Apple Boot Camp, the real solution to installing Windows on Intel Mac computers
Well, I suppose it was only a matter of time but Apple has released a public beta for a new piece of software called Boot Camp. According to the press release issued today (April 5th, 2006), this beta application is being introduced because of the high demand by users to run Windows on Intel Mac machines.
Holy crap. Methinks hell has frozen over. It almost seems like that contest to make Intel Mac machines boot Windows — you know, the one where narf2000 and whats-his-name won $13K — is a bit of wasted time and money. Then again, that contest could be the catalyst that prompted action on the part of Apple.
The press release mentions that this is beta software and Windows is not supported nor will it ever be supported by Apple Computer Inc. Also, Apple is clear to say that Boot Camp will be a new feature in the upcoming Leopard OS X 10.5.
Current system requirements are:
- an Intel-based Mac
- Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.6
- 10GB of free hard disk space
- A blank recordable CD
- A legally owned copy of Windows XP, Service pack 2 Home or Professional edition
Apple is careful to note that the HD will need to be partitioned before Windows is installed. They also point out that once Windows is installed on your Mac the Windows portion will be susceptible to any virus that any other install of Windows is susceptible to. Better buy yourselves a copy of some anti-virus software first kids.
In the end, it almost seems like Apple just put a pretty face on the exact same solution narf2000 and blanka created for us. While their solution seems pretty straightforward, this is going to spread like wildfire. Every Mac geek out there that thought of trying the previous solution but didn’t want to go through all the steps before is definitely going to give this a go.
Early on, with the solution narf and blanka had, there were also problems depending on which machine you were trying to install Windows on as well. You can guarantee that with Apple building this solution it will work on all Intel-based Mac machines right out of the box.
We surely do live in interesting times I tell you. This is really making me want to get an Intel Mac but I must be strong and wait for at least revision B or later of the Intel Mac desktops. If you download this and install it, let us know how it works and what your experience was like.
I forgot to mention that unlike the previous solution, Boot Camp offers Mac-specific drivers for graphics, networking, audio, Airport, Bluetooth, the Eject key, and brightness control for built-in displays. Sweeeeeeet.
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Colin D. Devroe on April 5th, 2006 9:53 am
Being the new owner of an Intel iMac, I’m definitely going to give this a shot when I get the chance. It would be nice to completely rid my house of PC’s.
Jeff Smith on April 5th, 2006 10:16 am
I really want to do this, I just can’t bring myself to do it though. It just seems like a lot of work, considering the only Windows app I really miss is Sim Golf. Having to repartition is the kicker for me. I’ll pass.
Joshua on April 5th, 2006 10:23 am
My biggest need for Windows is browser testing, and since we won’t likely be seeing Virtual PC running on x86 OSX, this is the next best thing.
Jeff Smith on April 5th, 2006 10:25 am
Solitaire, Mine Sweeper, and RAM hogging anti-virus programs were always my favorite Windows applications.
Colin D. Devroe on April 5th, 2006 10:29 am
Time to try Battlefield 2 on my MacBook Pro!
Bwana on April 5th, 2006 10:50 am
Jeff: While this is an alternative for Virtual PC, I can’t see myself installing Boot Camp simply for browser testing. Every time I would want to test a site I would have to shut down, restart in Windows, check the site, then reboot back into Mac OS. Too much work for testing a design in IE. I’d much rather ask a few friends to send me screenshots or use one of the browsercam sites.
Joshua: Until Apple shows us the virtualization software they’re working on, Boot Camp — in my opinion at least — is a stop gap for the gamers, die-hard Windows users and switchers. I see this as a taste of what Leopard will bring us and the direction Apple is heading.
Mike Stickel on April 5th, 2006 10:54 am
Mike: You’re quite right about having to restart each time. However, I’m finding my boot times for OSX much faster on my iMac than previously on my Powerbook, so that’s not a huge issue for me. I usually save all my IE testing until the end anyway, so flipping back and forth between OS’s isn’t much of an issue.
Also, I use SVN for all of my projects so it would be quite easy to do an ’svn update’ from within Windows (TortoiseSVN) so I could work on my project while testing in IE/Win and Firefox/Win.
However, I do realize that this won’t be a reasonable solution for everyone, and maybe after I get it up and running I’ll change my tune as well.
Jeff Smith on April 5th, 2006 11:21 am
God I wish I had an Intel Mac. Not for the ability to use Basecamp, but for the raw speed improvements…
I’m holding out for a 12″ Macbook Pro that can power a 20″ display at high resolutions.. Oh, and that doesn’t try to burn the house down.
Colin D. Devroe on April 5th, 2006 11:29 am
I was going to go for the Macbook Pro, but for the limited power I need when I’m on the road, my trusty old Powerbook does the trick.
Jeff Smith on April 5th, 2006 11:36 am
Jeff: In that case it looks like you have a great solution against all my caveats. Let me know how it turns out.
Mike Stickel on April 5th, 2006 11:41 am
Whoops, Basecamp was supposed to be bootcamp above. Too much Whitespace reading I guess.
Colin D. Devroe on April 5th, 2006 11:41 am
Wallstreet is going nuts. Apple’s stock up 7% and rising.
Bwana on April 5th, 2006 11:58 am
Mike: Will do. I’ll probably tackle it this weekend when I get a spare minute. I plan on documenting the process on my blog for others to read as well.
Jeff Smith on April 5th, 2006 12:09 pm
Apple Releases Boot Camp, Puts Smile on My Face
Apple released a beta application called Boot Camp, which will be included as a final in OS X 10.5, Leopard. Boot Camp, simply put, lets you create a boot disc with all the proper Windows drivers so you can safely install Windows XP on your Intel Mac….
PaulStamatiou.com on April 5th, 2006 1:48 pm
It seems like Apple is listening to my thoughts or something. I was looking into getting an Intel iMac, but was kind of holding off until some sort of XP Dual Boot (aside from the hacked stuff out there) would come out. Now it seems I can get it as soon as I get the cash. I miss my Counter-Strike and other games! This will be the perfect solution for me: a nice new Intel iMac for doing anything valuable, and when I want to rot my mind, I’ll switch over to XP and get to gaming.
Sameer on April 5th, 2006 7:30 pm
This seals all the reasons for Windows users to switch to Mac.
Allan Reyes on April 5th, 2006 9:42 pm
Not necessarily Allan. While a lot of the hesitant switchers will make the change it was always a software issue with them. Now that’s out of they a great portion will switch. Unfortunately the die hards and general majority won’t switch because the cost is still to high for them.
It almost works out better for us that way. Lower market share means less attention and it keeps the virus writers off our platform.
Mike Stickel on April 5th, 2006 10:08 pm
There is a good virtualization software, that claims to have near-native speed.
It’s called Parallels.
http://www.parallels.com/en/products/workstation/mac/
I haven’t tried it myself, as I don’t have an intel mac… but I hear it’s really good.
Also, it’s noteworty to say that there is some heavy discussion whether or not using BootCamp voids your hardware warrenty. So if you’ve not already voided it by installing the previous EFI bootloader, that would be something to watch.
Daniel Nicolas on April 9th, 2006 2:49 pm
Thanks for the comment Daniel. We posted quicklinks for both but it’s good to have them in this post. We probably should have included a trackback from those posts to this one but, we didn’t ;^)
Mike Stickel on April 9th, 2006 3:24 pm
Mike, that is why, with or without BootCamp I am definitely switching!
Allan Reyes on April 11th, 2006 9:35 am
Excellent Allan. Good to hear it. Welcome.
Mike Stickel on April 11th, 2006 2:11 pm
I think this alone will now easily double the marketshare of the Macintosh computers. Most of us have at least one Windows only application we might need for work or school. Now we can use our Mac’s and if we need to use that annoying Windows application we can boot to Windows, use it, when we are done we can leave Windows and go back to the real OS.
Derek on April 13th, 2006 2:06 pm
Just ordered a Mac PRO today… I’ll run a lot of Windows programs on it… CorelDRAW X3 Suite and Microsoft Office and maybe a few other things… Adobe Acrobat 6, some ftp and mp3 stuff… scanner, inkjet, laser… got it ’cause I’ve used Windows machines exclusively since the early 80’s (except for a CP/M Osborne… and just don’t want to come to the Home Office and look at that Windows UI anymore…use Windows machines all day at work. Also have heard of the Mac OS stability and the iLife Suite is intriguing… and I figure everybody should own at least one Mac in their life. I think you’re right, that now us die hard Windows users have a choice of OS and machine to run it on, Apple is going to pick up some market share. And that’s healthy as far as I’m concerned.
DIGITAL DEMON on October 10th, 2006 11:44 pm
i just got a new MacBook Pro and being a very low-tech person, and owning my first Mac, i’m completely lost in what are the best, cheapest and most afficacious ways to install windows and MS office on it. I need windows for my school exams and i need MS office to do my word processing, spreadsheets, etc., as well as for viewing other ppl’s documents.
i’d rather not use windows at all now, but it turns out that being immersed so deeply into the world of PC’s out there, it’s impossible not to survive without windows.
this sounds like a very useful discussion by some professional people who know what they’re talking about. if anyone could give me some pointers, i would be most appreciative. i know that i could either download bootcamp and then download a regular version of windows XP, or get parallels first and then use any windows XP, is that correct?
if so, which means is the best?
i read you guys mentioning that downloading bootcamp voids your hardware warranty, is that true? i wasn’t told anything of that sort at the apple store, where i bought my computer, i wonder why?
and is it also true that with installing windows, i will also have to get all anti-viral protections that i used on my pc’s?
once i’m done with mounting windows onto here, how should i proceed with ms office? do i need to buy a new, mac-specific version, or a regular PC one would do? in the latter case, do i have to purchase a separate version, or can i use Win 2000 or 2003 that came with my previous PC laptops???
i know it’s a lot of questions, but i’m so utterly confused now and i wasn’t even really able to work on my new comp for two months cuz i don’t have the programs that i need on it! please help. the apple store isn’t really being helpfult with anything that has to do with windows!
thank you in advance,
sky.
skyscraper on October 23rd, 2006 10:49 pm
oh, and more thing:
i just checked out the parallels software, after having viewed the boot camp. seems like parallels is much easier, user-friendly (especially for a non-comp-geek like myself ;)), and that it has a number of evident advantages compared to boot camps, i.e. not having to partition HD/reboot the comp every time; having the software from different OP’s basically self-configure and self-organize, etc.
is that just the ad or is it really that much smoother and more pain-free than boot camp?
do you know if parallels comes with any anti-virus, or will i have to subsequently purchase windows, ms office AND an anti-virus program? wow, that seems a bit way too much. very unfortunate.
thank you to anyone who can respond to this!
sky.
skyscraper on October 23rd, 2006 11:02 pm
sky: Now that both solutions have been out for a while it seems that most people I know are preferring Parallels — generally for the reasons you mentioned.
When it comes to anti-virus and all that you have to purchase or obtain them separately. Parallels is only the program that lets you run a virtualized OS. With Parallels you can also use whatever version of Windows you like or already have.
The MS Office debate will be completely up to you. My suggestion would be to get Office for the Mac so you can work in the Mac OS, then copy the file to the virtualized Windows environment.
Let us know if you have any other questions and how things work out for you.
Mike Stickel on October 24th, 2006 9:24 am
thank you for your response, Mike.
so, to make sure i understand it correctly:
a. i should get parallels
b. i can then dl any version of windows i have
c. i should get ms office for mac and use in it os (but my windows will also have ms office, so i could use the files interchangeably in either operating system)
d. even with windows thru parallels, i can still work exclusively in OS X if i wished to, adn would only have to invoke windows when i’m using files that are only windows-compatible.
thank you very much again. i’ll let you know how things turn out once i do all this.
cheers.
skyscraper on October 26th, 2006 5:17 pm
skyscraper: That’s pretty much the up and down of it. If you’re Windows will already have MS Office in it you’d be set in my opinion.
Obviously if you don’t have the cash or don’t want to spend it, you could just use Office on Windows and hold out on the Office on Mac until a new version comes out.
Mike Stickel on October 27th, 2006 9:20 am
Skyscraper, have you tried Neooffice, for the mac. It’s free to download and it reads and writes MS office files. Can’t remember the web address but just type neooffice into google and it’ll lead you there….:)
Al on November 9th, 2006 3:32 pm
I’ve always kept my PC world and my Mac world separate. Never had a virus on my Mac. Had plenty on the PC. I’m getting tired of playing “IT Guy” for my PCs. I’m seeing the comments that the HD partition in a Boot Camp installation of Windows XP is still subject to corruption from virus attacks, but what happens to the overall file structure of the Mac if you get a Windows-based virus attack within Parallels? I think I read here that you don’t have to partition the HD when you run Parallels which says to me that the Windows files will be closer neighbors to the Mac files. Can anyone clear up my confusion, or should I stick to less dangerous hobbies?
Rich Roszel on November 13th, 2006 1:57 am
Rich, in Parallels the HD partition is actually just a single file on the Mac hard drive. My guess would be that since that is the case, if the Windows were to get infected it wouldn’t be able to transfer itself to the Mac files.
Mike Stickel on November 13th, 2006 2:44 pm
Thanks, Mike. For most software, I’d simply prefer to get the Mac version, but I do have a few apps that simply aren’t available at this time in Mac-Speak.
Rich Roszel on November 16th, 2006 2:27 pm
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