Windows software on Mac

I recently purchased a MacBook Air (1.8GHz, 80GB HDD) principally for accessing reference software and PDF files in when away from the desktop.
Most refence software is available in OS X, with one notable exception; Encarta.
I would like to run Encarta 2008 student on the MBA, but Microsoft doesn't produce Encarta in OS X format.This would mean using bootcamp, VMFusion or Parallels. I am unsure of the negative performance impact of using VMFusion or Parallels - does anyone have experience of using either VMFusion or Parallels on a MBA?
Thanks.

Hi and welcome to Discussions,
Apple provides BootCamp as part of OSX to partition and install Windows on their Macs.
See here: http://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/
Another way to install and use Windows on a Mac is the useage of a virtualization app like Parallels; VMWare Fusion or VirtualBox.
All of these have the advantage over BootCamp that you can run Windows alongside OSX, whereas BootCamp requires a reboot of the Mac to run Windows.
Hope it helps
Stefan

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How to use a specific windows software on Mac

Hi all,
I have (and love) a new Macbook Air, having switched from years of PC use.
Ran into a hiccup as I do a few hours of teaching a week though a company called Talkbean (http://tutor.talkbean.com/displayEng.do?cmd=siteMain) and they have specific software I have downloaded....which I now find it only compatible with windows.
I've read through other topics and see that using boot camp (and other programs) I could also run windows on my MBA....but I'd prefer not to do that if I can avoidit - I don't need anything else other than this piece of software a few hours a week. Also don't fancy purchasing windows after just forking out for a new laptop!
The likes of Crossover and Virtual box look more appealing, but seem to be aimed at gaming (maybe I'm wrong!) and unsurprisingly the software I need is not on their lists. I'm struggling to figure it out myself. Would one of these programs be suitable for using this piece of software?
Any help at all sooo much appreciated!

CrossOver is a program that lets you run some Windows software withhout installing Windows. The emphasis is on some. At their website Crossover rates the supported software on a scale from Bronze to Gold - if the program you need to run is supported at the Gold standard you will probably be okay. Silver and Bronze ratings means the rated Windows software will run but with glitches or even missing functionality. (Silver being better support than Bronze, obviously.)
Virtualization solutions such as VirtualBox (or the more capable and feature laden Parallels Desktop and VMWare Fusion) let you install another operating system (and software) to use at the same time as you use your Mac software. It is a nifty solution and while virtualization isn't quite as fast as running an OS totally native (BootCamp) the speed hit isn't all that significant and affects graphics rendering more than anything else.
I'm an IT instructor and software trainer and about 80% of this work involves Windows software. I do it using a Mac computer running Windows in Parallels Desktop. If it weren't for the Apple logo on my notebook no one would know I'm using a Mac - and the notebook in virtualization feels faster than the cheap Dell computers we use.

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Windows software for mac

What software should I install in order to operate windows programs that are not compatible with Mac?

There are two common methods of installing and using Windows on Apple computers.
1. Use Bootcamp Assistant to create a Bootcamp partition onto which you install Windows. http://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/
Using this method segragates Windows and OSx. You boot your computer into either Windows or OSx depending on which you want to use. Bootcamped Windows will be able to use all your computer's resources when it is running.
2. Use a virtual machine like Parallels, Fusion, or VirtualBox to install Windows.
This method is easier. OSx and Windows are running at the same time so your computer's resources are shared between the operating systems when they are running.
If you want to use graphics or CPU intensive programs, select method 1 since Windows will then have full access to the computer's resources.

Change windows software for MAC or run with windows

Hi
I have a new macbook pro and unopened versions of Photoshop elements 8 and Serif pageplus and Serif webplus. I am wondering if I should
1.buy windows 7 to run these applications (serif don't have a mac compatible version)
2. Return the elements for a mac version
3. Return all and swich to mac based software as I am about to start new business requiring website and publishing and that is what MAC is renonwed for. Am I missing a trick trying to use windows programmes for what MAC is specialised in? Would appreciate any help as fairly new to this

Websites: you probably will NEED to run Windows in a VM just to check out how it looks and that it works in Windows anyway.
And no one can really answer, though you are locked into Mac software that supports 10.6.
So run both. Run each off its own partition, and run Windows concurrently in a VM.

Impossible to download the Windows Software for Mac

Since a month Im trying to have my windows 7 partition on my mac pro, Ive tried everything...the most I got was to install windows but couldnt do anything, I had no wifi , etc because I couldnt load the Mac software for windows ...impossible to download from Apple, had always the server error. I dont have the Mountain Lion CD either.
Does anyone have a tip for this...
thanks

There is no Mountain Lion CD.
The only way to get the Windows Support Software is from within Bootcamp Assistant. When you run Bootcamp Assistant select only the menu item to Download the Windows Support Software. Be patient. The download servers are extremely slow. It may take several hours to complete the download. Do not interrupt the download.

How to read out License Keys of Windows Software on Macs?

Hi everyone,
good day to you all, i doubt that this question really fits into this Topic perfectly but i didn't know where else to post it. I hope that you can help me out with this, i have a problem that i have a number of Macs ranging from Minis to various Books, most of these are fittet out with MS Office Licenses (2004 & 2008) which i all have stored in a locker here but unfortunately some of the Licenses werent labeled and now i don't know how to find out which licence is istalled on which Mac? Do you know of any Software (or any other Solution other then deinstallling all and then reinstalling all ) that would help me out with this?
Lots of thanks in advance for your help and best wishes from here,
D. from Munich

i didn't know where else to post it.
Microsoft's own forums for their Mac products: http://www.officeformac.com/productforums

Professional CAD-Software for Mac

I intend to buy an IMac G5 soon, but I´m worried that there will be no serious CAD-Software available for Mac - such as Autocad, Rhinoceros or 3D-Studio...i really nead that programms cause i´m working as an architect.
Can someone tell me whether there is a possibillity to run all my Windows Software on Mac platform, cause i heard that emulation software makes Windows Progs so slow?
Thanks
Markus, Germany

You will not like trying to run any graphics program via virtual PC. This site is devoted to the mac-using architecture/design community:
http://www.architosh.com/

Can I use Remote Desktop to run Windows software from my Mac

Here's what I want to do:
1) Set up a small office LAN with an Apple Xserve as the file server; clients are mostly iMacs but a few PCs.
2) There are one or two software apps I need that exist only in the Windows world (such as a good document comparison software like DeltaView).
3) I want to have one dedicated PC for my one or two essential Windows apps and then run Remote Desktop Connection on my Mac client to launch the Windows app on the PC client and use it to edit or otherwise manipulate a data file stored on the server.
Is this possible?

Thanks for your prompt reply.
OK, maybe I'm missing something basic but then why would I ever want to run Windows network in my office? The bugbear about Macs is that there is certain Windows software for which there is no good Mac equivalent. But you are telling me that as long as I have a couple of Windows boxes, I can run my Windows software on them through my Mac, even though the data files are stored on an separate box (an Xserve).
Now, for the $64 question -- is it possible to set up a network in such a way that I could use RDC on my PowerBook in, say, Chicago to run the software installed on the Windows box and in turn to open and manipulate the files stored on the Xserve in my office, halfway across the world in Abu Dhabi? Would this be a particularly difficult configuration?
Thanks,
DXB Law

Can I use windows software on my mac?

May seem like a silly question, but when I purchased my macbook, I was told that I could reserve a portion of the harddrive to run windows software. I need to run Quickbooks Pro that I have in windows form. How do I load it onto my macbook???

Ok, several ways.
Apparently, there's a wine-like solution for Mac, so you can run windows software from within Mac OS X. Expect it to be somewhat buggy and imperfect though, and it might not run some software. It's coming out soon as far as I know. I saw in on MacRumors a while ago.
Then there's the Apple solution called Boot Camp. What it does is just allow you to dual boot. It means you will actually be running windows on the machine.
And then a new user favorite, is using machine emulation, it emulates a second machine inside the current machine allowing you to run Windows inside Mac OS X. It's very memory-hungry, though, and somewhat slower usually. Look into Parallels and QEMU.

I would like to know which app/software in MAC gives us the same feature that is provided by System Restore in Windows, and how does that work

I would like to know which app/software in MAC gives us the same feature that is provided by System Restore in Windows, and how does that work.

Time Machine is one such program, although it is a recursive backup program which offers limited archive capability, based on the capacity of the backup destination, and it requires you set it up before you start editing your files. Some programs are also Versions aware, which offers a kind of restore capability by file. Again needs to be setup before you start editing.
Just a for-your-info:
Mac is not an acronym, it is a nickname for Macintosh.

How to convert an ipod with Windows software installed to Mac operation

I have a 20MB ipod which has windows software on it. It is very hard to load songs onto as I can only see the ICON on the desktop and not in itunes and this way they don't seem to properly mount! I have a 12" ibook that I connect it to. I can't seem to follow how one is supposed to wipe the Windows OS (or whatever) off the ipod and install the Mac one ?!?!? Am I trying to do the impossible? A step-by-step answer would be soooooo appreciated.
12" ibook Mac OS X (10.4.2)

Information on the iPod not appearing in iTunes is available in this article. To reformat the iPod for Mac, open a new Finder window and click the Applications icon in the sidebar; from here, open Utilities and then iPod Software Updater. Locate the most recent version of the iPod updater inside, open it, and click the Restore button with the iPod connected. Doing this will change the iPod into the Mac format and erase everything currently on it.
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HT3986 i made a dual boot of windows 7 and mac os x lion in my macbook pro .i installed microsoft support software also. now, can i install windows updates? do i turn on the automatic updating of updates?

i made a dual boot of windows 7 and mac os x lion in my macbook pro .i installed m icrosoft support software also. now, can i install windows updates? do i turn on the automatic updating of updates?

yes you need the updates and patches.
Only some of the drivers that Windows will automatically install at times
and always make sure to insure it is using restore points
do all the maintenance andsuch as normal
use MS Security Essentials for AV is really top notch
Clean disk space
Use WinClone new program to inisure you have a restore image

I made a dual boot of windows 7 and mac os x lion in my macbook pro .i installed m icrosoft support software also. now, can i install windows updates? do i turn on the automatic updating of updates? does hot fix of microsoft helps in stop freezing?

i made a dual boot of windows 7 and mac os x lion in my macbook pro .i installed m icrosoft support software also. now, can i install windows updates? do i turn on the automatic updating of updates? does hot fix of microsoft i.e, " support.microsoft.com/kb/979491" helps in stop freezing in dual boot mechanism?

Windows has a software updater built into Windows and when you install the Boot Camp drivers then it will install an Apple software updater also. I believe Windows is set to automatically download and install your updates as does the Apple software Updater. They both will update the individual files it needs to periodically.
"Microsoft updates" and "Windows updates" are basically the same thing in Windows. Are you talking about the "Windows support software" when downloading from Boot Camp Assistant? Apple installs a software updater for it's Boot Camp drivers in Windows 7 so you can do it manually or automatically.
The "Hot Fix" your referring to is only for certain motherboards built from other Windows only computer manufacturers and does NOT pertain to any Apple computers.
If you have a problem with your computer then it's best to ask a specific question so we can help better.

What is the best USB powered portable 1TB hard drive for a macbook pro that allows Time machine to work, windows (thru Parallels software) and mac storage and is available in Australia?

What is the best USB powered portable 1TB hard drive for a macbook pro that allows Time machine to work, windows (thru Parallels software) and mac storage and is available in Australia?

I agree with teh OWC sggestion above, but why must it be USB powered? I find that far more unreliable, and the low power devices slow.
I'd frankly get a good external enclosure and buy a bare drive. But the OWC stuff is quite good - vastly better than some of the majors (WD being aprime example of stuff that's boderline quality and often not compatible)
Grant

Windows software on Mac

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