Best way to install Windows XP: Bootcamp or VMWare Fusion?

[nimbuscloud]

Hello all,

I FINALLY received my iMac work! I need to also install Windows XP on it for MS Office. My question is, should I install Windows XP via Bootcamp and access it with VMWare Fusion, or should I install it through VMWare Fusion?

I don't plan on doing much with the Windows side, but I need Outlook. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks again.

 

[richard.mac]

if you need Windows at native speed for Games or graphics intensive programs use Boot Camp.

but if you dont want to reboot into Windows or you only need to use a few simple programs for email and work processing use Parallels or Fusion.

heres a good guide that sums it up nicely.

 

[MacRookie.net]

VMware Fusion works quite good, it even integrates Windows applications into your dock.

It´s quite a drain on RAM though, I would not use it with less than 2 GB.

 

[pjrobertson]

Install via bootcamp. It'll mean that if you ever need to do cpu-intensive tasks (3D modelling, games etc.) you'll be able to do them natively in Windows, but just use Vmware for everything else.

MS Office will run fine in VMware.

 

[nomar383]

First of all, aren't there mac versions of the programs you mentioned?

Otherwise, what I did was install via bootcamp and then I set up my VMware to use my boot camp drive for windows. This means that I only have 1 windows installation, with the option to run any program I need at any speed i need

 

[nimbuscloud]

The main programs that I will use on the Windows side is MS Word, Powerpoint, Outlook, and Numura TrackIt, IE 6...and maybe Adobe Acrobat. That's about it. I only have 2GB of RAM on this iMac at the moment, but I plan to request an upgrade to 4GB. Will 2GB be enough?

Also, does it take a long time to "open" VMWare to use the Windows software? I check email about 3-4 times a day. I don't plan to have it open the whole time while using my Mac, so I'd like to only open it when I need it. Is that a problem?

Thanks again!

 

[nomar383]

The main programs that I will use on the Windows side is MS Word, Powerpoint, Outlook, and Numura TrackIt, IE 6...and maybe Adobe Acrobat. That's about it. I only have 2GB of RAM on this iMac at the moment, but I plan to request an upgrade to 4GB. Will 2GB be enough?

Also, does it take a long time to "open" VMWare to use the Windows software? I check email about 3-4 times a day. I don't plan to have it open the whole time while using my Mac, so I'd like to only open it when I need it. Is that a problem?

Thanks again!

I run 2 OSs at the same time via VMware and it runs fine on 2GB RAM. I also keep them running at all times and there is almost no slow down, it works great.

Spaces works great for this particular reason. I have Windows in one space, Linux in another space, and OS X in two more.

 

[Keleko]

2GB should be enough for that. I only give Windows 512MB in my Parallels use of my bootcamp install, and that's plenty. You're not likely to have a bunch of the extra crap Windows usually comes with in a VM install, so it uses far less memory without all the extra junk apps that get installed on a normal Windows system.

One useful piece if you don't install it as bootcamp is that you can suspend the Windows VM and just start it up from where you left it to do those things you want much faster than a full bootup. This isn't available when using the bootcamp install as the VM. Of course, you may not need to shut it down, either. You can also try Neo Office or Open Office in place of Word and Powerpoint and reduce your need for the Windows stuff (or get the Mac versions of the programs where possible).

 

[nimbuscloud]

Well, I will need Word and Power Point. The college that I work for is very much ALL Windows. I can't tell you how lucky I was to be able to convince my CIO (I'm a webmaster working under IT) to get me a Mac. I can probably get the Mac version of Office, but I don't know how difficult it will be for the technicians to set up Entourage instead of Outlook. If that's possible, I might not need Windows...that's IF Entourage can successfully replace Outlook for me.

I don't plan on using anything hardcore on the Windows side. I'm not going to be playing games on this...just working. Is it best that I install via VMWare? I guess I don't want Windows to go slow while I use it, that makes Bootcamp more attractive. Its just that I feel that my Mac will be in some way infected with having Windows almost at its core.

 

[pjrobertson]

I think my Mac is slower (boot times) now that I've installed Windows via bootcamp. Not sure though. Plus Bootcamp will take up more space than a VMware image.
Windows will not run slower in VMware than in Bootcamp (not enought to notice it!) and you'll save a lot more time not having to re-boot into OS X all the time.

 

[JNB]

I can probably get the Mac version of Office, but I don't know how difficult it will be for the technicians to set up Entourage instead of Outlook. If that's possible, I might not need Windows...that's IF Entourage can successfully replace Outlook for me.

Technicians? We don't need no stinking technicians!

Entourage is essentially Outlook for Mac, but better. The Project Center alone make me want to vomit at the though of having to use "just" Outlook again. I connect to our corporate Exchange server via Entourage with no special configuration or setup--it's just an email client for that. It still needs the same info for your account that any other client needs.

 

[nomar383]

I would actually only use windows on boot camp for games or other 3D apps (that is the sole reason I have bootcamp set up). For what you described, VMware would be beautiful and run no slower than bootcamp