Windows XP 32-bit on New Macbook Pro

[jpcho83]

Hey there guys... my new macbook pro is on the way, and I am excited to finally be using a mac... been using windows forever but I couldn't resist...

In any case, I am curious (as I have not recieved the laptop yet) if anyone has tried installing Windows XP 32-bit on a new macbook pro. What I am most interested in is whether or not it recognizes the full 4 gigs of ram or not...

I have windows XP pro 64 bit but I don't like the OS that much... I'd rather use the 32 bit version... especially since ITunes simply doesn't work with the 64-bit...

anything I should know? I was going to bootcamp... or parallels...and maybe just allocate 2 gigs so I don't have to worry too much... but really I would like to be able to boot XP fully utilizing the ram with the computer...

also, any word on how the new trackpad works with XP? I am wondering if that right click will be recognized in XP...

LMK!

thanks in advance...

 

[nope7308]

Hey there guys... my new macbook pro is on the way, and I am excited to finally be using a mac... been using windows forever but I couldn't resist...

In any case, I am curious (as I have not recieved the laptop yet) if anyone has tried installing Windows XP 32-bit on a new macbook pro. What I am most interested in is whether or not it recognizes the full 4 gigs of ram or not...

I have windows XP pro 64 bit but I don't like the OS that much... I'd rather use the 32 bit version... especially since ITunes simply doesn't work with the 64-bit...

anything I should know? I was going to bootcamp... or parallels...and maybe just allocate 2 gigs so I don't have to worry too much... but really I would like to be able to boot XP fully utilizing the ram with the computer...

also, any word on how the new trackpad works with XP? I am wondering if that right click will be recognized in XP...

LMK!

thanks in advance...

It's the same as running XP 32-bit on a PC... it simply can't use the full 4G of RAM. To utilize all that RAM, you'd have to use a 64-bit Microsoft OS. You can use your XP 64-bit if you like, but I've heard a whole bunch of horror stories surrounding that one. If you go with 64-bit, I would recommend Vista eek. But you should have at least a few good reasons to install a 64-bit OS if you choose to take that route.

 

[Baffles]

To be honest, I've found bootcamp sucks. Have to reboot to get Windows, half assed drivers for stuff like the trackpad, etc. I've had a much better user experience running the guest OS in a separate space under VMWare fusion.

 

[mathcolo]

To be honest, I've found bootcamp sucks. Have to reboot to get Windows, half assed drivers for stuff like the trackpad, etc. I've had a much better user experience running the guest OS in a separate space under VMWare fusion.

Yeah, restarting is a huge pain... I would recommend Parallels Desktop over vmWare fusion though.

 

[WilliamG]

Windows XP via Bootcamp recognizes 3GB on my new MBP 2.53Ghz. And I recommend Fusion over Parallels, for many reasons (stability being the most important).

 

[jpcho83]

Thanks for all the responses guys... I think I will end up parallels-ing or fusioning XP... I agree, I hate XP 64-bit... and so far, my experience with Vista is sooo limited that it scares me... lol... but I need to program VBA macros in excel, lol...

whew...

dunno much about either fusion or parallels... but has there been some kind of comparative analysis somewhere that goes in-depth?

Thanks again