Windows XP booting on Intel Macs

[dcv]

I'm sure you're all aware of this contest: http://winxponmac.com/index.html

Well, it appears that one crafty hacker has done it - all that awaits is confirmation from the guy that started the contest, and the guide will be all over the internet.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=nzH6OFpXgzI
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32436196@N00/

EDIT: It's official - the contest is over. Windows XP installs and boots on the 17" intel iMac, the MacBook Pro, and the Intel Mac Mini. Blanka/narf2006 (I don't know if they're one person or not) will collect $13,854 and their method will become an open-source project. Details about the method probably coming tomorrow.

[abudhu]

Hm, are there any articles on this? I am quite curious how he got XP to boot on the EFI Intel Mac. I know that a few scholars (their names escape me) are working on BAMBIOS which will allow BIOS based OS'es to boot on EFI systems, but I didnt think that was released yet. Hm....

[lnp]

I've seen the video and evidentially the guy has put forward his solution for verification...Maybe then he'll buy a better mac and keep the good OS on it...I kid! I kid!

I will say this though: there have been editorials that have said Apple should quietly let XP be loaded on their hardware to push their systems.

[dcv]

I'm sure this guy's method is rather unorthodox - he's made comments about hacking the NT loader (which is pretty clear from that nifty Windows logo on the grey background when he reboots the iMac) and the NT kernel. I was assuming the first one to boot XP would have written a BIOS CSM like the BAMBIOS guys are trying to do, but maybe not...

Anyhoo, he's said he's not releasing any details about his method until it's confirmed he's won the contest - and I guess I can't blame him. With $13,000 up for grabs, why tell people how you got halfway, just so that they can beat you to the end?

[abudhu]

I will say this though: there have been editorials that have said Apple should quietly let XP be loaded on their hardware to push their systems.

I too have heard this, but Windows has said that, while they too wouldn't stop users from using their OS on an apple, the implementation of EFI stops any Windows (including the first round of Windows Vista) from booting. I am sure, once that guy releases his methods there will be the crazily-brave that will use his method, but me, I'll wait for the Official EFI Windows Vista, and EFI Branded Mobo's.

[dcv]

I'll wait for the Official EFI Windows Vista, and EFI Branded Mobo's.

From what I've read, though, it's not just that Vista won't support EFI out of the box - Vista will never support EFI on any 32-bit chip. Only the 64-bit versions of Vista will ship with EFI (though that may actually work out for people waiting for the Intel PowerMac, which'll surely have whatever Intel's 64-bit core-based processor is (Conroe, isn't it?)). A bit of a shame, really.

Ah well - even if narf2006's method is completely off the wall, the BAMBIOS solution looks much cleaner and simpler - no worse than installing and using
any old bootloader (though they won't win the $13,000).

[Unregistered]

Only the 64-bit versions of Vista will ship with EFI
*Hugs my Amd 64 Processor*

I won't have a problem in that department, I have been using XPx64 since its release. I am looking forward more to buying OS X and booting it in Vmware to help with cross-OS compatibility via web-based production.

[abudhu]

^^ Me. Whoops.

[lnp]

Contest won officially...

http://onmac.net/

[amichel]

I've got the file that was posted on the site, since it's totally flooded.

http://glaurung.hacks.arizona.edu/winxponmac0.1.zip

It's actually pretty non-destructive. If anyone in OSCR wants to temporarily offer up their Intel Mac for a test, I'd love to see it tried in person. :)

[abudhu]

Most interesting. "XOM.efi" Guess he did have to find a way around that whole BIOS issue. Most interesting, and actually realtively easy solution. I am quite amazed.

[dcv]

Anybody have any ideas of the legality of this project? I *think* the DMCA allows for reverse engineering if it's to help interoperatiblity ( http://www.digitalconsumer.org/faq5.html#faq_5_4 ), but I don't know if this really counts (I suck at understanding legalese).

[dparm]

To my understanding it is not reverse engineering.

[dparm]

I also believe it is not breaking copyright law unless the creator attempts to sell this piece of software for profit.

[dcv]

I think there was some reverse engineering involved - from looking at this guy's work (http://daemons.net/~clay/index.php/2006/03/15/dual-booting-windows-xp-and-mac-os-x-on-intel-macs/ - poor guy got everything working but VGA and just barely lost the contest) he disassembled NTLDR to help in his debugging, and the winners of the contest said their method was pretty similar to this guy's method (the winners also made comments about hacking NTLDR and the NT Kernel).

If I were them, I'd move to Russia to escape US copyright law, and sell the solution for a pretty penny.//sarcasm
//or is it?

EDIT: The definition of Reverse Engineering I'm going off of - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_engineering

[fischerm]

I also believe it is not breaking copyright law unless the creator attempts to sell this piece of software for profit.
This isn't true, altho many people believe this. If the creator gives away his 'broken copyright' work for free, there is still a material loss to the copyright holder, and thus illegal.

Also the DMRC doesn't restrict reverse engineering, as long as there was no copy-protection or encryption that is broken in the process. If I make a widget that transforms A to B, and you want to make something that works with my widget, but you don't know how I got from A to B, you can reverse engineer my widget for purposes of making a compatible product. However if my widget takes A and encrypts it to B, and B now contains digital rights management, the DMCR will now make it illegal for you to develop anything that gets around my encrypted version of B.

That's my non-lawyer understanding of this whole mess.

[abudhu]

A detailed How-To has been spawned:

http://wiki.onmac.net/index.php/HOWTO

[dcv]

How the hack actually works, from an interviewer with blanka, or Jesus Lopez:

http://www.appletalk.com.au/articles/index.php?article=17885

Sounds like the CSM was "fun" to write.