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Here are the steps that worked for me:

• First, boot from Windows 7 installation (DVD).
  • On a MacBook Pro (with BootCamp), power-on with Alt/Option key held down.
    • Initially, only the standard Mac and Windows options appear, but wait a few more seconds and then additional options appear for Windows and EFS methods of booting from the DVD.
    • I selected the Windows option (guesswork).
• Select the System Recovery option http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/668-system-recovery-options.html
• Select the STartup Repair option http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/681-startup-repair.html

As it happened, this whole process was a distraction.  I was trying to get a BootCamp-W7 Virtual Machine (VM) in Parallels working - it would boot OK in BootCamp but not Parallels.  It was a matter of identifying the problem by excluding other possibilities, as much as hoping for this to be the fix.   However I record the process I went through, here, for posterity.

Some issues:

• Had a serious system-disk issue, where CHKDISK deleted corrupt unknown system-related stuff.   Windows still worked afterwards as far as I could tell but it was cause for concern…
  • Later, the Mac OS function keys became unresponsive.
• The FW800 port only worked in Mac mode, not Boot Camp / Windows 7.

Some fixes:

• As a potential fix to both issues, was advised by machine supplier to reinstall Boot Camp
  • Method:
    • Mac (machine): Run [Boot Camp > Windows]
    • Windows:
      • Use [Remove Programs] to remove Boot Camp
      • Use Mac OS system disk (from Windows) to reinstall BootCamp (was 3.0).
      • Check for any Boot Camp updates - get the latestone (was 3.1).
  • Result:
    • Function-keys fixed, FW800 issue remained.
• As potential fix for FW800 issue:
  • A Sony Vegas forum post advised disabling Aero.
    • Result: No difference.
  • Web-searching and Vegas forum advised installing the free FW800 driver from UniBrain, allegedly better than the Boot Camp one.
    • Prior to the BootCamp reinstall, this was not possible - installation aborted.
    • Following the BootCamp reinstall, installation worked but FW800 drive not visible in Windows Explorer.
    • Tried a Windows Repair, in case it was not just the BootCamp that had been damaged (possibly by the serious system disk issue mentioned at the start).
• Windows Repair & successive steps:
  1. Boot Camp: Repair the windows system (Windows 7).
  2. Check whether System Restore works now.
     1. Yes, when I set a restore-point, wait a few mins and restore to it.  But what if I reboot then try to restore?
     2. Seems hit-and-miss: sometimes Restore works, sometimes not.  Rebooting doesn’t affect that but system crashes/freezes e.g. as caused by FW800 failing, do appear to.  Uncertain, just rough observations.

The following describes exactly what I observe.  So it is definitely not just my machine then…

• http://www.macwindows.com/keep_vista_cool_bootcamp.html 
  • An illustrative story:
    • “The laptop will just get hotter and hotter without heavy load, until I can’t take it and turn it off. If I restart it into Mac, it will turn the fans on full blast for a little while and cool it off and then slow the fans back down. So the Mac side knows that it is way too hot. But the Windows side refuses to cool it off. “
  • But no need to worry (?):
    •  ”I have called Apple tech support a few times and get it escalated, but engineering say this is not an issue that I only have to worry if the thing shuts itself off. It’s not being investigated, its not an issue.”
  • Fans operate but do not ramp-up as soon as expected, in terms of temperature.
  • Some people use a fan-base.
  • The higher-powered (more power and heat-producing) of the two graphics cards is used, and there is no way to swap between them.
  • Lubbo’s Fan Control is said (by some) to be better than  Input Remapper and  smcFanControl:
    •  The primary purpose of Input Remapper is to provide a variety of useful keyboard shortcuts while in Boot Camp (which can be disabled if desired).  However it also provides controls to set the minimum fan speed.
    • smcFanControl allows you to set the minimum fan speed on the Mac side. Whatever they’re running at will still apply if the computer is restarted into Boot Camp.  However the fans go off again if machine shuts down or hibernates.
    • However for the version I tried, one of the two cores did a 50% duty cycle of load.  So the downside of this utility is it eats 25% CPU power (and wastes energy).  Apparently due to the way it’s implemented, a necessary compromise in the absence of source code for Boot Camp.

WHen using Windows under BootCamp, I had been getting some serious problems when using an external drive via FW800.

• …like the device disappearing (from the visibility of the OS, Windows 7).

As advised by suppliers, removed and reinstalled BootCamp, as follows:

• Windows 7: [Control Panel >> Remove Programs: BootCamp Services]
• Rebooted
• Inserted Mac OS Disk that came with the MacBook
  • It is MacBook-specific. Must use that one, not any other.
• From root folder, as seen by W7, ran [setup.exe].
  • Kapersky complained a few times.
• Rebooted.  Mostly OK but no keyboard lights or control thereof.
• Rebooted again.  Now the keyboard lights are on and controllable.
• Check the BootCamp version: It is 3.0.
• Need update to 3.1.
• Go to Apple support page for BootCamp:
  • [www.apple.com/support/bootcamp]
• ..and click [Downloads]
  • Taken to [http://support.apple.com/downloads/#macoscomponents]
  • There are several items.
• There are several Boot Camp 3.1 downloads (these are upgrades not installs).  Which one (if any) is appropriate?  Examples:
  • Boot Camp Update for MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2010) (Windows 64 bit)
    • Any good for 17-inch ?
      • Various articles around May 2010 say nothing about the 17-inch, so maybe not then.
        • e.g. http://www.applelinks.com/index.php/more/boot_camp_update_for_macbook_pro_13_inch_mid_2010_windows_64_bit/
  • Boot Camp Software Update 3.1 for Windows 64 bit
    • Any good for MacBook  Pro?
• Searched web for any clues:
  • http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=11618952
    • Has a link to Boot Camp 3.1 full software (install not upgrade) from someone’s personal site, but it is in the context of an i5 laptop.
  • http://support.apple.com/kb/DL979
    • Official Apple site.  Says it’s for laptops also.
  • http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1044
    • Text says it fixes issues, ones I have never encountered on my 17-inch.
• Finally: Downloaded the one at http://support.apple.com/kb/DL979
• Broadly applicable installation instructions are at http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4177
  • …even though they’re for the 13-incher.

Not necessarily related, but interesting to note:

• Controller Saturation:
  • http://www.hardmac.com/news/2010/05/17/problems-on-certain-of-the-macbook-pro-2010?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+hardmac+%28HardMac.com%29
• USB port speeds differ (and why):
  • http://www.hardmac.com/news/2010/06/22/macbook-pro-core-ix-usb-ports-are-not-equals?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+hardmac+%28HardMac.com%29
• USB & FW Benchmark Tests (SpeedTools suite):
  • http://www.hardmac.com/news/2008/10/28/new-macbook-pro-performance-level-of-usb2-0-vs-firewire
    • USB2: 36 MB/s read, 30 MB/s write
    • FW400: 40 MB/s read, 32 MB/s write
    • FW800: 60 MB/s read, 50 MB/s write

On MacBook Pro, used Sony Clip Browser (ClipBrowser) to import footage from a Sony XDCAM-EX to Mac OS HFS+.  This machine had MacDrive installed, enabling Windows apps to directly access files on the HFS+ file system.  On same machine, under Boot Camp (BootCamp) and Windows 7, ran Sony Vegas NLE.   Successfully imported and used footage by both of the following methods:

• Sony Vegas’s Device Explorer [View > Device Explorer].
  • This took several minutes to import.
  • Importing resulted in copying the [.mp4] file (and other files) to the NTFS partition.
• Direct use of [.mp4] on the HFS+ partition.
  • No need to import as such, just constructed waveforms etc.
  • This completed in seconds.
  • Only downside is that it ewas unable to save the waveform files etc., due to my config of MacDrive (read-only), so it would have to do this every time I opened the project.
    • Have yet to try the same thing when MacDrive has config for full read/write access.

GRAID mini was initially a single partition formatted HFS+ under GPT partitioning-scheme.

Repartitioned it as MBR partitioning-scheme where the HFS+partition (existing but reduced) was followed by an NTFS partition.  The repartitioning of the disk and the formatting of the NTFS partition was accomplished from Mac OS, using the iPartition application.

When I first connected the resulting disk to a MacBook Pro, the HFS+ partition was seen OK under Mac OS.  However the NTFS partition seen from Boot Camp / Windows 7 caused Windows Explorer to crash, whenever it was selected or right-clicked in that applications left-hand pane.  On the other hand if the thing selected in the left-hand pane was the computer itself then the NTFS partition (among other volumes) was listed in the right-hand pane, and it was possible to right-click that without the application crashing.  Also, no problems were experienced when accessing it from commandline, or when using Windows Explorer to look inside its folders (as opposed to teh top-level).

By right-clicking the NTFS partition in the right-hand pane, selected options to:

• Define it as a mainly-videos drive.  Presumably alters the block size or something.
• Change that volume’s name, from “GRD mini NTFS” to “GRm HTFS.  Not sure if relevant.

Subsequently was accessed OK in both left and right hand panes.

Some hard drives attached with FireWire may perform slowly with Windows 7 on a MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2010).  Not aware of any such problem on my system, but found this in passing, worth keeping a note of…[http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3188]

• MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2010): FireWire drives perform slowly with Windows 7
  • Last Modified: April 14, 2010
  • Article: TS3188
• Issue:
  • Some hard drives attached with FireWire may perform slowly with Windows 7 on a MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2010).
• Products Affected
  • Boot Camp, MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2010), Windows 7
• Resolution
  • This situation may occur because of an issue in the 1394ohci.sys driver in Windows 7.
  • Microsoft has posted a “hot fix” for this issue.  See the Microsoft website for more information.

Using the ExpressCard slot for SxS cards (XDCAM-EX) in Mac OS, I noticed that sometimes they dpn’t appear to “seat” properly, removing and reinserting the card normally fixes this.  I wondered if it was just my machine, but I just read of a similar experience by others: [http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-xdcam-ex-cinealta/144158-sxs-cards-mount-inconsistently.html].

On a MacBook Pro, official SxS card in ExpressCard slot is seen OK by Mac OS. However on same machine running Boot Camp Windows 7, it is not seen.SxS drivers have been installed in both cases (OS X & W7). For W7 I tried a couple of versions, including the one from SXS Drivers, stated as “Updated for Windows 7″. The webpage also says “This OS must be factory-installed”, so I wonder what special things they do at the factory!I see at an apple forum some comments (at [http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2306364&tstart=0]) that “there is still no ExpressCard support in release 3.1 (of Boot Camp)” and “At the moment I’m aware of exactly zero Firewire ExpressCards that work in Windows 7 on Boot Camp”. Not familiar with this territory - maybe implies that the Sony drivers are not sufficient?Posted my problem at DvInfo: [http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-xdcam-ex-cinealta/477958-mbp-boot-camp-w7-cant-see-sxs-osx-can.html].  Response confirms Apple not only do not support ExpressCard (EC) under Boot Camp on a MacBook Pro, they may never do so, given that the new model lacks any EC slot.

Problem:

• After half an hour or so, the MacBook Pro base (top and bottom) tends to feel hotter than I’d expect, and I worried whether the innards were getting broiled or fried.  Having no previous experience to go by, some investigation was needed.  Various forums have some people claiming this is normal while others worry about the temperatures.

Solution:

• Downloaded iStat, a free widget for the Mac dashboard, that displays temperatures and fan speeds.  There are several temperature sensors and two fans.
• Download site: http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/status/istatpro.html
• It looks and works (as far as I can tell) really good.  Also reports things like network traffic, which I also like to know about.

Result:

• Despite the case feel, the internal temperatures were not too bad, typically around 65C though sometimes the CPU & GPU rose to 81C, which I think is the upper sensible limit.  At this speed, one of the fans speeds up a bit e.g. 2300 rpm as compared to 2000 typically.
• A colleague (Matt Roberts) said chips are designed OK up to say 90C and higher, though connections can break down at around 120C.
• Seems all within tolerance then, no need to worry.