FYI: These instructions work perfectly well for the upcoming RC1 (Release Candidate 1) build of Windows 7 which is build 7100.
As I expected, installing the 64 bit version of build 7000 on my MacBook Pro wasn’t as easy as perhaps it should have been.
You can’t just burn the x64 image to a disk and expect it to work. My MBP didn’t boot from the disc presenting me with the same stuff as before (choose option 1 or 2, but the keyboard doesn’t work!)
However, I’ve had further time to research better methods of getting around this issue since I wrote the Vista x64 article.
Note: I wrote this guide using my MacBook Pro which I got in Summer 2007. (Apple identifies it as “MacBookPro3,1″; It’s the Santa Rosa 2.4Ghz model). Some steps may not be required for your Mac. By deduction, I have already determined that some people are able to boot straight from the DVD. I wasn’t able to.
Ok, here we go:
Download the x64 image of Windows 7
Follow the instructions here to build a compatible iso file.
Burn that iso to a DVD (I’ve tried with a USB flash drive but it wouldn’t boot 
)
Put it in your MacBook / MacBook Pro / iMac…. and install like normal! 
Driver support in build 7000 is okay for my MacBook Pro; certainly a lot better than it was with Vista x64, but you’ll still want to install some stuff especially if you’re on a laptop (to get the brightness adjustment, bluetooth, touchpad etc., working). So:
Either try your Leopard DVD and run the setup from there (Mine doesn’t have the 64 bit drivers on, yours may. Who knows….)
OR, download these 4 files: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4. They contain Boot Camp 2.01. This is the version that works the best on Vista and, it seems to in 7 too. I did try downloading the latest version from Apple, but this didn’t want to install on 7 so this seems to be the best for now. Plus it gives you the choice of installing the whole package or just individual drivers.
EDIT: you can also download the individual driver files from the above package which should save some time waiting for Rapid Share. They’re here. You won’t see any application run, maybe just a UAC prompt, but they do work.
Oh, and to get sound working you can just run the RealTekSetup.exe from any of the above packages in Vista compatibilty mode and it’ll work.
Now you should have a completeish install; but, be sure to check Windows Update (there’s a better video driver) and apply security updates / install antivirus….
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EDIT: to improve your hard drive’s windows experience rating, look at the solution I posted in the comments below.
[...] Windows 7 Beta 1 x64 on a MacBook Pro – Guide « Josh Anderson’s Blog (01:07:23) : [...]
You are the only person (at least what I have found) that has managed to find a solution for audio in Windows 7 x64. Thanks a lot!
Hello, thanks to your guide I set up Win 7 successfully, only glitch I have is a disk performance score of “2.0″ in the performance assessment tool – do you have the same score? (I remember having score of not less than 5 on Vista x64 SP1) I did something a bit special – I had x64 Boot camp installer (that installs just the boot camp program without drivers), and then installed the 2.1 Vista x64 update. I also remember I installed chipset drivers from Intel in Vista x64, but in Win 7 it complained about not being tested for this OS, and refused to install.
Sadly I don’t think it’s a glitch. I have the same rubbishy rating for my hard drive and I read that it is given because they added a new test since the Vista version.
Something to do with random access seek times, if I recall correctly.
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Do you know if you can use the Apple Boot Camp 2.1 Vista64 update after installing the 2.01 update listed here? Or should I just leave it at 2.01?
Yeah, 2.1 works ok. But I don’t think there’s a great difference.
You might come across a bug with Windows 7 and msi installers when trying to install it; I did. But fortunately, the solution center offers very clear instructions on how to resolve this and it’ll install fine.
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I’ve come across a way to improve the hard drive score in 7’s experience index.
You can follow the instructions here. (I recorded this using the new problem recorder in windows 7; it outputs a funny xml file that may not show properly in anything other than IE8, but it worked ok for me in Opera, not firefox).
Anywho, there is a version without pictures that may work better here.
And, if all else fails, there’s this screenshot of the whole page: here
The solution upped my hard drive rating from a measly 2.0 to a rather nicer 4.8 bringing the overall score with it. Not sure what kind of real world difference not having write caching enabled has on things, but 7 obviously gets better transfer rates this way.
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Hey, I appreciate this info as Im desperately trying to get windoes 7×64 working on my mac pro, but I;m having a problem with the image step. Whe I have tried to perform the operation it says that oscdimg is an urecognised command. Is there something els I need to do?
Thanks!!
Hi James….
Did you complete step 3 of that guide and download oscdimg into the folder he suggests?
If you did then in command prompt you’ll need to cd (change directory) to that folder by issuing the command cd \efi-dmg
I think it says that in the guide I linked to.
If you didn’t download oscdimg, then that’s your problem! It won’t be recognised because it’s not there.
Go back and read the instructions properly. If you’re still having problems comment back.
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Thanks for the reply Josh!
I Finnaly got it to work and I have 7 X64 running on my mac pro as we speak! I was actually following the steps correctly, the only thing I did differently this time is I ran the oscdimg.exe before doing the steps, which might have been just assumed. Anyway I’m stoked and I can’t thank you enough for the link.
Hi Josh
Ok..I just installed Windows 7 build 7057 onto my 17″ macbook pro (early 2009 model). I got everything running except the wifi. It seems to show a live connection available but refuses to get online. I installed all the drives from my leopard 10.5 cd but still no luck. I tried resetting my router several times but still no luck. I have also tried connecting directly with an ethernet cable but that doesnt get detected at all. Do you have any idea what I should try next? I know theres a newer build of Win 7 (7068) and I dont know what bugs have been fixed with that release.
^^ Ignore the previous message. I fixed the problem. After removing the broadcom driver in device manager I rebooted…windows 7 then reinstalled the driver automatically and everything worked fine. My first imressions of Windows 7 are good…Im impressed by the speed (compared to my 64bit Vista).
I’ve got build 7068 on my MBP (though it’s 32 bit at the moment). I haven’t noticed anything different from 7057 so it really isn’t a worthwhile upgrade. Wait for the RC is my advice.
And it’s good that Windows 7 has the drivers already, isn’t it? Lots of stuff works already when it’s just been installed so it’s much easier to get boot camp drivers onto the machine without using a dvd etc.,
No idea why it wouldn’t work through ethernet though, I would have thought that it has a fairly common adaptor there and that the drivers should be present already. Does it work now that you have connected to the internet? i.e. Has it updated the drivers now?
I wish I had a unibody MBP
How’s the battery life on it?
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Hi Josh
Yeh..all working now. I connected to Windows update but it didnt seem to detect any new updates except for Silverlight (I would have expected there to be at least a few new updates).
Also…I think the problem with my wifi was cause by Eset Smary Security’s firewall settings. But like I say its all running sweet now.
Also…I ran the “windows experience index” benchmarks with the following results:
Overall Score: 5.3
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T9550 @ 2.66GHz 6.3
Memory (RAM) 4.00 GB 6.3
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT 5.3
Gaming graphics 2291 MB Total available graphics memory 5.3
Primary hard disk 47GB Free (101GB Total) 5.9
I should mention that I have the upgraded (7200rpm) hdd drive rather than the standard 5400 disk.
As for battery life…I havent used the PC partition much with battery and generaly Im using the OSX partition with the faster graphics card enabled but with the integrated gfx I can get more over 6 hours depending what Im doing.
LOL…I never thought I would say this but after 20 years with PCs I am SOOOOO happy to get my first mac
Thanks Josh, I will take a look and try it and let you know.