09-17-2008, 01:36 PM

Ok so I have accounting software that only runs on Windows. If I buy parallels and windows, will this leave my computer open to attacks/viruses?

From what I've been reading it seems like parallels is more convenient because you can run windows like a native mac application and you don't have to reboot.. what if any are the advantages of bootcamp over parallels?

09-17-2008, 01:55 PM

With BootCamp you aren't running two operating systems at once - so you're not sharing your RAM etc between the two, so I imagine it's going to be faster

If you install Windows the Windows bit is open to viruses like any other Windows computer, but even if you end up with a virus on your Mac side of things it can't do anything - a Windows virus won't run on a Mac like any other Windows program. With Bootcamp it won't be able to cross the Mac/Windows partition anyway.

You can always use both.

09-17-2008, 05:28 PM

You can download trial versions of Parallels and VMWare Fusion, which I encourage you to use and work with before making the decision regarding Boot Camp. You will need to install antivirus on any BC volume and also in any Parallels or Fusion virtual machine, just like on any other Windows-based PC, but in neither case will the rest of your Mac be affected.

Cheers

09-18-2008, 11:59 PM

Try Parallels, I can assure you that Bootcamp is much better though, at least it fully accesses your Mac's hardware parts. Any how, Boot camp has a dark-side too, you can not really access or even view your Macintosh volume while you're on Windows, because it is always a NTFS one; you can view the Windows partition while you are running Mac OS X though, but you only have the 'Read' permission, though you can use a 3rd party software so you can fully enjoy both priviliges 'Read & Write'. As for Parallels, it's pretty bad especially in games, the only good thing is that you don't have to restart, but it only uses up 512 MB of RAM if you have a 2 GB one, so that's pretty slow if you ask me.

09-19-2008, 11:39 AM

I know this could be an extremely dumb question but here it goes. I wanna run a windows only program on my macbook. So i downloaded parralels, but do I need to install a windows OS as well. Can anyone direct me to a tutorial on exactly how to go about doing this. i really am lost here. thanks for any help you can give.

09-19-2008, 11:44 AM

You need a copy of Windows to install on your Mac as well. Do you have one?

09-19-2008, 01:04 PM

Yes. You need a licensed copy of Windows to install in addition to Parallels or Fusion, or Boot Camp. Many on this forum recommend buying an OEM system builder's version on newegg.com as one of the most cost-effective places. Windows disks that come with branded systems (e.g., the one that came with someone's HP, Dell or whatever) will not work, and in any case, violate the license.

Good luck!

09-19-2008, 03:16 PM

no i dont have one. is it really expensive to buy ?

09-19-2008, 03:19 PM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116056

09-22-2008, 12:03 AM

I recently downloaded Parallels to see how well it worked and to see how well Windows would work with a game... I didn't think it would work and it didn't, it was very choppy (seeing that I was running two operating systems.)

Now, if I wanted to have windows on my macbook so that I could play a Windows only game, would Boot Camp work well enough? Like, will it be smooth and everything? Do you know this for a fact through experience?

09-22-2008, 01:11 PM

For gaming, boot camp works better because virtual machines (either in Parallels or Fusion) do not fully support 3D hardware acceleration in the graphics, assuming your Mac has a separate graphics adapter (i.e., you are not using a MacBook).

For productivity applications, Parallels and Fusion work seamlessly and are very smooth.

Cheers

09-22-2008, 01:13 PM

Originally Posted by Yitschaq

I recently downloaded Parallels to see how well it worked and to see how well Windows would work with a game... I didn't think it would work and it didn't, it was very choppy (seeing that I was running two operating systems.)

Now, if I wanted to have windows on my macbook so that I could play a Windows only game, would Boot Camp work well enough? Like, will it be smooth and everything? Do you know this for a fact through experience?

With BootCamp you're only running one OS - not two, and the whole graphics thing that's also been mentioned shouldn't be a problem - it should run like it would on any other PC with the same specs.

09-22-2008, 03:26 PM

Originally Posted by SammySlim

For gaming, boot camp works better because virtual machines (either in Parallels or Fusion) do not fully support 3D hardware acceleration in the graphics, assuming your Mac has a separate graphics adapter (i.e., you are not using a MacBook).

For productivity applications, Parallels and Fusion work seamlessly and are very smooth.

Cheers

So that wouldn't be a problem with a macbook then? I want to install parallels so I can play SC2 when it comes out.

09-22-2008, 04:33 PM

The MacBook has an integrated graphics controller - unlike the MBP, iMac and Mac Pro, which have separate graphics cards. The regular MB will not do well with games that have heavy graphics (whether in Boot Camp or via Parallels/Fusion) because it's graphics hardware is not up to the task. For serious gaming, you need one of the other Macs. Sorry if my post was not clear.

Cheers

09-22-2008, 05:05 PM

Thanks for the reply man. I assumed I was going to have to build a gaming rig running xp for gaming anyways, but I got my hopes up thinking about running it on here. Haha.