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Recommended Windows version on Macbook Pro mid 2012 (non-retina)?

M

MarvinHC

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 9, 2014
834
293
Belgium
Hello,

I have some months ago come from the windows side to Mac. Still learning but enjoying it more and more. However for some things I would still need Windows (for example my e-banking does not support OS X). Nothing more demanding than internet and maybe MS Office.

My question:
- Which Windows version would your recommend ( 7 / 8 / 8.1 32 or 64bit?)?
- Is Bootcamp the best (easy/stable/quick) way of going forward or rather VM etc?

Many thanks for all hints.

My setup: Macbook Pro (classic - MD101, mid 2012) 13" with i5 and 4 GB RAM, Mavericks

Oh, one more question: Is it possible to share data (pictures, music etc.) between both operating systems, for example on a separate partition or are they both completely separated (for security reasons?)?
 
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satcomer

satcomer

Suspended
Feb 19, 2008
9,115
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The Finger Lakes Region
I think in your case your would be better off with Fusion or Paraelles if you run an SSD on your Mac. This way you can share directly between OS X and the version of Windows you want to use. Beside with a VM you could run windows programs while still in OS X and only see the program running.

IMHO BootCamp is more practical with massive hard drives then with small SSDs.
 
M

MarvinHC

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 9, 2014
834
293
Belgium
satcomer said:
I think in your case your would be better off with Fusion or Paraelles if you run an SSD on your Mac. This way you can share directly between OS X and the version of Windows you want to use. Beside with a VM you could run windows programs while still in OS X and only see the program running.

IMHO BootCamp is more practical with massive hard drives then with small SSDs.
Click to expand...

Actually I do not have a SSD in (yet) but the original 500 GB HDD. Data sharing could be interesting but I wonder if this would not also make the OS X vulnerable to Windows viruses etc.? But key question is: does it matter which Windows version, is one more stable than the other on a Mac?
 
satcomer

satcomer

Suspended
Feb 19, 2008
9,115
1,973
The Finger Lakes Region
MarvinHC said:
Actually I do not have a SSD in (yet) but the original 500 GB HDD. Data sharing could be interesting but I wonder if this would not also make the OS X vulnerable to Windows viruses etc.? But key question is: does it matter which Windows version, is one more stable than the other on a Mac?
Click to expand...

No. A Windows virus will only affect Windows System/Programs.

Well to me there is a backlash in the Windows world between 7 and 8. Really depends on what you are doing with Windows. If you are looking to play games then go with BootCamp. If you are using it for school/work and no games then IMHO go with a VM.
 
p3ntyne

p3ntyne

macrumors 6502
Jan 10, 2014
406
3
Sydney, Australia
Definitely get the 64 bit version of Windows - the 32 bit one is not supported in boot camp. Windows 7 and 8 is a personal preference although I, by far, favour 8 despite having some installation problems which I solved by installing manually.

Boot camp is similar to having Windows installed on a Windows computer but with all the necessary drivers ta function with the Apple hardware. A VM, no matter which OS, is still just virtual.
 
rocketbuc

rocketbuc

macrumors 6502
Oct 18, 2017
298
273
Do you have any updates for Windows 10? Would that work with Boot Camp or Parallels installed on the the Mac? I'm running Catalina on the mid-2012 MacBook Pro with SSD and 16GB RAM. Should we plenty for Windows...
 
zarmanto

zarmanto

macrumors 6502a
Feb 3, 2014
552
465
Around the corner from the 7/11
rocketbuc said:
Do you have any updates for Windows 10? Would that work with Boot Camp or Parallels installed on the the Mac? I'm running Catalina on the mid-2012 MacBook Pro with SSD and 16GB RAM. Should we plenty for Windows...
Click to expand...
I just stumbled upon this thread and was confused as to the reason that there might be an issue, because I happen to have Windows 10 installed on a 2012 iMac and it runs just fine there -- granted, it's not a MacBook Pro, so it may not be absolutely perfectly comparable. But that said: a quick Google search suggests that you may be experiencing an issue with Windows ISOs that High Sierra (and after?) doesn't like, for... reasons. Maybe try the workaround in the response to this Apple Community thread?
 
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