(05-01-2020, 04:44 PM)huckleberrypie Wrote: [ -> ] (05-01-2020, 12:38 PM)cpd2009 Wrote: [ -> ]I tried a manual partition and install, since El Capitan won't let you install XP or Vista. It wasn't a good idea in the long run since my attempts at fixing it just messed up the partition table. I'm reinstalling El Capitan now off a USB I made.ÂÂÂ
Boot Camp only can use Windows 7 or 8 in El Capitan, but I did read of a disc swap trick I found on a StackExchange discussion. The trick requires a Windows 7 or 8 disc. What you do is let Boot Camp start the install process like normal, but once the Mac restarts, you need to bring up the boot menu (hold Option/Alt as the Mac chimes) and after the boot selection menu appears, eject the Windows 7/8 disc and insert the XP or Vista disc. From there, you should be able to install XP/Vista. You just need to have compatible drivers on hand, like on the original iMac setup discs. The set I ordered on eBay arrived in the mail today, and they look unused. They even came in the cardboard sleeve with documentation and Apple stickers. 
The downside is that I will have to use just one version of Windows, in this case, my other copy of XP. If I want to use Movie Maker 6.0, I could just run Windows Vista under VMWare or VirtualBox. Rusty might be able to pull it off if the VM allows hardware acceleration with Vista guests.
Seems like Boot Camp isn't as easy-peasy as Apple would like its users to think.
True, unfortunately. It only works if you have the right Windows version. My 2008 iMac, along with many other vintage Macs, meet MS hardware requirements for Windows 8 and 10, but Apple limits what Windows you can install on older hardware. And depending on what macOS you have installed, you can end up losing the ability to use Boot Camp to install XP or Vista.
In my case, I found out that I can only run Windows 7. The disc swap trick only works if I have a Win7 disc, which I don't. And I'm not buying a copy off eBay just to use that disc swapping trick. There is another way to get newer versions of Windows running on these old machines, which involves installing Windows 7 or 8 (whatever maximum OS Apple has capped it at) and doing an in-place upgrade to a newer "unsupported" Windows. This can work for some users, but others have reported driver issues after upgrading.
So, unfortunately, the dual boot macOS/XP/Vista setup won't work after all. It's good that I managed to find that Dell Dimension tower to run XP on since the original iMac plan wouldn't have worked out so well.
The real problem here is Apple doesn't understand that it's not just the tech illiterate that use macOS or iOS. Power users like me also want to use macOS, and there was once a time where the OS appealed to both. Apple really needs to cut the BS with the artificial Windows version caps and just let people install what version of Windows they need, as long as it meets MS' hardware requirements. I remember I had a C2D Dell Vostro tower a couple years ago that was able to run Windows 10 just fine. It could also run XP or Vista without any artificial blocks. I'm sure my 2008 iMac could do the same, but alas, Apple says no.
I have a love/hate relationship with Apple, just like I do with Nintendo.
On a lighter note, my iMac's slot loading SuperDrive is working good. Discs load and eject without problems so far. Given how this particular iMac is in excellent condition, it wouldn't surprise me if it had just one owner who took real good care of it, or if it's a former computer lab or office unit.
I'm also testing a different browser... Vivaldi. It's created by the former CEO of Opera Software, and has a lot of the customizability features that current Opera versions have taken out like themes and having a status bar by default. As with most browsers, it's based on Chromium.
