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Installing windows 7 or 8?

L

LJCTNK

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 15, 2012
12
0
Hello everyone,

I have a few question about installing windows 7 or 8 on my macbook pro. I have a macbook pro, not sure what model exactly but I believe the one before the macbook with retina display.

I was wondering which windows to choose first of all. I've heard windows 7 is better on mac, but not sure if thats correct. And also, should I use boot camp? Or is there a better solution available?

And my second question is, my disk drive never actually worked on my laptop, but I do have a USB superdrive. Will that still work?

And final question, I do not have the CD that comes with the mac originally. Will I need that? If I do, where can I get it?

Thanks, any help well be appreciated!
 
Choice between 7 or 8 is mostly personal choice and compatibility with the apps you need to run.

You have the choice to run Windows in bootcamp where you boot into either OS X or Windows or via a virtual machine like Parallels or VMWare. Bootcamp is best for gaming. I use Parallels but VMware is also good. It has the advantage of being able to switch between windows and Mac apps with just a mouse click. I can also run multiple copies of windows. I run XP and two versions of 7. You can't do that with bootcamp.

I think there is a problem installing windows from a USB DVD. You can install from an ISO.

If you run a virtual machine you will need 8gb or more of memory.
 
Ok thank you.

I think I will go for windows 8 using boot camp. But you didn't answer my question about if I need anything else besides the windows 8 ISO file. I read somewhere that you need the MAC cd drive, which I don't have. Any ideas?

Sorry for my questions, just want to make sure I have all the requirements before I go and buy windows.

Thanks
 
Install Windows On A Macbook

You need to know first if your mac is compatible with Windows 8 since other older models do not support Windows 8 on BootCamp.

Please see this: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5634

To check on the model, click on the Apple logo on the Menu bar, choose About this Mac, then click More Info. Under Overview, you will see the model of your mac. After that, check if it has BootCamp compatibility with Windows 7 or 8 based on the link above.

Hope this helps.
 
LJCTNK said:
Ok thank you.

I think I will go for windows 8 using boot camp. But you didn't answer my question about if I need anything else besides the windows 8 ISO file. I read somewhere that you need the MAC cd drive, which I don't have. Any ideas?

Sorry for my questions, just want to make sure I have all the requirements before I go and buy windows.

Thanks
Click to expand...

You can install from a USB if you don't have the CD drive
 
Thanks for the help, I think you've all answered my question! Now let the fun begin!
 
dan1eln1el5en said:
You can install from a USB if you don't have the CD drive
Click to expand...

Only if the MBP doesn't have an optical drive, cMBPs that do require an install from the optical drive.

Edit: I think Win8 is the way to go over win7 as well :)
 
maflynn said:
Only if the MBP doesn't have an optical drive, cMBPs that do require an install from the optical drive.
Click to expand...

So in my case, it wouldn't work if I install in on a usb? I have a 13-inch late 2011
 
LJCTNK said:
So in my case, it wouldn't work if I install in on a usb? I have a 13-inch late 2011
Click to expand...

I never had any luck with installing windows via USB on a MBP with an optical drive. Maybe there's work arounds now but when I was trying it, I couldn't get it to work. I eventually cut my losses and burned a DVD from the ISO.

I have a rMBP now (no optical drive) and bought windows 8.1 from MS, the boot camp process was seamless and simple in creating a bootable USB flash drive. I don't think you'll have that option since your computer has an optical drive.
 
maflynn said:
I don't think you'll have that option since your computer has an optical drive.
Click to expand...

Problem is my optical drive isn't working anymore, and I heard I may have issues using a USB super drive

Reasons why I came to this forum, I usually try to work my way around problems but I really don't want to waste $119 for windows 8 if I'm not able to make it work.
 
Hmm.. I think I may just go for a virtual machine. I have a bad feeling I'm going to run into some issues. And I really don't want to spend hours banging my head against the wall to make it work.

I've never used a virtual machine yet, but seems easier to work with.
 
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