Bootcamp for beginners

[NikkiJayne]

I have just ordered my first Mac (the rMBP) and am pretty much a Mac novice. I don't play many games but those I do I hear run better on Windows. My question is, if I wanted to install Windows for gaming, how would I go about it? I have a copy of Vista but it's on a disk and of course the rMBP has no disk drive. Can I make the files into an iso and run with a disk emulator? I've never tried installing an OS before so any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[btbrossard]

Apple has a pretty decent manual on Bootcamp.

http://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/

If you're going to install Bootcamp, printing the manual would be wise so you can refer to it during installation.

You'll need Windows 7 to install Bootcamp under Lion or Mountain Lion. Support for Vista and XP was removed starting with Lion.

You can, on certain machines, use a flash drive to install Windows 7. There is a section in the Apple manual about how to go about that.

You could also use an external optical drive (like the Apple branded one) to install Windows 7.

 

[NikkiJayne]

That's fantastic, thanks!