Duff beer

guys,
new to the mac....love it!!

but having a few minor issues with compatability therefore thinking of getting Windows for Mac so can switch OS when needed.

Anyone done it and without having to drive for several hours to my nearest mac shop, can anyone recommend somewhere on the net that sells it?

as per usual, thanks for any replies.

DB

Mac the Knife

I run XP under the Parallels Desktop for Mac - http://www.parallels.com/ - works well for the few Windows apps I still use.

Not cheap at $79 but smooth as sik and well worth it. Windows has no idea it isn't on a real machine.

Background Noise

Same here - I run WinXP on parallels.

You say you are 'new' to mac - in that case have you got Leopard as your OS? If so, you have bootcamp which allows you to boot up in either macOS or windows. I prefer parallels as you can have them both running at the same time and swap stuff from one to the other. You can use parallels with leopard/bootcamp in which case you can boot up into, or run from parallels, the same windows installation - best of both worlds I guess. Either way you will need to procure a copy of windows.

mdc

I use both parallels and vmware fusion on two MacBook pros and find vmware fusion to be more stable.

Duff beer

Thanks for the advice.

questions though:

if I use parallels would I have to install that first then install ANY copy of windows or would the windows I install have to be a 'for Mac version'?


Yes it is leopard, and as I doubt ill need to run the two OS systems at the same time, therefore using bootcamp would be a cheaper option. Would that require a 'for Mac version' of windows?

thanks
DB

Shunter

There is no such thing as a "for mac" version of Windows. If you want a copy of XP you'd better hurry up (if you can still get them at all - you may need to look on eBay). If you want Visturd, well, my sympathies.

Basically it goes like this:

Run boot camp wizard (in apps/utilities) to shrink Mac partition, leaving space for Windows.
Put Windows CD in and reboot.
Install Windows
Put Leopard disc in and install Windows drivers

Then whenever you boot, hold down the option key (alt) as you power on and it will give you a choice of which system to boot. You can also download a frankly more aesthetically pleasing and functional boot manager available called rEFIt, which is free but not essential.

Background Noise

OEM WinXP is still available for about £50. If what they say about SP3 for XP being released soon is correct then I guess MS expect it to continue for a while.

The point with your setup is that you can install windows using the bootcamp you already have. If you decide to use parallels later (and maybe VM will do this too?) you can then access the same windows installation.

mdc

I forgot to add VirtualBox to my previous list http://www.virtualbox.org/.

This is free for personal use and worth checking out, ideal if you don't want to part with any cash