Running windows XP on MAC.

[Rotsu]

I'm thinking of buying a new laptop. And im kind of interested in buying a Mac book pro. I’m not a Mac user but im seriously thinking of getting one and start from there.

Anyway so apple have an official emu for windows XP and I read some review that actually said windows xp runs better on these Mac books than any other PC lol. Anyone tried this before or can give his input on this?

Here is a couple of links to check it out.



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

http://www.macwindows.com/bcreview.html

[Kainsin]

It's not an emulator, it's basically a boot program that allows you to boot into Windows XP on the new Intel-based Macs. When you boot into Windows XP you're running it natively without Mac OS X loading up at all.

It works just fine, I've been using it for quite a while now.

[Zigma]

that makes no sense. If you're buying a mac to run windows...

[SephYuyX]

that makes no sense. If you're buying a mac to run windows...

I was thinking the exact same thing, but then I thought.. maybe hes just trying to get used to a Mac (or needs it for work/school), and if he ever needs something done in Windows, he can simply reboot.

[Saga]

I have XP installed on my Mac, and I'm ashamed to say I don't use it much for all the trouble it was to get it installed. It's neat for certain programs that Macs can't run, and I have Steam with Day of Defeat: Source installed on it, but to be brutally honest the default graphics card and my 512 MB of RAM can't run it for shit.

It's neat if you want to do it, if you maybe play FFXI and want to still run it on Windows but enjoy the better functionality of a Mac, but it's really just something cool to look at/dick around with when you're bored.

[archibaldcrane]

I have a 20" intel iMac running OSX and Windows XP. I only installed Windows so I could play FFXI, and with 2 gigs of RAM it runs wonderfully. The main reason I got a Mac was for video editing software (Final Cut Studio). The only thing my windows can't do is use the iSight camera. Not sure if it can use the DVD burner, but it reads CD/DVD fine.

[Rotsu]

that makes no sense. If you're buying a mac to run windows...

I was thinking the exact same thing, but then I thought.. maybe hes just trying to get used to a Mac (or needs it for work/school), and if he ever needs something done in Windows, he can simply reboot.

Yep. And archibaldcrane i think the latest ver of the boot program does support iSight camera. I do need mac for my work, but i also want to use all my other PC crap i have on a laptop lol.

[Navia]

I own a 17" macbook pro, and I have it running bootcamp so it can also run XP.
I boot to the mac side to do all my art/music/web stuff, I only boot it on windows to run 2 instances of ffxi.
It plays WoW incredibly smooth at maximum resolution on OSX too

[kisada]

i actually posted this question on the windower forums.

i was pretty sure the pro ran ffxi fine, but anyone know if its still pretty smooth on the non-pro macbooks?

[dietvanillapepsi]

Taken from http://www.macwindows.com/winintelmac.html.

There are now several methods of to run Windows on an Intel-based Mac, and a third method still in development:

Dual booting. With a dual-boot system, Windows can directly start up the Mac. You can choose to boot either from Windows or Mac OS X, but you don't have access to both at the same time. Apple's Boot Camp gives you this.
Running Windows in a virtual machine. With this approach, you boot the Mac with Mac OS X and run Windows in a virtualization application. The advantage is that you can switch between the Mac OS X and Windows environments without rebooting. There is also the potential of moving files between the two operating systems and sharing peripherals and networking. You can do this with Parallels Desktop and iEmulator.
Running Windows apps directly in Mac OS X--without Windows. This open source project uses a Darwine, a port of the WiNE Linux program to Intel Macs. Darwine runs -- or will run -- Windows applications directly in Mac OS X. The project is in the early stages of development.
Running Windows apps remotely from a sevice. Northstar is a subscription service that hosts Windows applications on an Internet server. Mac users access Windows apps via Apple's X11.

My comments:
1) Boot Camp beta is available for free download now. Keep in mind that you will need to buy Windows separately which will set you back $200-300. The new mac OS X Leopard will have Boot Camp included. Leopard comes out in the spring.

To check out this demo of Leopard for all the neat new stuff: http://www.apple.com/macosx/leopard/.

2) Parallels is really popular among the emulator titles. I recommend it.

3) This article says that software that allows you to run Windows apps without running Windows is still in "the early stages of development." Well, I saw at least two titles at Macworld today that claim to do just that.

4) Never heard of this but it seems kinda cool. Dunno how complicated it is.



Finally, if you do decide to make the switch, welcome to the family. Prepare to feel uber elite as you look down on at all the poor Windows users. Sure they will try to bash you. This is out of ignorance so please resist the urge to argue with them. Most of them are happy to remain in ignorance of how good life can really be.

[Rotsu]

I agree. At macmall.com they sell MacBook pro with Win XP installed, i will probably go with that.