MacBook: Run Windows 2003 Server SP1 on your Macbook

Aug 21, 2006 · 6 min read ·

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I'm on my second Macbook. My first one was fast and beautiful but it had that annoying moo and randomly shut down on a regular basis. For reasons unknown, an AppleCare rep told me on my 5th call that my laptop was DOA and could be exchanged for a new one. It was well past my 14-day exchange limit and I found it so hard to believe, I asked him/her to note it on my profile. It took about 3 weeks for me to find the time to back it up, wipe it and schedule an appt with a Mac Genius. I get there after wiping my drive (as instructed) and the rep told me that I was given the wrong information -- I could only repair my laptop, not exchange it. I was liek omg, check my profile, plz. Long story short, they honored the inaccurate information because it was noted (so always ask for it in writing!)

Running Windows Server 2003 R2 on my Macbook was not really a pleasant experience. For some reason, R2 will not run programs that regular Windows 2003 SP1 will run. From Xircon (a super old IRC client) to Tag&Rename and others.. maybe it refuses to run 16-bit programs? Anyway, I'm merrily back to Server 2003 SP1 (after some slipstreaming action).

Bootcamp 1.1 supports a whole lot more than the version I installed awhile back. A shitton of those instructions are out of date. This time around, I had to use Orca to modify the msi file and get it installed that way; I also realized that the instructions for running bluetooth were incomplete -- the bth.ini needs to be modified in order for bluetooth to be detected.

So here are some shortcut instructions on how to get a next-to-flawless install of Windows 2003 SP1on your bootcamp. Before you start, please burn the Bootcamp 1.1 disk in OS X and check to make sure that Bluetooth is turned on. Also, download and burn all of the linked programs below so that you can have easy access to it.

Slipstream Sp1 into Windows 2003. You cannot upgrade after, the update will fail with a "not enough space" error. Install it as usual. Oh, but make sure you have a USB keyboard handy; otherwise, you won't be able to use Ctrl-Alt-Delete. To overcome this, download keyboard.reg and run it after your intial login. While you are at it, download updatedapplereg.bat and run that too.

2. Download and install WinRar.

3. Download XP's Bluetooth stack. Extract it using WinRAR, then, within the ENU folder, extract the contents of "Q323183_WXP_SP2_X86_ENU.EXE" to the current directory (ENU).

4. Download update.inf and replace the one in the ENU directory. Download bth.inf and do the same.

5. Install the Bluetooth software by double clicking update.exe. Do not skip this step even if you don't plan to use Bluetooth -- skipping this step may cause a driver rollback when installing Macbook drivers.

6. Download hid2hci.zip and extract it into the Windows\System32 directory. Open a command prompt, CD to that directory then type in hid2hci.exe 05ac 1000

7. Download a modified version of Bootcamp 1.1's MSI file here: Macintosh Drivers for Windows XP.msi. I used ORCA to modify that msi to allow you to install the drivers on Win2k3 and not just XP.

8. Install IIS on your machine. Copy Macintosh Drivers for Windows XP.msi to C:\inetpub\wwwroot and give IUSR_Machinename read permissions.

9. Copy Macintosh Drivers for Windows XP.exe from your Bootcamp CD to C:\temp

10. Extract the drivers from this exe by Using a command window, CD to C:\temp and typing in "Install Macintosh Drivers for Windows XP.exe" /V /a. Extract to C:\temp. This will be needed later on in the process when the drivers say "Oh no! I can't find xxx.xxx."

11a. Type in "Install Macintosh Drivers for Windows XP.exe" /UM"https://localhost/Macintosh Drivers for Windows XP.msi"(use regular quotation marks..not the Wordpressified ones seen here)

11b. Install all the stuff. If you run into the "Can't find this file in this Docs&Settings\temp folder, copy them manually from C:\temp. Once you are done, go to How to Convert Your Server into a Workstation and be sure to follow the points about Hardware Acceleration.

12. Install Input Remapper and map your keyboard to your liking.

13. Notebook Hardware Control is pretty cool too. But if you experience random shutdowns while in Windows, uninstall it and wait for another release.

In the end, I've got a more fufilling Windows 2003 Server/Macbook exprience this time around. There's no mooing so far, no random shutdowns and I was actually able to install the Macintosh Drivers for Windows XP.msi with the help of the /V /a switch on the exe, ORCA on the extracted MSI and UM on the exe, pointing to the modified msi file that I was required to upload to my webserver. It all installed, seemingly without a hitch. And my new Targus Chill Mat is working wonderfully; should have got this a long time ago.

Slipstream Sp1 into Windows 2003. You cannot upgrade after, the update will fail with a "not enough space" error. Install it as usual. Oh, but make sure you have a USB keyboard handy; otherwise, you won't be able to use Ctrl-Alt-Delete. To overcome this, download keyboard.reg and run it after your intial login. While you are at it, download updatedapplereg.bat and run that too.

2. Download and install WinRar.

3. Download XP's Bluetooth stack. Extract it, then, within the ENU folder, extract the contents of "Q323183_WXP_SP2_X86_ENU.EXE" to the current directory (ENU).

4. Download update.inf and replace the one in the ENU\update directory - you will be prompted to replace the old update.inf. Download bth.inf and save it to the root ENU directory - you will be prompted to replace the old bth.inf. Also, download btfiles.zip and extract them into your system32 directory.

5. Install the Bluetooth software by double clicking update.exe.