Apple :: Windows On Macbook Air
Apr 24, 2009
I just bought a macbook air rev. a for my wife not long time ago, this is our first mac, she like it so far (probably other than the fan ramp up more than we like) she would like to use OSX as the primary OS but we still need to install windows on it.
Now my question is what is the best way to setup the windows, I'v read about all the options a bit but still need your opinions. The main limitation is the hardware on Macbook air, basically Core 2 duo at 1.6G, X3100 graphics but only 2G ram and 80G HD and no upgrade option.
I have both legit version of windows vista ultimate and windows XP professional, I can download windows 7 beta. I prefer windows vista over XP on my desktop. Here are a few options I have:
1.Run vista through bootcamp , but I don't feel that will be convenient for my wife, and chances are she will exclusively using vista.
2.Run vista through bootcamp, and use Vmware or parallel (which one?) run virtual machine of the bootcamp partition? Not sure how practical is this, will it be too slow because of the ram.
3. Run Xp through bootcamp, and use Vmware or parallel run virtual machine of the bootcamp partition?..........................
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Sep 2, 2009
How is the Windows 7 experience on a MacBook pro? Is there good driver support? I've heard that you can set up the track pad to detect a two fingered tap as a right click? Is this true? What would I be giving up in my windows experience by using a MBP?
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Sep 24, 2009
i know this is like blasphemy but she now is required to have windows vista or better for her job and she just got this thing a month ago. she doesnt care it she has the mac os really yes she likes it but.. can the current gen macbook fully support windows vista or 7 by itself.. she doesnt want to be bothered running boot camp and other ways to run windows stuff. she used all her allowed funds to buy this thing now she is a bit annoyed with the situation not with apple at all..but with the mess of the job etc..she will be running in windows all day long and some of the programs she is told will not work right running on a mac os running as windows...so if she formats and wipes it clean can she run vista or 7 easily? im sure i can test it all out but since there are so many mac users i figured id ask first.
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Jul 24, 2009
I got the keyboard Eject key to work. Post has been updated accordingly.
This was done on an early 2009 white Macbook, with Vista SP2. Your mileage may vary. I'm not responsible for any damage or loss of files. On that note, always remember to backup data before doing a reformat!
First of all, I booted from the OS X Install disc, went into Disk Utility, clicked on the hard drive and selected Partition. From there, I created a new single partition, under options I selected Master Boot Record table. After it was done I rebooted, holding the ALT/Option key until I got into the boot manager, and I ejected the OS X disc and inserted the Windows disc (I am using the original Vista RTM disc in this case, and I installed SP1 and SP2 later)...........
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Jun 20, 2009
I absolutely love the new Macbook Pro 13" hardware. The unibody case and high quality panel makes me want to buy one right now. Nobody really offers anything similar. The problem for me, however is the fact that it comes with and runs OS X, and as far as I understand I will need to use Apple software (bootcamp) to run Windows. Is it at all possible to modify the computer to run Windows exclusively? And if I do run Windows through Apple software, are there any limitations to what I can do there or is it exactly the same as on a regular PC laptop? Running OS X is not an option, as alot of very specialized software I use is Windows only and I frankly dislike Apple OS.
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Feb 2, 2010
its the old 2006 black macbook, basically dual core 2ghz and 2gb or ram which i will upgrade to 4gb, i was wondering since its on an old intel GMA 950 can it run windows 7 with aero and all its goodness? while i will primarily use OSX i would like the option to boot in windows 7. anyone has tried on an GMA950 here? thanks thats my only concern. ALSO about hairline cracks on the macbook, i read that apple would replace/fix it for free, and there are some hairline cracks on the palm rest, think apple will still honor it?
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Jun 3, 2009
I'm going to uni next year to study CSc and have been told nearly every system they run is an XP machine. I also checked what software they run, and it turns out the majority aren't available for the mac. I asked them what would be best for the course and they told me I would get better support if I had a PC and that there may be workarounds for macs. However, the person I spoke to (head of faculty) has no experience whatsoever with OS X.
Anyway, the thing is I want to keep my current macbook mainly because I find it hard to part with and the second being I don't have the cash to dish out on another notebook of comparable quality.
The question: Which version of Windows (XP/Vista/7) runs best on a Macbook?
By this I mean which has the greater support (drivers), and is most stable to work with (incl/ battery life, less glitches etc).
Also, will Snow Leopard provide better compatibility with Windows and how? Thank you in advance for any information you can provide me with.
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Jul 10, 2009
I've been contemplating a Mac, too. I recently bought an HP HDX18t, and I'm trying to decide if I want to keep it or get a Macbook Pro 17). The thing that's holding me back is that for essentially the same price as a Macbook Pro with 4 gb of RAm, I have 8gb RAM, a 160gb Intel SSD plus a 500gb hard drive, 18.4" high def monitor that is in the 16x9 format (I can have two IE windows open with no overlap), a Blu Ray burner, QX9300 Quad processors. I also love the full numeric keypad on the keyboard.
My first 3 computers were Macs (SE, IIsi, and Quadra 840AV), and I switched to PC when Windows 95 came out because I was tired of incompatibilities between my Mac and work and college computers. I was also tired of cool apps for the PC not being available for the Mac. Honestly, Windows has never given me any significant problems. Sure, I've had crashes and performance slowdowns, but I had those on my Macs, too. I've never had a virus on Windows. I've really never regretted switching to Windows...........
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Aug 27, 2009
Got my macbook earlier on this week, but i want to install windows so i can use it via bootcamp for when i need windows. how easy it is to do.
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Jan 4, 2009
I'm interested in the 13.3" but I'm used to using Windows. How does it fare with XP? Vista?
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Jan 16, 2009
how I could use Windows 7 on my MB, without fully dedicating it to a partition on my HDD, because I already have Windows XP Pro as my Boot Camp. I mainly just want to test it out, without installing it completely.
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Jun 20, 2009
How easy is it to install windows on a partition of the HD of a Macbook air instead of running windows in a virtual machine environnement of OS X ? It should be much faster and consume less power, no ?
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Feb 24, 2009
I know that Apple did not include any HDCP support in their notebooks. As I understand it though, HDCP is an actual piece of hardware on the graphics card. I'm guessing Apple uses the same graphic cards as everyone else, but their drivers simply don't support HDCP.
Now that Nvidia has released drivers, I'm wondering, is it possible to update a Macbook Pro's drivers with Nvidia drivers and enable hdcp?
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Jul 1, 2009
I bought a macbook before they upgraded the 13" into macbook pro and had some driver issues with windows, the screen flickered on windows which was very annoying so I returned it, is there any improvement in the new refresh, i heard they have better screens?
Is the screen quality on the 15" better than the 13" ignoring the resolution
I am willing to pay up to 3000$ but I can't justify the price differences, as we all agree apple screws the customers when it comes to small hardware improvements
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Jul 8, 2009
Anyone have a quick reference guide to downloading/installing Windows 7 Beta on the macbook pro?
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Mar 12, 2009
I am currently in the market for a laptop for college. Now I am not looking to buy atm but I am getting ideas for the fall semester. My overall goal is to provide mobility in my life and not feel like I have to depend on the desktop to handle my computing needs. I have been looking at Apple's OS X for the past 1 1/2 years and feel it's finally time to start making the switch.
Computer Science Major
-Not intended for Gaming
-Not intended for Graphic Design/Video Editing (outside of iLife)
-Able to boot Windows (XP or Windows 7) if needed.
-Able to run iWork, iLife, iTunes, etc. w/o issues.
-Last for 2+ years w/o needing upgrades (unless desired) or replacement.
As you can see I will still need a dependent on Windows. This comes down to several classes that I have taken in which there wasn't Mac equivalent software to some programs I needed, so I will need options. What I don't know is how system resources on the Mac suffer when you boot to Windows. Would I need to buy higher system resources such as a strong processor? Will a 2.0 be sufficient or would I need a 2.4 or even have to look at a MBP's 2.66GHz? Now I don't know if I am overlooking anything else and I get the impression from looking at other posts that I wouldn't have an issue but just making sure before I spend the money and make the switch.
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Dec 2, 2009
the 17 macbook pro would have poor batterylife due to drivers and the forced use of the dedicated gpu. now I got an idea: how about the 15 with intergrated graphics? I've heard that the 15 on dedicated graphics can hit 3-4hours(in windows) which isn't quite enough but VERY close.
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Jun 17, 2009
i would like to buy a macbook 13" with intel core 2 duo processor, i would like to know, how works windows xp on macbook? by bootcamp or virtual box, is it work fast? i would like to play games on xp or use some audio software, does it work simillar as a pc? or a little slow?
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May 1, 2010
I have the 13" Macbook Pro 7,1 and everytime I try to install Linux/Windows they come up with errors which basically say that they can't find my HDD or the Optical Drive during installation.
I don't like the idea of being stuck with OS-X.
Turns out it's a MBP 7,1...not 6,1.
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Nov 19, 2009
what the battery life of the new(er) unibody macbook pro 17 was like under windows. I read a review somewhere that says the new macbook pro (the one with advertised 8hours battery life) managed about 1 1/2 hours in windows, is this true? the only reason I'm looking at the 17inch pro is because I program a lot in Windows and Linux, and 17inchs would be fantastic to display more code, but I still need good battery life. portability is no issue, as I'm a big guy and I carry 2 computers with me right now anyway. any other cons to installing windows on this beast?
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Nov 29, 2009
I bootcamped my macbook into Windows XP to play Dragon Age Origin, and the game lagged when I connect the macbook to an external 22" monitor and tried to play Dragon Age with it. What could be the reason that causing the lagging?Could it be a 22" monitor is too much for a macbook in bootcamp Windows?
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May 24, 2009
Just bought new MacBook Pro after about 15 years of using Windows machines (first experience with Macs was in aerospace when for a time there they used Macs almost exclusively.) Very nice. Even nicer I've found that I don't need BootCamp for Windows applications .. don't miss them at all! For office-type applications just use NeoOffice and Photoshop does a Mac version, too. It's great just to be able to get on a computer and do work rather than spending time (sometimes lots of it) trying to figure out how to make the thing work better or even work at all.
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Apr 26, 2010
I currently have all Windows 7 PC's in my house. I find that it is easy to share foles and filders through Windows 7's "Homegroup" thing.
My question is:
If I have windows 7 running through parallels on a macbook pro, will with macbook pro show up in my homegroup?
On a side note I am also thinking of getting a 27" imac. I have an extra monitor so I would like to have windows 7 running on the external monitor, and os x on the main 27" screen.
I just want to make sure I can still share files easily with all the computers.
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May 26, 2009
1) What is the battery life you get on Windows 7 compared to OS X?
2) Does the right click (bottom right area) work in Windows 7? What about the double touch right click?
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Feb 5, 2009
To start I should remind everyone that i'm not a mac user. I have never owned a mac or used OSX properly before today. As such, my opinions should be taken as coming from someone who has much knowledge and experience as far as PC's are concerned, but who is a total mac n00b.
First Impressions
When I first walked over to the Macbooks I was quite taken aback. The build quality is out of this world. In fact, I immediately walked over to the latest PC laptops to compare and immediately thought "manufacturing FAIL". Really, the Macbooks are italian sports cars, and PC's are 30 year old farm tractors to use the typical "car analogy".
The Macbook
I really only had any interest in the Macbook when I first went to the Apple stand, but came away with the intention of buying a MacBook Pro. Let me explain:
The MacBook's build quality is awesome. It's solid, no creaking plastic or flexable build, completely and utterly solid. Awesome.............
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Mar 7, 2009
I have been speculating over this prospect giving the direction that Apple took with the starting price of the 24" iMac (upgrade everything else and downgrade the VRAM).
I mean, this is something I would like to see, but I wonder if it is a smart move on Apple's part given how much they make off the current MBP's with the so called Apple Tax.
And, if they made this move, one has to wonder if it still would be considered a Pro.
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Jan 2, 2009
This is going to be my very first Mac. I'm really excited about it, but I don't know which one I should go for... I narrowed it down to these two models. Which one should I go for and why?
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Feb 10, 2009
I bought a black macbook this summer and every night when I'm in bed trying to do work I can barely see which keys is which. Obviously this wouldn't be a cheap fix but is there a way or is it possible to install the new light up keys of the new macbooks onto a pre-remodel macbook?
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May 9, 2009
I downloaded this updated for my unibody Macbook Pro, and I think it's pretty vital. However, it gave me this error when I tried to install it: "You cannot install Macbook, Macbook Pro software update on this volume. This update requires Mac OS X 10.5.5 or newer." Now don't tell me that I have selected the wrong partition to install the update, or that I need to update my OS to 10.5.5 because I already have 10.5.6 and I chose the Macintosh HD partition to install the update.
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Sep 12, 2009
So I'm definitely getting a 13" Macbook or Macbook Pro. Apple has some great prices on refurbs so that's probably the route I'll be going however I'm having trouble discerning the difference between the 13" Aluminum Unibody standard macbook and the 13" Unibody Macbook Pro. From what I've read they both have the upgraded screen, they're obviously both unibody, both have the large button-less trackpad, and both have the 9400m. They even have the same dimensions and the only difference I can see between the images is a slightly different case bevel (also the firewire and sd card ports, both are useless to me).
Unfortunately, none of the Apple stores or BestBuys in the area have a non-pro unibody 13" Macbook for me to actually handle and compare. So, basically, what makes the pro version with the slower cpu and smaller hard drive at the same price point worth it?
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