Will get a mac Soon! Question about fusion and boot camp

Welcome Mac World!

So I plan on switching or "adding" to a mac soon! I plan to buy a macbook. Anyways, I want to run Windows and Mac OS at the same time. From what I have read and researched, this is what I understand:

To be able to run Windows natively, I should FIRST install BOOT CAMP and install windows XP.

Then, to run Windows while I am in Mac, I should boot in Mac and install VMWARE fusion? Then, I can switch from Mac to Windows and Back using the virtual machine.

Please let me know if this is correct. Some questions I have though are:

1. Will my external drives and USB plug in hard drives that are compatible with windwos run on my MAC OS without me having to run Fusion/Windows?? (For that matter, are most plug and plays made for windows compatible with MACs nowadays?)
2. How much GB should I partition out for the Windows XP install? I plan on just installing Win XP and installing Win Apps on that partition, but saving all files and documents onto the MAC. What is the best way to do this?
3. Will 1 GB of Ram and a 2 Ghz processor be enough to do all this?

That is all I will ask for now, sorry for making it lenghty. But I am excited to buy a mac!!!

I'd hate to bump my topic.. but 36 views and no responses? =) Come on mac community, help me out a bit .

Thanks in advance!

Well, you gotta give folks a chance - most of us are at work here in the US during that time frame. Definitely no need to bump within the first few hours on this forum.

Yes, your basic understanding is correct.

1. Most any external drive or USB drive will work in Mac OS.
However, if the drives have been formatted from windows:
OS X can read and write to Fat32
OS X can read, but not write to NTFS.
There is a new app available, went thru beta testing among users here as well as other places - Paragon's NTFS for Mac OS X, it will allow you to write to NTFS partitions.
Most plug and play devices will run under both - not all - and would suggest any new items you buy, begin looking for manufacturers that test their products under both OS's and not just Windows. These are the ones to support.

2. Size of the XP partition has everything to do with the size of what you intend to install on it. I use 20GB. Have heard of some usingas little as 10GB and as much as 50GB. (Would not suggest any less than 15GB unless you really are notgoing to install much on it.)

XP can not read nor write to the OS X partition without the purchase of MediaFour's MacDrive 7.

3. No, 1 GB is definitely not enough RAM for running a virtual machine wth Leopard and XP. 2GB is mandatory and would suggest 3GB.

Get your RAM after market, do not buy it from Apple.

The processor is not a problem. However, my recommendation as always, is to spend your money on the fastest CPU you can afford.

4. If you plan on playing games - the same applies as applies in windows - do not buy a rig with an integrated video card.

bobtomay said:

Well, you gotta give folks a chance - most of us are at work here in the US during that time frame. Definitely no need to bump within the first few hours on this forum.

Yes, your basic understanding is correct.

1. Most any external drive or USB drive will work in Mac OS.
However, if the drives have been formatted from windows:
OS X can read and write to Fat32
OS X can read, but not write to NTFS.
There is a new app available, went thru beta testing among users here as well as other places - Paragon's NTFS for Mac OS X, it will allow you to write to NTFS partitions.
Most plug and play devices will run under both - not all - and would suggest any new items you buy, begin looking for manufacturers that test their products under both OS's and not just Windows. These are the ones to support.

2. Size of the XP partition has everything to do with the size of what you intend to install on it. I use 20GB. Have heard of some usingas little as 10GB and as much as 50GB. (Would not suggest any less than 15GB unless you really are notgoing to install much on it.)

XP can not read nor write to the OS X partition without the purchase of MediaFour's MacDrive 7.

3. No, 1 GB is definitely not enough RAM for running a virtual machine wth Leopard and XP. 2GB is mandatory and would suggest 3GB.

Get your RAM after market, do not buy it from Apple.

The processor is not a problem. However, my recommendation as always is to spend your money on the fastest CPU you can afford.

4. If you plan on playing games - the same applies as applies in windows - do not buy a rig with an integrated video card.

Click to expand...

says it all really but i will say get your self macdrive 7 its grate i just picked it up the other day and i dont know how i lived with out it as you can do grate things like have all your music in itunes both on your mac and windows boot making life so much easier

Thank you both so much for the reply! I'll wait longer next time for a response. This help is really valuable.

Here is a quote I read from another post:

Neo said:

I'm glad it's gone well for you. I am a big Fusion fan, so here's a tip.
Remember that everything you see in Fusion...everything...is really just stored as a very large file on your Mac hard drive. So what happens if that virtual file gets damaged? Any data files (pictures, financial data, etc.) get much harder to recover if they aren't stand-alone files.
I install all my Windows apps in Windows (C:/Program Files/...blah blah), but
VMWare Tools (installed with Fusion) allows you to save all your Windows files to your Mac User folder (and vice-versa). To make it even more convenient, I map my Mac folder as a drive in Windows Explorer. All the work I do in Windows is saved on the Mac side, and so will be available to me even without starting Fusion. And if anything happens to the Fusion virtual file, no data files are lost in the mass. Finally, file backup is a one-step process, just back up the Mac folder and everything is safe.
Have fun!

Click to expand...

So using VMware tools is basically another way to get the two OS's to exchange files?

Thanks for the suggestion on memory! I'll be sure to buy another stick. Also, do you recommend purchasing an expanded hard drive from Mac directly or installing one myself? Which is more cost effective.

I don't play games, but I do graphic design work (no 3d) and website design. So a ordinary macbook with 2 gb Ram should suffice?

Thanks so much for all your help!

Related question to parent post

I'm considering a Mac Mini soon per a previous post of mine. My inclination (since I always have more money than time) is to get the higher end Mini, with the larger hard drive and additional RAM. I also would like to get it pre-configured and pre-partitioned to run XP under Boot Camp and Fusion or Parallels (probably Fusion).

Obviously, Apple's not going to do any of that Windows stuff for me , so I looked to what seemed to be the most reliable of the resellers, MacMall. They'll apparently do what I want them to do, with respect to partitioning and putting Windows/Parallels on it. Unfortunately, there appears to be no way to do this on anything but the default models of the Mini. IOW, no extra RAM, bigger disk drive, etc.

Can anyone recommend another reputable reseller who is able to customize both the hardware and the Windows installation in one package? Thanks.

Is thread jacking aloud on this forum? =)

I do not know anyone that provides these custom services. Sorry.

nice find there electronsi00 - my familiarity with parallels and fusion is primarily based on what i've read around different forums. My main use of windows is for playing games, so I have just been re-booting into my bootcamped partition. Think that's one of the most succinct posts i've read about the operation of fusion. Props to Neo for that...

The hard drive question is a little harder. While it definitely is cheaper to buy a larger drive yourself, you don't get ripped off near as much as with ram. To me the real question lies in whether the small drive that you take out of it is a size that is worth it to you and your storage needs as a spare external drive or not. For me that answer is no, I would upgrade from Apple and get a 500GB or larger for external storage. I think most folks would say the opposite. But to me an 80 or 120GB 2.5" drive sitting on my desk is wasted space.

For the RAM, Apple puts 2 512MB sticks in there, so you'll need to get 2 sticks when you go to upgrade. The little I experimented with Fusion, my 2GB was sufficient, but have read many posts recommending 3 or 4. Think I'd go with 4 at the current prices. Here's Crucials price - $164 for 4GB vs Apples $150 for 2GB and $850 for 4GB. Will lay 5-1 odds that Crucials memory is better than what you would get for that $850 also. (do they actually sell any of that, or is it priced like that because they don't want to have to stock it?)

2GB would probably be sufficient if you're doing most of your work in OS X. But if you're planning on using the windows version of Adobe's apps in Fusion then the 4GB would be the better route to go I think. Then you could set OS X to use 2GB and Fusion to use 2GB and not really worry about slow downs on either side.

And no, I am not aware of who might provide the services you're looking for. Probably a local computer shop would be the best bet.

electronsi00 said:

To be able to run Windows natively, I should FIRST install BOOT CAMP and install windows XP.

Click to expand...

Correct.

Then, to run Windows while I am in Mac, I should boot in Mac and install VMWARE fusion? Then, I can switch from Mac to Windows and Back using the virtual machine.

Please let me know if this is correct. Some questions I have though are:

Click to expand...

Yes, VMware Fusion & Parallels are Mac applications that allow you to emulate operating systems while still running OS X. With that said, installing bootcamp is not necessary to run VMware and/or Parallels.

[*]Will my external drives and USB plug in hard drives that are compatible with windwos run on my MAC OS without me having to run Fusion/Windows?? (For that matter, are most plug and plays made for windows compatible with MACs nowadays?)

Click to expand...

Yes, they should be compatible with Mac for the most part. It would still be wise to check with the manufacturer.

[*]How much GB should I partition out for the Windows XP install? I plan on just installing Win XP and installing Win Apps on that partition, but saving all files and documents onto the MAC. What is the best way to do this?

Click to expand...

You can use the default partition settings for bootcamp, VMware, or Parallels. Note with VMware, you can adjust the size of the partition.

[*]Will 1 GB of Ram and a 2 Ghz processor be enough to do all this?

Click to expand...

Get at least 2Gb of RAM.


VMware Tools, are a set of tools to install on your virtual machine. VMware Tools pack some features that are useful when switching operating systems.