Getting my Macbook today. Any bootcamp advice?

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I'm just waiting for UPS this morning. Got my XP Pro SP2 CD ready to go. I thought I read something about not being able to read a partition from one of the OSes or something like that.

Any pitfalls I should avoid so I don't have to do this three times?

Ohh yeah, how the heck do I right click?
 
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control+click

my advice is to not install windows. but if you are going to be doing it my advice changes to read the instructions thoroughly before doing so. the instruction manual surprisingly tells you how to do everythying
-chris
 
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Follow the manual word for word. Read EVERYTHING. Many members here ask questions that would be answered very quickly if they had read the manual. That's my only suggestion. Good luck with it!
 
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coach_z said:
control+click

my advice is to not install windows. but if you are going to be doing it my advice changes to read the instructions thoroughly before doing so. the instruction manual surprisingly tells you how to do everythying
-chris
I would second this advice.
I would suggest getting used to the Mac OS before you install Windows. I think you will find that you really don't need Windows on the Mac. At the very least, don't make it the very first thing you do when you get your Mac.

Read the BootCamp manual and FAQ on Apple's site thoroughly... read through and search the threads on this forum... and follow the installation instructions provided by Apple to the letter BEFORE you install anything. :black:
 
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Dean364 said:
I'm just waiting for UPS this morning. Got my XP Pro SP2 CD ready to go. I thought I read something about not being able to read a partition from one of the OSes or something like that.

Any pitfalls I should avoid so I don't have to do this three times?

Ohh yeah, how the heck do I right click?

Windows can't read the OS X partition without the help of software like MacDrive. From OS X you can read the Windows partition, but you can only write to it if it's FAT32.

The best suggestion with Boot Camp is to read the manual and print it out so you have it with you as you're doing the install.

And I assume you're asking how to right click in Windows. With the new version of Boot Camp you can use the right-hand Apple key and click. But that seems like a really annoying way to right click. This input remapper will enable you to bind right click and other key functions.
 

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Agreed totally with Devilboy. Give OSX a chance. I think you will like it. Then if you need some Windows programs, Read the manual and install Bootcamp and SP2 windows.
 
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D3v1L80Y said:
I would second this advice.
I would suggest getting used to the Mac OS before you install Windows. I think you will find that you really don't need Windows on the Mac. At the very least, don't make it the very first thing you do when you get your Mac.

So if he wants to play a Windows-only game or use a Windows-only piece of software for work he should do that on OS X? Right....
 
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Dean,
I'm a Windows PC tech. I've got the Macbook Pro setup on Bootcamp. If you ask me what you want to know I'll be more than happy to let you know what you want to know. In terms of searching, search the Switcher forum for my advice on some things to know.

On second thought... here it is:

"Ok so I've had a few questions about this so I'm going to give you my perspective on buying a new MB or MBP. Some of this advice is specific to gamers, some not, but you can use all of it to help you decide which is right for you, and how to go about it.

Let me preface this by saying this: I own and operate www.spaceage-computers.com. I served Oregon up until last month. I moved here to Albuquerque NM and will be changing the page to reflect that. Anyways I make my living with onsite repairs. I run my PC repair company on Macs. First a 12" PB g4, and now a 15" MBP. So I think I might know a thing or 2 about computers and the end users needs. Trust me this advice comes from seeing years of people and their issues.


Well, firstly the Macbook wont run the games very well at all. You HAVE to get the Macbook Pro. The difference is the video RAM. The Macbooks only have like 64mb of shared video ram. The MBP has at least 128mb of VRAM. I think the new ones have 256. But once you have that, games run great. I run Battlefield 2 with no problems. ( I honestly dont have time to do much else )

A few thoughts though.
1. when you buy the mbp, buy the BASE (ie.. the least ) amount of memory you can from Apple. Then go to CompUSA or Fry's or Newegg.com and get the rest of the memory there. Get 2 1gb sticks from newegg.com for like $170.

2. Get an external hard drive. Firewire would be best. I build my own external HDD's. Get something like 300gb at least. Once you get that, what you want to do is to format it with the Mac OS and format it in DISK UTILITY in the MS DOS format. Thats FAT32. You cant do that in XP... go figure. Formatting in FAT32 means that you do not have to partition the drive, you can use it on both XP and Mac and both can read/write to it. You want at least 300gb worth of space because you will be installing extra programs onto it eventually on both Mac and XP, as well as storing extra files and such.

3. When you do the bootcamp partition, give XP at least 20 gb of space. WHy? Gaming in XP is hella expensive in terms of disk space. If you're a gamer on XP, you know this. Give it at least 20 gb, maybe more if you can. Use the external HDD from #2 to install games to if possible. Remember that youll also be installing things like Flash, itunes, MS Office, and other small proggies. Keep this in mind when doing your partition. Once the partitioning is done, thats it. No shifting it on the fly in OS X once its done.

4. Put a shortcut on your Mac desktop to your MY DOCUMENTS folder in your XP partition. It helps TREMENDOUSLY to have that.

5. When doing the setup / install of XP it will ask you in the beginning if you want to format your xp drive. DO NOT. Leave the file system in tact. You want the FAT32 file system, so that the Mac can write to it if need be.

6. Bootcamp vs Parrallels. My take is this, gaming, you want bootcamp. Everything else can use parrallels. Except for things like GPS and certain other USB things. I have MS Streets and trips and a Navman USB GPS and it doesnt work in Parallels. But it works great in bootcamp. SO some things that are usb specific you should try before deciding. Generics like mice and keyboards will work. Personally I use bootcamp ONLY. Why? When I need windows, I want ALL my resources. And to me its not that big a deal to just reboot.

Aside from that I can't really think of too much else I'd say to a customer right off the bat without questions. If you have some, post them and I'll do my best to answer."


Ok.. so that was my schpeil for just some GENERAL advice. Guys, I know we had a long discussion about this before, just please keep this post on topic, and lets keep this thread civil if at all possible.

Dean, if you want to know more just please feel free to email me.

Bishop
 
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youngbo

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hi, ive just read ur post and was wondering if you could give me some advice, i have just brought a macbookpro, i used bootcamp to install xp as i have programes and files i need to run with office programes, since doing this i have just read about parrelles, was wondering what i should do, should i undo boot camp and just us parrellels as i dont do gaming but i am finding rebooting to switch is a bit of a pain. hopefully u can give me some advice thanks alex
 
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youngbo said:
hi, ive just read ur post and was wondering if you could give me some advice, i have just brought a macbookpro, i used bootcamp to install xp as i have programes and files i need to run with office programes, since doing this i have just read about parrelles, was wondering what i should do, should i undo boot camp and just us parrellels as i dont do gaming but i am finding rebooting to switch is a bit of a pain. hopefully u can give me some advice thanks alex

Check your mail, I sent you what you need. :mac:
 
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Great insight Bishop. I too own an IT support company, and most of what I do is on-site at other people's offices. When I buy, I always buy the best. I bought a MacBook Pro because it had the better video card..etc. I did buy the base model because I know I can upgrade it for cheaper.

I grew up on Apple computers. My father always had MAcs, ****, I support companies that use only Macs and am familar with OS X (but I plan on becoming even more familar with it). I did not buy my MacBook because I wanted an Apple computer to run XP. I needed a new laptop so if I can have both operating systems, why wouldn't I?

Bottom line is, I haven't been this excited about a new computer in awhile. I love the fact that I can run all my Windows business stuff, and I REALLY LOVE the fact that I can continue to play around with the Mac side. I personally have never owned a Mac before, and I am so glad I waited until now.

I just got XP up and running on this beast, and it's time to make the SWITCH from my tablet PC. I know I made the right decision because I am already having such a good time with this thing.

I still haven't figured out my right-click thing. CONTROL+CLICK doesn't seem to be working. Did I miss something?
 
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Dean364 said:
I still haven't figured out my right-click thing. CONTROL+CLICK doesn't seem to be working. Did I miss something?

With the new version of Boot Camp you can use the right-hand Apple key and click. But that seems like a really annoying way to right click. This input remapper will enable you to bind right click and other key functions.
 

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