New to Mac

I'm not exactly a switcher, more of an "additional-er" since I won't (can't) drop windows all together.

I am actually a network administrator that works on XP/2003 machines day in and day out and to tell you the truth I have had no real issues with them.

I do, however, like to play with other OSes and explore around so I picked up a standard config Mac Pro but ordered an additional 2GBs or ram (from newegg since Apple's prices are extreme). I have to say that I haven't felt so giddy over a new purchase in quite some time.

Just wanted to stop in and say hello!

Hello kirby and welcome to Mac-Forums!! Glad you decided to try out OSX. I also know how you feel about being "giddy" about the new purchase.

why dont you just install windows on it using bootcamp?

The Vindicat3d said:

why dont you just install windows on it using bootcamp?

Click to expand...

I plan on just running windows in parallels, I was just saying that I can't get rid of windows all together. Not that I would really want to anyway, but I do love the fact that I can run OS X and Windows on the same machine.

Congrats on the new purchase. Just keep in mind that if you do anything graphics intensive on Windows, you'll want to install it in Boot Camp to allow the OS to fully utilize the hardware. For what it's worth, I have XP w/ Boot Camp, but I also use Fusion to run said partition when I don't need to do anything intensive. I love the ability to choose whether or not I need to restart my computer just to use Windows.

Good luck,
Damien

first of all congrats on the purchase...
and as a boot camp user myself I have to say that bootcamp sure is fun

I have tried out fusion and parallels but actually bootcamp is enough for my needs. if you decide to use boot camp you might want to take a look at bootchamp (it's a nifty little utility for bootcamp users).

Congrats on the new purchase. Just keep in mind that if you do anything graphics intensive on Windows, you'll want to install it in Boot Camp to allow the OS to fully utilize the hardware. For what it's worth, I have XP w/ Boot Camp, but I also use Fusion to run said partition when I don't need to do anything intensive. I love the ability to choose whether or not I need to restart my computer just to use Windows.

Good luck,
Damien

Click to expand...

Now that is awesome! Didn't know you could do that!

I figured I could either have a VM or a dual boot but not the option to use the same OS in either situation. What all is involved in setting that up?

kirby14 said:

Now that is awesome! Didn't know you could do that!

I figured I could either have a VM or a dual boot but not the option to use the same OS in either situation. What all is involved in setting that up?

Click to expand...

nothing actually...
fusion recognizes the bootcamp partition automatically.
just click "run" and it's all done
not sure how it was in parallels but probably similar.

kuchiki said:

nothing actually...
fusion recognizes the bootcamp partition automatically.
just click "run" and it's all done
not sure how it was in parallels but probably similar.

Click to expand...

Another question, do you know if I can install a HD that already has XP SP2 installed on it and just use the bootcamp drivers or does bootcamp require a clean install of XP?

Finally got shipment verification!

I ordered on Sunday and shelled out the $60 for overnight and expected it here today. By the time 8:30 tonight rolled around and it still had not shipped, I was a little worried that it would not ship until tomorrow - and because of thanksgiving, not get here until Friday.

I called Apple just for an update, not being mean or anything, and they said it has just shipped and took off the $60 charge without me even asking!

Definitely a good beginning to the new Mac world.

kirby14 said:

I'm not exactly a switcher, more of an "additional-er" since I won't (can't) drop windows all together.

I am actually a network administrator that works on XP/2003 machines day in and day out and to tell you the truth I have had no real issues with them.

I do, however, like to play with other OSes and explore around so I picked up a standard config Mac Pro but ordered an additional 2GBs or ram (from newegg since Apple's prices are extreme). I have to say that I haven't felt so giddy over a new purchase in quite some time.

Just wanted to stop in and say hello!

Click to expand...

We're exactly in the same boat -- I switched more for the interest of something new rather than constant problems with Windows... So far, things have been interesting and exciting (emotions I haven't felt about computing in many years)...

Good luck with your system!

kirby14 said:

Another question, do you know if I can install a HD that already has XP SP2 installed on it and just use the bootcamp drivers or does bootcamp require a clean install of XP?

Click to expand...

As far as I'm aware, Boot Camp will want to create a partition on the main disk -- but I think that's more for Windows' being designed to always sit in the driver's seat. I allocated 20GB on my primary disk for Windows.

If your Windows storage needs are greater than that, I'd either put in an additional hard drive that's formatted NTFS for Windows use, or invest in something like MacDrive which will allow Windows to work with your existing HFS disk(s).

Let us know how it works out!

J

kirby14 said:

Another question, do you know if I can install a HD that already has XP SP2 installed on it and just use the bootcamp drivers or does bootcamp require a clean install of XP?

Click to expand...

I actually don't know if that would work...
but I can imagine that some smart Mac user out there has a workaround for something like this.

Just an FYI:
Mac OS X only requires you to allocate part of your internal disk to a Windows install for BootCamp to get the program running. Once you've partitioned the disk (with as little as 1 GB if you want), and start up the install process with the Windows disk in the drive, you can even install a modified Windows XP installation that allows it to be installed/run on an external USB drive. That way you don't forfeit any of your internal space (minus that 1 GB to get the ball rolling).

As far as Parallels/Fusion/etc are concerned: install Windows XP/Vista through BootCamp FIRST. I will use Parallels as my example here, since that's what I have experience with. Once the Windows install is completed, boot back into OS X. Start up Parallels, and choose the Boot Camp option when it asks you how to install your copy of Windows. It will make some settings that basically imports your physical Windows partition data each time Parallels starts. When you shut down Parallels, it saves all changes back to the Boot Camp partition. This way, whether you are working with Boot Camp or Parallels (Rebooting into Windows or not), you are always working with the same and up-to-date data.

Word to the wise: Vista will run much better under Boot Camp, especially if you are installing Ultimate. Parallels/Fusion are emulated environments, and as such have to translate all code to something the Unix base of Mac OS X can understand. When you boot into Windows using Boot Camp, your Mac is running Windows natively...at an amazing speed. My MacBook Pro runs Windows XP Pro faster than any of my Toshibas did.

Good luck, and report back! Welcome to your new obsession!

Wow, didn't expect to get so many responses !

Thanks everyone, I will certainly report back after I have played around a little bit. This is what is fun about a new OS - there's actually stuff I can say I have no idea about

I'll be the owner of a brand new Macbook Pro soon, and I also intend to install Windows XP with Bootcamp and then use an emulator. Microsoft uses anti-piracy checks to prevent you from installing XP on more than one computer.

I was afraid this would cause issues when I tried to install XP in both Bootcamp and, say, Parallels, but it sounds like Parallels will use the Bootcamp install, so I won't have to actually install it twice. Do I have that right?

That is correct, you do want to be careful about the order that your activate though. I believe you want to install in bootcamp and activate and then setup parallels/vmware and activate inside of it.

Just an update:

Took the HD from my Win PC and plugged directly in to the Mac Pro without removing any hardware first. Booted up into OS X and ran VMWare Fusion using bootcamp option. My Windows box came right up, auto-installed the tools, and I was up and running! No config needed.

When I tried to boot directly in to windows via bootcamp, I was able to load up fully in to windows with no blue screen or anything. Only problem was that all of my USB devices dropped out, so I couldn't use my keyboard or mouse.... but I have a feeling with a little work that it would be very possible.

I just did a repair on the XP volume from my XP disk and voila! It works!

In order to use this partition inside Boot Camp (Booting natively), you'll need to run the Mac Drivers for Windows installer off the Leopard DVD while in Windows. This contains all of the drivers necessary for Windows to recognize the hardware in your Apple computer.

You don't need to do this inside Fusion or Parallels because these are emulated environments and using the Mac's pre-existing drivers that are already loaded in OS X and extending them into a software mode in Parallels/Fusion.

Long story short, run the Windows Driver for Mac installer from the Leopard DVD once you boot up windows using Boot Camp.

You should be good to go.