Silly (Almost embarrassing) question re bootcamp...

Hi guys.

OK, so I bought an iMac the other day, and so far, I'm really liking it, but I'm gonna need to use bootcamp to run a few of my older windows programs. I dont foresee this as a problem, and I am ordering a windows disc from Amazon... But heres my question.

When I check out bootcamp assistant, it wants me to print out detailed instructions as to the exact installation process, before I partition the drive and insert the windows CD...

All well and good - BUT - I dont have a printer!

So my question is, are the instructions generic, and can be found in full, online somewhere for me to read? If so, where?

Or, if the instructions are more specific to my individual needs, then I will have to get a printer. But I suspect they are going to be generic. Hence my post.

Its the iMac 21.5 with a 1tb drive, and the ATI card, running OSX 10.6.4. I intend to install Vista basic - Because I know my older programs work on it, plus its cheaper than win7

Thanks in advance for any replies

When you go to print it, look at the bottom-left corner of the print window. Click on 'PDF' button. Then click "Save as PDF".

Review the instructions thoroughly or email them to a friend that does have a printer as it is handy to have them in printed form through the process.

cwa107 said:

When you go to print it, look at the bottom-left corner of the print window. Click on 'PDF' button. Then click "Save as PDF".

Review the instructions thoroughly or email them to a friend that does have a printer as it is handy to have them in printed form through the process.

Click to expand...

Thank you very much cwa107

I was looking for something like that, but couldn't see it. I couldn't see it, because I had not actually pressed 'print' - due to not having a printer in the first place

Anyway, I now have it as a PDF and I'm about to read it thoroughly.

OK... So before I go ahead....

Looking at THIS on Amazon

"Windows Vista Home Basic SP1 32-bit English 1pk DSP OEI DVD"

Before I click purchase, can someone tell me that it will be OK to install in bootcamp?

Specs of my iMac above. Just did a test run with a friends XP Pro (SP2) and that went on ok, but it was just a test. So Im removing it, and buying my own legal copy of my preferred Win OS... Provided its compatible

Thanks again in advance

OK, its cool. I'm just buying 7 pro, with the xp compatibility mode.

Problem solved.

Bootcamp is cool, easy and straightforward !

TGITC said:

Looking at THIS on Amazon

"Windows Vista Home Basic SP1 32-bit English 1pk DSP OEI DVD"

Before I click purchase, can someone tell me that it will be OK to install in bootcamp?

Specs of my iMac above. Just did a test run with a friends XP Pro (SP2) and that went on ok, but it was just a test. So Im removing it, and buying my own legal copy of my preferred Win OS... Provided its compatible

Thanks again in advance

Click to expand...

Yes, that should be fine.

Do note that Microsoft products almost universally use 'product activation', so if you borrow someone else's disc, you can cause activation issues for them.

TGITC said:

OK, its cool. I'm just buying 7 pro, with the xp compatibility mode.

Problem solved.

Bootcamp is cool, easy and straightforward !

Click to expand...

I wouldn't bother with buying 'pro' for that reason. XP compatibility "mode" is just XP running in a VM. For half the price, you can just buy an XP OEM disc and run it in your own VM on the Mac or in a BC install.

There are very few reasons to adopt Vista/7 over XP, unless DX10/11 compatibility is important. Almost everything else is merely cosmetic.

OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer -- to wit, a store. Technically, you're not supposed to be able to get an OEM disc as a regular "civilian" user. The primary difference in practice, is technical support. If you're running an OEM version of Windows, Microsoft will tell you to pound sand if you call their technical support line. However, even for a retail user, Microsoft will charge money just to say hi over the phone. So will Apple if you decide not to opt for Applecare, but as you've already found the forums, I suspect you'll have little to no need of them.

Forum-based support for Windows products is utter crap. For any *NIX, it should be your first and best solution.

As little as a year ago, I'd be typing "freenix" instead of "*NIX." It would appear I was mistaken.

cwa107 said:

I wouldn't bother with buying 'pro' for that reason. XP compatibility "mode" is just XP running in a VM. For half the price, you can just buy an XP OEM disc and run it in your own VM on the Mac or in a BC install.

There are very few reasons to adopt Vista/7 over XP, unless DX10/11 compatibility is important. Almost everything else is merely cosmetic.

Click to expand...

Wish I had seen your post earlier yesterday ! Never mind. I went out and ended up buying Wn7 Ultimate, just to cover my bases...

Turns out all my stuff would have worked with the basic anyway...

Still... Lesson learned... Check Mac-forums first !