Easy way to run Windows?

Hey all,
New to the Mac and wanted to see the easiest way to run Windows for a video game. Thank you!

For any kind of gaming, you're going to want to install Windows via Boot Camp. While Virtualization products like Parallels and VMWare can be the easiest way to get Windows running, gaming support (and 3D support in general) is extremely limited.

Is Boot Camp something that came with the Mac that I just run like any other program?

Boot Camp is a program that is part of OS X. It facilitates the installation of Windows by prepping your hard drive (splitting it into multiple partitions) and supplying the needed Apple-specific drivers for Windows.

You can find the Boot Camp Assistant in Applications => Utilities. Make sure you print out and READ the instructions the entire way through before you begin (you will be prompted to print the instructions - make sure you do it).

Also, see:

Boot Camp 2.0, Mac OS X 10.5: Frequently asked questions

Thanks for the help. Like I said, I'm new to the Mac and haven't explored everything yet. Is there anything I should know that could hurt the computer?

Clark Kent said:

Thanks for the help. Like I said, I'm new to the Mac and haven't explored everything yet. Is there anything I should know that could hurt the computer?

Click to expand...

Yes, you should always backup your data before you make a modification to the file system or operating system - and installing Windows definitely meets those criteria. So, if you don't have an external hard drive, get one - and make sure you turn on Time Machine to backup your machine.

Hi guys,

Does anybody know where I can actually get a copy of the boot camp instructions online? I want to setup boot camp and get a small Windows partition setup on my new iMac, but I don't own a printer at home (that is what office printers are for). And I don't wish to chance an install without having read them first.

Cheers,
Anderoo

I think the instructions are a PDF, so just email the PDF to yourself and print them out at work.

What's the partition all about?

bungy said:

I think the instructions are a PDF, so just email the PDF to yourself and print them out at work.

Click to expand...

Arh cool.

Cheers.


Clark: The partition is just some of the hard disk you have to give to Windows so that it can install.

How much do you give?

To quote page 6 of the Boot Camp Installation and Setup Guide: "When you create the Windows partition, you can choose to use 32 GB, use half of the disk for Windows, or set a custom size. The Windows partition must be at least 5 GB and leave at least 5 GB of free space on the Mac OS X partition." Just make sure you leave enough room for the Windows install (depends on what version of Windows you plan to use) and everything you plan to install afterwords.

Also note the requirements for what types of Windows you can use on page 4. What is the Windows disc you plan on using (where did you get it from, what does it say on the disc...)?

Anderoo said:

Hi guys,

Does anybody know where I can actually get a copy of the boot camp instructions online? I want to setup boot camp and get a small Windows partition setup on my new iMac, but I don't own a printer at home (that is what office printers are for). And I don't wish to chance an install without having read them first.

Cheers,
Anderoo

Click to expand...

Even if they're not in PDF, you can always click to print them and then use the button to save them into a PDF.

cwa107 said:

Even if they're not in PDF, you can always click to print them and then use the button to save them into a PDF.

Click to expand...

Thanks again. As you could not doubt tell I am only a couple of weeks into my Mac ownership.

But I will certainly give this a go.

XP on external drive

Sorry if this is hijacking, but it seems relevant to this thread...
Is it better / or even possible to install XP on a separate drive? Or, Must it be on a partition on the main drive to boot?
Seems like a good idea to me to keep all the Windows stuff on a separate drive altogether.

Thanks

Although it would be nice, Windows can not be installed on an external drive. This is a limitation imposed by Windows itself.

i tried the parallels to run windows vista on my imac but after that i noticed that the virtual graphic couldnt give its best when using my autocadd too laggy .. what could be the problem..??

here's my mac specs

Hardware Overview:

Model Name: iMac
Model Identifier: iMac7,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.4 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 4 MB
Memory: 3 GB
Bus Speed: 800 MHz
Boot ROM Version: IM71.007A.B01
SMC Version: 1.21f4

ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro:

Chipset Model: ATI,RadeonHD2600
Type: Display
Bus: PCIe
PCIe Lane Width: x16
VRAM (Total): 256 MB
Vendor: ATI (0x1002)
Device ID: 0x9583
Revision ID: 0x0000
ROM Revision: 113-B2250F-219
EFI Driver Version: 01.00.219
Displays:
iMac:
Display Type: LCD
Resolution: 1920 x 1200
Depth: 32-bit Color
Built-In: Yes
Core Image: Hardware Accelerated
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Quartz Extreme: Supported
Display Connector:
Status: No display connected

Trying to run programs that depend on access to graphics hardware in a VM is not going to work (it might, but not well). If you need direct access to 3D hardware, you are going to have to install Vista to your HD.