windows on a macbook - iPhone 3G

iphonewarrior · 04-17-2008, 01:51 PM

after a major dilemma with a software error, i have upgraded to leopard and i absolutely love it! apart from a few things i wish had come with it but never mind hey!

i'm considering putting windows on my macbook through that boot camp app, i have a copy of windows xp professional (sorry for swearing) and the only reason i require it is for work stuff! and it'd be handy.

i have leopard installed on my external HD just incase something goes wrong again with my system, god forbid! and what i was wondering is can i boot my laptop up through my external HD and partition my external HD and install xp pro on it?

i can navigate my way round my laptop very well, i just want to know if it is do-able!

thanks and sorry if this is a re-post!

Eragon · 04-17-2008, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iphonewarrior

after a major dilemma with a software error, i have upgraded to leopard and i absolutely love it! apart from a few things i wish had come with it but never mind hey!

i'm considering putting windows on my macbook through that boot camp app, i have a copy of windows xp professional (sorry for swearing) and the only reason i require it is for work stuff! and it'd be handy.

i have leopard installed on my external HD just incase something goes wrong again with my system, god forbid! and what i was wondering is can i boot my laptop up through my external HD and partition my external HD and install xp pro on it?

i can navigate my way round my laptop very well, i just want to know if it is do-able!

thanks and sorry if this is a re-post!

No. According to the Boot Camp install guide, Boot Camp assistant works only with the internal disc.

acosmichippo · 04-18-2008, 03:40 AM

correct. really, there is no reason to want to do that anyway... unless you just don't like a chunk of your HD being eaten up by windows... in which case, using software like VMware fusion to run windows within OSX might be better for you.

styfle · 04-18-2008, 03:44 AM

im still laughing at

Quote:

i have a copy of windows xp professional (sorry for swearing)

overbo0st2k4 · 04-25-2008, 12:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iphonewarrior

after a major dilemma with a software error, i have upgraded to leopard and i absolutely love it! apart from a few things i wish had come with it but never mind hey!

i'm considering putting windows on my macbook through that boot camp app, i have a copy of windows xp professional (sorry for swearing) and the only reason i require it is for work stuff! and it'd be handy.

i have leopard installed on my external HD just incase something goes wrong again with my system, god forbid! and what i was wondering is can i boot my laptop up through my external HD and partition my external HD and install xp pro on it?

i can navigate my way round my laptop very well, i just want to know if it is do-able!

thanks and sorry if this is a re-post!

Boot Camp simply does not offer external drives as an option when choosing which drive to install Windows on.

Windows itself is not designed to be installed on an external hard drive, period. The relationship between the MBR and BIOS simply does not allow for this currently. That said, as PCs evolve into using EFI (eventually) as a replacement for BIOS, this may change with time.

However, you can have Parallels or VMWare virtual drives on external hard drives, which may be an option for you.

ritzthekracker · 04-25-2008, 12:59 AM

Hey there I have used both bootcamp and parallels on my mac to run windows and to be quite honest I have found that parallels is a much better option then using bootcamp at least for me it is. Sure you do have to pay for parallels but being able to run both windows and leopard works better then having to shut down and restart just to load windows, and also with parallels you dont have to partition your hard drive. Hope this helps.

iphonewarrior · 04-25-2008, 07:51 AM

thanks for all the help, so where is the easiest place to get this VMware or parallels? and is there some form of guide on how to do it? you know what i'm on about one of them idiots guides! cos i'll end up killing my macbook off!

Eragon · 04-25-2008, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iphonewarrior

thanks for all the help, so where is the easiest place to get this VMware or parallels? and is there some form of guide on how to do it? you know what i'm on about one of them idiots guides! cos i'll end up killing my macbook off!

Go to either vendor's website to download a trial version. If you like it, you can then buy a license key. Installation guides are also available there. In addition, Parallels has a large user support forum:

www.parallels.com
forum.parallels.com

www.vmware.com

IphoneTony · 04-25-2008, 06:41 PM

my brother put windows on his mac book, I made fun of him lol

esco803 · 05-21-2008, 12:11 AM

I recently installed Windows XP Professional (pardon my french), utilizing VMWare Fusion. It was a piece of cake. Now I just take my MacBook with me for training or special assignments. I don't have to lug my huge HP laptop anymore. Because there are certain Windows only programs we use at work, this was great. I only dedicated 10GB of HD for the VMWare partition. It's great being able to work in two different environments. My coworkers are hating on me.