Boot Camp 1.1: Improvements; Blue screen freezes after update; Performing a clean install; Fixing Bluetooth issues; more

CNET staff

Sept. 1, 2009 11:52 p.m. PT

4 min read

We are beginning to track issues and fixes for Boot Camp Beta 1.1, a significant update to the Windows XP dual-boot solution offered by Apple for Intel-based Macs that was released yesterday.

Improvements MacFixIt reader Adam Williams notes a number of improvements in this release:

"After the excessive blue screens and errors from before I did a clean installation of Windows and installed 1.1 drivers on it clean and not over a previous installation and all problems are gone, in fact i notice great improvement.

"One such improvement is that MacBook Pro is now able to honor energy saver settings finally and turn display off after set time. something that never worked before.

"Built in iSight works great in yahoo messenger 8 for windows.

"And the keyboard and trackpad drivers more properly identify hardware in device manager as what they are (so we don't have a massive list of generic HID devices now) Still some left that are generic HID labeled. But 1.1 is progress."

Issues Meanwhile, some readers who did not perform a clean install are noting some major issues, including repeated blue screen freezes.

One reader writes:

"Updating windows drivers from 1.0.2 to 1.1 caused extensive damage to a perfectly good windows installation on a MacBook Pro. No hardware was having problems, everything worked, bluetooth, audio etc, everything but isight which is all i wanted. Needless to say after installing this update windows has become beyond corrupt. It boots into blue screen crash every boot now, safe mode boots end in boot freezing during driver loading. Doing window restore get's booted back up, but apples drivers uninstaller has script errors and fails so drivers cannot even be removed"

Performing a clean install If you have installed third-party drivers (outside the Macintosh drivers CD) on your Windows XP installation, you may be at higher risk for experiencing blue screen freezes in Windows after applying the Boot Camp Beta 1.1 drivers.

You can sometimes obviate this situation by deleting all Macintosh drivers from your Windows XP installation before installing the new drivers included with Boot Camp 1.1.

This can be accomplished by clicking on the "Start" button, then opening the "Control" panel, navigating to "Performance and Maintenance" and then "System". Open the "Hardware" tab, then click on Device Manager. Double-click a Macintosh driver and in the "Properties" window, open the "Driver" tab, then click the "Uninstall" button.

Repeat this process for each Macintosh driver (particularly the ATI drivers), then install the updated Boot Camp version 1.1 drivers.

Avoid re-burning a CD Note that you can use an external drive or Windows-mountable partition in order to install the updated Windows XP drivers included with Boot Camp 1.1 if you do not want to use another recordable disc, via the following process:

Navigate to the Applications/Utilities folder
Click on the "Boot Camp Assistant" icon while holding the control key (or right-click) to access the contextual menu
Select "Show Package Contents"
Open the "Contents" folder
Open the "Resources" folder
Double-click the "DiskImage.dmg" file in order to mount the disk image
Copy the contents of this folder to an external drive or another partition that you will be able to access while booted in Windows XP
Run the "Install Macintosh Drivers for Windows XP.exe" application while booted in Windows XP

Fix for Bluetooth issues If you are having problems with Bluetooth devices after installing the Boot Camp Beta 1.1 Macintosh drivers, open the Windows XP Device Manager, and follow the instructions posted on this blog in order to update the Bluetooth drivers.

Mac Pro: Slow disk access due to SATA PIO mode Several readers are noting that Boot Camp Beta 1.1 still forces Mac Pros to use their SATA-connected disks (including the internal hard drive) in PIO (parallel input/ouput) mode rather than the much faster DMA (direct memory access) mode. This results in much slower disk transfer operation, making boot times, file saving and other operations sluggish.

We are still seeking a workaround that will allow Mac Pros to operate in DMA mode.

Apple Knowledge Base articles Apple has issued a slew of Knowledge Base articles concerning the Boot Camp 1.1 update:

#304195 Boot Camp Beta 1.1: Windows XP boots to a blue screen
#303575 Boot Camp Beta: MacBook and MacBook Pro frequently asked questions (FAQ)
#303572 Boot Camp Beta: Requirements, installation, and frequently asked questions (FAQ)
#304172 Boot Camp Beta 1.1: Enabling multiple video cards in Windows XP
#304167 Boot Camp Beta 1.1: Some displays connected via USB may not turn off when the computer is off

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

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