There are many ways to run Windows on a Mac. As more and more Windows people switch, more of them will still want to use Windows for various apps and programs. This guide runs through all of the options with their pros and cons.


Microsoft Virtual PC for Mac (PowerPC Only)

Not a great option, but one of the few for PowerPC people. Emulates a PC chip and runs Windows in a separate window on the OS X desktop. It can be bought with a copy of Windows included. Copy of Windows is required.

Pros: Can use both OS's at the same time
Cons: High price, very slow

http://www.microsoft.com/mac/product...?pid=virtualpc


Apple Boot Camp (Intel Only)

An installer created by Apple that runs you through installing Windows on your Intel equipped Mac. It creates a partition and installs Windows on that partition. Copy of Windows XP SP2 is required.

Pros: Full speed, actually running Windows (no emulation involved)
Cons: Reboot is required to switch between OS X and Windows

http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/


Parallels Desktop for Mac (Intel Only)

An app that installs Windows but runs it in its own Window. You can use it and OS X at the same time. It can also install some older versions of Windows as well as Linux. Copy of Windows XP SP2 is required.

Pros: Close to full speed, Can use both OS's at the same time
Cons: Requires a lot of RAM

http://www.parallels.com/en/products/desktop/


CrossOver Mac (Intel Only)

An app that lets you install and run Windows applications without Windows. Copy of Windows is not required.

Pros: Low price/free, Do not have to purchase a copy of Windows
Cons: You don't have Windows

http://www.codeweavers.com/beta/cxmac/


Darwine/WINE (PowerPC or Intel)

Similar to CrossOver Mac. Lets you run Windows applications without Windows. Copy of Windows is not required.

Pros: Low price/free, Do not have to purchase a copy of Windows
Cons: You don't have Windows

http://darwine.opendarwin.org/


All additional information/comments/suggestions are welcome.

-Chris

[Silverfroth]

Well - I decided what the hey...I downloaded Darwine to give it a spin. If it doesn't work well for me then I'll just trash it...I'll let you know how it goes.

[Silverfroth]

Ok - Well I tried Darwine, couldn't get it to load and run for some reason...So I tried Crossover - loaded it, it installed one of my programs but I couldn't run the program after that - don't know why.
I'm a bit too new to the Mac to know how to do everything. The drag and install bit is actually confusing, lol - oi.

[rogerinlondon]

Can you run both Boot Camp and Parallels on the same machine, using the same Windows XP install for both?

[Aptmunich]

How about we move this to the windows, bootcamp and other OS's forum and make it a sticky there?

[trpnmonkey41]

Originally Posted by rogerinlondon

Can you run both Boot Camp and Parallels on the same machine, using the same Windows XP install for both?

No. Bootcamp actually creates a partition on your internal drive. Parallels creates a virtual hard drive (it shows up as a file of whatever size you set windows to have) wherever you want it (Can store the vhdd's on external which is nice) but they definitely can't run off of a single install

As he said you can't. I have heard that Parallels is going to work on being able to do that...

-Chris

[greyS60]

I have a question, if I install Windows via Apple Bootcamp is it goingto slow down my iMac? I only have 512 RAM right now, would I need to upgrade to make it work right?

[Aptmunich]

Nope. Bootcamp enables you to run windows natively, on its own.

So it'd be the same as installing windows xp on a dell box with 512MB ram.

You're probably thinking of paralells, which lets you run both OS's at the same time. In that case I'd recommend at least 1GB of RAM.

[Silverfroth]

Well - I don't know about anyone else, but I have yet to be able ot successfully install and run any program on Crossover or Darwine - any version.

Lack of manual, help or other instructions is the hinderance.

Main problem with Crossover - winxp bottle was never recognized by the program to be installed.

Main problem with Darwine - once you install it onto your system how to you use it to install programs to your computer? This is where a help or instruction manual is keen - but there isnt one.

[RiDE]

I have 2001 (I think) XP Proffessional CD-ROMS... Can I use these through Bootcamp???

They don't (obviously) have the SP2 on the disks, but can I load them, then download SP2 from Microsoft?

[trpnmonkey41]

No you can't.

http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1626

You need to have a SP2 disk for it to work. You can create a SP2 install disk using your Verion 2000 disk and slipstreaming it

Is anyone running Parallels? I am considering a switch and would like to know how well it runs? I have been told that the Mac OSX is much faster than Windows? Does Windows run faster on the Mac Pro or iMac? What are some people's experiences?
What does it mean when they say "close to full speed"? Full speed of the Mac or what I may be used to on my PC? Any limitations on what programs can be used or is it just like Windows--anything I can run on my PC box I can run under Windows using Parallels?

is there any way to make your own copy of Windows XP SP2 and load it with boot camp? Or do you have to have the licensed copy from Microsoft?


I have all of the right files, just not on an official disk.

Sondzin, I am running parallels and in my estimation it runs windows on this machine (imac 2.16) faster then windows runs on my amd 3500+. So far it runs my Office suite perfectly.