Leopard with XP

Hi whats the best way to install xp with leopard realised i actually need windows for a couple of programmes. Also if i turn off airport in windows so im never online will this effect leopard at all? Thanks

Go to Utilities > Boot Camp Assistant and read the guide.

Once Windows is installed, it's on a separate part of the hard drive so anything you do in XP won't affect Leopard.

The other option is to run XP in a window with Parallels. I use this daily and it's much more handy than having to reboot your computer into XP. That, and Parallels allows you to share files between the OS's. You can also cut and paste between them.

As for your networking question, if you turn the wireless network off in OSX and you're using Parallels, your XP won't be able to access the network. If you disable the networking in XP then it won't cause OSX any issues and you will still be able to get on the network.

You can also use VMWare Fusion (http://www.vmware.com/products/fusion/) in the same way that Parallels works. I like VMWare a bit more since I'm more familiar with the software in general, but also after installing Parallels for a demo, I find I can't quite eliminate all the crap it did to my system (especially the networking side of things).

how reliable are programmes like parallels ive read that can cause alot of crashes? ofcourse ill have to download a firewall for windows if im going to use it like this.

I have VM Fusion and Parallels and both seem pretty stable at the moment.

However, I do keep copies on a separate hard drive.

Using Bootcamp in Leopard requires a full version of XP. Is it the same requirement for Parallels or will it accept an upgrade disk?

djflair1 said:

how reliable are programmes like parallels ive read that can cause alot of crashes? ofcourse ill have to download a firewall for windows if im going to use it like this.

Click to expand...

u can install parallels internet security in the tools menu. because your connected to the internet in OSX doesnt mean you are in XP, you can share ur connection so you can use the web (say you need to use internet explorer for anything).

parallels is very stable in my experience. but remember it shares ram, graphics and processor power as you have booted up XP through OSX. therefore if you use any labour intensive programmes in windows it prob worth installing XP (through bootcamp) then parallels, this way if you want to you can boot directly into windows and not share the processor power with OSX.