# Bootcamping Windows 8.1 Pro on MacBook Pro 2011



## david forbes (Sep 12, 2016)

Hi, Can anyone please help me with this problem: I have a 2011 MacBook Pro with an extra 750GB HD installed instead of the DVD driver. I run OSX 10.9.5. I have to install Windows to be able to run some software that is only available on Windows. I researched and found I could only use Windows 8.1 64-bit on this Mac. I bought Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit, and created a partition of 20GB for Windows using Bootcamp. When I tried to reboot via a LaCie external DVD driver, it would not boot up, the screen went black and the lights on the LaCie went out. Do I just have to wait for it or is it a problem? I then rebooted holding down Alt on the boing, and rebooted with Mac, in order to access this thread.


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## MartyF81 (Jan 23, 2013)

I had the same Mac, with the same Double Drive setup. On those year Macs an External DVD Player will not work doing the boot sequence. There is nothing you can do to force it to work.

I was never able to find a working solution to get boot camp running with an external drive. I had to put the internal drive back in... install boot camp to the standard drive... and then put the 2nd drive back in once I was done.


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## david forbes (Sep 12, 2016)

Thanks Marty F81. Is there an alternative? such as copying the disk to bootcamp and then using Parallels to switch from Mac to PC? I can't believe that it is impossible to get this thing to work. All this for a little piece of 79MB hardware written only in PC code . . .


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## MartyF81 (Jan 23, 2013)

I spent probably 2 months looking someone who was able to get it to work... and trying to get it to work with the help of a couple Apple Technician buddies of mine as well. We were unable to get it to work.

Copying it to boot camp doesn't work because part of what the install process does is let the EFI know there is a bootable OS on the drive. If you copy it from somewhere else, not only does Windows have problems with that,.... but the EFI doesn't know there is a bootable volume there.

I ended up just using Parallels anytime I needed Windows instead of BootCamp.


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