Windows 8 on rMBP Haswell

Greetings.

Just got the new rMBP and am exploring VM options for Windows. Have been using Parallels for years on iMac and MacBook (I want VM and not Boot Camp so I don't have to re-boot). Looking at Fusion and would love any feedback on the latest versions of both.

Also, as Windows 8 is only an upgrade version, has anyone figured out how best to get 8 on the new machine?

Thanks for your responses.

nhlevin

VMWare Fusion 6 is compatible with Mavericks and Windows 8 and 8.1. No problem there.

As for a copy of Windows 8... it has to be a full install version not an upgrade. Windows 7 worked a bit differently in that you could install an upgrade version over itself and it would authenticate. You can not do that with Windows 8 as far as I am aware.

Have you seen a source for a full version? I haven't found it yet. Microsoft Store rep says that it's only an upgrade.

As far as I know, the Microsoft store has the full version. Also you can purchase 8.1 full install version from Amazon for $99.99. LINK here. Amazon carries the OEM System Builders full 64 bit version which is what you need. The difference between this and the MS download is that the Amazon version can only be installed on one machine and can not be transferred. Also no MS support. You still get updates and patches but you can't call MS for tech support.

Looks like I got bad info from first Microsoft agent as yet another one said that the $119 version from the store is a full version. Oh well. I'll give it a try. Probably going to give Fusion a shot. Any recommendations for partition size? There's only a few apps that I'll be accessing a few times a week so not heavy use nor large storage demands.

Personally, I would buy the Amazon version as it's exactly the same as the Microsoft store version except for the caveats I mentioned above.

About the size of the partition: Windows 8 and 8.1 64 bit is a space hog just Windows 7 64 bit was. I guess a lot depends on which apps you intend to use but Windows 64 bit alone will take around 20 GB or more for an average install. I would probably go for a partition of around 50 GB unless you intend to play games. Games nowadays suck up disk space like a thirsty Camel in the Sahara.

That's pretty thirsty!
I wont be gaming on the Windows side so 50 sounds good.
Will get it installed tonight or tomorrow.
By the way, been following the freezing keyboard/trackpad issue on the new 13s?

Geesh, now the trick is to get an .iso file on a USB drive. Talked to 6 people today at Microsoft and they provided no help before I got disconnected and had to catch a flight. Any suggestions? Should I start a new thread?

Why do you want to put the .ISO on a USB drive? You can feed the .ISO directly into VMWare Fusion/Parallels/VirtalBox on the CD drive and it will use it to start it on the VM..

How do I get the .iso file to the rMBP if I don't yet have Windows to run the .exe?
Both the VMFusion and Boot Camp Assistant literature indicate that I have to have the Windows OS installation disk to either get Fusion in through an existing Boot Camp partition with Windows installed or through the "easy install" which requires the installation disk. Am I missing something?

I'm assuming the file downloaded as an *.exe from Microsoft? Running the exe will yield an iso which can be burned to a DVD (if you had Windows and a DVD drive). As Ashwin stated, the iso will run directly from VMWare so no problem with that.

However, you're going to need a Windows machine to run that *.exe. Can you temporarily borrow a friend's machine or ask someone who owns a Windows box to run it for you?

I ran the .exe from my VM on my older MacBook (Black 2006). It began downloading the system files to the hard drive and then began the installation over Windows 7. I cancelled the installation. I saw a screen shot of what purported to be a newer installer (5.0) that is supposed to give you the option of where to download the files, allowing for the creation of an .iso on a USB drive. Still looking for it unless there are other suggestions.

I saw a screen shot of what purported to be a newer installer (5.0) that is supposed to give you the option of where to download the files, allowing for the creation of an .iso on a USB drive. Still looking for it unless there are other suggestions.

Click to expand...

OK, that's your best bet. The whole process may have been downloaded to your Documents folder under virtual machines (or whatever Fusion is calling it). Look for it there and let us know if you find it. After that the process should be simple enough to copy it to a flash drive.

Well....THAT was easy. Much ado about nothing. Turns out that the 5.0 installer is actually in the install kit already. So here's what I did:
1. Ran .exe file downloaded to older VM (Black MacBook running Windows 7);
2. Executable file then began to download the installation files and then began installation.
3. It was only after the installation began that I was them prompted to make an install disk or an .iso image. I of course chose the latter and saved to a USB drive (though the install disk would also be made on the USB, yet not an .iso file but rather a bootable install disk).
4. I then used the Easy Install option from VMFusion and boy do they mean easy! After some configuration clicks, it made a 60GB partition and installed from the USB drive.
So far, working beautifully.
Thanks for the help!

Hey, thanks for posting back. Glad everything worked out for you. Enjoy Windows and visit us often.