Running Windows on a Mac: A Switcher's Guide

Ok, I was a little confused on that step. I checked my osx install disc before installing xp and attempted to download the support utilities from the internet but neither was working.

Gravey said:

Ok, I was a little confused on that step. I checked my osx install disc before installing xp and attempted to download the support utilities from the internet but neither was working.

Click to expand...

If you didn't download the support package to burn the disc, that's OK. Just pop in your OS X disc (or System Disc 1) while running Windows. Open it from 'My Computer' and it should run the setup process. Once you get done, you just need to run the Apple Software Update to get it completely up-to-date.

Which way to go for AutoCAD?

Hi,

I recently converted to Mac, I'm still in the process of getting adapted which is taking a little more effort then anticipated.

I need to use AutoCAD with my already learnt skills, meaning I need to run it under windows, at this point I'm not sure which to go with boot camp or virtualization?

I thought it would be useful to run virtualization for instant access between the 2 OS, hence I tried Virtual Box 4.0.4 but have had serious performance issues due to incompatibility (15.4'' MBP 2.3 GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7 8 GB RAM 256 SSD OSX 10.6.7) regardless of what I do the system freezes at the end of max 15-20 mins.

Sorry for the long read, I would appreciate any support if at all...

If you read the sticky from the beginning, you will see that Boot Camp is preferable if you need full acces to your graphics hardware. You didn't tell us what kind of Mac you are using but if it has a separate video adapter you will likely see a performance improvement for AutoCad in Boot Camp. You'll have to reinstall windows for this to work.

Virtual machines use a "virtual" graphics adapter (software) which is fine for productivity applications, surfing, watching DVDs, etc., but for heavy video editing or rendering packages, you will see performance issues under any virtual machine.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Thnx for the prompt feedback, I'm using a 15.4'' MBP 2.3 GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, 8 GB SDRAM on 256 SSD with OS X 10.6.7.

I was hoping that my system would be sufficient enough to run Win 7 & AutoCAD under virtualization... I didn't know that the GPU was set a side and graphics controlled by virtual adapter... If that is the case I may have to consider boot camp, the only thing is the hassle of rebooting is a turn off.

much appreciated, cheers

abMAC said:

Thnx for the prompt feedback, I'm using a 15.4'' MBP 2.3 GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, 8 GB SDRAM on 256 SSD with OS X 10.6.7.

I was hoping that my system would be sufficient enough to run Win 7 & AutoCAD under virtualization... I didn't know that the GPU was set a side and graphics controlled by virtual adapter... If that is the case I may have to consider boot camp, the only thing is the hassle of rebooting is a turn off.

much appreciated, cheers

Click to expand...

I've seen demos of AutoCAD running well in virtualization. VMWare Fusion and Parallels Desktop both have 3D hardware acceleration, albeit with a layer of abstraction. Virtualbox I'm not as familiar with, but relative to VMWare (and even Parallels), it's an immature product. So, it doesn't surprise me that you're having some issues there.

That's not to say that VirtualBox is without merit, it's just not as refined of a product as Fusion or Parallels.

I guess my question is... why wouldn't you just run the Mac version of AutoCAD and call it a day?

I'm going to tryout VMWare Fusion to see how well it goes, as for AutoCAD for Mac, well as exciting as it sounds there are some rough edges that need to be shaved... Especially for Windows users cut copy paste is second nature which doesn't play out in the Mac version, also the overal layout etc has gone under serious make over, I will definitely consider moving to the Mac version at some point, but its best to give it some time to mature maybe 2012 even 2013...

I'll let you all know how Fusion goes, and thank you for your support, this seems to be a very strong community that I'll be learning a lot from

One last thing I know this may have been covered, in VMWare Fusion which is the best way to go Win 7 32 bit or 64 bit.

Cheers

Hi,

After reading several articles and threads I'e decided to go with Parallels Desktop 6, and it work very smoothly, I haven't had any of the problems which I encountered using Virtual Box, the installation of windows 7 was flawless and I can run AutoCAD to my satisfaction, that said I should point out that I have not run 3D modeling and rendering.

Thanks for those who pitched in, and I hope this helps others sharing the same issues.

Cheers.;D

nice one though who wants to install this windows....wth

Getting data from Tiger to Snow Leopard under parallels

HI,
I read the entire thread hoping to see a solution for my current upgrade, as I am still running Tiger, but want to now use dictation software which needs Snow Leopard to run. Pity as everything works SO well currently.
My MacBook Pro (Intel core duo) has Windows XP under Parallels V2.5 to run software called Radar (medical analysis, heavy on charts and heavy searches of specialized encyclopaedias) which sadly is not available on Mac.

The challenge is that
* Radar contains ten years of heavy research data, and also it is a huge hassle to reinstall, as it includes multiple encyclopedias - takes for ever to install from all those DVDs.
* Parallels 2.5 is not usable on Snow Leopard.
* Parallels 6 is not usable on Tiger.

I am wondering if the following will work, and I can find nobody who can tell me at Parallels so far. Maybe someone here can help:

* Make bootable backup, test it and stash it as a fallback position (done)
* Uninstall Parallels 2.5 on Tiger. Do another backup, and have it mounted for upgrade:....Does this preserve the Windows/Radar folder, or does "uninstall" blow that all out of the water?
[I actually have a second lot of data in a second VM under Windows 2000 Professional as well, to be moved.]
Longterm research studies often outlast the supported software life however new at the start, so maintaining data wholeness and integrity can be a huge problem.]
* Upgrade to Snow Leopard with bootable backup mounted, this way:
* using the install DVD's Utility option to effectively erase/install,
(wiping my hard drive, starting with Snow Leopard install on a clean drive and then using its Setup Assistant to ensure the files I want get passed over.) I need any space I can recover as a side effect, too.
* Then install Parallels 6 and HOPE it "sees" the windowsXP/Radar folder and the windows 2000Pro/data one?

Is there any chance this will work?
If not, what is my best way to do this upgrade please?
[I have the relevant individual licensed software]

By the way - It is worth it to me to use Parallels. It really makes a world of difference. I spend all day cutting and pasting between Radar analyses and Apple Mail email consults, and Text edit, Pages, Aperture, etc. Parallels has been slick as a whistle for me. I so wish I did not need the upgrade, but I do. (Me= Lots of writing to do and no typing skill.)

I hope the length of email is forgiven for clarity reasons.
Namaste,
Irene

Why is it so difficult to reinstall OSX after replacing a failed HDD?

I have a 2 yr old 13.3' macbook with a 2 ghz core 2 and 2GB ddr3. In os-x 10.5 it froze constantly, and would stay frozen for minutes at a time. The hard drive failed last week, and all I was able to recover was an image of the efi partition, which I moved to the new HDD.
After 15 failed attempts to reinstall OSX from the restore disks I gave up. There's a scratch on one of them, and the d-bags at the apple store won't help unless you're willing to pay them to fix it. (how difficult is it to burn a copy of a restore disk?)
"Because of a problem, installing Mac OS X could not be completed"
Windows 7 installed in about an hour, and a bootleg copy of the bootcamp files made everything work flawlessly. (if that's somehow wrong or illegal, I don't care. I didn't pay nearly $1000 to have a machine I can't use)

It runs great in windows 7 (see attached screenshot), and scores higher than a lot of new windows based laptops with faster cpus and more memory. Go figure..

But I joined this forum because I want to learn how to fix macs. I can install windows 7 on a PC in less 1/2 hour. So how do I get OSX to install on this thing

Network Drivers Installation

I've tried reviewing the forums to check for my answer, and I haven't located it so far. If I've missed it, and someone can point me to them, I'd really appreciate it (or just straight help if not answered before).

I'm on a MacBook Pro, utilizing Mac OS X Version 10.6.7. I ran the Boot Camp Assistant to partition my drive, and then installed Windows XP (SP2, I believe). I'm able to reboot into Windows, and get to the login screen. From there, it immediately asks me to register my version of Windows, either over the phone or over the Internet. I'd like to be able to do over the Internet, but it is never able to detect my network connections.

Boot Camp Assistant instructions say to install my Mac OS X disc and install the drivers, but I can't get to the Windows desktop to install those drivers.

Are there any instructions for installing those network drivers without getting past the login screen? Am I just forced to call and try and register over the phone, and then install my network drivers using the OS X disc once I get past the login screen?

Thank you for any and all help. These forums have been a HUGE help in the past as I learned to work my Mac laptop

jdellarocca said:

I've tried reviewing the forums to check for my answer, and I haven't located it so far. If I've missed it, and someone can point me to them, I'd really appreciate it (or just straight help if not answered before).

I'm on a MacBook Pro, utilizing Mac OS X Version 10.6.7. I ran the Boot Camp Assistant to partition my drive, and then installed Windows XP (SP2, I believe). I'm able to reboot into Windows, and get to the login screen. From there, it immediately asks me to register my version of Windows, either over the phone or over the Internet. I'd like to be able to do over the Internet, but it is never able to detect my network connections.

Boot Camp Assistant instructions say to install my Mac OS X disc and install the drivers, but I can't get to the Windows desktop to install those drivers.

Are there any instructions for installing those network drivers without getting past the login screen? Am I just forced to call and try and register over the phone, and then install my network drivers using the OS X disc once I get past the login screen?

Thank you for any and all help. These forums have been a HUGE help in the past as I learned to work my Mac laptop

Click to expand...

You should be able to skip registration and activation. Go ahead and do that. When you're all finished and get to the Windows desktop, install your drivers and get online. Then run product activation.

Was just coming to correct...

cwa107 said:

You should be able to skip registration and activation. Go ahead and do that. When you're all finished and get to the Windows desktop, install your drivers and get online. Then run product activation.

Click to expand...

After I posted, I reloaded it to make sure all my terminology was correct. I was incorrect, it's asking me to "Activate" not "Register" over the phone or the Internet. If I choose, "Activate over the Phone" it gives me the phone number and the product key to read off to the telephone operator, and then spaces to enter the activation code. My only other choice (besides over the phone and the Internet) is "Register Later" which brings me back to the login screen, never allowing me to go further.

_____

Update: I just wanted to add my thanks, cwa for your quick response!

MacBook Pro

wayyytoobored said:

Why is it so difficult to reinstall OSX after replacing a failed HDD?

I have a 2 yr old 13.3' macbook with a 2 ghz core 2 and 2GB ddr3. In os-x 10.5 it froze constantly, and would stay frozen for minutes at a time. The hard drive failed last week, and all I was able to recover was an image of the efi partition, which I moved to the new HDD.
After 15 failed attempts to reinstall OSX from the restore disks I gave up. There's a scratch on one of them, and the d-bags at the apple store won't help unless you're willing to pay them to fix it. (how difficult is it to burn a copy of a restore disk?)
"Because of a problem, installing Mac OS X could not be completed"
Windows 7 installed in about an hour, and a bootleg copy of the bootcamp files made everything work flawlessly. (if that's somehow wrong or illegal, I don't care. I didn't pay nearly $1000 to have a machine I can't use)

It runs great in windows 7 (see attached screenshot), and scores higher than a lot of new windows based laptops with faster cpus and more memory. Go figure..

But I joined this forum because I want to learn how to fix macs. I can install windows 7 on a PC in less 1/2 hour. So how do I get OSX to install on this thing

Click to expand...

can you help me then i have just come to apple and want to run my widows messenger live to chat to my kids and see them on the webcam how do i do this i have tried down loading it to my laptop but still cannot sighing in please help me driving me mad.

Best solution for windows 7 to run Windows Adobe CS4

Hi,
I am thinking about transferring to an iMac and was wondering what the best solution would be to run some of my current Windows software, particularly Adobe CS4, MS Office Access DB and SPSS statistics software. Ideally I would like to run them in parallel, rather than via a separate boot, would that work OK, and is there a minimum memory configuration I should plan for to allow this, particularly for photoshop?
Also, if you run Win 7 in parallel, how to you install antivirus software? Does it just get installed through the virtual windows window as you would on a windows machine, or are there any specific considerations?
Finally, can programs running within windows access their internet help files through the virtual environment? Does that mean that the virtual windows needs its own browser too?
Many thanks, and apologies if these are obvious questions!!!

Read both the stickies in their entirety - will answer most of your questions. Short answer is that your CS and photoshop applications may run better under boot camp than in a virtual machine; the other 2 should run fine in a VM. And yes, you need to install AV software in the VM like you would in any other Windows machine.

How much memory you allocate depends on which Win version you install, whether it's 32 or 64 bit and how much RAM you have to start with and how much you want to leave for OSX while your VM is running. You can change the allocation so I would experiement a bit and not stress about it so much for the install.

Cheers

Installing Windows 7 on a mac with OS Lion

Hi everyone,

I've read through all of the recent links, but can't seem to find an answer to this one:

I've recently purchased an iMac with Snow Leopard, but have subsequently downloaded Lion as the OS. I'm now hoping to use Bootcamp to install a version of Windows (pref Windows 7) to give me both options. A couple of questions:

1. Can I install Windows 7 via Bootcamp? If not what's the next best option?
2. What version does it need to be; OEM or retail? What difference does it make?
3. Does Lion OS support all of the above or do I need to revert back to Snow Leopard?

Thanks for you time

2rockfarmers said:

1. Can I install Windows 7 via Bootcamp? If not what's the next best option?

Click to expand...

Yes.

2. What version does it need to be; OEM or retail?

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Either a retail version or an "OEM for System Builders", like this one:

Amazon.com: Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64bit (Full) System Builder DVD 1 Pack: Software

What difference does it make?

Click to expand...

The distinction is important because some people will attempt to use restore discs that were originally packaged with a PC they bought. Those will not work. Additionally, some people will try to use a disc that was used on another machine. Product Activation will prevent those from working as well.

3. Does Lion OS support all of the above or do I need to revert back to Snow Leopard?

Thanks for you time

Click to expand...

Yes, Lion and Snow Leopard versions of Boot Camp both support Windows 7.

Thanks cwa107,

Seeing as I don't have the Lion drivers DVD (I downloaded it to replace SL), am I right in thinking that I can download the Lion drivers on to a blank DVD when I go through the bootcamp partitioning process? As I understand, I will need to install the Lion drivers in windows for it to work. I assume I can then use this DVD as if it were a normal install DVD for Lion.

Appreciate your help