Bootcamp or Parallels for Windows 7

I would like to know, which option is better for installing Windows 7 on iMac ( 500 GB, 4 GB RAM)
1. Bootcamp
2. Parallels
Is there any difference in performance, when Windows 7 is running in both the environments. Mostly I would be using Windows 7 for connecting to my office workstation, surfing Internet and occasionally playing online games. What would be the recommended disk space for bootcamp to install Wondows 7.
Do Apple provide support for Windows hardware drivers?

Open Boot Camp Assistant in your Utilities folder and click on the large Print Documentation button. Read it carefully.
You can find out about Parallels at their website.
Windows on Intel Macs
There are presently several alternatives for running Windows on Intel Macs.
1. Install the Apple Boot Camp software. Purchase Windows XP w/Service Pak2, Vista, or Windows 7. Follow instructions in the Boot Camp documentation on installation of Boot Camp, creating Driver CD, and installing Windows. Boot Camp enables you to boot the computer into OS X or Windows.
2. Parallels Desktop for Mac and Windows XP, Vista Business, Vista Ultimate, or Windows 7. Parallels is software virtualization that enables running Windows concurrently with OS X.
3. VM Fusionand Windows XP, Vista Business, Vista Ultimate, or Windows 7. VM Fusion is software virtualization that enables running Windows concurrently with OS X.
4. CrossOver which enables running many Windows applications without having to install Windows. The Windows applications can run concurrently with OS X.
5. VirtualBox is a new Open Source freeware virtual machine such as VM Fusion and Parallels that was developed by Solaris. It is not as fully developed for the Mac as Parallels and VM Fusion.
Note that Parallels and VM Fusion can also run other operating systems such as Linux, Unix, OS/2, Solaris, etc. There are performance differences between dual-boot systems and virtualization. The latter tend to be a little slower (not much) and do not provide the video performance of the dual-boot system. See MacTech.com's Virtualization Benchmarking for comparisons of Boot Camp, Parallels, and VM Fusion. Boot Camp is only available with Leopard or Snow Leopard. Except for Crossover and a couple of similar alternatives like DarWine you must have a valid installer disc for Windows.
You must also have an internal optical drive for installing Windows. Windows cannot be installed from an external optical drive.

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Bootcamp or Parallels for windows games?

I only use Bootcamp generally to play windows games on my Mac. It is a pain to have to constantly reboot each time to play the game and then switch back to my Mac side and vice versa. I just learned about Parallels for mac. Is it worth it to change to this system to avoid the rebooting? Basically the most important concern: Will the games run as well using Parallels as they do on the Bootcamp only version?
Thanx for any help?

Hi,
Parallels (and VMWare Fusion, too) have only support for DirectX 8.1 with experimental (limited) support for DirectX 9.
Since almost all newer games rely on at least DX9 and DX10, if the hardware supports it, these games simply won't run in Parallels/Fusion.
Nonetheless Parallels/Fusion are great applications for running Windows alongside OSX, but they are not very suitable for gaming in Windows.
Stefan

Bootcamp or Parallels for 3D softwares

Hi.
Need advise on which is better to use, Bootcamp or Parallels for 3D software (Autocad and Vectorworks... max 3 softwares) for my 15 inch MBP (2012) (base model)
Thanks.
S

That convenience comes with a price. And dual boot to run Windows natively is another price!
But in the end you have the option for when you do need to or find the VM just runs too sluggish to be useful.
Depends on amount of RAM at the disposal of the system, the processor (more cores, not just more threads), and even if the VM or Mac or Windows are on an SSD can help too.
A VM is another large app running along Mac OS that is itself running Windows running your CAD or 3D or other apps and processes.
Dynamically assigning RAM and processes is the smart way to allocate but has been slow in reaching the desktop. Servers have done it for years if not decades.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_VMware_Fusion_and_Parallels_Desktop

HT1899 Hi There. Is there a version of BootCamp support software for Windows 8 Customer preview?

Hi There. Is there a version of BootCamp support software for Windows 8 Customer preview as yet?

8 is now Release Preview, not CP, and there is the final release 90-day trial Enterprise which is all cleaned up and ready to use.
So at least someone should be going over with this by now. Things I had that did not work right and unsupported with the Previews are working, but some, a few, need updates.
I don't think most of the issues people have with Mac running 8 are deal breakers or can't be worked around, maybe 2-3 items and heck even 'supported' - if it worked plug and play and no issues... the forum would be dead silent, but it isn't.
Not going to do it again but I have tried to post a consolidated of trackpad, graphics, audio, BT, and other things that get mentioned.
8 won't be ready to buy for full two months.

Using parallels for windows xp on my macbook

Hello. I want to take online GIS classes from ERSI this winter and am thinking about buying parallels to run their software (which is only supported by windows xp or vista). I am basically pretty computer illiterate and am not really sure about the most cost efficient way of setting this up. I know I have to buy parallels (or bootcamp, which is better for this case?), then buy the windows software, then install and hope for no hiccups the GIS training software (which is not supported by the ERSI online team when run on a mac). Has anybody gone through this specific or related procedure before and what kind of results did you have? Is my plan sound? With my tiger operating system do I still have to buy bootcamp, is that better to use than parallels? I don't have any other plans to use windows except maybe to send photos through my hotmail account. I will greatly appreciate any advice and/or direction you can provide. Thank you,
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Hi,
I use Parallels with Windows XP and it runs just fine. I need Windows for one application that is not any where to be found for Macintosh. Follow the Parallels directions for installation and you should have any problems. To use Bootcamp you would need to be running Leopard.

Upgrade to 10.6 plus run Parallels for Windows 7

I am running 10.5.8 on a MacBook Pro a 500 GB hard drive and 4 MB ram.
I would like to:
1. upgrade to MAC 10.6 Snow Leopard
2. Run Windows 7 using Parallels
I am fairly computer literate but I have no experience with virtual machines.
Can anyone recommend a good site where I can learn more about this?
Is there anything I need to do in order to prepare the hard drive to run dual operating systems?
What is the sequence of actions that should be taken to accomplish these two end results?
Thanks
Claire

Hello!
The first thing I would do is the Snow leopard Upgrade. You can purchase the 10.6 disk from the apple store. Make sure you backup your computer before doing this. You never know what surprises can come about.
Dowload the combo back update to 10.6.3 instead of using the update tool. That seemed to work much better for me. The combo updater can be found here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1017
Make sure you are running the latest version of bootcamp. I loaded Windows 7 Pro 64 bit with no problems. It was a smooth installation.
Parallels is great for running the machine within mac. The latest version supports 7 and it works great. You may consider bootcamp if you want 100 % power to windows applications.

Bootcamp or parallels for new macbook pro user

I am about to make the switch from pc and purchase one of the new macbook pros that came out today. I don't fully understand how bootcamp and parallels work yet and which would be better for my needs.
I am an architect and will need to run windows for 3d modeling and rendering occasionally. Most likely I will have to use XP pro since Vista isn't yet supported in my work environment. Although I am used to pc operating systems, I think most of the rest of my work could be done using a mac os. Ideally, I would be able to use both simultaneously, but I have heard that parallels is slow.
any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Hi,
personally I don't use Fusion but Parallels.
Both claim that they can use an existing BootCamp Windows partition for creating their Virtual Machines.
However there are a lot of postings that this worked for one and that this has destroyed the BootCamp Windows for others.
For myself I have a BootCamp Windows XP and Parallels with an old Windows 2000 I had lying around.
If you let Fusion use your BootCamp Windows for creating its VM, then there should be no need to reinstall the Windows programs, although it could happen that you have the reenter serial numbers for these programs.
A reformat is not neccessary since Fusion puts the Virtual machine (which in fact consists of 2-3 files) on your OSX partition.
Given the fact that you most certainly need a BootCamp Windows in order to run your architecture programs, I would propose to this first.
Stefan

Bootcamp and Parallels - Activating windows

Hi Guys,
I know some of you run both Bootcamp and Parallels.
How do you go about activating XP for both bootcamp and parallels at the same time, have any of you seen any problems?
Cheers
Andy

This is not entirely correct. Here's the info from the MacInTouch coverage:
I'm no software licensing expert, but it appears to me, from reviewing the license for Windows Vista Home, Home Premium and Ultimate [license PDF 1] and Windows Vista Business [license PDF 2], that Vista Business and Visa Ultimate (the priciest versions) may be the only versions that can be installed in a virtual machine under, say, Parallels or VMWare's forthcoming solution. Here is the text in the Vista Home and Home Premium licenses which bans the software's use in virtual machines:
"You may not use the software installed on the licensed device within a virtual (or otherwise emulated) hardware system."
A licensed device is a "physical hardware system". Use in Boot Camp would still be OK. Moreover, the licenses for Vista Business and Vista Ultimate allow use in a virtual machine but state that, if you do so, you're not allowed to use any content protected by DRM. It states:
"You may use the software installed on the licensed device within a virtual (or otherwise emulated) hardware system. If you do so, you may not play or access content or use applications protected by any Microsoft digital, information or enterprise rights management technology or other Microsoft rights management services or use BitLocker. We advise against playing or accessing content or using applications protected by other digital, information or enterprise rights management technology or other rights management services or using full volume disk drive encryption."

When using Parallels for Windows 7, I cannot connect to Wi-Fi. I get drop down menu "Real Network Adapter Thunderbolt Bridge used by Virtual Adapter 1 is not connected to the network". How do I fix?

When I try to connect to internet wirelessly (Parallels/Windows 7 on my Mac Pro) I get a drop down that says "Real Network adapter thunderbolt bridge used by virtual adapter 1 is not connected to the network". I can not figure out how to connect - any help is appreciated!

Since you are having trouble with Parallels or Windows, did you ask in their respective support forums? If not, you might want to consider doing so.

Bootcamp trackpad drivers for windows 7 seem to get overwritten.

I'm running windows 7 ultimate on my macbook air 13", partitioned with bootcamp 3.2. I've installed the windows 7 bootcamp drivers and applied the track pad settings, and they work correctly for a while, but then they seem to just vanish. I go back to bootcamp and the tab for track pad settings isn't there. This seems to happen about once a week. At first I thought that windows updates were overwriting the bootcamp drivers, but I've disabled automatic windows updates and the problem still persists. If do a repair install of the bootcamp drivers, it works correctly for a a while. But as I said, I have to reinstall about once per week.
Any suggestions?

I also have a similar issue. Very annoying, and goes away when you reboot.
I can also report that I have unknown devices in the device manager, and no telling hardware failure errors in the event log.
Could you provide a more specific link? That one doesn't go anywhere helpful.

Where do I Download Bootcamp 3.0 for windows

This may be a silly question and I get the feeling the answer will be obvious, But where do I download bootcamp for my windows 7 side I tried to install 3.2 for W7 64bit "http://support.apple.com/kb/DL979" and got an error requires 3.1 downloaded 3.1 "and got an error requires 3.0. All I seem to be able to find are the updates. If anyone can point me in the right direction or tell me what I'm doing wrong pls let me Know.
Cheer Nick

Your right I only read to the page where windows is installed the solution for anyone else is on page 15.
Boot your Mac to windows (Hold "alt" after pressing the on switch then use the arrow keys and return to select the windows side) Insert the OSX 10.6.5 installation disk and open Boot camp and select setup and install boot camp on the windows side if you have a new 10.6.5 this should come with all the updates, if not download the correct update from:
http://support.apple.com/kb/index?page=search&src=supportsite.kbase.search&locale=enUS&q=Boot%20camp%20download
Restart and it all should work yay

Bootcamp control panel for windows vista

i have replaced a hard disk for my macbook pro (2008). when i try to download the windows support driver from bootcamp assistant it fail. then i skip that and straight away install windows vista. how ever it doesnt hv bootcamp contol panel... pls help.

Keep trying, you need it.

Need Bootcamp 2.1 for Windows XP SP3

I installed SP3 on my windows partition and it boots up but the drivers will not install. So I found out I need boot camp 2.1 to use SP3. I need 2.1 to install 2.2, and I need snow leopard to install 3.0. How do I fix this? How can I find Boot Camp 2.1? NOT the 2.1 XP drivers, but the actual Boot Camp 2.1 software so that I can create the partition using 2.1.

I believe that there is just one version of that actual Bootcamp 2 and it is Boot Camp 2.0 that came with your Leopard disk. It includes the Boot Camp 2.0 Windows Drivers. As far as I can tell there is no such thing as Boot Camp 2.1 ro 2.2. Unfortunately, you will find people mixing the terms for Boot Camp and Boot Camp Windows Drivers. There are two updates available for the Boot Camp 2.0 Windows Drivers. You can find them at
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/apple/application_updates/bootcampwindowsx pdriversupdate21.html
and
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/apple/application_updates/bootcampdriversu pdate22forwindows.html
The 2.1 Update actually can be used as a install directly onto BootCamp without the Apple Drivers. The 2.2 Update must have the 2.1 Update already installed.
Boot Camp 3.0 is only for OSX 10 Snow Leopard. At least, that's what I've been told on this discussion group. In any case, you can only get it on a Snow Leopard install disk.
I just went through **** and Back installing Boot Camp 2 on my Mac Book Pro. See the thread in this discussion group at
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2292702&tstart=0
to give you some background on the problems that I was having and the entry I made yesterday to describe the workaround that I was able to find.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2299567&tstart=0
There are Video Adapter problems. Mine was with the Radeon X1600 driver. I don't know whether there are similar problems with other video drivers.
You have an additional problem that I didn't in that you have tried to install the Boot Camp 2.1 Driver Update onto a pre-existing Windows XP SP3. I can't help you with that directly, but I did see a very interesting website during my troubleshooting that I think may help you out at
http://www.macwindows.com/bootcamp.html
There is actually a tip there labeled
"Boot Camp 2.1 and Windows XP SP3
TIP: Fixing Win XP if you accidentally install SP3 before Boot Camp 2.1"
Good Luck. I hope you can solve your problems with less pain than I had to go through.
Dave

Intel Based Mac - Parallels for Windows - Spyware Concern?

Hi all
Having recently acquired the Mac, and become a convert, I've decided to install Parallels and having done so, it seems to work well for running the programmes in XP that we need (Office, occasional use of IE etc). However I do have some security concerns and I understand that I need to get an Anti Virus in place to protect the Windows partition on the hard drive
Not being very technically minded I wonder can anybody explain whether it would be possible for any Spyware which infiltrates the Windows part of the drive to then infiltrate the OS-X part and gather info re passwords etc?
many thanks
BAC
Intel based 24 Mac Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Windows based spyware and such will generally affect Windows based systems and OS not your Mac OS, but you can help spread Windows based malware and infect other Windows users you communicate with by not using any protection. Having said that, it is wise to get some virus software, spyware and software firewall as safety measures.
I too run Windows XP in Parallels, and use AVG antivirus (free personal version), Sygate Personal Firewall (also free) and once in a while run Webroot Spysweeper (usually once a week). This is my exact same setup when i had a dedicated Windows tower and in all my years i never encountered anything malicious.
iMac 17" 2GHZ C2Duo 1GB RAM 160GB HD Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Cannot install Boot Camp 3.2 upgrade for Windows 7 64 bit

I recently installed Windows 7 64 bit on my macbook. I also installed Boot Camp 3.0.1 after Windows 7 installation, however, WiFi did not work. Therefore, I needed to upgrade to the latest Boot Camp 3.2. However, when I tried to install Boot Camp 3.2 upgrade for Windows 7 74 bit, I got an error message saying that I needed Boot Camp 3.1 installed first. I CANNOT find Boot Camp 3.1 upgrade for Windows 7 64 bit on Apple website at all. Can someone please help me on this? Is there a way to get the complete Boot Camp 3.2 package that can simply be installed on version 3.0.1??

here is the link to bootcamp 3.1 for windows 7 64 bit http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1336 .. and no there is no package that can be applied to the windows side to go from 3.0.1 to 3.2

Bootcamp or Parallels for Windows 7

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