New at MAC (about running OS' at the same time)

S

Sapherous

Registered
Hi,

I'm a Computer Science Engineering student, and a year ago, I bought a toshiba laptop, which has been great. I've been recently reading a lot of forums, recommendations etc... about switching to a mac. So I'm thinking of getting a MacBook. So here comes the real thing: Before getting a mac, I'm starting to look for all the software that I need for college and that I use normally at work, which some are not supported on other plataforms other than windows. Then, I bumped into this article:

http://parallelsvirtualization.blogspot.com/2006/11/installing-windows-on-mac-is-now.html

So I've been reading some threads in this forum, and I noticed that most people recommend BootCamp to install Windows XP, but the article says that now you can just go here:

http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/system_disk_utilities/parallelsdesktopformac.html

and download Parallels Desktop for mac and install it with full support to all windows features. I'd like to install xp and use it a the same time that i use mac osx... not partition my disc and log off on mac osx to get into windows.

So, the thing is... is installing xp on a mac like this recommended?... because of what i understand, bootcamp installs windows but you must log off from osx to get into windows, so I looked up for a VmWare Virtual Machine for Mac OSX which does not exist, and i'm not sure about VirtualPC... so I'd like to read your opinions.

Thanks.
 
Just some basic facts -
Boot Camp:
Provides a partition on your hard drive for Windows
Creates a drivers disk to install on Windows, and
Sets up the Mac to allow you to boot to the Windows install disk, and install windows XP. Boot Camp only supports installation of Windows XP, but the new Vista is not much of a problem, from what I hear.
So, booting to the Windows partition completely takes over the Mac, and gives you the best Windows performance, especially for apps that require the best video response, such as games using 3D video, and other apps that need that.
Parallels:
Installs Windows in a virtual format, and you run Windows in a window, while OS X continues to run. Parallels does its job very well - even in an emulated environment, there is very little performance penalty. I think Parallels says about 90% full speed, compared to a native boot. The older Virtual PC (which does not run on Intel Macs, anyway) could not approach that, I think you would be lucky to get 50% speed of equivalent PC hardware.
Parallels also does not restrict you to just Windows XP. You can install Windows 95, a variety of versions of Linux, a couple of versions of Solaris, OS/2 Warp, even DOS 6! Don't know why you would want to :D , but Parallels supports that if you have the need.
You can also have the best of both worlds, by installing WindowsXP through Boot Camp, and then run Parallels using the same Boot Camp Windows partition. With that, you can have an OS X app running with a Windows app on the screen at the same time, using a mode in Parallels that turns off the Windows background, leaving you with a Windows app appearing to be running in OS X! Quite tricky, and a good demonstration of the Parallels software.
AND, you can reboot to the full Boot Camp windows partition for that extra performance if you need that for specific software.
 
Keep in mind, when you install Windows on a Mac, it's still Windows. You'll need antivirus, a firewall, antispyware, a system optimizer, etc to keep your Windows install in shape.
 
DeltaMac said:
Just some basic facts -
Parallels:
Installs Windows in a virtual format, and you run Windows in a window, while OS X continues to run. Parallels does its job very well - even in an emulated environment, there is very little performance penalty. I think Parallels says about 90% full speed, compared to a native boot. The older Virtual PC (which does not run on Intel Macs, anyway) could not approach that, I think you would be lucky to get 50% speed of equivalent PC hardware.
Click to expand...
If you are running windows in a virtual machine, it will disappear when the computer is turned off, won't it? Since installing Windows is such a pain, why would one want to install it like that, only to have it disappear when the computer shuts off. Someone with a laptop is going to have it shut off sometimes.
 
The windows software is installed on the hard drive, and does not disappear when you quit the virtual system or shut off the computer. The application that uses that installation simply quits, as any application quits. Windows is just running as an application, and the computer is not actually booted to that Windows install. Most 'virtual' PC applications (lumping Parallels in with VirtualPC on this one) use a non-bootable Windows installation. Parallels now has the capability to use the boot-able installation that you can make via Boot Camp, as its virtual, or guest OS. It's called 'virtual' because it's not booting the computer, or running natively in the hardware (but Parallels blurs that distinction a lot, by using the hardware natively while operating as a 'guest OS'), it's simply loaded into memory, and completely running as any other application
 
But Parallels goes even further now in the newest beta (2.5 beta 1 currently): It can use your BootCamp partition. So you can have both in one go. Parallels costs money, but it's great.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top