Windows under OS X

Hi all. New Mac owner.

I need to be able to run a few windows only programs on my new macbook. I know bootcamp is an option, but I was wondering if there were any good options that didn't require a reboot.

Wikipedia had a big comparison of virtual machines, but I hoping to get someone to let me know which ones are good.

Preference for free, please.

DrObviousSo said:

Hi all. New Mac owner.

I need to be able to run a few windows only programs on my new macbook. I know bootcamp is an option, but I was wondering if there were any good options that didn't require a reboot.

Wikipedia had a big comparison of virtual machines, but I hoping to get someone to let me know which ones are good.

Preference for free, please.

Click to expand...

For the Intel Mac a program called Parallels works very well in running windows in a virtual machine and allows you to run both windows and os x at the same time. It isn't free but it is well worth its cost of $79...

I would personally get an external HDD to avoid windows contaminating my mac
and use bootcamp, dont forget when using windows your mac is vulnerable to all windows security flaws

mikeyman said:

dont forget when using windows your mac is vulnerable to all windows security flaws

Click to expand...

Yes, thats true, but those vulnerablities will only affect your windows installation. OS X will be just fine.....

Anyways, i recommend using parallels, its the best virtual operating system program. It can also allow you to load from the Boot Camp partition without having to reboot. My favorite thing about Parallels is "Coherence Mode", which basically puts a Windows Taskbar on your MAC desktop, and lets your run your windows and Mac apps side by side and simultaneously, without keeping all your windows apps confined within a larger window.

mikeyman said:

I would personally get an external HDD to avoid windows contaminating my mac
and use bootcamp, dont forget when using windows your mac is vulnerable to all windows security flaws

Click to expand...

I thought of that myself, but you can't. In order to use BootCamp, Windows must be installed on your boot volume, although it will be on a different partition. Fortunately, Windows can't write to Mac, but you can write from your Mac drive to Windows.

I use Parallels and it works for me. I like coherence mode but I also use full-screen mode for when I really just need to focus completely on windows programs. It was worth the $$.

I would run bootcamp if you're just going to run XP. Just my opinion tho.

Thanks for all the input. Other than cohesion mode, what about parallels makes it worth $80 over the free solutions like MVware's Fusion?

Well, for one, VMWare Fusion is Beta software and Parallels has been an official product for almost a year. That means production-grade support and quality of product.

I've been using Parallels for as long as I've had my MacBook and it's great.

Parallels is great for me. I like being able to switch back and forth between OS X and WinXP seemlesly. Well worth the investment if you need Windows.

The main differences between bootcamp and parallels is that bootcamp runs nativly and parallels uses virtualization. Bootcamp has hardware video acceleration (needed for gaming), parallels does not. You mac needs to be rebooted when using bootcamp, but doesn't when parallels is used. More than likely parallels will work just find for you.