Windows on the Mac

[curiousdeanne]

I'm looking to go buy a mini this weekend. Sadly I need to ruin it by putting windows on it in order to access some non-mac compatible programs for work. So I was just wondering if anyone had windows on their mac and how it worked. Hurt your mini at all? Let me know
Thanks

Deanne

[MiniMoe]

No Mini here yet... but this might help you:

Signing up for Boot Camp (on Core Duo Mini)
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Moe
1.66GHz Core-Duo Mini, 2GB/120GB, Apple 23" Cinema HD Display
Apple Wireless Keyboard & Mouse, Apple iSight Camera
Apple USB Modem (for faxing), Bose Companion 2 Speakers
2.0GHz white MacBook 1GB/80GB

[Macintel]

To answer your question about how the Windows XP installation affects the Mac Mini, I saw actual speed improvements after upgrading the Firmware. As soon as I did the upgrade, I noticed the computer boots up way faster and get's to the Desktop in about 20 secs.

I used XP Pro w/service Pack 2 (2002) It runs fine, no problems. I have done this installation on both a Mac Mini and on an Intel iMac. The Mini was easier, because the drive was "clean" whereas the iMac had to be booted from a startup disc and had to run Disc Utility to make minor disc repairs prior to the partitioning, if you get an error when you try to partition, you must do this. Personally, I would not allocate any more than 30% of my drive space for XP.

When doing XP installation after Bootcamp, for Windows partitioning: be sure and choose C and "FAT", not FAT(quick) for file system. This allows you to access your Windows volume while in OSX.

Benefit I'm seeing: while I have not installed very much Windows software, I can now be on the Mac side and if I happened to download an .AVI movie file, I just drag it to the volume "WINDOWS XP" and it goes to the C Drive when I reboot in Windows, (hold down option)double click it there and Media player opens it flawlessly, if you stayed in MAC Quicktime(Even QT 7.Pro) it would get an error and not play the movie. Also your .EXE files, will finally open.(Windows side only)
So I feel Empowered and less likely to fight the Windows /Mac war any further, when you have both, you truly win.
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Been There, Googled That...

[curiousdeanne]

Here's the deal with me. I'm a realtor and I need to access the realtor MLS system through a program that has to be downloaded in windows. ANy new listings or updates come through the host on the internet and downloaded to my program for me. Unfortunately they don't make it mac compatible.
The other program is for client prospecting which is also not mac compatible.
Now I would prefer to keep it on the mac side while I work for safari and itunes and what not BUT it would be good if I didn't have to restart my computer everytime I need to search the MLS for a client.

SO bottom line is I was wondering if there is anyway I would be able to just access the MLS program through a seperate window on my mac side or am i just destined to be living on my windows side while I'm at work?

deanne

(If I sound like a moron don't blame me. I'm just starting to discover the benifits of moving from a PC to the wonderfull world of mac.)

[picaman]

Deanne, you have a couple of options with an Intel Mac. You can use Boot Camp, which means you'll have to reboot the computer when switching between Windows and OS X.

Or you can use Parallels, which runs Windows apps in a separate window and eliminates the need to reboot. Here's a link to a very good overview of this option:

http://www.tuaw.com/2006/04/27/how-to-run-other-oss-on-your-mac-with-parallels-workstation/

Both solutions are technically beta software, but Boot Camp is arguably a bit more polished and final at this point. Bottom line, there's a solution for you now, and these solutions will improve as things progress.

The next version of OS X (Leopard, due late 2006/early 2007) will likely include some sort of built-in support for Windows apps, which would then make these solutions moot.

It's an exciting time to be a switcher!



Jamie

[curiousdeanne]

Thanks for the suggestion Jamie!

So if i go with "window in a window" should I still be able to run all my 'non-mac compatible' programs in this window?

Deanne

[hairyneanderthal]

I have been using both XP through bootcamp and Parallels this last week.

If you need (video) performance and game playability the only way is bootcamp.
Parallels works pretty well for other applications though ... even CPU intensive applications such as Visio. I need to run several XP only apps including Visio and have been impressed by its performance.
Video is still 2d without overlay so games & multimedia still has some way to go..

[Fox]

FYI, Parallels Workstation b6 just came out. They listed the following improvements:
- USB fixes (more devices supported: PDA, scanner, etc.)
- Shared Folders fixes (added support for guest Windows 2000)
- Network improvements: host-only networking
- Custom video resolutions support added
- Image Tool introduced
- Autoupdate introduced
- Kernel panic in virtual memory manager fixed
- Shutdown in fullscreen mode hang fixed
- Virtual disk sync() problem with Linux guests fixed

And it's still $39 if pre-ordered.
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Mini 1: 2.3 ghz Core i5; 8 gb RAM, Corsair 240gb SSD, 500 gb Seagate XT
Mini 2: 2.26 ghz Core 2 duo, 8 gb RAM, 500 gb Seagate
Also a Cube, 13" MacBook Air, 20" 2.66 ghz iMac & 11.6" Acer 1810TZ running Ubuntu, Mint & openSuse

[MacScout67]

[yeep]

But there are some networking issues in b6. They are working on it, but I think it's better to wait for the next release.

[yeep]

... and they already fixed it. The latest b6 contains a hotfix, it goes by the same name but has a different build number.