Windows 7 on new macmini

[stoca01]

Hi,
anyone is going to install Win7 on these new mac mini ?
I'm a PC, looking to switch over to Mac (i already use ipads, ipods etc)
Due to Software compatibility I'll need to have a dual boot system and wonder how you can install W7 on these 2011 minis and what would be their performances.
--stoca

 

[Username02]

I highly recommend Parallels for Windows over dual boot.

I run it on my 2010 i7 MBP with 8GB of ram.
I dedicate 2 processors and 4gb of RAM to parallels and life is sweet.

Can use Mac and PC at same time and no rebooting!

PS. I have Mini Server arriving next week and can give you impressions of Parallels and Windows 7 then if you are interested.

 

[stoca01]

I highly recommend Parallels for Windows over dual boot.

I run it on my 2010 i7 MBP with 8GB of ram.
I dedicate 2 processors and 4gb of RAM to parallels and life is sweet.

Can use Mac and PC at same time and no rebooting!

PS. I have Mini Server arriving next week and can give you impressions of Parallels and Windows 7 then if you are interested.

I will use mostly music software (Cubase, Soft synths) for which there is a MAC version except maybe 1 or two programs (Sonar X1).
Due to latency, not sure how the performances of those various program be in Parallel. Audio will be generated by an external synth connected via USB.

I would love to see the performance in parallel anyway. Thanks for offering.
--stoca

 

[basher]

Performance is better outside the VM environment. Not everyone needs to run both operating systems at the same time.

 

[Username02]

I will use mostly music software (Cubase, Soft synths) for which there is a MAC version except maybe 1 or two programs (Sonar X1).
Due to latency, not sure how the performances of those various program be in Parallel. Audio will be generated by an external synth connected via USB.

I would love to see the performance in parallel anyway. Thanks for offering.
--stoca

LOL! Yeah you probably want dual boot then.
Had no idea you were talking about that kind of software.
I thought you meant MS Access or Developer Studio or something.

Boot Camp is the way to go for you then. I think I remember reading back when 7 first came out that it actually ran better on Mac hardware then similarly specked PC boxes. Or maybe it was just the MBP???

I am sure someone here will correct me if I am wrong.

 

[Lankyman]

I have just installed my entire PC using Parallels 6 today on my Mini (4gig of RAM and Radeon card model). I have to say I'm impressed, W7 runs really well, the only criticism I would make is that the instruction manual is poorly written. Get over that hurdle and your in the best of both worlds.

 

[nsxrox]

Do the Windows 7 boot camp install and then you can try out Parallels using that same install to see if the performance is acceptable.

 

[MJL]

LOL! Yeah you probably want dual boot then.
Had no idea you were talking about that kind of software.
I thought you meant MS Access or Developer Studio or something. .

IF you are doing serious database work then you'll have to go native, the performance impact is just too much. Latency under Parallels is unacceptable imho.

 

[Acorn]

I tried running vc express in parallels and it was really crappy. i gave parallels pretty much the most resources i could spare and it still sucked. you definitely notice lag and poor compile times. there was no way i was going to put up with that compared to just duel booting. you have to install windows anyway using the same amount of space so screw it. just duel boot and its way better. parallels is not that great at all.

 

[jmcgeejr]

i highly recommend parallels for windows over dual boot.

I run it on my 2010 i7 mbp with 8gb of ram.
I dedicate 2 processors and 4gb of ram to parallels and life is sweet.

Can use mac and pc at same time and no rebooting!

Ps. I have mini server arriving next week and can give you impressions of parallels and windows 7 then if you are interested.

nm

 

[Lankyman]

I tried running vc express in parallels and it was really crappy. i gave parallels pretty much the most resources i could spare and it still sucked. you definitely notice lag and poor compile times. there was no way i was going to put up with that compared to just duel booting. you have to install windows anyway using the same amount of space so screw it. just duel boot and its way better. parallels is not that great at all.

Totally but totally disagree - have used dual booting on my iMac for quite some time and now installed Parallels 6 on my new Mini running W7 and I couldn't be happier. Surely it's horses for courses i.e. depends what you are going to use it for. I am simply making use of MS Office and the like so I can work from home and my company doesn't have to provide any additional software. For such things I find it difficult to detect any difference between my actual Quad 6600 PC and the VM. So much so that I have now packed my PC away. I have my iMac with Bootcamp and my Mini with the VM.

 

[cjbryce]

IF you are doing serious database work then you'll have to go native, the performance impact is just too much. Latency under Parallels is unacceptable imho.

If one was doing serious database work, MS Access wouldn't be involved.

 

[thejoelhansen]

Mac Mini, Win 7, and multiple monitors

Similar Mac Mini question:

I'm looking into a current or last gen Mac Mini to do some Windows 7 testing on (run some Linux VMs, serve a few Java Applications).

Can anyone confirm using multiple monitors on a Mac Mini under Windows 7?
1 by DisplayPort/ThunderBolt and 1 by HDMI, both @ 1080P, extended desktop rather than mirror?

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

Joel

 

[saulinpa]

Multiple monitors works as extended desktop after you install the Boot Camp drivers in W7. It mirrors until then.

 

[nsxrox]

Similar Mac Mini question:

I'm looking into a current or last gen Mac Mini to do some Windows 7 testing on (run some Linux VMs, serve a few Java Applications).

Can anyone confirm using multiple monitors on a Mac Mini under Windows 7?
1 by DisplayPort/ThunderBolt and 1 by HDMI, both @ 1080P, extended desktop rather than mirror?

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

Joel

I have two 2010 Minis with Windows 7 installed through BootCamp. One Mini runs Snow Leopard, and the other Lion. Both run dual monitors. Extended desktop works fine. I run 1080p over HDMI for the main display, but not 100% sure about 1080p over Mini Display port because both secondary monitors are just small 2nd displays.

 

[stoca01]

Issue installing W7

Ok, I got the mini I5 2.Ghz and I'm trying to install W7 professional.
Everything goes well until bootcamp assistant restarts the mini in order to boot from the windows installation disc.
At that point neither the 32 nor the 64 bit version of W7 boots.
The screen simply remains black. I'm using an external USB dvd rom ( a samsung)
I can boot from the os x partition, and Lion works, but any attempt to boot from the dvdrom with w7 fails.
I split into two equal sizes the 500GB disk.
Anyone else encountered this issue and can help ?
Thanks!
stoca

 

[Acorn]

Ok, I got the mini I5 2.Ghz and I'm trying to install W7 professional.
Everything goes well until bootcamp assistant restarts the mini in order to boot from the windows installation disc.
At that point neither the 32 nor the 64 bit version of W7 boots.
The screen simply remains black. I'm using an external USB dvd rom ( a samsung)
I can boot from the os x partition, and Lion works, but any attempt to boot from the dvdrom with w7 fails.
I split into two equal sizes the 500GB disk.
Anyone else encountered this issue and can help ?
Thanks!
stoca

this type of thing happened with me when i wasnt installing bootcamp correctly. once you set the space aside for bootcamp from osx you still need to format the drive when you put in the windows disk. at least it is a very similar problem when you dont properly format the drive.

 

[Robellyn]

When I try to install Windows 7 from a flash drive, I get to the part of the setup where you choose your partition. I choose the bootcamp partition, it acts like it's trying to format it (bootcamp then gets removed from the name) but otherwise refuses to install to the bootcamp created partition. Back in OSX, the windows partition says it is an NTFS formatted blank drive.

Very puzzling.

 

[stoca01]

this type of thing happened with me when i wasnt installing bootcamp correctly. once you set the space aside for bootcamp from osx you still need to format the drive when you put in the windows disk. at least it is a very similar problem when you dont properly format the drive.

The problem is that I do not even get to the point where W7 installer boots-up.
Usually after the installer is up you can format the drive (also bootcamp installation booklet confirm this procedure). Unless you are saying i need to format while still in OSX....

 

[stoca01]

The problem is that I do not even get to the point where W7 installer boots-up.
Usually after the installer is up you can format the drive (also bootcamp installation booklet confirm this procedure). Unless you are saying i need to format while still in OSX....

Ok, resolved. I used the USB thumb drive method instead of the CD/DVD and it worked 1st attempt and installed W7 succesfully. Everything works except display is fuzzy and image does not fit all screen despite resolution is 1080 (native resolution of the monitor)

 

[Robellyn]

When I try to install Windows 7 from a flash drive, I get to the part of the setup where you choose your partition. I choose the bootcamp partition, it acts like it's trying to format it (bootcamp then gets removed from the name) but otherwise refuses to install to the bootcamp created partition. Back in OSX, the windows partition says it is an NTFS formatted blank drive.

Very puzzling.

Resolved mine too. Even though Bootcamp simply 'restarts' the mini to attempt to install the OS, it required a full shutdown instead. After that, there were no problems at all.

 

[stoca01]

Resolved mine too. Even though Bootcamp simply 'restarts' the mini to attempt to install the OS, it required a full shutdown instead. After that, there were no problems at all.

Is your monitor resolution OK ? I get a black border around the picture.
The monitor is not completely filled and resolutiln seems to be lower than 1080p even if W7 says that resolution is 1920x1080.
I installed also the AMD/ATI video drivers but no change. I use a straigth hdmi cable.
sav

 

[Robellyn]

Is your monitor resolution OK ? I get a black border around the picture.
The monitor is not completely filled and resolutiln seems to be lower than 1080p even if W7 says that resolution is 1920x1080.
I installed also the AMD/ATI video drivers but no change. I use a straigth hdmi cable.
sav

Monitor resolution for me was perfect (although I'm using a miniDisplay port into a 1600x1200 Wacom Cintiq). I have a 1920x1080 monitor with an HDMI connection ... I'll try that out tonight and let you know if I have any issues like yours in that scenario.