Bootcamp Windows Installer – Where to Place Drivers on USB

I ran into this problem this afternoon. Your Mac's model must be in Boot Camp Assistant's list of supported models for the "Create a Windows 7 install disk" option to be available, so you must find out if your model is there and add it if it's not.

1. Go to Applications > Utilities and right-click on the Boot Camp Assistant app; select Show Package Contents, and open the Contents folder where you should see a file called info.plist.

   **By default you don't have permission to edit info.plist. My preferred way around this is to copy it to my desktop (opt-drag and drop), then rename the original to info_OLD.plist (not necessary to rename it, but if you screw up, at least you'll have the original backed up). Authentification will be required... just enter your password when asked.

2. Open the info.plist file on the desktop with Property List Editor (right-click, Open with > Property List Editor).

3. At the botton of the window is a list called USBBootSupportedModels. Click on the list and then click the Add Child button on the tool bar. Apparently your model must be the first or last item in the list – this didn't work for me when I accidentally added it to the middle, but it did when it was at the top. If you don't know your model number, click on the Apple menu and click About This Mac, where you should find the information. In Lion I believe you have to click "System Report" to get the proper information. My model was MacBook2,1 so the item I added to the top of the list was MB21.

4. Save the file when you're done. Now drag it back to the folder where the original file is (replacing the older file if you chose not to rename it).

When you open Boot Camp Assistant now it should give you the option to create an install disk.

**I haven't completed anything beyond actually getting the option available, so I can't comment on if the install disk will actually be created properly.

This doesn't exactly answer your question but may help solve your problem: create a bootable Windows DVD from the Windows 8 setup files, as explained here.

I did it myself some months ago when upgrading Windows XP to Windows 8, and it worked without a hitch.

You will need:

• Access to a Windows computer.

• oscdimg.exe, a command-line tool for creating bootable Windows ISO files. This file is part of a larger download:

  • For Windows XP SP2 with KB926044/2003 SP1 with KB926044/2003 SP2 you'll need the Automated Installation Kit at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=10333
  • For Windows 8/7/2012/2008 R2/Vista/2008 you'll need the Assessment and Deployment Kit at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=30652

• Windows 8 setup files.

The steps are:

1. Download and install oscdimg.exe.

2. Put the Windows 8 setup files in a folder. While any name will do I found C:\WIN8AIO to be a popular choice, so I'll use it.

3. Open a command prompt as administrator and create the ISO image C:\WIN8DVD.ISO like this:

   \path\to\oscdimg.exe -lWIN8DVD -t10/26/2012:00:00 -m -u2 -bC:\WIN8AIO\boot\etfsboot.com C:\WIN8AIO C:\WIN8DVD.ISO
   

   For more information on oscdimg.exe and its command line options see this article at Microsoft.

4. Burn C:\WIN8DVD.ISO and use it with Boot Camp Assistant on your Mac.