Boot Camp Special Report: FAQ (Frequently asked questions)

CNET staff

Sept. 2, 2009 6:45 a.m. PT

3 min read

Q. Can a retail Windows XP disc without Service Pack 2 (SP2), or the copy of Windows XP included with Virtual PC be used with Boot Camp?

A. Yes, but you will have to apply the SP2 update to the Windows XP disc, generating a slip stream copy. You can find instructions here.

Q. Is there a chance that files stored on the Mac OS X partition will be affected by security issues that manifest in the Windows XP partition?

A. Technically, malware will be able to modify the contents of the Mac OS X partition. However, it would have to be extremely sophisticated, with the ability to read and write files to the Mac OS Extended drive format. In other words, the chances are very slim.

Q. How do I switch between Mac OS X and Windows XP startup disks from Windows XP

A. In addition to holding the option key down at startup to select between Windows XP and Mac OS X partitions, Apple has placed a Startup Disk pane in the Windows XP control panel, allowing you to set which drive partition will boot on the next restart.

Q. How does sleep behave with MacBook Pros? Can the lid just be opened and closed?

A. Sleep works properly on the MacBook Pro -- closing the lid invokes sleep. When the system is awoken by opening the lid, the normal Windows user login screen is presented.

Q. What type of driver is Apple using for the ATI X1600 video card?

A. The ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 driver included on the Mac drivers CD lists ATI as its developer, affirming our earlier speculation that Apple cooperated with ATI for development of the driver.

Q. What does the "Command" key do under Windows XP?

A. The Command key invokes the "Start" button.

Q. Should the Windows XP partition be formatted in FAT32 or NTFS format?

A. If you format the Windows XP partition as FAT32, it will be both readable and writable from within Mac OS X -- but it will also be limited to 32 GB in size (make sure the partition you set when initializing Boot Camp is 32 GB or smaller if using FAT32)

If the Windows XP partition is formatted using NTFS, it will be readable -- but not writable (by default) -- from within Mac OS X, and can be larger than 32 GB.

There are some potential security upsides to NTFS but performance should not differ significantly.

Q. What Apple hardware will not work with Windows XP?

A. According to Apple, the Apple Remote Control (IR), Apple Wireless (Bluetooth) keyboard or mouse, Apple USB Modem, MacBook Pro's sudden motion sensor, MacBook Pro's ambient light sensor, and built-in iSight camera will not function correctly when running Windows XP.

[See Ted Landau's article for more questions and answers]

Index: