Set up Windows 7 on your old iMac 2008 by following these steps.
Set up Windows 7 on your old iMac 2008 by following these steps.
Hey there, I see you're having trouble getting Windows 7 onto your old Mac. Let's figure this out. You mentioned using both Windows and macOS, but now when you try to boot Windows on your Mac it only shows a black screen with just the mouse and keyboard lights. You tried moving the HDD and backing up data, but after three days you can't restore Windows 7. Your disk drive isn't working and Boot Camp isn't an option. Are there other ways to install Windows 7 on an HDD without using your Mac? Maybe you could connect the HDD to your Windows PC, install Windows there, and then transfer it back to your Mac? Let me know what you think!
You can view the grey boot menu by pressing the option/alt key while holding it down. It displays a screen without an HDD or OS. There appears no hardware-related monitor output to me. You should be able to start any Windows installer USB on your Mac, just follow the usual steps for installing Windows 7 via USB.
I notice two choices: MACHINTOSH and BOOTCAMP. Running a standard installer with Rufus on a USB drive on an iMac is possible.
It seems like your setup is not progressing as expected. You mentioned trying to install Windows on your PC and then transferring an HDD to a Mac. Let me know if you'd like guidance on the steps involved or if there are specific issues you're encountering.
Did Rufus use BIOS boot instead of UEFI? You need legacy BIOS setup for this.
I’ll go through the process step by step: first replace the HDD with a standard PC, then set up Windows, and finally revert the HDD.