Running Windows on a Mac: A Switcher's Guide

[crossbonesX]

Quick question: how well will XP work with the native 1280x800 resolution of my MacBook? XP doesn't support that resolution, right? Will it just try to stretch a 1024x768 to fit?

[cwa107]

Windows XP does support 1280x800

[crossbonesX]

Ok, thanks.

[cwa107]

OK... I can now say "AHA!" because I've learned some interesting things. I will most likely install the VM on the iMac's internal HDD. With 4GB of internal memory... I should be OK as I only plan on running windows when I absolutely need to.

Is windows going to nag me to use OE and IE?

Well, those will be the default apps to do email and web browsing within your virtual machine. But you can change them, just as you would on a regular Windows machine.

And should I even be concerned about service packs beyond SP2?

I would certainly keep your VM up-to-date on patches and service packs. Windows is still susceptible to worms regardless of whether it's run in a physical or virtualized environment.

Will I be able to drag files from the VM into the mac environment or will I have to do something else?

Yes. You can drag and drop between desktops. Also, you can put Fusion in "Unity Mode", where the Windows desktop disappears and all of your Windows software appears to run natively on your Mac (including having icons in the Dock).

Along that same line of thought, I have a second 1TB USB drive (NTFS) that is used to store mostly image and document files, but it also has a few backed up DVD files on it. I just bought an Airport Extreme and with the USB connection, I was hoping that I could access that drive from the VM or the Mac environment. Will I be able to? Probably not the right thread to ask that.

I wouldn't see why not.

[Connaught]

"* Windows discs that came with another computer may not be used with Boot Camp for both technical and legal reasons, although you may use a non-branded OEM disc (also known as "OEM for System Builders")."

OK... is the REALLY true and if so, exactly why?

[cwa107]

"* Windows discs that came with another computer may not be used with Boot Camp for both technical and legal reasons, although you may use a non-branded OEM disc (also known as "OEM for System Builders")."

OK... is the REALLY true and if so, exactly why?

Legal: The OEM license is tied specifically to the system it was bundled with. Using it with another computer is forbidden by the End User License Agreement you agreed to abide by when you booted your system for the first time.

Technical: Many OEM discs are custom tailored for the hardware they were sold with. Often, OEM discs contain a hard disk image that is restored to your hard drive upon using it. This image contains specific drivers and software for the computer you purchased it with.

[Zackstorm]

I've been reading through this forum and some other tutorials...

What I basically want to do is be able to run XP alongside OSX to be able to have quick access to some windows applications. This lead me to download and install Parallels.

I have my XP w/SP3 disc image saved on my Mac. Unfortunately, I'm kind of stuck on where to go now...I need to burn it with my Mac, I'm guessing onto a bootable CD, but I have no idea where to find that kind of program, or where to start. Is that even the next step? What kind of file should be my XP that I'm putting on the disc?

Is this all even possible?

[cwa107]

I've been reading through this forum and some other tutorials...

What I basically want to do is be able to run XP alongside OSX to be able to have quick access to some windows applications. This lead me to download and install Parallels.

I have my XP w/SP3 disc image saved on my Mac. Unfortunately, I'm kind of stuck on where to go now...I need to burn it with my Mac, I'm guessing onto a bootable CD, but I have no idea where to find that kind of program, or where to start. Is that even the next step? What kind of file should be my XP that I'm putting on the disc?

Is this all even possible?

Parallels can install directly from a disc image. When you create your new virtual machine, you simply specify the path to the disc image.

[Zackstorm]

:S it won't let me open the file type. What type of file should it be?

[cwa107]

ISO is the most common type for CD/DVD images.

[HAH]

I have VM Ware's Fusion and I have a couple of questions.

• Until now I have run XP on a Boot Camp partition on my MacBook. When booting XP while in OS X is considerably slower than via Boot Camp... obviously. Will XP seem faster while in OS X if I reinstall it into a Virtual PC rather than Boot Camp? I thought I would play games more on my MacBook than I ended up doing, hehe
• Could I test Windows 7 on a virtual machine in Fusion? My mum's considering getting a Win 7 machine when they come... I need to research to further backup my argument for her getting a MacMini instead

[HAH]

I have VM Ware's Fusion and I have a couple of questions.

• Until now I have run XP on a Boot Camp partition on my MacBook. When booting XP while in OS X is considerably slower than via Boot Camp... obviously. Will XP seem faster while in OS X if I reinstall it into a Virtual PC rather than Boot Camp? I thought I would play games more on my MacBook than I ended up doing, hehe
• Could I test Windows 7 on a virtual machine in Fusion? My mum's considering getting a Win 7 machine when they come... I need to research to further backup my argument for her getting a MacMini instead

Well. I can now answer this myself. Windows seem to boot slightly faster from the virtual machine than if it's a Boot Camp partition booting in OS X. And Windows 7 installed fine on the virtual machine directly from the downloaded iso-file; didn't have to burn it onto a DVD

[cdd]

I have a question about running paralles on my macbook.....

I am a student and I have to use WinSCP3. I know that this is a Windows program and I am prepared to run Windows on my Mac, but the class is a Photoshop Class...will I need Photoshop for Windows as well or will I be able use the Mac version of Photoshop while using Windows?

I hope this question makes sense ...

[9ybgi]

Hi I am running Windows Vista via Parallels on my MBP! How do I get Vista to recognize my webcame right now its saying I do not have any?

[Al_west]

Hey, I've just bought a Mac Pro 8 core (early 09) and wanted to know if Windows xp sp3 32bit is able to utalise all 8 cores, and does it run smoothly?
Thanks!