Is it safe to run windows on a Mac?

[bpejman]

Hi everyone,

Pardon me if this question has already been answered or is a duplicate.

I am running Parallels on my MBP and have windows 7 virtualized for work. Whenever I run on windows 7 within Parallels, my Mac battery goes from having 7 hours left to 3 hours. It's like some blood sucking goat is taking over my system and his name is microsoft.

Do you guys think that my Mac hardware will be damaged, in particular, its battery, if I run windows?

I've been searching for answers on the web and I keep getting mixed messages.

I appreciate any insight/recommendations!

Thanks,
Bobby

 

[MacDawg]

No, it shouldn't harm your hardware. You are just using your computer's processor more and draining the battery quicker. Running virtualized takes some horsepower and you likely see your fans crank up some too.

 

[d88co88]

Yep, it's completely safe. Use Apple's bootcamp, that's why they included it.

 

[TSE]

Absolutely NOT! It will make your Mac explode into a thousand pieces and burn your whole house down. DON'T DO IT!

 

[ctyhntr]

LOL. When you run Windows in Parallel, you're running resources from two operating systems; Windows and OS X. When you run Windows in Bootcamp, you're only running one.

Analogy is having a house with two rooms, one is Windows and the other is OS X. In Parallel, you have the lights and appliances on in both rooms whether you there or not. In Bootcamp, you're only turning on the lights and the appliances in the room you're in.

If you're running on battery power, of course it would drain faster.

Absolutely NOT! It will make your Mac explode into a thousand pieces and burn your whole house down. DON'T DO IT!

 

[bpejman]

Thanks everyone for your replies! I'm glad to hear it won't damage my battery by forcing me to recharge it frequently. I'll keep things virtualized for now and hope my computer doesn't explode into million pieces lol