Windows on a mac

Ok, The information has probably been posted on this site somewhere, but I can't find it. For work I need to use windows xp, so I am going to get parallels and xp and install it on this mac. Which version of xp do I need? Service pack 2, 3, or something else. Also, I see versions sold that say OEM, will that be ok as well. Can anyone direct me to a good price for what I need to get. Thanks.

Since you'll be using Parallels all you need is a full install version of Windows XP. (no upgrades, recovery disks, restore disks, etc.) However, the version of XP being sold most will probably be SP2 and maybe SP3. You can use either.

You can buy either a MS full install boxed copy or an OEM system builder's full install copy. Best place to buy is probably either at NewEgg or Amazon.

Regards.

getting an oem copy like chscag said from newegg would be good for you. not only because it is cheapest there but because newegg has a warehouse right in New Jersey so you would get it quick.

Recommendations

I have a macbook pro and I have to buy a copy of windows xp pro to install for work. I would like to have a wireless set up so I can I can get online with my notebook from work as well as home. My office is set up for wireless. Does running mac and windows operating systems make a difference with the wireless router? Can anyone recommend something that they have had or currently have that is working well. Thanks in advance.

Any good router will work well with both OS X and Windows. I like and recommend D-Link routers because they are easy to setup and generally are Mac friendly. The D-Link DIR 655 is the one I recommend purchasing if you should decide to buy a D-Link. Take a look here.

Just curious, but you stated your work required XP Pro. I'm assuming they want you to purchase Pro in order that you can join your work domain? Otherwise there would be no advantage in spending the extra $$ for Pro.

Regards.

re:

chscag said:

Any good router will work well with both OS X and Windows. I like and recommend D-Link routers because they are easy to setup and generally are Mac friendly. The D-Link DIR 655 is the one I recommend purchasing if you should decide to buy a D-Link. Take a look here.

Regards.

Click to expand...

what do you mean Mac friendly?

most routers I've come across have their setup done from a browser, like a webpage so it is independent of the OS, just curious

anyway, back to the thread ... I haven't had any problems connecting a mac to a wireless network, even to an 801 encrypted network at school which is a reeeeeaaal pain to get working with Windows, never understood why though (took ages to setup even though you set everything correct in the first place )
and the wireless under Windows installed on a Mac machine works fine, no problems there either .... at least from my experience that is

The reason I need xp is because to get onto the network I need to use xp according to the tech guy. Mac's are not supported. Also, some web sites I need for work are not compatible with a mac. It's a real pain in the ***. The reason I switched over to a mac was because I got tired of pc's and windows based programs. I had nothing but problems, but now have to go back and use them. Hopefully as little as possible. Thanks for the advice.

Dollarbill said:

The reason I need xp is because to get onto the network I need to use xp according to the tech guy. Mac's are not supported. Also, some web sites I need for work are not compatible with a mac. It's a real pain in the ***. The reason I switched over to a mac was because I got tired of pc's and windows based programs. I had nothing but problems, but now have to go back and use them. Hopefully as little as possible. Thanks for the advice.

Click to expand...

I'm sure they want you to buy XP Pro to be able to join your work domain as XP Home can not join domains but can join networks.

What web sites have you encountered that are not compatible with your Mac? I haven't run into one yet.

Regards.

scathe said:

what do you mean Mac friendly?

most routers I've come across have their setup done from a browser, like a webpage so it is independent of the OS, just curious

Click to expand...

By Mac friendly I'm referring to calling the router's tech support and having a "support tech" give a dumbed down answer when they find out you're using a Mac.

You're correct that routers are easy to setup from the built in menu but occasionally you'll run into one with hardware problems.

Regards.

The web sites I am having problems with are all owned, operated and were set up by my company. For some reason the pages don't load, or just certain pages, or parts of pages won't load. When I go onto them from one of the pc's at the office there is no problem. Some web sites I need for work that are not run by my company will let me log in but it won't let me do any work because they don't support mac's. It's very frustrating. To have to go out and spend money on xp pro, vmware, and antivirus programs all for just a few things for work purposes is annoying. I don't understand why people have such problems when they find out someone is using a mac. My experience with this notebook has been great so far. Much better than my pc. That thing gave me nothing but problems.

That's the way it is when you're dealing with proprietary web sites and a company which promulgates them. Not much you can do if you need it for work. I don't suppose your company would be willing to compensate you for the purchases?

Regards.

No, the company will never compensate me for buying this stuff. The funny thing is that when I am in the office and I see people using the pc's and they are having alot of problems, it makes me laugh and think that's exactly why I bought a mac. Hopefully they won't have any issues with me being wireless on a mac in the office. I've never used a wireless router before so it's a little new to me. Will it cause any problems with using a mac. Will the wireless setup in the office have to be configured for someone to be using a mac?

What about the apple airport extreme base station.?

Installing vmware

I just got vmware and I am confused about what to do next. Any help would be great. Do I need to partition in boot camp first, then install vmware and then xp pro. I want to make sure I do this right the first time. I tried finding threads on here about this but it just seems a little too complicated to understand. Thanks

there is no reason to use bootcamp if you do not want to with vmware. If you simply want to use a virtual machine, install vmware and then create a new virtual machine.

What you can do with vmware is access a bootcamp partition, so if you have one.. or install one later, you can run that from within vmware without the need to reboot.

It depends on how you intend to use Windows. If you want it accessible via Boot Camp, but still have the option to use it as a VM, then yes, Boot Camp will need to be installed first.

If you want to use it solely as a VM, then just create a new virtual machine and let the wizard walk you through the process - no partitioning is needed as pure VMs use a virtual hard disk file instead of a partition.

Thanks for the quick responses. I want to be able to have both operating systems up and running at the same time in case I need to go back and fourth between the 2. Also, I would rather not have to reboot just to get between the 2.

Personally then I'd do a virtual machine. It has the added benefit of being portable.. that is you can simply copy it to another computer and use it on vmware there as well.

Agreed with Dysfunction. If you have no need for 3D games or heavy duty 3D application support in Windows, it will run perfectly in a VM, there is no need for Boot Camp.

In fact, I used to have both a boot camp partition and a VM for Windows - but ultimately deleted the Boot Camp partition and just went with the Fusion VM. I did not like rebooting and much preferred having both things open on my Mac at the same time.

Cheers