thinking of upgrading ....

hi friends,

I switched to macs last august 2009 and hardly a day has gone by without being thankful ...

i'm using a macbook pro 13" and would like to upgrade to the newer ones which were released a few months back.

1. i have done everything that i possibly could to avoid installing windows. But now a program related to my investments has come up that requires windows functionality.

I've never done anything like this before and a bit scared.

a) Is it easy to do this?

b) Are there any step by step instructions?

c) Once i install windows, will it eat up my hard drive space? I'll just b installing a small 50 mb program - dont need windows for anything else.

d) Is it easy to move between mac os and windows?


2. to move to a new mac, as i understand there are 2 ways to move my data - one is from mac to mac via firewire and the second is time machine airport express. I feel mac to mac firewire should be better, no? Am i wrong here?

Many thanks for the help and sorry if any of the questions sound too naive..

hari.p said:

hi friends,

I switched to macs last august 2009 and hardly a day has gone by without being thankful ...

i'm using a macbook pro 13" and would like to upgrade to the newer ones which were released a few months back.

1. i have done everything that i possibly could to avoid installing windows. But now a program related to my investments has come up that requires windows functionality.

I've never done anything like this before and a bit scared.

a) Is it easy to do this?
Yes, extremely
b) Are there any step by step instructions?
For Bootcamp it should have a PDF with it, if not I can upload the PDF for you. If you use Parallels / VMWare Fusion, they should have instructions with them.
c) Once i install windows, will it eat up my hard drive space? I'll just b installing a small 50 mb program - dont need windows for anything else.
You create a separate partition on your hard drive for Windows (if you use Bootcamp). This is the max allotted space you give Windows. If you use Parallels / VMWare Fusion they run on the same HD with full access to it.
d) Is it easy to move between mac os and windows?
With Bootcamp you just have to restart your computer and hold down a button. In Parallels / VMWare it runs in a separate windows on your Mac side.

2. to move to a new mac, as i understand there are 2 ways to move my data - one is from mac to mac via firewire and the second is time machine airport express. I feel mac to mac firewire should be better, no? Am i wrong here?
Whatever works for you. If you look at the guide in my sig, that is also another way to do it. If you do that way, or Time Machine, it gives you all your apps, settings and everything from the old one.

Many thanks for the help and sorry if any of the questions sound too naive..

Click to expand...

Answers above in red.

Let me just ask you why you want to upgrade?
The macs released in 09 are just as good for the average user as the new ones.

An alternative to Parallel and VM Ware Fusion is Virtual Box which is free. All you need is Windows.

thank you so much for your replies ...

1. So, first i use bootcamp to create a partition.
Next i install windows, right?
For that i guess i have to get a licence first.
I've never "installed" windows as such .. so .. i guess bootcamp will guide me with that. Problem is i'm traveling now, unable to print out the PDF and study it - will do it tomorrow once i'm home.
After that, i just start up the partition where windows is running .. or use parallels to start up move and switch from one to another as when necessary ...
Wow .. that does not sound too complicated..

2. Re upgrade question .. oh... i just thought perhaps the faster processor and better memory etc. would help... no?
Out of 320 gb, i've already used 200 gb.
now if i install windows, that would take up another 20 - 30 gb i guess..
having only 50 - 60 gb free ... is that ok??

3. Sorry, i may be going off track here - would there b a SIMPLE program ... emphasis being on SIMPLE ...that would help me clean my mac. I downloaded a trial of clean my mac - it scared the daylights out of me .. lol ... so i just uninstalled it.

Thank you again for all the help .. its very very humbling.

If I understand you correctly, you're going through all this to run ONE windows program.

If that's the case, let me suggest a couple of other options.

1. You might check to see if the program you want to run can work under CrossOver. It's not (quite) a Windows emulator, but it lets you run some Windows programs on your Mac WITHOUT installing Windows. There's a free trial, it doesn't take up any significant space, it's easily uninstalled. Worth a try IMO.

2. If that doesn't work, have you thought about buying the cheapest, crappiest netbook the plastic overlords of Mediocretown have ever put out and just dedicating that to running this one program? Yes, that's still like a $200 investment -- but its done and leaves your beautiful Mac the **** alone.

As for your maintenance needs, I usually point people to Maintenance, a free program from the makers of OnyX. Just open it, run the defaults, quit it. Maybe once every three months or so.