I have to install Windows XP on my mid-2012 Mountain Lion MacBook Air (base config: 4GB RAM, 128GB SDD, 1.8 GHz) but the BootCamp doesn't support anything except 7.
I can't afford to set aside sth like 15-25 GB for Win 7.
How can I do it? Can I downgrade BootCamp in Mountain Lion to a previous version which supported XP and then install XP?
Or if I can create an empty FAT partition and later simply reboot and insert Windows XP insert USB drive(non disc drive) and go on with XP installation?
Update: I have to use that XP partition for gaming purposes so virtual machines are not an option. They eat up too much resource for let me game on my 4GB MBA. I've tried. My problem with 7 and 8 is that they will probably gobble ~30% of my disk space for just the OS.
Looks like there's really no way. Besides, I've got those games on Steam for Linux/Mac now. So, I don't even want to go near a Windows machine anymore. Thanks for answering. I think I shall close this question from further posts if possible.
Best Answer
As far as I know there is no way to dual-boot any Mac with Bootcamp and Windows XP. It is simply not supported. Bootcamp under Lion and Mountain Lion should be able to support Windows 7 or Windows 8; can't you use one of them to run your Windows software instead of Windows XP?
If you cannot use Bootcamp, then you should evaluate the commercial virtualization products VMware Fusion for Mac and Parallels Desktop. Either of those can run Windows XP. Perhaps they can give you enough system speed for your gaming needs.