Parallels Desktop 4.0

http://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/

Intro:
The world’s No. 1 selling Mac system utility, it has more than 1.5 million users worldwide. Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac provides the complete suite of essentials to run Windows on Mac the easy, fast and powerful way.
Parallels has led the industry with ground-breaking innovation since 2005 and Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac continues leaving others behind to play catch-up.
With all sorts of industry awards, I suppose Parallels Desktop deserves it.
MacWorld claimed that Parallels Desktop is currently the best solution for running Windows, Linux, or any of many other operating systems alongside OS X.

Expect me to be more or less bias to PD, because I'm a user of it and not BC and VMw. LOL!

Features:
http://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/features/
PD categorizes all its features under 3 groups: Easy, Fast, and Powerful.

Easy!
• Install Windows in just 3 steps. (It really does, even a primary school kid who can read on-screen instruction properly can do it)
• Move your entire Windows system to your Mac.
• Run Windows programs right on the Mac desktop. (With the new Coherence mode)
• Open Windows files with Mac apps and Mac files with Windows apps.
• Remotely control your virtual machine with select voice commands.
• Instantly share files and folders between Windows and Mac OS X. (My Documents on Windows = User Document on Mac OS X)
• Easily access favorite USB devices in Windows and Mac OS X.

Fast!
• Maximize speed as you move between Windows and Mac OS X.
• Run 3D games and graphics apps at blazing speeds with up to 256 MB video memory.
• Drive smoother 3D and video performance with experimental DirectX 9.0, DirectX Model Shaders 2.0 and OpenGL 2.0 support.
• Handle heavy workloads smoothly with 8-way CPU support and 8 GB RAM.
• Run 32- and 64-bit guest OSs with maximum performance.
• Enhance media application performance with Intel® Streaming SIMD Extensions (SSE4) support.

Powerful!
• Get longer battery life from your Mac with PowerSaver.
• Schedule automatic snapshots for no-hassle backup.
• Gracefully shut down Windows to protect files, folders and apps.
• Preview Windows 7 and Mac OS X Snow Leopard as guests on your Mac.
• Secure Windows with Parallels Internet Security powered by Kaspersky.

Virtual OS Installation guide:
3-steps:
— Select which Windows operating system you want to install.
— Enter your name and Windows activation key.
— Click finish — and let the Installation Assistant do the rest!
Just follow the on screen instruction step by step and you won't mess things up.
You can choose to install your virtual OS from CD or from any disk image file located in you HDD.
I'm currently running Windows XP SP3, just for 1 purpose only: to run XunLei torrent client. I know there are a lot torrent client for Mac but I somehow still find that XunLei is the fastest.
Also tried installing Windows 7 Beta before but delete it after a few hours. Reason? Coz Windows 7 Beta consume more space and I don't see why I need it. No need to mention Vista.
You can also choose to run the Virtual OS which is installed in Bootcamp partition.

Get all detail guides here:
http://www.parallels.com/support/desktop/documentation/

Personal experience:
- I like the Coherence Mode very much, this is the main feature which attracts me to use PD. LOL. With Coherence mode, you can access Start menu and windows app on the Mac Dock. The small taskbar icon of WinXP on bottom right corner (beside the clock) will be shown on top right corner of OS X (also beside the clock). You can also resize any apps windows just like OSX.
- Drag and Drop files among Mac OS X and virtual OS make life easier. (eg. I download torrent files using Safari, and then drag and drop the torrent files to XunLei in Windows XP and the download job starts immediately.)
- You can set the resource distribution for the virtual machine. I'm currently running the XP with 1 CPU core, 512MB RAM, and 128MB video memory. Everything is just more than enough as I'm not doing big business on XP. For gamers who need to run games on windows, maybe Bootcamp is more suitable.
- Transition effect for different view mode is simply graceful (like Steve Jobs's famous "Boom")
- Well the main point of using PD to run Virtual OS is to avoid rebooting and you can run more than 1 OS side-by-side.
- So I could say the only disadvantage/drawback of PD is you can't run your Windows with full native resource. Logic and make sense. As your Mac power will be shared among the OSes.

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Added on March 28, 2009, 11:40 pmWMware Fusion 2.0

http://www.vmware.com/products/fusion/overview.html

Intro:
Ok, I suppose before PD 4.0, WMw is on the upper hand in terms of performance. But as PD improves, WMw seems to lost its stand. Both selling at a retail price of USD79.90 (but there are a lot of discount offered by various sites like amazon). WMw claims to be built from the ground up for the Mac with a Cocoa-native user interface, VMware Fusion has the Mac-native features users expect, and with an obsessive eye towards being a “good Mac citizen” VMware Fusion is the easiest, most Mac-friendly way to run Windows on the Mac. A Mac-first user interface ensures that users get the features they expect, like customizable tool bars, searchable Apple help, Boot Camp support, dock notification integration, and more. WMw also claimed that they have 4 million users worldwide.

Features:
Well I should say nearly all features of WMw 2.0 are provided by PD 4.0 too.
http://www.vmware.com/products/fusion/features.html

The following is a summarize list of the features:
-Unity View (like Coherence mode of PD)
-Data Sharing
-Application Sharing
-3D and High Definition Video Acceleration
-USB Device Support
-Multiple Display Support
-Seamless Keyboard Mapping
-Driverless Printing
-Multiple Snapshots
-AutoProtect Automatic Snapshots
-Embedded Antivirus and Antispyware Protection
-Completely Redone User Interface
-Mac OS X Leopard Integration
-Boot Camp Support
-Tools for Switching
-Broad Operating System Support
-Multiple CPU Virtual Machines
-VMrun
-Large RAM Support
-Virtual Appliances

Virtual OS Installation guide:
Again, it seems that setup for virtual machine is just as simple as ABC 123, like PD. Anyway, all Mac Apps are easy to use, don't they?

Get all sorts of detail guides here, with tutorials and demo videos.
http://www.vmware.com/products/fusion/resources/

Personal experience:
- N/A

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Added on March 28, 2009, 11:42 pmHead-to-Head Comparison of PD 4.0 and WMwF 2.0

The following is a perfect article by MacTech regarding the comparison of PD and WMw.
http://www.mactech.com/articles/mactech/Vo...arks/index.html
Be sure you read this interesting 5 pages report.

Digest version by AppleInsider:
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/03...many_tests.html

So the overall results are:

PD 4.0
14% faster running 32-bit XP and Vista on a single virtual processor
20% faster running 32-bit Vista on two virtual processors
15% faster running 64-bit Vista on two virtual processors

VMw Fusion 2.0
10% fasster running 32-bit XP on two virtual processors



Just to note: Running 32-bit XP with single core processor is the most common Virtual Machine set up.

Check out the following link for a Features comparison made by PD, click 'Compare Features'
http://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/why-switch/

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Added on March 28, 2009, 11:45 pmBootcamp

http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/bootcamp.html

Intro:
I suppose the worst nightmare for Bill Gates and his Microsoft team is nothing more than Mac moving to Intel chip and the ability to run Windows on Mac, thus gaining strong momentum on market growth as Vista continue to slump. By introducing the Bootcamp beta during OS X Tiger days, I still remember my brother, who owns the 1st batch of Black intel MacBook with only Core Duo processor, is so delighted to get WinXP on his machine thru Bootcamp Beta.
So with Bootcamp bundle on every OSX Leopard, it lets you run your favorite Windows on your Mac with full native resource, and on a individual partition.
"Windows applications have full access to multiple processors and multiple cores, accelerated 3D graphics, and high-speed connections like USB, FireWire, Wi-Fi, and Gigabit Ethernet."

Features:
Am I suppose to repeat myself? LOL

-Boot Camp supports the most popular 32-bit releases of Windows XP and Windows Vista. When you use either operating system on your Mac, your Windows applications will run at native speed.

OS(Not virtual heh) installation guide:
http://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/

Also 3 steps:

Step 1: Run Boot Camp Assistant.
Boot Camp Assistant helps you with these tasks:
-Creating a partition for Windows
Boot Camp Assistant creates a partition for Windows on your computer’s startup or other internal disk.
-Starting the Windows installation
Boot Camp Assistant gets you started with the Windows installation.
Step 2: Install Windows.
Step 3: Install the Boot Camp drivers on your Windows volume.

As for the drivers, it is included in the Leopard DVD. iSight, Apple Remote, trackpad, specific keyboard keys, keyboard backlighting, etc can be supported when you run Windows thru Bootcamp.

Hold down the Option key when you switch on your mac to choose OSX or Windows partition to run on.

Personal experience:
Ok, even though I never use Bootcamp, but do heard some comments from other users like my brother and friends.
- You can access the Windows Partition when you are running OSX but not in the other way, ie. you cannot access OSX partition when you run Windows. I suppose this is due to the different file systems.
- Running Windows on Bootcamp seems to consume more HDD space then running the same Windows as a virtual machine by PD or WMw. I think this it due to the extra partition and system files take up the extra space.
- Of course, the biggest drawback of Bootcamp is that you cannot run OSX and Windows simultaneously, no side-by-side. You need to reboot to switch to another OS.

This post has been edited by ahblu3: Mar 28 2009, 11:45 PM

i tried Virtual PC, VMWare Workstation only !
however, now im playing around with VMWare workstation running Leopard on my Vista !



This post has been edited by cscheat: Apr 5 2009, 12:24 AM

I'm Using VMware Fusion from the 1st time when someone (bro) installed it in my macbook.So far it run smoothly no lag but sometimes feel heat and the fan running fast.Anyway i seldom use the app,because didn't run any window software lately.But will use sometime (incase) to show some kids about Multi OS in Mac.Lol.

bro ahblu3, i have a question to ask here regarding parallels desktop... I have just started using it a couple of days ago upon your recommendation.... The problem I have here is that lets say i created a text file on the window's desktop, it automatically appears on MAC desktop as well, which i think it is kinda messy for my MAC side...... Is there a way for me to disable it? Thanks in advance bro..... :salute:

@deadman8836, ok, this is due to the 'Shared Profile' configuration of PD. If you really want to disable it (for me its an advantage), Parallels Desktop>Virtual Machine>Configure...>Features>Shared Profile> and then disable it.

Let me know if it still doesn't work, coz I never tried to disable it. Cheers.

Edit: Screenshot added



This post has been edited by ahblu3: Apr 13 2009, 12:18 AM

hey bro... thanks for the reply first of all.... I just wanna stop those file that I put at window's desktop from appearing on Mac's side.... cos i download the torrent files onto my windows desktop, and i start task per task.... i don't go all at once.... and it annoyed me whenever i see those torrent files on my Mac's desktop.... Ok, i will try that method later tonight..... now working... nevertheless thank u bro...

I think i like parallels more than fusion, fusion seem to giving me constant lockup on program but parallel run smooth as a silk , never try bootcamp yet due to 120GB hdd not wasting space for window

@deadman8836, you download torrent files thru' Windows IE? or Firefox? You can just do it thru Safari and then drag and drop it into the virtual Windows you are running, one by one just as you like it. Oh anyway, Azureus Vuze in Mac can do the rocket torrent download job as sweet as XunLei in Windows.

@DarkTenno, thanks for your info regarding Fusion.

---

As this topic is not closed up, users of Multi-OS are welcome to give comments or ask questions and discuss about PD, VMwF, and BC. Cheers.

at times i encounter some freezes while using windows where i gotta restart the virtual machine.... I have no idea if it is my XP's problem or PD..... like if i wanna open up a folder on XP's desktop, nothing comes out.... after awhile like lets say for 10-15minutes, it suddenly comes out.... and also the freeze on my bitcomet where it just hang there.... so ahblu3, what u reckon on this problem? windows (as usual) or PD?

deadman8836, first of all, what Mac are you using? I didn't encounter any freeze on the virtual machine before. For me, I'm using 2.0 alu MB, I allocate 1 core, 512MB RAM, and 128MB Video RAM to run WinXP on PD. Try to monitor your iStat Pro when you run PD. Do you run PD on a BootCamp partition? Or like me, just totally virtual?

Like I said on the previous post, you can try Azureus Vuze for downloading torrents on Mac OS. So you don't need to run BitComet thru PD.

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EDIT: you problem sounds familiar to me, I used to encounter exactly what you are facing, on my damn old PC running XP, many years ago. Problem occurs intermittently, at the end found out the cause is out of date XP and a bad HDD. Old HDD with only 15GB with a lot of bad sectors. LOL. But I cannot confirm what is the cause of your problem just base on your brief description.

This post has been edited by ahblu3: Apr 14 2009, 11:56 PM

hi everyone, i want to ask you guys about 1 thing, where can we buy both the software, PD or VMware beside at apple's retail store?

And 1 more thing, does anyone here use VMware before? If you have use it, has your machine heat up when you start up the guest OS?

ahblu3, i'm running totally on virtual with the same setting as yours... maybe u r right, my XP is not up to date *ahem pirated ahem version*.... there is no freeze with the whole PD, just bitcomet alone which requires me to restart the whole PD system bcos bitcomet doesnt start up anymore after force shutdown...... oh, i need to thank u and give u credits for recommending me Azureus Vuze..... It hella faster than Utorrent..... thank you....

Can anyone recommend any shops that can install Bootcamp and also WinXP for me on my Macbook?

Currently on Tiger.

Can anyone recommend any shops that can install Bootcamp and also WinXP for me on my Macbook?

Currently on Tiger.

you can do it by yourself actually..
but for tiger you need to use some skill to install the bootcamp....

You can possible do it your self,but tiger bootcamp,if not mistake is Beta version only.

If you have WinXP disk then it's easy.
Open bootcamp, divide the drive space that you want to use for your WinXP,
Wait for it to devide, then viola! Insert your XP disc and install like you normally do when you're using a PC.

BootCamp for me is a dream come true. I can do all thestuff like Words and games on Windows and browse, watch movies, blog on Mac. I tried running Parallel 3 once and I hate the lag.

Well I suppose you didn't allocate the hardware configuration properly and run heavy apps on both OS, that might cause the lag. PD4 sure do improve alot.

whoever successfully tried PD 4.0 with vista 64bit?
my one no good!

Bro you can add one more, which is free, virtual box

Anyone try virtual box with windows XP or vista?

Hi,

I am running Vista Home Premium on my Vaio Intel Centrino Duo with nVidia GPU. Will this solution work for me. I just need to purchase OS X Leopard for the VMware image right? Can you point me to some guides or tutorial please. Thank you.

EDIT: Is this a retail version install or hackintosh (iATKOS and Kalyway) ?

This post has been edited by gyver: May 5 2009, 04:06 PM

gyver, I'm sorry that I can't help you with your "Reverse" Virtual machine idea.
This post is dedicated for Mac users who wanted to use supplementary Windows alongside Mac OS X but not the other way. Cheers!

If i use the bootcamp to install Windows XP, how to remove the windows partition when i'm not using it anymore?

i think u can set the partition for boot camp and window partition will be deleted

since no one has said it, let me do it. virtualbox is free as in beer. works great on my imac running the updated version of leopard. setting up the new ubuntu 9.04 was a snap. am currently typing this in windows 7 RC via leopard.

guys, i have a question. i just want to know is there any problem when using parallels on mac (never try parallels on mac, just want to know because i am thinking to buy a 2nd hand macbook pro) for programming (C, C++, VB, matlab and other electronic eng. software) and also PIC programming, also got to do some photo editing too. i'm worried that to the software mostly been design for Windows. FYI i'm a electronic eng. student and mostly will use that software for learn. so got any advice or experience tat can be share. thanks.

hi guys,

recently i having a problem when using my vmware in my Mac book.
the VM windows is juz keep power off whenever i log into my windows inside vmware.
is there anyone having this problem b4? or is there any solution regarding this?

thanks!

im using VMware Fusion 2.0.4
OS Enviroment : Mac os X

This post has been edited by dennisccy: May 19 2009, 01:53 PM

Sorry for the late respond guys, have been kinda busy recently.

@hellfried, thanks for the info about VirtualBox, if possible, you can help contribute abit regarding the pros and cons and add some snap shots along too. So maybe later on I will request moderator to merge your posting to the topic post.

@hidayat, as many PD users out there, I didn't encounter any problems using PD 4.0 to run WinXP. Just make sure you tweak the right resource allocation for your virtual machine in order to run those programing apps you mentioned without any hiccups. As said before, if you need to run apps with full native resource, use Bootcamp.

@dennisccy, maybe I'm not in a position to advice you upon VMWare Fusion problem, but make sure your copies of VMWare Fusion, Windows XP or Vista, and your Mac OSX are all up to date. As your description is quite vague, I also cant pin point what's exactly the cause. If you do have setup BootCamp, I would suggest try booting your Windows with BC to check whether it is your Windows problem or VMWare instead.

to start off, here's Virtualbox running Ubuntu 9.04 in my Leopard host.

This post has been edited by hellfried: May 23 2009, 10:43 AM


Attached thumbnail(s)

Hmm perhaps should included the Suns Virtual Box as it totally FREE of charge
may OSX user opt them also

I have install VMware Fusion for me to work. 1 problem that I found that I install MSN on my VMware Fusion and try to video chat with my friend, it seem doesn't work, no webcam detected on my MacBook. I switch back to MAC OS X, try iChat and Skype, it works!
Is that normal when switching to VMware Fusion windows XP MSN cannot do video chat?

Guys,

Situation like this.

Main machine: OS X Leopard
Virtual machine: XP Pro SP2

If the XP machine running broadband adapter, can it allow to share the internet connection so the main machine can access the internet?

Thanks

Okay, i think something is wrong with my keyboard driver on my windows (boot camp)
the thing is that im stuck at the log in page where i've to key in my password which I can't !
Any solutions?

can someone help me?
Okay, i think something is wrong with my keyboard driver on my windows (boot camp)
the thing is that im stuck at the log in page where i've to key in my password which I can't !
Any solutions?

Currently using PD 4.0 and 2 thing i dun like is that the isight driver and the gpu driver is not available for my windows vista... sigh.. any having the same problem?

just wondering, from vista can see the files and folders in mac?

Yes, you will even see those you not supposed to see (hidden files).

it looks like i only able to see windows own partition.

Got vmware folder sharing files, there you can see the mac files when vmware...

i know this has been answered b4 but does any1 know how to solve the prob? ever since i installed XP on bootcamp both OSes times get changed and i hv to change the time over and over again

thnx. sorry for wasting bandwidth

ya, me too having the same issue. but i still dun see files in my mac partition from xp partition.

any1 can help??

i m looking for help in installing windows vista using bootcamp =) any successor willing to help?

you just run the bootcamp program in your mac and follow the instruction on screen, then after installation of windows just put in your leopard dvd for the driver.

need help here, plsss.

I just got a macbook 3 days ago. I had my company's helpdesk tech to install boot camp and winxp pro. I later realized that it was not completely what i had wanted

Current setup, my HD was partitioned as follows:
Partition 1: Mac OSX @ 125GB
Partition 2: WINXP @125GB

as a result, WinXP unable to read documents in MAC os.

I want to resize the both partitions and create an FAT32 parttion to store the documents.
Partition 1: MAC OSX @ 70GB
Partition 2: WINXP (NTFS) @ 70GB
Partition 3: My Doc (FAT32) @ 110 GB

I don't want to reinstall the WINXP portion. Is there any good and easy way to get this done?

Kasman NewToMac

This post has been edited by kasmankk: Jun 8 2009, 08:23 PM

You can run the bootcamp program again in mac to resize or delete the partition.

Is just a few click and you are done.

yes, i know but i'll lose everything on WINXP and have to reinstall, correct?

This post has been edited by kasmankk: Jun 8 2009, 10:01 PM

I don't think that resize will effect your data in winXP but i m not sure.

Here is some apps you can use in your mac to resize your bootcamp partition, iPartition, CampTune but these programs is not free, you need to pay for it.

Or you can do it this way, use WinClone, is a freeware, and follow the instruction provided.

1.Convert your Windows partition to NTFS, if it isn't already
2.Clone the partition (with Winclone) to an external drive
3.Using Boot Camp Assistant, delete the old Windows partition
4.Relaunch it and create a new, larger partition
5.Cancel the install when prompted (choose Quit and Install Later)
6.Restore the clone you made earlier to the new, larger partition

Hey guys,

I was just wondering if virtualisation softwares (eg VMware Fusion) compared to Boot Camp will produce a better result for gaming.

Let's say I have a Santa Rosa chipset of a BlackBook, CPU runs at 35 watts and with 2GB of RAM, will games run faster on VMware or Boot Camp?

Because if I'm running on VMware itself, the majority of the RAM will be used up by VMware to just run Windows XP, so in theory Boot Camp should be faster in that sense right?

But then again, I heard Boot Camp is designed to only use up a portion of RAM and not more than that, so let's say we have 2GB of RAM, only 64MB is allocated to Boot Camp but for VMware, it can take as much RAM as it wants since it's running on Mac OSX itself (thus no barrier).

Just trying to clear up some confusion about RAM allocation and usage between the two platforms.

Thanks guys

i wanted a smaller winxp partition.
Did try just now, but not really working.

winclone , cloned the entire winxp partition including the free space.
How do i just clone the used space?

FYI, the image size using winclone is 14.6GB, but if restore, the size is 116GB. That includes the free space.
Some help here pls.

Kasman

Here are some Winclone FAQ and Winclone forum you can refer to.

I hope these link can help you with your problem.

well..........here what i did.
- removed bootcamp partition
- create smaller boot camp partition (60BG)
- reinstalled WINXP
- used winclone to clone the WINXP
- changed Boot.ini file
- booted to OSX and created 3rd partition (110 GB @ FAT32)
- restarted , and booted to WINXP
- it worked

BUT

it took very long to start the WINXP. Everyhing ran fine on WINXP .
just took toooo DAMN long to boot-up in WINXP.

ANy idea?

was wondering whether can we share this software with few different macs? any lubang to get a p*rate copy? =)

Which app you refer into?
Parallels or the WinClone?

if you want virtual machine you can try out this freeware also, call VirtualBox, develop by Sun Microsystem, is an open source software.

For Parallel or VMware Fusion you need to pay for it.

guys....for bootcamp I can only run windows OR OSX at one time....and for parallel and VMware I can run both at the same time right?

no discussion on pirated stuff please,just buy the softwarelah and support its cause.

Since Windows and OS X reads the stored time differently, the clock will be different upon every bootup.

The easiest way to get the right time is to set each OS to sync to a time server. If I'm not mistaken, both XP and Leopard will sync to a time server by default. You will need internet access in order to sync the time to a server though.

If you're not connected all the time, you can follow the guides at the following site:
http://wiki.osx86project.org/wiki/index.ph...iversal_for_RTC

Ya, for bootcamp you need to restart your laptop everytime you want to switch OS.

There is also an alternative to VMware and Parallel, is call VirtualBox, develop by Sun and is a freeware, you can try it out if you do not want to buy VMware or Parallel.

Use Zephy's UTC Time fix kext for OSX. I tried that with my Hackintosh and it works fine no more GMT UTC time change already. It automatically does it for you.

Guys, thanks for keeping this topic running and helping each other out there. Sorry I have been quite busy lately. Anyway, it has been a long while since I run PD4. Just working with Mac OS X is enough for daily usage. Everyone is eyeing on 10.6 SL now. Hehe.

Can Macbook Air runs 100% on windows without OSX? pls advice. tq

Yes, what a good idea to waste your money

consider that functionality as "sweet add-on features" instead of waste of money lah!

haha typical Malaysian la, want the novelty of a mac but its a "Windows Inside".

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Added on July 1, 2009, 9:48 amread TS carefully 100% Windows means there is no mac osx at all,of something goes wrong and you bring to the service people and they find out theres no mac os inside kinda voids the warranty right since it covers both the OS and hardware,think about it.

This post has been edited by nimrod323: Jul 1 2009, 09:48 AM

a bong LOL for u TS....why would u want to buy a macbook air but in the inside still a windows?is it just for a show off thingy?btw,u can install a windows inside,but not 100%.u can't delete the osx.bootcamp will allow u to install windows in a new partition.

thx for all the inputs. my wife she likes the macbook air's design, portability for her to take it to uni. She doesnt know how to use OSX and i thought i could have save some hdd space.

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Added on July 1, 2009, 10:17 amShe's currently using lenovo x61 but she said its a little bulky and heavy and the screen resolution is only 1024x768. So i bought her sony vaioP she complain screen too small. the best i could think of is MBA.

This post has been edited by tpl: Jul 1 2009, 10:17 AM

get the MBA.
Set maximum partition to boot camp.
Install windows.
settle.

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Added on July 1, 2009, 11:10 ambut u will still have OSX inside juz incase anything goes wrong...

This post has been edited by xandman: Jul 1 2009, 11:10 AM

No problem if you wanna install windows only, doesn't void the warrenty too. Its just a freaking waste of money if you want to do so. Why get a mac if you wanna use windows, the only valuable aspect of a Mac is its operating system.

However, there might be a few problems such as if there is a problem with your Windows, service center's might be reluctant to help you as it is not in their expertise or from plain dislike of windows.

Don't worry about switching to a Mac platform. Its basically made to be easy to use for the average non-tech savvy person. It just takes some getting used to as the typical stuff of using a computer are still the same, just interface differences.

@tpl,
If ur wife is adaptable, switching from Mac to Windows is easier than having a toddler read ABC. If all else fails, just install bootcamp and run Windows.

if they wanted to do a system level check via,tech tools or other software it'll be hard since the MBA has to be taken apart to see the problem.

if you do that, you're one of the stupidest computer consumer in the world

how much space approx the osx will takes? thx

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Added on July 1, 2009, 2:13 pm

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Added on July 1, 2009, 2:17 pmis that easy? ive been to apple center to play ard the OSX for few minutes it doesnt seems to be that easy. I'll try again since its easier than ABC... hehe

This post has been edited by tpl: Jul 1 2009, 02:17 PM

than you need al the help you can get click here, for the ultimate source of knowledge on everything apple.

@tpl, spend a little time to get used to Mac OSX save you a hell lot of time encountering crash, hang, lag, jam, and whatnot, on Windows platform.

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Added on July 1, 2009, 10:54 pmTq very much for all the infos. appreciated.. i think i'll stick to OSX+windows and the bootcamp thingy.. err... ya.. thx again.

This post has been edited by tpl: Jul 1 2009, 10:54 PM

i find it amusing how people always say something is 'hard' just because it's different.

yes when i first switched to a mac, it does feel 'unusual' but i wont say its hard. u just have to get used to it. and getting used to a mac is indeed very easy

dont be so damn afraid about changes. when u first sign up in facebook, everything was 'hard' because it was different than friendster or myspace. look what happened now.

sorry i dont use facebook/myspace/friendster..

@tpl
ouh.....if that's the case...if that's my wife,i would do the same,lah....so,the best way is,just put as large as possible partition space for your windows using the bootcamp.it's not that hard to install windows btw,just follow the steps from the bootcamp assistant.btw,u still have dual boot in the end.so,just boot the windows lah.

thx alot bro, i'll figure out the bootcamp thingy. guess should be ok.

OS X is damn very very nice platform
Even the games very less compared to windows, I would say Im stick to it & it being my main used system compare to windows
I only use my windows when I wanna play games or play some benchmark thinggy
Hail to OS X~!!

just wanna ask, from what i understand, we need a windows license to install on parallel, bootcamp etc. if i want to use both parallel and bootcamp, need 2 license isit? Cause if i wanna do some gaming, from what i read, bootcamp will be better cause in parallel both OSes share resources right? But that being said, i don't want to reboot my lappy everytime i want to use some other programme on windows.

this is from my knowledge, so here goes... first do a bootcamp partition and install windows,put the cd key in and also register online, then go back to osx and install parallels or vmware,it'll ask you for the same cd key,just type it in this is for reference only to enable it.

hm.... so just wanna ask, is it okay to run games on parallel, games like warcraft 3, maple liddat? cause the specs i have is a 1.66 GHz intel c2d, and a X4500 iirc....

This post has been edited by DoubleU: Jul 4 2009, 02:27 PM

I'm not sure if this in being asked already or not ... but since Windows 7 retail will be launched soon on October, will bootcamp be able to support a windows 7 installation? Last i heard, it only supports Win XP and Vista installations only.

well people installed the win 7 RC for quite some time already so i dont think its a problem.

I would like to find out if it's possible for the new Mac mini (early 2009) to run two displays (extended desktop) on BootCamp (XP or Vista). Has anybody tried that?

It seems that it's possible to do so with OS X, one through Mini Display Port and another through Mini DVI.

My plan is to get a Mac mini to hook up two 24" LCD (both at 1920 x 1200) running BootCamp (Windows XP) if that's possible.

Thanks.

by default windows xp can support dual display,even on bootcamp its possible. shouldnt be a problem in my opinion. The setup is similar to a UMBP that has internal connector connecting to its clamshell screen and the MDP to any other screens. Why open new thread when theres one already?

This post has been edited by nimrod323: Jul 5 2009, 03:44 PM

That's what i think so, but i couldn't find anybody posting successful experience on using dual displays with Boot Camp on the new Mac mini. In fact, i just went to my local Apple store and they don't seem to have an answer either.

Anyway, thanks for the reply.

This post has been edited by kenlee80: Jul 6 2009, 10:43 PM

For those who using boot camp, did you install the nvidia driver from boot camp or download latest from nvidia website?

I use the one supplied by Boot Camp. As long as it works, don't fix it.

guys, lets say i install windows onto my mac now, and later on i replace leopard with snow leopard.. will my windows be affected in any way?

Dya mean install windows is Bootcamp?
If yes, I believe it won't affect the partition. Bootcamp & leopard partition aren't same but still in single drive

Correct me if Im wrong..

maple got mac version, no need parallels

warcraft3 (well, DOTA la actually...same engine) worked fine on my prev mbp in parallels... 2.0ghz core duo (not c2d yah).. so i think a 1.66ghz c2d can handle it. not sure abt the graphics part though

i just bought a window xp service pack 3 and i try to install it on my macbook with boot camp. but then it stuck while installing the window.
it was still running but after an hour or so it still says on my screen 39 mins left.

then i tried google it to solve my problems.

then i found out that i need to update my boot camp driver to 2.1 before installing window xp service pack 3

my question here is how do i update it since it's a .exe file. and i dun have a window xp installed so i cant install the driver.

can i install window xp with service pack 3 straight away or can it only be done by installing window xp service pack 2 then i update my boot camp 2.1 driver on the window then only install the service pack 3 update.

pls correct me.. i'm confuse.. & i need my window urgently.

thanks for ur help in advance!

guys, i just installed xp via parallels, there's this "Windows XP" icon on my desktop which i'd like to get rid off, can't seem to delete it.. possible?

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Added on July 15, 2009, 10:50 pmhmmm nvm, somehow i managed to get rid of it..

This post has been edited by jind86: Jul 15 2009, 10:50 PM