How and why do you dual boot Mac OS X with Windows 7

I need to dual boot because I use several windows only applications that have absolutely no Mac OS couterpart. I also use it because the license was free ^-^. And because VMWare Fusion can utilize the bootcamp partition (which I like better than having in a self contained file).

As for methods, I don't really know what you mean.

 

dual booting means you have to reboot to use a windows app. VM is what you do when you have that one app you need for work but doesnt require the resources of a full stand alone windows machine(anything not graphics intensive).

VM for utility, boot camp for performance.

 

it all depends...
if you want to use a few apps check out crossover (they might be compatible)
http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxmac/
and if its a lot, then go with bootcamp. its more, how should i say this, "stable?" than any other. VMware Fusion/Parallels Desktop are great add-ons as both can utilize the bootcamp partition, so essentially you could have windows running in Mac OSX and also on the MBP, both sharing the same files,etc

personally this would be better placed in the Windows on Mac section, but no worries.
here are links on the "Windows on Mac" category you should look at:
http://guides.macrumors.com/A_Beginner's_Guide_to_Running_Windows_on_a_Mac
http://guides.macrumors.com/Boot_Camp


(and this is all mac guides
http://guides.macrumors.com/Category:Guides
thats very handy

EDIT: when i say a lot, i mean apps that dont work with crossover, etc

 

I boot into win7 to run starcraft2.

 

I don't for SC2, because my iMac can run SC2 on ultra no problem.

My only need for Windows is UDK. I have a dell, but I love the 27" screen on my iMac. So, I occasionally reboot my machine into win7 for UDK work. However, once I get the cable to use my iMac as an external display for my dell, bootcamp will disappear.

 

I boot into Windows to do CAD work, which doesn't work well at all in a VM, even with two cores and 4GB (on a Mac Pro). I use a VM to check compatibility, if I need to use IE for whatever stupid reason, or to do a lot of Excel work...I don't trust the Mac version to do a lot of number crunching without crashing.

 

Unreal Tournament 2004. That, the Steam client and some AV are literally the only things on my 32GB Windows partition.

 

I have a windows partition for 3d modeling software and the pc version of quicken (ocasionally you just need internet explorer), but thanks to the latest version of Paralels desktop, I don't need to reboot anymore.

 

Many people dual boot because they want to run Windows apps that have no counterpart on OS X, or because they want to play games that aren't compatible with OS X. You can use a virtual machine software like VMWare Fusion, or you can use the BootCamp feature that comes with all Macs.

This is pretty helpful if you're going to go with BootCamp: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVfRQ0YIDUI&feature=fvw

 

I personally run Parallels 6 and also have a boot camp partition. Certain tasks such as accessing my companies VPN don't work on a Mac, therefore I have to run windows. Also, I prefer Office 2010 for Windows over 2011 for Mac, so I use it as well on parallels.

I use bootcamp if I want to play any games, like flight simulator etc. It is simply too choppy in a virtual machine, and using bootcamps works like a charm.

To me not having a windows solution on your mac limits your choices too much. There's too many good pieces of software available for the PC, that aren't for the Mac to limit yourself to only Mac Software.

 

I dual boot inorder to access work required servers remotely. Mac is not supported.