How difficult is it to use Parallels?

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Hi all, I am thinking of taking the plunge and installing Parallels on my Mac Mini (see sig for specs) The only reason for doing so is so that I can, hopefully, print text to a Dell 720 printer that does not have a driver for Snow Leopard and nor does the same printer with the Lexmark badge. The Parallels software will have no other purpose on my Mac and is only going on after exhausting all other possible avenues other than buying another printer that works with Macs.
What I need to know from the experts is the way that it works.
What I mean is, just imagine that I have a block of text, about 4 x A4 pages worth, that i have just completed on my Mac using either MS Office, Open office or Bean. I want to get them printed off using the Dell 720 printer that is installed on the Windows XP Pro (SP3) partition of my Mac.
How do I actually go about doing it step-by-step?
Many thanks for any help.
Steve
 
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It's very easy, because you can drag anything from you Mac desktop into the Windows desktop, and then print from Windows the way you normally would.
I would say though, that if this is all you want to do, don't shell out for Parallels, cheaper to buy a new printer, or use something like Virtualbox, which is free.
 
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Don't know about Parallels but VMware Fusion was an easy install. Right now you can get it with a $30 rebate so it ends up being $49. I tried VirtualBox but didn't get it to run. But I didn't spend much time with it. I second the motion to get a new printer. They're so cheap now.
 
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I've moved your post to a more proper forum; please be sure to check the forum descriptions in the future to find the best place to post.

By posting in the right forum you help people not only find your question faster, but it helps others looking for the same information in the future.

Thanks for understanding!
 
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For your application, given your limited usage, definitely download VirtualBox from Sun. Does the same thing as Parallels and Fusion and is free. Works great. I use it for both Windows and Linux.
 
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Update ....
I ended up installing VMware Fusion 3 and Windows XP Pro SP3.
All is going well so far.
Then I hit a snag. I downloaded the driver for the printer and tried to install it but the software refused to install because a scan done by the driver software couldn't find a printer on the system. So it looks like it's back to the old method of writing text, copy to a pen drive, take to a Windows PC and print it from there. Bummer.
Cheers, all.
 

chscag

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As you found out, Windows drivers are not applicable when you're running Windows through a VM. Fusion takes care of the drivers. In order to use the Dell printer which has no support in OS X, you will need to install XP Pro SP3 via Boot Camp.
 
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Will Boot Camp allow me to copy a file written on the Mac and paste it into whatever it is that Boot Camp creates with a Windows XP partition and print from there or is Boot Camp the one where you need to shut down the Mac and do a restart into the Windows XP part?
 
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Stevie as told before, Lexmark are hopeless. Purchase a Brother, Epson or maybe a Canon printer. Epson TX550W works wirelessly with both Snow Leopard and XP Professional on a Dell Latitude.
 
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harryb2448 ... You're right. It would be easier.
It's just that I hate the idea of everything being a case of, "Just buy this new ******** costing £ LOADS and all your troubles are over".
Maybe it's true but I'd rather try and find a solution that doesn't cost me £LOADS.
 

chscag

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Will Boot Camp allow me to copy a file written on the Mac and paste it into whatever it is that Boot Camp creates with a Windows XP partition and print from there or is Boot Camp the one where you need to shut down the Mac and do a restart into the Windows XP part?

You will have to reboot the Mac into Windows XP before you can use the Dell printer. However, if you format your Boot Camp partition to FAT-32, (has to be less than 32 GB) you will be able to read and write to it from the Mac side. So yes, you can copy files from the Mac side to the XP side but then you will need to reboot to XP before printing.

An inconvenience, but certainly less expensive than buying a new printer.
 

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