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Ikepuska
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Help Installing Win10 on GPT in a Mac Pro 3,1

Thu Apr 28, 2016 12:21 pm

Title says it all really,

I was going to try and clone my existing disc to my new SSD that arrives today, but since I can't seem to find any advice on cloning a bootcamped drive that uses that horrific hybrid gpt/mbr I'm just going to reinstall from scratch.
Since I'm installing anyways, I'm looking for a way to install windows 10 on my 3,1 mac pro in EFI mode on a GPT drive rather than using bootcamp. The BIOS compatibility mode that entails for windows is also pretty bad and negates a lot of the SSD's benefits.
 
derFunkenstein
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Re: Help Installing Win10 on GPT in a Mac Pro 3,1

Thu Apr 28, 2016 12:41 pm

I've never done it, but I'm almost positive you'd have to use a third-party EFI implementation like rEFIt.
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Ikepuska
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Re: Help Installing Win10 on GPT in a Mac Pro 3,1

Thu Apr 28, 2016 12:49 pm

I've looked at that, the only problem I have is that for whatever reason, I can't seem to get the windows installer to boot properly in EFI mode. It just can't output to the graphics. And the STUPID decision to only install to GPT when in EFI mode means that I can't
 
derFunkenstein
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Re: Help Installing Win10 on GPT in a Mac Pro 3,1

Thu Apr 28, 2016 1:03 pm

are you trying to install 64-bit windows? The Mac Pro 3,1 shipped with support for only 32-bit EFI ROMs on video cards. That's why, for a while, you could get a 32-bit and a 64-bit 8800GT for example - it was a different ROM for different machines. The only way it might boot an EFI Windows installer is if you install 32-bit Windows.

Mac Pro 4,1 and up (Nehalem) have 64-bit EFI ROMs so they may be able to do this.
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Ikepuska
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Re: Help Installing Win10 on GPT in a Mac Pro 3,1

Thu Apr 28, 2016 1:20 pm

Yeah, it's 64bit Win10. From what I've seen online, if you can get it installed, it's possible to use a custom EFI bootscript to load the windows bootloader, but the trick is getting windows to install on a GPT partition from within the BIOS session.

Edit: I've thought of getting a 4,1 or 5,1 post Nehalem Mac Pro, but it's just not worth the money to me, unless prices have come down? And then I'd be stuck with a 3,1 and I'm too much of a packrat to recycle it, but it's not worth much to sell.

Edit2: Alternatively do you know of anything that can clone my boot disk to the new SSD? The hybrid GPT/MBR is what worries me with most software.
 
derFunkenstein
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Re: Help Installing Win10 on GPT in a Mac Pro 3,1

Thu Apr 28, 2016 1:37 pm

That, I don't know. Carbon Copy Cloner only clones the OS X install.

I couldn't imagine spending what eBay prices appear to be for a Nehalem Mac Pro. $550+ for a 2.66GHz Xeon, 4GB of RAM, and a GeForce GT 120 is just soul-sucking. I'd look into Hackintoshing again.
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
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Ikepuska
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Re: Help Installing Win10 on GPT in a Mac Pro 3,1

Thu Apr 28, 2016 2:20 pm

I may just have to go ahead and do that, but honestly I may just keep the 3,1 and only boot it up as needed.

I was already planning a dedicated high end gaming rig for VR to match my living room i5k and GTX 960 ITX build. I mean I spent 500 dollars total on the living room build to get performance that outstrips the Nehalem by leaps and bounds. I've got an Intel NUC too, so I may get clover for that.

Unfortunately combat deployments keep interrupting my build aspirations. I try look for good sales for parts, but every time I start, I end up deployed mid way through... *sigh*

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