Mark E. Smith's Brain Dump

Mark E. Smith's Brain Dump

11/22/2008

Installing Windows Server 2008 x64 on an older Macbook Pro

There have been a number of posts on getting Windows Server 2008 x64 to run on a Macbook Pro. This particular post will outline my success in getting it to run on an older (pre "early 2008"), as Apple states, Macbook Pro.

The specific problem I ran into is the error: "Boot Camp x64 is unsupported on this computer model"

Apple states in that only some Macs will work with 64-bit editions of Microsoft Vista (substitute Windows 2008 for this post) http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1846

Here are the high level tasks:

Build your modified Windows 2008 x64 DVD. Instructions Here
From OSX Build your Windows partition and install Windows 2008.
Run the Bootcamp Setup from Disk 1 of a "newer" Macbook install disk (one that has the Vista x64 drivers) /Boot Camp/Drivers/Apple/BootCamp64.MSI
Install the modified/updated Wireless Drivers. In my MacBook Pro, the Atheros 5800X wireless driver was not installing properly. Get working drivers here
Enable the Windows 2008 Wireless Service.
Set the Windows Audio Service to Automatic.
Update the bluetooth drivers. Instructions here.
STRIKE: Upgrade the Marvel Yukon Ethernet Drivers. I had a lot of problems with my machine BSOD'ing. I was able to track this down to the Ethernet adapter. Getting the latest X64 Server '08 drivers from Marvel Yukon's site seems to have fixed it.
UPDATE: I had tons of problems with the latest Marvel Yukon drivers from the bootcamp CD and Marvel's site. The ones from the bootcamp CD and Bootcamp 2.1 would cause the machine to BSOD. The latest on Marve's site (10.+) resulted in the NIC just disappearing. I was able to get the older original X64 2007 Vista drivers and as of this writing, they seem to be more stable. Download cached copy here

In a future post, I'll add more details, cached copies of these links, and perhaps some of the files.

UPDATE: UNCLE... I've finally given up on this (for now). I'm suffering from random BSOD's and they all come from the marvel yukon driver -- no matter what version I use. I should also point out that I'm geting the BSOD's even if I install the 32bit version of Server '08. I'm going to give it one last try with Vista x64 to see if it's driver related or OS... But it's been 2 weeks that I've been working on this and I'm burned out. I guess I'll wait until Jan '09 to see if Apple releases a new MBP 17" and use this as an excuse to upgrade. :)

Posted at 10:27 PM by Mark E. Smith | Category: Apple / Mac | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

7/30/2008

Easy way to Replace a OSX drive that also has a Boot Camp partition

1. Mount the new drive into some caddy, USB, Firewire, whatever.

2. Partition it with the Apple Drive Utility, half Mac and half DOS, or whatever ratio you want.

3. Use Carbon Copy Cloner to clone the Mac side first, into the Mac partition. It will resize automatically.

4. Remove the old drive from the MAC, and replace it with the new drive.

5. Mount the old drive into the caddy.

6. Boot into the Mac.

7. Use Winclone to clone the Windows Boot Camp partition onto a file on the Mac partition. It won’t clone directly to the Windows partition.

8. Use Winclone to “Restore” that file from the Mac partition to the Windows partition. It will resize automatically.

9. Boot to Windows. It will do a complete chkdsk.

Carbon Copy Cloner: http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html

Winclone: http://twocanoes.com/winclone/

Other options include using dd and iPartition.

Thanks to Jeff Smith for this one.

Posted at 10:31 PM by Mark E. Smith | Category: Apple / Mac | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

5/3/2008

Using Entourage with iPhone

Entourage, Address Book, iCal, Palm devices, telephones, etc., sync to the "truth" database.

As long as syncing is enabled in Entourage it will sync to the "truth".
Entourage will sync with any other sync-enabled application such as .Mac, Address Book, iCal, etc.
Every piece of information in a record will sync to the "truth" but it's up to the other applications to understand all the information in the "truth".
For more detailed info see Apple KB article: Synching iPhone with your computer.
Understanding Entourage and Sync Services see: BASICS OF HOW SYNC SERVICES WORKS

Note: Sync Services was added to Entourage 2004 with update 11.2.3. This option is not available for Entourage X.

Apple KB How to enable Entourage syncing to iPhone

How to set up Entourage Sync with iPhone:

Set Entourage Preferences: Sync Services
You can sync contacts from Mac OS X Address Book or Entourage on a Mac, or Yahoo! Addresses Book, Windows Address Book (Outlook Express), or Microsoft Outlook on a PC.
Click the Info tab in iTunes, then do one of the following:
1. If you're using a Mac, select "Sync Address Book contacts."
2. If you're using a PC, select "Sync contacts from" and then choose Yahoo! Address Book, Windows Address Book, or Outlook from the pop-up menu.
Select "All contacts," or select "Selected groups" and select the groups you want to sync.
If you're using a Mac, select "Sync Yahoo! Address Book contacts" if you also want to sync with your Yahoo! contacts.
1. You only need to click Configure when you change your Yahoo! ID or password after you've set up syncing. Click Configure and enter your new login information.
2. Note: Syncing won't delete any contact in Yahoo! Address Book that contains a Messenger ID, even if you've deleted the contact from your address book on iPhone or your computer. To delete a contact containing a Messenger ID, log in to your Yahoo! account online and delete the contact using Yahoo! Address Book.

Source: http://www.entourage.mvps.org/faq_topic/iphone.html

Posted at 12:04 AM by Mark E. Smith | Category: Apple / Mac | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

10/16/2007

Is that a Mac you're using!!?

It seems as if that's the question I get all of the time now that I'm using a MacBook Pro 17"!

So why is a guy who lives in world of Microsoft Server technology carrying around an Apple? Simple, to save my back! :)

Let's face it, we live and work in heterogeneous computing environments, yes Windows dominates the desktop in the workplace but there are Macs. So as long as companies are using Exchange and both platforms, so do I. Before the MacBook Pro (and specifically Bootcamp) I had to carry a Dell and a PowerBook around. The Dell for the obvious reasons a Microsoft Server Architect would need but the Mac to help that user base e.g. Entourage.

I don't subscribe to the Windows or Mac is better debate. Both are great platforms and I use both depending on what the job is. Remember, in the end these things we love (and hate) called computers, are just tools to get jobs done. That said, I would highly recommend anyone who's in the same situation to move to the Mac **HARDWARE** platform. Note I said Hardware, not OSX.

With my Mac now sporting an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 Ghz, 4GB RAM, 160GB 7200 RPM HDD, and WUXGA display, I spend 90% of my time running Vista, where I run the typical apps -- Outlook, Visio, Word, Virtual PC, Visual Studio, etc. The other 10% of the time I'm booted in OSX. So, what do I use my Mac (in OSX mode) for? Well, when I'm not testing Entourage or Kerberos authentication with AD, I run Aperture and Photoshop for all of my photography work, and I keep my music in what else, but my iTunes library... which Syncs with the Apple TV in our living room (stay tuned for more posts about Apple TV). Now you know why this uber-Windows (ahem - uber computer geek) geek is carrying around a Mac. PS: You can blame Carmen Puccio at the AP for getting me hooked on the Mac.

Posted at 2:38 PM by Mark E. Smith | Category: Apple / Mac | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)