# Windows on Mac



## Abel1337 (Oct 7, 2008)

I have heard this is possible. Does it affect the speed of the computer?







Is it wise to do this?








Thanks


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## Headrush (Feb 9, 2005)

There are several options for running Windows on Macs.

The first option is Bootcamp. This method installs Windows into a separate partition on the HD and when restarting you get a "normal" Windows computer. (Fast and completely compatible)

I assume what you are asking about is the second option, using a virtualization program like VMware Fusion or Parallels. Either can be installed into a second partition of use a virtual HD which is stored in the OS X filesystem.

Depending on your hardware, both these can run Windows and apps fairly well and transparently. (If you so chose). There are some restrictions and performance can/may be slower compared to Bootcamp, but depends on the application. (Games take a hit.)

If no Windows apps are running neither of these will have much of a performance hit on your OS X applications, but they both do require memory resources. (Set by you. Higher = better performance)

A third option is WINE or Crossover Office. These products don't emulate a Windows environment but provide the required functionality for many of the Windows APIs. The big issue here is compatability since only some Windows apps are supported. But the ones that do run fairly fast and take fewer resources than options.

All these options have free trials so you can evaluate them all and decide if one is appropriate for you.


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## fox790 (Oct 12, 2008)

If you want to install Windows on a Mac and I suppose you have an Intel Mac therefore it's a relatively recent one and by the same fact you have a decent Hard Drive so you don't need to make sacrifices.

You can Install windows on a bootcamp partition and have it in a virtual machine as well. Like that you will be able to run windows natively when you need it and in a VM in your actual MacOs and say...you could install Linux as well. That's the pleasure with the Mac it's really versatile.

One last thing the more RAM you have the more efficient your Virtual Machine will be.


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## namenotfound (Apr 30, 2005)

Headrush said:


> A third option is WINE or Crossover Office. These products don't emulate a Windows environment but provide the required functionality for many of the Windows APIs. The big issue here is compatability since only some Windows apps are supported. But the ones that do run fairly fast and take fewer resources than options.


In my opinion, Crossover is the biggest piece of garbage ever!
I was able to install things using WINE, that Crossover rejected. And Crossover is the "commercial" version of WINE, so it *should* do the same as WINE only better. However Crossover does less than WINE. It's a total waste of money.


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## Headrush (Feb 9, 2005)

namenotfound said:


> In my opinion, Crossover is the biggest piece of garbage ever!
> I was able to install things using WINE, that Crossover rejected. And Crossover is the "commercial" version of WINE, so it *should* do the same as WINE only better. However Crossover does less than WINE. It's a total waste of money.


Although both are far from a complete solution I wouldn't say that Crossover 's version is garbage, considering that for the most part the majority of the code is the EXACT same from the Wine tree. It is usually an older version and some changes are made to make sure supported apps run as well as possible.

Hence why Crossover has an Office version and a Games version now. The Games version includes newer code versions and more experimental patches while the Office version will always sacrifice this for a more stable product for those apps. (Two totally different targets.)

Apps like MS Office 2003 have run flawless for some time with Office, so like I mentioned it all depends on the specific app. Additionally, one big part of what you are purchasing when you get Crossovers version is the the interface and things like *bottle* support. Although for some people this isn't a big deal, for other users it can be a major advantage and beats some of the Wine interface tools.

IMHO, I hesitate to call software "the biggest piece of garbage ever", just because its not the right product for my purpose.  Each user can decide for themselves instead of being tainted by opinions since each is free to try. 

P.S. Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 runs perfect with Crossover Office, so I'm happy. (The only app I need Crossover for.)


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## dannyn (Nov 9, 2007)

I would say that bootcamp is the only options, but that's just me.


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## patwardo (Aug 30, 2006)

"Is it wise to do this?"
It's fine to do this, I have winxp installed on a bootcamp partition so I can run windows natively but I can also start up the same bootcamp partition virtually through parallels.

Parallels has no support for direct x yet so things like 3ds max won't work well and my medieval Total War II won't start at all through parallels.

Generally parallels works fine but some problems, when I updated to xp sp3, it stopped working completely and support wasn't great.
Had to go back to sp2.
Haven't used wmware yet but many say it's a better option.

Also have Linux Ubuntu running through parallels and no problems so far.


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