I just ditched Windows and I feel NAKED!!!

[MarlboroLite]

So I just purchased a 2.2 Ghz Black MacBook after many years of using Windows....and I have some questions to settle the butterflies in my stomach, so please bear with me!

1) Running windows. I still need to use unfortunately and I have decided to use Fusion for this...my question is, do I still need to make a boot camp partition or should I skip it? How much resources should I dedicate to the virtualization? ( I plan on upgrading to 4gigs of ram soon)

2) External hard drive. Is it true that time machine is not a good enough solution for a complete backup? If I get super duper, is it even necessary to use Time Machine? Can I partition an external to hold a complete backup on one part and put some media stuff on the other part? Will it clone the Windows part of the machine?

3) iTunes. Will I lose my cover art work, and all the info I have updated when I transfer all my songs to the Mac?

and finally....

4) Should I be using the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to keep the Blackbook pristine or is it just good on the white model? The oil problem is something I want to avoid....

Thanks for putting up with yet another n00b!

 

[Jason S.]

If you're going to be running Windows only through Fusion you do not need a Boot Camp partition. Boot Camp is used to boot the computer into Windows so it runs natively. Depending on what you want to do, the answers to your questions will vary. It would be helpful if you gave us a better idea about what programs you expect to run in Windows.

Time Machine is good enough for the average user, and I believe you can partition it however you like. It won't back up a Windows partition however.

I have read that the Magic Eraser works good with the Black MacBook also.

Hope you like the Mac!

 

[McGiord]

1) Running windows. I still need to use unfortunately and I have decided to use Fusion for this...my question is, do I still need to make a boot camp partition or should I skip it? How much resources should I dedicate to the virtualization? ( I plan on upgrading to 4gigs of ram soon)

I recommend using the BootCamp partition, it will allow you to both things: either run Windows natively via BootCamp, and to run VM Ware Fusion on MacOSX running your BootCamp partition as a virtual machine.
And with 4Gb of RAM you'll be fine.
________
buy no2

 

[SaSaSushi]

I recommend using the BootCamp partition, it will allow you to both things: either run Windows natively via BootCamp, and to run VM Ware Fusion on MacOSX running your BootCamp partition as a virtual machine.
And with 4Gb of RAM you'll be fine.

I agree completely. This is how I have my iMac set up and I allot 2GB each to Windows and OS X.

I would go completely with a virtual machine but I need Boot Camp for occasional gaming in Windows.

 

[trainguy77]

For most people time machine is fine as a complete backup solution. Where it runs short is if you don't like the hourly backups. Or if you change large files regularly as it backups up based on change files. So if you have a 4gb file that only 3 kb is changed it has to backup the whole file again. This is what some people don't like. However its fine for most users. I have been using it since october 29th and i love it!

 

[superleccy]

I use Time Machine and SuperDuper! (or rather, I will when SuperDuper! is finally Leopard-compatible). I have a partition for each on my external HD. Both are excellent backup tools with rather different objectives.

However, either one in itself will actually back up your entire system if you tell it to (or in the case of Time Machine, don't tell it otherwise). SuperDuper! gives you a very accurate bootable clone, but doesn't do the fly-back-in-time thing. Time Machine backups are not bootable, but in the event of a total disaster, you can boot from the Leopard install CD and then do a full restore from your Time Machine drive.

HTH
SL

 

[richard.mac]

for the itunes question:

no, you wont loose all your album art, play counts, playlists, ratings etc. if you copy the whole itunes folder from your pc's music folder to your mac's music folder.

look here for more info N.B. ignore the ipod part if your using another method to transfer the itunes folder & ignore the moving from old mac to new pc part)

 

[Bobbi Flekman]

1) Running windows. I still need to use unfortunately and I have decided to use Fusion for this...my question is, do I still need to make a boot camp partition or should I skip it? How much resources should I dedicate to the virtualization? ( I plan on upgrading to 4gigs of ram soon)

I myself come from a Windows background as well, and used VMware Workstation there. So logically I started using VMware Fusion. As I write tools to aid in the fight against malware I have to test out my programs on every Windows platform. My current memory assignment is as follows:

W95: 256 MB
W98: 512 MB
ME: 512 MB
W2K: 1 GB
XP: 1 GB
Vista: 2 GB

I don't use BootCamp as it is easier for me to start Fusion, and wait ofr a few seconds to load my "work machine" a XP Pro version.

2) External hard drive. Is it true that time machine is not a good enough solution for a complete backup? If I get super duper, is it even necessary to use Time Machine? Can I partition an external to hold a complete backup on one part and put some media stuff on the other part? Will it clone the Windows part of the machine?

I use Time Machine, and so far no problem. Be aware that if you want to use Time Machine you should exclude the Virtual Machine directories, otherwise you will need lots and lots of backup discs. Example: You have XP installed and set up a virtual disc with a size of 8 GB. You have not set it as a dynamically sized disc, so the entire 8 GB is pre-allocated. You start the XP virtual machine, so you can be sure that the disc has changed (Windows writes to the Registry everytime you start the machine, let alons the differences in the paging file). You are working on the VM for 4 hours, and everytime Time Machine starts (which is hourly) it checks for changed files. The virtual disc has changed, and will be backed up, all the 8 GBs of it. 8 * 4 = 32 GB gone at the end of the work... With dynamically sized discs this will change to the collective sizes of the disc images at the time, but the idea is the same.

3) iTunes. Will I lose my cover art work, and all the info I have updated when I transfer all my songs to the Mac?

No idea, as I have cover art turned off.

4) Should I be using the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to keep the Blackbook pristine or is it just good on the white model? The oil problem is something I want to avoid....

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser?

 

[Queso]

I use Time Machine and SuperDuper! (or rather, I will when SuperDuper! is finally Leopard-compatible).

Dave said on his blog that the final problem has now been identified and he's going to be sending Release Candidates to his testers in the next couple of days. All going well, we'll have a Leopard compatible SD! by the end of next week

 

[superleccy]

Dave said on his blog that the final problem has now been identified and he's going to be sending Release Candidates to his testers in the next couple of days. All going well, we'll have a Leopard compatible SD! by the end of next week

OT: Yeah, I am really impressed by Dave & Shirt Pocket software. It's taking a while to get a Leopard friendly version of SD! out of the door, but going by his blog he does seem very thorough and dedicated, much more so than the average developer! So many others would've release something earlier warts-and-all... which isn't really what you want with a Backup application.

SL

 

[Tallest Skil]

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser?

Wonderful for cleaning Macs. Lightly mist it and rub to get anything off of your Mac.

 

[matttrick]

Wonderful for cleaning Macs. Lightly mist it and rub to get anything off of your Mac.

what about a macbook pro and the sweat stains?

 

[Bobbi Flekman]

Wonderful for cleaning Macs. Lightly mist it and rub to get anything off of your Mac.

Ok. A quick look on the net shows it's from Procter & Gamble, so probably I can get it somewhere around here. Even though most "American stuff" is unobtainable here, or obtainable under a diferent brand name. If I see it, I'll check it out.

 

[big.birdd]

just with regards to the bootcamp decision,
I'd say its worth having a bootcamp partition, although it doesnt allow the size that windows takes up on your hd to change conveniently, it does give you the option to boot into windows, which you shouldnt underestimate its usefullness. If you want to run an occasional game, or any intensive windows app, you realy should consider the bootcamp partition.