Hello All,
So I have read the FAQ and Sticky threads for running Windows on the Mac and I have done quite a bit of research, but I still have a few remaining questions.
As a little background, I gave up using Windows altogether more than a year ago and I do not currently own a Windows machine. Thus far, I have not needed Windows for anything and it has been nice. I recently picked up a new client, however, and they have a piece of software that will only run in windows. This software is quite old and quite simple, which is why the client is still using it. I actually contacted the software manufacturer to ask if they had a version for Mac, but was told that the demand was not there and the president of the company actually runs the software on his MBP through Parallels without a problem.
I have used Parallels in the past and I am familiar with the difference between a VM and a separate Bootcamp partition. To me, this is a better choice since I will only have to access the software periodically and I don't want to have to reboot each time if I were to use Bootcamp.
I have a MBA 11" Core i5 4GB RAM and 128 SSD. I'm going to assume this will be enough computing power to do what I need to do. That being said, I am wondering if Windows XP would be a better choice than Win7. The software I need runs perfectly on XP and I am thinking that if I can save space by using XP, all the better.
The MBA is my work machine and I don't store very much on the computer itself. Most files are on a cloud server and/or a USB stick. I do not use very much of the 128GB SSD.
So my questions are as follows:
1) Since I am only using a very small, light piece of Windows software, would I be able to save space and resources by using XP with Parallels?
2) Where can I get a copy of XP and how do I get the software into the MBA with no optical drive? I have read posts about getting a copy to a USB stick and that sounds attractive, though the process seems a bit hazy for me. Is there someplace to buy the XP file online and then just download it?
3) Being that I will only be using the Windows VM for a maximum of 30 minutes a day, and only for this one piece of software, how little can I get away with allocating to the Virtual Machoine in terms of HD space and RAM?
This is all pretty new to me, so I may be going in totally the wrong direction. Any advice or suggestions that anyone has will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
So I have read the FAQ and Sticky threads for running Windows on the Mac and I have done quite a bit of research, but I still have a few remaining questions.
As a little background, I gave up using Windows altogether more than a year ago and I do not currently own a Windows machine. Thus far, I have not needed Windows for anything and it has been nice. I recently picked up a new client, however, and they have a piece of software that will only run in windows. This software is quite old and quite simple, which is why the client is still using it. I actually contacted the software manufacturer to ask if they had a version for Mac, but was told that the demand was not there and the president of the company actually runs the software on his MBP through Parallels without a problem.
I have used Parallels in the past and I am familiar with the difference between a VM and a separate Bootcamp partition. To me, this is a better choice since I will only have to access the software periodically and I don't want to have to reboot each time if I were to use Bootcamp.
I have a MBA 11" Core i5 4GB RAM and 128 SSD. I'm going to assume this will be enough computing power to do what I need to do. That being said, I am wondering if Windows XP would be a better choice than Win7. The software I need runs perfectly on XP and I am thinking that if I can save space by using XP, all the better.
The MBA is my work machine and I don't store very much on the computer itself. Most files are on a cloud server and/or a USB stick. I do not use very much of the 128GB SSD.
So my questions are as follows:
1) Since I am only using a very small, light piece of Windows software, would I be able to save space and resources by using XP with Parallels?
2) Where can I get a copy of XP and how do I get the software into the MBA with no optical drive? I have read posts about getting a copy to a USB stick and that sounds attractive, though the process seems a bit hazy for me. Is there someplace to buy the XP file online and then just download it?
3) Being that I will only be using the Windows VM for a maximum of 30 minutes a day, and only for this one piece of software, how little can I get away with allocating to the Virtual Machoine in terms of HD space and RAM?
This is all pretty new to me, so I may be going in totally the wrong direction. Any advice or suggestions that anyone has will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!