Help Please. Bootcamp installation error. Mac newbie

Question

Hello.
I just bought a brand new 24" iMac about two weeks ago. Downloaded BootCamp beta today, updated all software and firmware. Installed bootcamp, installed Windows Media Center 2005 SP2. Before that I created a new 32gb partition to keep the FAT system the same. This is my first Mac, I love OS X, unfortunately I need to run ESRI GIS software which is only PC compatible. Anyway, Windows installs, I try ejecting the CD, and it would not ehect. I restarted the computer to go back to OS X, but the disc never ejected, and it reads off the installation disc. I can not boot OS X now. How can I get the disc out, without OS X? And/Or what should I do to safe the least amount of hassle. I installed this POS OS on its own partition. I am very windows and computer literate, but this one just seems to scratch my head. My nervous than anything, spent over $2700 said and done, and I don't feel like problems within two weeks already. Any help would be appreciated. Thank You

Answer 1

NL4J wrote:
Awesome links. Also helped me. I sold my powerbook g4 before because of terrible it was to run virtual pc ... now debating if I should do bootcamp or parallels option ... probably going with parallels ...
Smart idea: My advice is to install BootCamp (with fat partition/Vol) but use Parallels with that as its Win Drive.
*Virtual pc is an Emulator which is utterly different technology and with heavy overheads.*
Don't believe most of the negative stuff you'll read here about parallels - it's almost all wrong/caused by misunderstanding.
Pre-leopard (which i don't use) BootCamp is BETA. Don't trust it.
Use parallels and have it use the Windows Partition.
It's not emulation - in most case it's stable, megafast flexible and reliable.
It is 'Virtualisation - a technology around in Mainframes for years and the Virtual Machine approach is the way of the future (on most platforms):
one example : people have argued for VM Fusion (or BootCamp) over Parallells because 'Parallels only uses one processor and VM will use 2 - or 4.. and 'BootCamp is 'Native'....
Wrong.
VM will use 2 - but in doing so usually slows the Mac down unnecessarily - with Parallels, The VM gets one or more processor/cores... the OS X Stream usually gets its own one or more processors/cores...
Parallels IS 'Native'Intel.
*BootCamp (pre-Leopard) is BETA*. (=no support... and you'll get little when it isn't because BETA almost all your problems will be with "third party products" like Windoze or Windoze Apps doing truly stoopid things.. I doubt you can get much M$ support for running windoze under BootCamp or any of the VM solutions... not that you get much M$ support anyway
*Apple are never really going to support Windoze - why shd they: NOT their product... Vice versa.*
Parallels is usually faster than fusion VM and often faster than booting into windoze.
(Exceptions : fancy 3d grafix cards - just a driver issue - which is still an issue with the others anyway and is being upgraded all the time)
Otherwise, It's often even faster than equivalent 'Native Windoze' Boxen (no I don't really know why either ... .
Parallels and other VM products allow you to run multiple VMs: 95, 98,XP,Vista,Linux... at supa high speed and all in their own windows while OS X continues 'doing its stuff'!!
Amazing stuff: If you have any brains these days, you really only need to buy ONE PC: a good Intel Mac, and run the best set up & optimised VM product you can find, and whatever OSs you fancy!
For my money - ATM, that's a Mac with windoze partitions on drives and a top quality VM product like Parallels...
(A lot of 'non technical' ppl simply don't 'get' this stuff... wikipedia can help, google reviews, benchmarks etc.. - e.g. grab a fast Flash drive.. format as HFS+ and use from OS X => as fast as possible. Format as Windoze, use on/from Mac and it may be 10 times as slow, V/V and so on....)
With OS X, Parallels, correctly-formatted Win Drives, correctly setup and optimised you really have the best of all possible worlds. BUT: stay in the Mac world. DON'T use rubbishy windoze programs that were NOT designed to work in a Virtualised environment (MacDrive etc etc) or you will get probs (use TCP/IP Networking or Shared folders etc instead - not that you really need much of anything like MacDrive, anyway the Mac & VM can read and write all that...)
My ('post College') Kids all switched to Macs set up this way.
They only ever use BottCamp for some games.
They do have Parallels but rarely need to use any Windoze stuff anyway.. - oh and 'They are SO Cool" and "we love them.."
They'll never go back (sell yr M$oft shares short
Best of luck.