Partitioning-Use BootCamp, Parallels or VMware

I need non-technical advise on whether to use bootcamp, parallels or the other software like parallels (VMware?). Every time I call Applecare for another reason, I ask the question and get a different answer every time. I need to finish setting up my iMac. I need the PC side for a few programs such as Office, Quicken, Quickbooks only. Otherwise I am using all the Mac applications on the other side of the partition.

You have two options in this regard: Option one is to install Windows on your Boot Camp partition. Parallels will then create a VM using the Windows system installed on your Boot Camp partition.
Option two is to remove the Boot Camp partition using Boot Camp Assistant. Install a new Windows system using Parallels. Parallels will then create a disc image file on your hard drive that will be used as the Windows drive.
If you use Option one then you have a fallback in case the Boot Camp Windows or the Parallels Windows fails to work.
For your stated purposes running Windows exclusively in Parallels seems the right option because you can have Windows running concurrently with OS X so you can use your PC applications right alongside your OS X applications seamlessly.

Similar Messages

Partition using Bootcamp and Windows 7

Hi
Would it be a good approach to partition using Bootcamp then install Windows 7? Later I plan to install Parallells. Can it be down this way or should I install Parallels first, then Windows 7?
Thank you.

You may have to see about using the Recovery HD partition to attempt to erase and restore useful function of the capacity lost to the former Windows installation.
And you may have to backup your contents outside the computer to do it. Disk Utility on the Mac OS X historically has not been able to touch a BootCamp created partition; so if BootCamp cannot remove it, then you have to see how to do the equivalent of a reformat of the entire drive (less Recovery partition?) then reinstall your OS X. Maybe from internet recovery, then get your applications, etc from the Mac App store, etc.
A complete system clone of your OS X on an external HDD would be another method to restore after reformat, of the portion you want whole again, not necessarily the space where Recovery may live.
There may be (an)other way(s).
Perhaps someone with recent experience
in this matter can reply & discuss options.
With my antiques, they almost know what I want before I tell them.
Hopefully yours will after you talk to it awhile.
Good luck & happy computing!

Error in Restoring the HDD partition using BootCamp assist

This is regarding error in restoring the HDD partition using BootCamp assist. Yesterday I was trying to instal Windows 8.1 Pro on my Mac Mini.
Started had installing windows software using Boot Camp assist using the USB flash drive
Took the back of Windows Support software from Apple store
Did the HDD partitioning for Windows,
Then went ahead to install the windows and automatically machine restarted.
After few minutes started installing Windows... and stuck for more than 3hrs at by displaying the blue screen of Windows installation... and inactive
I had restarted the using start button, and finally I could not able to install Windows.
Then I got black screen with message ' No boot disk, please insert boot the disk and press any key to restart'
I have restarted using start button by holding 'Alt' key
Finally I could able to started machine with OS X
Now I wanted to remove the partition created above, using Boot Camp assist, but it is not able to do it. There is error message ' Error while restoring the hard disk'
Any help, how to remove this partitioning? Also in every restart I need to hold 'Alt' key to boot the machine with OS X.
-Narsimloo Begari

if you've tried and cannot remove the partition with boot camp assistant, you'll have to open disk utility and reformat the partition there - choose mac journaled and then try to combine this partition back into your existing Mac partition

Grow Windows Partition using BootCamp or 3rd party application

Hi,
My client is using a MacBook Pro with Mac OS X Leopard and Windows Vista 32 bit. The client uses Windows most of the time.
My question is, can I grow the Windows Partition using BootCamp or a 3rd party app without having to reinstall Windows?

Hi,
best way to enlarge the BootCamp partition is the useage of WinClone http://twocanoes.com/winclone/ which also is a great backup app for BootCamp Windows.
Here are the step-by-step instructions on how-to do this: http://www.twocanoes.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=515 (Under *My current Windows partition is the wrong size, and I want to make it larger. How do I do this?* )
Other applications which claim that hey can resize BootCamp Windows partitions are iPartition and Drive Genius, but I never have used them.
Regards
Stefan

Brand new iMac, can't partition using Bootcamp

I just got a 27" 1TB brand new iMac three days ago. After copying over all my files from my previous computer (PC), installing some software packages and configured the Mac the way I want it, yesterday I wanted to partition 80GB out of remaining 330GB with bootcamp to install Windows 7. After one hour it stopped with an error message that it wasn't able to move some files and I would need to re-format the HD and start again.
Is there really no other way? It took me two days to get to where I am.

Did you use the Boot Camp Assistant to partition the drive?
BTW you should be posting in Boot Camp forum located at:
http://discussions.apple.com/category.jspa?categoryID=237
Roger

When I create a windows partition using bootcamp will it reformat my entire harddrive?

Basically I'm wondering if I should install windows on my macbook pro, or not install windows on my macbook pro. Main concern is listed in the header.

It is not *supposed* to.
But make a bootabe clone (CarbonCopyClone or SupderDuper) before, just in case, on a self-powered external disk that is 2x the internal drive.
CarbonCopyClone makes a base-image backup fist, then copies only changes for each next backup. Free download.
SuperDuper makes a complete clone each time for the free download, or an incrmental like CCC if you pay $30.
Bootable clones can boot using the "option" key at startup if something goes wrong and then re-clone back to internal.

Question about Parallels using Bootcamp partition

I was about to install XP on bootcamp but i would mainly be using parallels to run XP from the bootcamp partition. What i was wondering is that if i was to make any changes to xp like install a software and create a new folder through parallels, would it reflect on the actual bootcamp partition when i load into the actual XP partition using bootcamp? Basically, do the changes made to windows using parallels carry over to the bootcamp partition given you are using the bootcamp partition on parallels?
Thanks

Thanks a lot. While i am at it, if i use the bootcamp partition with Parallels, i cannot suspend the VM right?
Parallels will behave the same, whether it has its own copy of Windows, or is using that on the Boot Camp partition.
The only difference is backup. If you use Parallels with Windows in a disk image file (Preferably a sparse bundle), Windows can be backed up with Time Machine. If Windows is on its own partition, Time Machine can't handle it.

Using Parallels, would like to use bootcamp instead, but I don't know how?

Hi guys.
I have a MBP 15" late 2011 ( the one before retina display model) os x 10.7.5, upgraded RAM to 16GB.
I've installed parallels desktop 7 and used Windows 7 through it.
I am aware that using parallel windows means the RAM and processing power is share between 2 os... am I right?
I would like to play some games that I can only play on Windows, and I guess using bootcamp will be better, because processing power is not shared.
In this case, how do I 'install' my Windows on bootcamp?
I know my MBP has bootcamp pre-installed, all I wonder is would installing it on parallels first affect my switch to bootcamp.
I've heard of some case...
People used bootcamp at the beginning, and switched to use parallels, that means the parallel windows is still from bootcamp partition.
What about my case... parallels first and then bootcamp (never activate bootcamp until now) Do i need to somehow reinstall my windows to bootcamp partition??
Sorry for my poor English

ararar010101 wrote:
I am aware that using parallel windows means the RAM and processing power is share between 2 os... am I right?
You are right.
ararar010101 wrote:
People used bootcamp at the beginning, and switched to use parallels, that means the parallel windows is still from bootcamp partition.
What about my case... parallels first and then bootcamp (never activate bootcamp until now) Do i need to somehow reinstall my windows to bootcamp partition??
Parallels and VMware Fusion allows you to convert your Boot Camp volume into a virtual machine, so you can run OS X and the Windows copy you have in the Boot Camp volume at the same time. However, in your case, everything is more difficult, because you have to install Windows onto the Boot Camp volume.
First, make a backup of your data with Time Machine or Carbon Copy Cloner. You wouldn't be the first one that deletes the OS X volume by mistake and lose everything.
Then, open  > Software Update, and install all the updates. After that, open "Boot Camp Assistant", in /Applications/Utilities) and follow its steps to install Windows. Make sure you tick the option to download the Windows support software, and you will need a DVD or USB drive to burn it. When it finishes, your computer will restart from the Windows DVD, and follow these steps > http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/boot_camp_install-setup_10.7.pdf

Is it safe to format and reinstall partition while using bootcamp?

I've got a macbook pro running OSX 10.9. Currently, I have my drive partitioned using bootcamp. I would really like to format and reinstall the apple side of my partition without doing anything to windows side. Is there anything to be worried about or will the formatting and reinstilation be the same as normal?

It will not disturb Boot Camp. Do this:
Install or Reinstall Mavericks, Lion/Mountain Lion from Scratch
Be sure you backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive because the following procedure will remove everything from the hard drive.
Boot to the Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
Erase the hard drive:
1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.
2. After DU loads select your startup volume (usually Macintosh HD) from the
      left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
3. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Optionally, click on
      the Security button and set the Zero Data option to one-pass. Click on
      the Erase button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion, Mavericks: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion, Mavericks and click on the Install button.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible
            because it is three times faster than wireless.

Using bootcamp to create a partition.

How do you create a partition using bootcamp without installing windows? I'm using lion and trying to install Windows XP. I heard you can do it this way.

There is a long discussion in this forum about installing XP with Lion.
IMHO, it is not worth the effort. Does not work 100%. There are no drivers or support for Lion and XP. XP is at end of life, insecure, and not supported even by Microsoft.
Search this forum for XP and Lion.

When installing Windows 7 using Bootcamp, expanding windows files gets stuck at 65%?

I was installing Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit on my Macboom Pro Retina with Bootcamp, and when it reached the "expanding windows files" stage, it got stuck at 0%. I waited a few minutes, and the percentage began to increase until it got to 65%, at which it stopped again. I left it for a while, but after coming back nearly an hour later, it was still stuck at 65%, so I canceled the installation by clicking the close button of the installation window. It froze after that. I could move my cursor, but I couldn't click anything. I got impatient and held down the power button to shut it down manually. When I restarted the Mac, it played the normal startup sound then went to a black screen with a blinking dash symbol in the upper left corner. It's now stuck on this screen. I'm scared I might have really screwed up my computer. What do I do?

Edit: Fixed it by just holding down the option key when it restarted. Don't know why I didn't think of that before. I also removed the partial Windows download and the whole Windows disc partition using Bootcamp.
I think the reason why it didn't work is because I used an OEM version of Windows 7, which is to say I bought the licence key off of some website for $35 and they emailed me with the key and an .iso of Windows 7. I read somewhere that using OEMs with Bootcamp is not recommended. But that leads me to another problem - I really do want Windows on my Mac since I have some programs that would only run on Windows and I bought PhotoShop Elements 12 for the Windows platform and to switch platforms I would need to upgrade to 13, which costs almost as much as buying the original. And I don't want to go buy a proper Windows installation disc, that would mean wasting the $35 I already spent.
So is there any way I can actually install Windows safely with my OEM version of it?

Having problem installing Win7 using Bootcamp on Mac Mini 2011

I'm trying to install Win7 using bootcamp on my new Mac Mini 2011. I first partitionned the disc using Bootcamp assistant. Then during Win7 installation I select Partition 4 BOOTCAMP, format it to NTFS, then when I try to select the drive, it says that the drive is not compatible for the installation.
Is there anything I missed???
Thanks

I had a similar problem when I selected upgrade instead of complete install. I want to make sure your aware that you should click the complete option instead of upgrade when you reach that portion of the win7 install. Then you need to select part ion 4 like you have stated and format it to ntfs.
But it seems that you've already done all of that. My advice would be to go back to the Mac side, restore the partition using bootcamp and again partition it. You need at least 25gb of space for 64 bit. I would recommend using at least 40gb. Just trying to help. I apologize if I misunderstood your problems. But make sure you click on the opposite choice of upgrade, I did my mini last night lol but I can't remember the exact name of the option I think it's complete, then select part 4 and click format....

Can't create Windows partition with BootCamp

When I try to create Windows partition with BootCamp I get the same error, no matter what size the partition is set to : "This disk cannot be partitioned because some files cannot be moved" and then keeps giving instructions about formatting the disk as a single partition (after performing a full backup I assume), and then try using BootCamp again.
Does that mean I have to erase and reinstall OS X to be able to do that ? Cause I just did that and I have the same problem. I'm not reinstalling again, it took me an entire day to reinstall all my softwares and run all the updates... Plus it reminds me too much of my Windows days... I'm not supposed to do that on a Mac anyway
Back to the topic... are there any services that need to be stopped during partitioning ? Any software installed that could prevent that ?
What could cause this problem ?

Weird thing is I had no trouble making a partition using BootCamp before I restored OS X, and I had the same softwares installed... or maybe I did that before I installed some of them... Could this be related to any software I have installed ?
And judging by your suggestions I would say that the "iDefrag" option is the only way out of the two to make this work. Sounds a little extreme if you ask me... What happens on the first attempt of creating the partition that would make me choose backing up and/or defragmenting ? ... You don't have to answer that if it's too complicated...
Same thing happened on my other MBP... so as far as I'm concerned, I can only restore one more time and try to make the partition right after first startup. If that fails, then it means it could have been software related... Or maybe restore again, install one more software/utility I use and try partitioning again... and again, and again, until it fails...that way I'll know what caused it...
Just kidding...
Thank you for the suggestions anyway !

Parallel vs VMware

Im thinking of using virtual machine on my MBP.
Im going to use Windows XP SP3
- for works (Office, PDF & MindManager)
- web surfing
- little gaming (Flash games)
- internet calling
- chatting (Yahoo! Messenger, Skype)
So which one should I use? Parallel or VMware?
After I install Windows XP on virtual machine, do I need to do anything?

Go to mactech.com and look for their report comparing each. Also see:
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 Pak 2, 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.
6. Last is Q. Q is a freeware emulator that is compatible with Intel Macs. It is much slower than the virtualization software, 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. The Boot Camp Beta that was used with Tiger has expired and is no longer available for use. So contrary to the other poster's comment, Boot Camp isn't truly "free." You must purchase Leopard or Snow Leopard to get it.
Message was edited by: Kappy

I currently run Windows 7 on my iMac using the Parallels software on a Virtual Machine. I now wish to use Windows through bootcamp. How do I remove windows from the Virtual Machine

I currently run Windows 7 on my Imac through a Virtual Machine format with the Parallels software. I now wish to remove Windows from the VM restore the Hard Drive to a single partition then install windows 7 using bootcamp. How do I go about it

The virtual machine isn't a partition on your hard drive, it's just a file. You can delete the vm by going into Paralells preferences or just drag t to the trash. Bootcamp will partition your hard drive for a Win 7 install.

Partitioning-Use BootCamp, Parallels or VMware

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