Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Dual boot confusion

D

Dorsey

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 4, 2012
27
0
Hi guys

I've just called Apple to order a new MacBook Pro

I told the guy I would be using it for work a fair amount so needed to dual boot it with Windows. My prior research had lead me to believe this was possible for free by using the built-in Boot Camp software (Windows licence required obviously) but he assured me I needed to buy Parallels - which i've gone ahead with but even now don't agree with.

I'm not bothered about quickly multi-tasking between Apple/Windows, booting up freshly in Windows alone and getting the best performance possible from it is more important.

Could somebody kindly clear this up for me?

Thanks,

Kev
 
Dorsey said:
Hi guys

I've just called Apple to order a new MacBook Pro

I told the guy I would be using it for work a fair amount so needed to dual boot it with Windows. My prior research had lead me to believe this was possible for free by using the built-in Boot Camp software (Windows licence required obviously) but he assured me I needed to buy Parallels - which i've gone ahead with but even now don't agree with.

I'm not bothered about quickly multi-tasking between Apple/Windows, booting up freshly in Windows alone and getting the best performance possible from it is more important.

Could somebody kindly clear this up for me?

Thanks,

Kev
Click to expand...

He probably didn't understand your needs.

You can perfectly have both OSs installed and dual boot, the "feature" is called bootcamp and there is even an utility that comes installed with the macbook to help you do this process easily and with no technical help. The Parallels thing is shenanigans.
 
I told him I planned on using Boot Camp but he said I would STILL need Parallels!!

Naughty naughty...
 
He's probably thinking you want to run a simulator. If that is every a requirement, you've got VirtualBox, it's free and better.

I think he's just trying to extract more $ale$ out of you. Working on commission can make people desperate at times I guess.
 
Dorsey said:
I told him I planned on using Boot Camp but he said I would STILL need Parallels!!

Naughty naughty...
Click to expand...

There's always some numb-nut running around the block. Was this official Apple or a third-party shop?
 
The official and he was a pretty decent bloke, pretty much talked me out of needing 512GB by saying 256 would be more than enough for standard use.

I'm thinking he just didn't know his stuff properly!!
 
Dorsey said:
The official and he was a pretty decent bloke, pretty much talked me out of needing 512GB by saying 256 would be more than enough for standard use.

I'm thinking he just didn't know his stuff properly!!
Click to expand...

Jee, I would think otherwise, if this is your main computer AND you are going to use Bootcamp, then I would put 512 (which is what I'm getting).

My setup will be, 128 for Windows, rest for OSX where I'll put Apps and heavy access documents (itunes stuff, video caché, documents I need on the move, all the coding stuff) and then a 2TB mobile external drive that can be put in the briefcase with low-access stuff and such.

This guy needs another job -_-
 
Grrrrr!!!!

So, I've been advised to go from 8GB to 16GB but to stick with 256 as opposed to 512. And I've also been advised I'll need Parallels and not just Boot Camp.

I'm an accountant, Mac will be used at home for the family (browsing, photo storage, light iTunes useage) whilst also needing Windows for my desktop based accounting software (supported by a mixture of Skydrive & Dropbox)

It's bloody confusing out there for a non-techie you know!!!
 
Dorsey said:
Grrrrr!!!!

So, I've been advised to go from 8GB to 16GB but to stick with 256 as opposed to 512. And I've also been advised I'll need Parallels and not just Boot Camp.

I'm an accountant, Mac will be used at home for the family (browsing, photo storage, light iTunes useage) whilst also needing Windows for my desktop based accounting software (supported by a mixture of Skydrive & Dropbox)

It's bloody confusing out there for a non-techie you know!!!
Click to expand...

Okay, this one will be free ;-)

For that use case, you don't need 16GB. Do you have any applications that you know eat a lot of resources? It sounds more like you got the 16GB so that you can run Parallels, which we already concluded you won't need.

However. The RAM cannot be upgraded later on, so it is a good idea to get now what you might need in two years, in that case, 16GB is a good decision.

If you're on a budget, then go ahead with the 256GB because although it is not tech-friendly, it is upgradeable by maybe a techie friend you probably have around. If you can pull up the cash though, cancel this order and get the other model, which comes "free" with a Nvidia dGPU 750M plus 16GB and 512SSD.

Do check your current computer though, and the amount of disk space you are currently using. Then add another ~100GB for Windows under Bootcamp, and make the sum. The you will know more or less what you need... But you can always buy an external hard drive and put low access stuff on there, this is a cheaper option.
 
That's really bloody helpful, thanks for taking the time to write that.

As it stands I'm coming in at about £1850. So, I guess I need to decide whether the extra £350 is worth it...
 
I'd have to go with what ElderBrE said.

You really don't need Parallels.

Parallels basically lets you run Windows programs while *in* OSX - it's pretty handy but definitely not needed if you don't need to instantly switch between things (Rebooting takes seconds anyway).

I'd just install it using Bootcamp like you were originally going to do (The Apple Wizard will step-by-step help you split up your storage drive and install the Windows operating system side-by-side with OSX.)
 
Thanks guys.

Called Apple, cancelled the whole order then put a new one through for 8GB memory & 256 storage for now - as you say, can always be added later.

The other bonus is it'll now be here Fri instead of 7-10 days so I'll get to play with it on my birthday!!! (Sat)
 
Dorsey said:
Thanks guys.

Called Apple, cancelled the whole order then put a new one through for 8GB memory & 256 storage for now - as you say, can always be added later.

The other bonus is it'll now be here Fri instead of 7-10 days so I'll get to play with it on my birthday!!! (Sat)
Click to expand...

Enjoy, you can always return it if you find it's not enough hard drive. By the way, only the hard drive is replaceable in current ones, not the RAM.
 
I think your ram choice is fine if you aren't going to use parallels. You definitely do not need parallels, if you are fine rebooting. However, I would have went with the 512 ssd. Windows will use roughly 100 gigs of your 256 space. Of course you can go with externals, but if it were me... I would want more space on board.
 
I did suggest that but again, the Apple guy himself suggested 256 would be absolutely fine for my needs - he actually said Windows itself wouldn't take up any space!!

Can upgrade the internal memory at a later date?
 
You don't need Parallels. If you decide you want it down the road you can install it (or Fusion) at a later date and set it up to run your Boot Camp partition.

Dorsey said:
The official and he was a pretty decent bloke
Click to expand...
You still have to always consider the source. A true expert would be overqualified to be sitting around taking orders over the phone. Always corroborate and validate as well. With any company it's a toss up with regard to CSR's. Some are good. Some are not.

Dorsey said:
he actually said Windows itself wouldn't take up any space!!
Click to expand...
...and there's a clear indication that the source is dubious. Windows doesn't magically take up no space.

Dorsey said:
Can upgrade the internal memory at a later date?
Click to expand...
Answered in post 9 in this thread.
 
Dorsey said:
I did suggest that but again, the Apple guy himself suggested 256 would be absolutely fine for my needs - he actually said Windows itself wouldn't take up any space!!

Can upgrade the internal memory at a later date?
Click to expand...

RAM memory cannot be upgraded. Hard drive memory, well, until this new MBP you could upgrade it with technical know-how, but now that I think about it, the new MBPs may be different. To know this we should wait for someone to open up the baby and post some info. This should take a few more days.

If you want to got hat route, I suggest waiting for that, or simply grabbing the 512 SSD.
 
ElderBrE said:
RAM memory cannot be upgraded. Hard drive memory, well, until this new MBP you could upgrade it with technical know-how, but now that I think about it, the new MBPs may be different. To know this we should wait for someone to open up the baby and post some info. This should take a few more days.

If you want to got hat route, I suggest waiting for that, or simply grabbing the 512 SSD.
Click to expand...

So even if it can be done, is it a case of having to do it privately and not directly through Apple themselves?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back