It is legal only if you are an Apple developer. I think that you should not add this ability into EasyBCD, because it only helps people who want install OS X on a pc.
 
EasyBCD is not specific to the computer its ran on, but rather, Vista and Windows.

The OS X capability when it works is fine. I know that myself that if I were to ever consider getting a Mac, I would still want to have the luxury of Windows. The Windows bootloader is more flexible anyway as you cannot modify Darwin's settings. I would perfer to use Vista's bootmgr or grub.

Your question of wether or not it is legal can only be answered at an individual level. It isn't the software itself, but rather, what an individual may use it to accomplish.
 
EasyBCD allows users who originally purchased the Apple OS x86 developers' kit back when the Intel Macs first came out to use Vista and Mac on the same PC - totally legal.

EasyBCD doesn't help you get Mac, it doesn't help you install it, and it doesn't help you use it. It just makes it possible - should you happen to have Mac on your x86 through whatever means - configured in a dual-boot.

It's the same as any software for Macs that can be used on both legal and non-legit Mac installs - they're provided as services to the legal users, and not responsible for others abusing the products.
 
MacFreak said:
You guys do know that installing OS X on a pc is illegal, right? It is legal only if you are an Apple developer. I think that you should not add this ability into EasyBCD, because it only helps people who want install OS X on a pc.
Click to expand...

You do know that all this is very clear in our documentation.

Mac OS X - NeoSmart Technologies Wiki

It states right on there:

NeoSmart Technologies does not provide any instructions whatsoever on getting OS X installed. EasyBCD only boots into OS X, nothing more, nothing less.
Click to expand...

In which case is totally legal to give people this option. Since we do not offer any services to install OS X on a PC. Just how to get it configured to work in a Multi Boot setup. :wink:

Cheers,
Mak
 
hey..i've been having problems dual booting my vista with osx..
When i install osx successfully my vista gets corrupted...them i have to use a system restore disk that i made using acer erecovery management..
After that when i install EasyBCD and do all the neccessary settings and reboot i select osx at the boot menu they say chain boot error...
You said above it has something to do with my partitions?
My laptop do has alot of hidden partitions for recovery...
 
i have installed vista and tiger on my 2 partitions and now vista is my default OS.
Obviously vista won't recognize the MAC(HFS+) Partition,
so now how to i add the entry for Mac.when i try to select G drive it doesnt show.
 
Hello,

Check the first post. It gives you the information that we can provide for this. First is the link ot our documentation and the 2nd link is how to do it otherwise. That is all we can do as far as support goes.

Cheers,
Mak
 
Makaveli213 said:
Hello,

Check the first post. It gives you the information that we can provide for this. First is the link ot our documentation and the 2nd link is how to do it otherwise. That is all we can do as far as support goes.

Cheers,
Mak
Click to expand...

comeon man tell me how will vista recognize my hfs formatted partition.
if thats possible then i would like to know how?. and in case its not possible then i would like to know how this software actually helps dual boot vista and os x.
 
Hello,

There is no software for Windows to recognize HFS+ file system. This program allows you to use the BCD Boot Menu to dual boot. That is what it is designed for. It allows you to have 1 boot menu instead of having Darwin, GRUB, BCD and boot.ini boot nemis for each operating system installed.

Cheers,
Mak
 
Makaveli213 said:
Hello,

There is no software for Windows to recognize HFS+ file system. This program allows you to use the BCD Boot Menu to dual boot. That is what it is designed for. It allows you to have 1 boot menu instead of having Darwin, GRUB, BCD and boot.ini boot nemis for each operating system installed.

Cheers,
Mak
Click to expand...

I actually quite like the way EasyBCD helps me dual boot, but the Mac OS X is not loading (And im not surprised).
I have easybcd1.7.2. When i add an entry and select MAC - Type Generic x86 PC and there is NO Auto configure button, as mentioned in the guide.
Now when i go to change settings, i cant assign my Mac Partition under the Drive drop down.
Actually Acrnois OS selector does boot up my Mac OS X, but i dnt like the way it looks and loads up a horrible screen and again to make vista work in that i have to deactivate it.
EAsyBCD seemed perfect but im really at a loss to make it work and realize that it could actually work.
PS; isnt there anyway that i can assign like "disk0partition4"(in my case).
 
Hello,

As of right now no. There is no way to force EasyBCD to work with OS X. That is the whole point of this topic. Was to let people know this. If the Auto Configure or other options didnt work there is nothing we can do at this time cause OS X 10.5 Leopard changed something with Darwin which doesnt allow it to work with EasyBCD as it stands.

With Apple being so closed mouthed about how Darwin works it is very tough to get the information needed to get it working correctly again.

Until such time that a fix can be done there is nothing more we can really do. Sorry.

Cheers,
Mak
 
So it is pretty much impossible to boot leopard with easyBCD?

I get a flashing "_" both when booting my mac HDD first (without the DVD), and when selecting mac OSX on the prompt if I boot from vista HDD.

What do i mean with the DVD? Well, if I boot the mac HDD without the DVD I get a flashing "_" on the top left of the screen in DOS window. If the install DVD is IN the drive, I get a prompt asking if I want to boot from DVD or not. I press NOTHING the countdown goes to 0, and mac OS boot perfectly. What is going on?
 
Question on Neogrub:

I have windows vista ultimate with 3 preexisting primary partitions: Dell Utility, Vista and Vista recovery. My 4th partition is also preexisting ( = Mediacentre) and all I can do is create extended or logical partitions thereafter as all my slots for primary drives are gone. I wish to install OS X 86 and I understand Neogrub can fake a primary partition. My question is how i.e. what code to use
Thanks:smile:
Yuki
 
Makaveli213 said:
Hello,

There is no software for Windows to recognize HFS+ file system. This program allows you to use the BCD Boot Menu to dual boot. That is what it is designed for. It allows you to have 1 boot menu instead of having Darwin, GRUB, BCD and boot.ini boot nemis for each operating system installed.

Cheers,
Mak
Click to expand...

Actually there is a program for Windows that can recognize mac partitions. It's MacDrive
http://www.mediafour.com/products/macdrive/
If it can help you make EasyBCD dual boot Leopard and Vista, that would be great.
 
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