Xp on Mac Pro?

My PC's life is coming to an end and I've got to make some desisions here. I need a MAC to run a couple of Mac only programs for university, but I'm a Pc fan cos of the simple access to parts to repair the things and the fact that when it goes wierd you can usually get it going again quickly. I reckon its gonna cost me around 900 pounds (~$1300) to get my PC up to a decent spec again and buy a second hand G4 from ebay. Its gonna cost me a couple of hundred more for the Mac Pro but the awesome spec is starting to sway me, plus I hear you can run Windows XP. Here's my question (finally): Would you say I'm guarenteed to be able to install Windows XP on the Mac and use this boot camp program? (what exactly is this? Is it just the program that allows you to select a different OS at startup? Or is it some stupid emulator thats gonna compromise windows performance?). I would only buy it if it was extemely likely it was going to work, I need XP for several other programs. Is there anyone on this forum who has plain failed to install windows and doesn't have an answer to it? As long as it is possible, even with some mucking around I'll go for it. But hey I'm rambling, a bit of advice here would be great!

thanks

I'm actually on Windows XP in Boot Camp right now, although I'm on a Macbook, not a Mac Pro.

The Mac Pro can run Boot Camp easily. I don't know about anyone else who has failed, but after fixing something with my HDD yesterday (my thread is {possibly right} below this one), I was able to install XP in less than an hour.

I'd definitely recommend it. If you can do it, why not? Having two operating systems, and better hardware, is much better than having one operating system. :batman:

Welcome to the forums Cam. Yes, the new INTEL-based Macs will run Windows XP SP2. If you have an older copy of Windows XP (SP1) I think you're out of luck and you'll have to get a new copy of SP2. All that said, the new Intel Macs will run Windows XP in two ways:

1) Via Apple's free program called Bootcamp. This is an O/S loader at startup but the O/S you choose will run at native speed. Some even say Windows runs better in a Mac. It's not like Microsoft's Virtual PC which ran virtualized, it's native.

2) Parallels (not free) This is not an O/S loader but a program that lets you run OS X and Windows XP side-by-side, supposedly at native or near native speeds. I know...hard to believe but the reviews on Parallels has been tremendous. Most claim that you need 2 gigs of ram to do this well, however.

There you have it. I say trust your gut and get the Mac. You'd have to go out and get Vista sooner or later and then you'd just be running a Tiger clone, albeit not even a good one.

I would recommend you get a mac pro and use boot camp. Boot camp will run windows XP natively. Keep in mind you will not be able to use OSX and XP at the same time, and switching between the 2 requires a reboot. If you are running intensive apps boot camp is the way too go. Although parallels will work if you need to run XP and OSX at the same time. Parallels is not native though so perfomance will go down a bit. Enjoy your Mac Pro! *jealousy*

badmojo said:

Welcome to the forums Cam. Yes, the new INTEL-based Macs will run Windows XP SP2. If you have an older copy of Windows XP (SP1) I think you're out of luck and you'll have to get a new copy of SP2. All that said, the new Intel Macs will run Windows XP in two ways:

Click to expand...

It is possible to apply updates to your XP install set and reburn a new disc. I used this technique to use my elderly copy of XP with my Imac.
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_sp2_slipstream.asp

XP on a Mac Pro...No Problem!

Just got my Mac Pro in Friday. Windows XP installed with Boot camp Flawlessly! No driver issues what so ever. The only thing it gives you the yellow question marks on in the hardware config is the 3 other PCI express slots. But if there is nothing installed then it doesn't matter.

By the way it's one screaming machine no matter what OS is installed. But I can really feel the lag in the hard drive. I may have to upgrade to a Western Digital Raptor at some point, and nix the very loud sony DVD drive. Other than that it's whisper quiet.

rgkgraphix said:

Just got my Mac Pro in Friday. Windows XP installed with Boot camp Flawlessly! No driver issues what so ever. The only thing it gives you the yellow question marks on in the hardware config is the 3 other PCI express slots. But if there is nothing installed then it doesn't matter.

By the way it's one screaming machine no matter what OS is installed. But I can really feel the lag in the hard drive. I may have to upgrade to a Western Digital Raptor at some point, and nix the very loud sony DVD drive. Other than that it's whisper quiet.

Click to expand...

The LAG you are seeing is a Driver issue with the SATA controler and Boot Camp because it puts in the drivers at the end of the install which causes problems.

Read this BLOG and click on the URL and it will tell you how to get around the issue.

http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/default.aspx?bid=289

Before the Fix he was getting 4megs a second and after 113Megs per second peak.

ah crap

dtravis7 said:

The LAG you are seeing is a Driver issue with the SATA controler and Boot Camp because it puts in the drivers at the end of the install which causes problems.

Read this BLOG and click on the URL and it will tell you how to get around the issue.

http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/default.aspx?bid=289

Before the Fix he was getting 4megs a second and after 113Megs per second peak.

Click to expand...

Doesn't that freakin' blow! I wish I was aware of that before I installed all of my Adobe apps on the windows drive. That's too much trouble to go through all of those steps to fix it. I'll wait for Apple to fix it then. Fortunately I have a Core 2 Duo machine as well.

Thanks for the info though.