Getting 3d acceleration working in Windows 7 64bit on Mac Boot Camp?

windows-7 mac 64-bit macbook boot-camp

11,015

Solution 1

I just installed Windows 7 x64 on a 9400M Mac Mini over the weekend. I have full Aero and 3D games work great. Just hit up http://www.nvidia.com:

Click Download Drivers
Product Type: Geforce
Product Series: Geforce 9M Series (Notebooks)
Operating System: Windows 7 64 bit
Click Search

Download and install the drivers, and you'll be good to go.

Solution 2

Have you run the Windows Experience Index tool again? (Control Panel > System and Security > System > Check the Windows Experience Index)

If you have only run it before installing your drivers, Windows won't run Aero because it thinks it is still running with crappy hardware. Try running it again in order to enable Aero. This has worked for me on a Mac Mini running Windows 7.

Solution 3

Check out what graphics chipset is actually in the mac and install the drivers for that chipset from the Nvidia website.

Solution 4

You will get better battery life if you use the drivers from Boot Camp 3.0 on the Snow Leopard disk. On my MacBook Pro unibody 2009, I get life in the 4-5 hours range with the NVidia driver Apple supplies with Snow Leopard Boot Camp 3.0 and 2-2.5 hours with the latest driver available from NVidia.com.

Update: There are newer official NVidia OEM compatiblie drivers available than the ones bundled with Boot Camp 3.0. These work without hacking the INFs. Laptop Video To Go has archived the 186.03 x86 and x64 drivers from NVidia's site.

Just make sure NVAO.inf from additional_infs.zip is extracted and the 186.03 driver will install and work.

There are also more recent BETA quality drivers archived at laptop video to go.

View more solutions

11,015

James McMahon

Updated on September 17, 2022

Comments

James McMahon over 1 year

I've installed the Windows 7 RC 64-bit edition under boot camp, but I'm have zero luck getting the 3D acceleration working.

I've installed all the Mac drivers (including the 64bit Nvidia ones on the OSX install cd), I've also run the windows update and I still am not getting the full aero desktop.

I'm trying to do this on the latest unibody Macbook, with the duel NVIDIA GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT.

Any advice?
James McMahon almost 15 years

Sorry about that, I just updated the question with the chipset.
James McMahon almost 15 years

Traditionally, drivers for laptops are not available on the chipset manufacturers website, is this not the case for the Macbooks?
James McMahon almost 15 years

I will give that a try when I get home. Thanks.
Oin almost 15 years

Sometimes there are drivers available on the manufacturers homepage. I found some for my Zepto 6234 that has an Nvidia 8600GT chipset, for example.
James McMahon almost 15 years

I did need to do this after installing the drivers as recommend by Curtis and Stefan.
James McMahon almost 15 years

Thanks, I am so use to laptops drivers not being available as a download I didn't even think of this. Now if only my Macbook didn't get hot enough to fry an egg under windows.