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General discussion

Will Apple's Boot Camp be able to run Windows Vista?

May 17, 2006 8:31PM PDT

Will it?

Discussion is locked

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A recurrent question with recurrent answer
May 17, 2006 9:42PM PDT

and that answer is:

definitely maybe and positively perhaps.

Let's face it, M$ don't really know what sort of PC Vista is going to run on, the question of whether it will run under Boot Camp, remains to be seen.

It probably will, maybe.

P

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Why would you want to?
May 26, 2006 1:01PM PDT

I saw a couple of spoof videos recently. The soundtrack was Bill Gates telling everyone about the wonderful new features that would be included in Vista when, and if, it ever comes out. The video track was somebody using a Mac showing all the things Bill was claiming (as usual to be the latest MS technology.

I wish I could have been there and asked Uncle Bill "Will Vista include anything that has not already been on the Mac for years?" I think it is sad that MS constantly announce the latest wonderful MS technology but it is so often just a poor copy of established Mac technology"

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Because of the larger choice of software, especially games
Jun 2, 2006 2:26AM PDT

To see why people would want to run Vista on a Mac just walk into a software store and try to find the Mac software. 3 shelves in back if you're lucky. And games? Bwaaahaaahaa. I know several people who got rid of their Macs, not because the hardware was lousy, but they became frustrated because of the software issue. It's not that there aren't good titles available for the Mac but for every one title for the Mac there'll be 25 for the PC.

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Which is odd since no game I see...
Jun 2, 2006 2:38AM PDT

Lists Vista as a pre-requisite.

Maybe for the remainder of this year, XP will be just fine.

Bob

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windows vs mac
Jun 2, 2006 6:07AM PDT

sorry, guess I didn't make myself clear. the point I was trying to make was "Why would Mac ownere ever want to run ANY flavor of windows on an Apple? Because of the larger selection of software for Windows vs. OS X".

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Ohh, that discussion.
Jun 2, 2006 6:36AM PDT

That discussion is quite overdone. Why not make your choice?

Bob

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Pleanty for me on my Macs
Jun 2, 2006 12:53PM PDT

I have have about 550Gb of disk space on my Mac and I sometimes delete games because I want to release the space. But then while I do play games (unreal tournament, Halo, Quake4, etc) I didn't buy a computer to play games. I bought it for my work which it does far more efficiently and trouble free than a PC. For me, the games are a bounus, not a reason to buy a computer.

Actually I suspect this argument may soon turn around the other way. The new Mac processor makes it easier for PC software companies to produce games for Mac so we may soon end up with all the PC games plus the Mac games on the Mac OS with none of the virues, crashes and freezes.

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Needs the Hardware
May 23, 2006 6:52PM PDT

Running Vista on a Mac is like running it on any other computer. Like all other computers it needs the hardware to run the software. I don't think Microsoft came out with official hardware requirements but at this blog: http://reviews.cnet.com/4531-10921_7-6529109.html?tag=txt, it shows some unofficial specs that might be needed to run Vista.

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Wrong question
Jun 1, 2006 10:58PM PDT

Right questio: Will any PCs be able to run WIndows Vista?

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Will Vista run on an Intel iMac?
Jun 2, 2006 12:55AM PDT

Well, let's see:

When I dual-boot with XP, and run the Microsoft-supplied Vista Hardware Compatiblilty tool I downloaded from Microsoft's Vista website,

The tool reports that 100% of my iMac hardware is compatible with all editions of Windows Vista, from the most simple one (basically, Windows XP, without the Aero GUI), to the "Ultimate Edition" (this edition includes all features of Microsoft Vista Ultimate Edition (including 3-D features of the Aero GUI).

In fact, the tool recommends that I use the Ultimate Edition of Vista.
======================================================
My specs:
Off-the-shelf Apple Intel iMac 17" (first edition)
2gb Memory
1.83gHz Intel Core-Duo Processor
2MB L2 Cache
On-Board sound
Apple Dual-layer 8x CD/DVD burner
Microsoft Wireless Desktop Elite KB/MOUSE
Apple Cinema Display 20"
Third-party 60GB Firewire 400 HD

Now, all I need are:
1) The Vista Community Public Preview, due within 2 weeks
2) A boot-utility like Apple's BootCamp software

DO NOT USE Parallels Workstation to run any MS OS in a "hardware-virtualized pc", since it is definitely NOT READY for every-day use, even though it is in its second Release Candidate. XP runs only nominally on it, in spite of the fantastic claims about its performance from Parallels and their testers.

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Nice!
Jun 2, 2006 2:56AM PDT

I saw a similar list the other day as part of an article in which the author, a Windows commentator, was surprised to find that the machine, after running the MS compatiblity too,most suited for VISTA was.....His loaner Mac!

Happy

P

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At least you can easily trash the OS when it gets infested
Jun 2, 2006 1:01PM PDT

I have been trying to figure out why people would want to run Vista when they have Mac OSX and other than being able to run more games - maybe.

I guess one of the benefits would be that when Windoze gets infested with viruses, etc you could trash it and replace it without reformatting the hard disk. If it is running on a Mac there is even a very small chance you could completely re-install the OS without re-installing or setting up all your other software like you can on a Mac.

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Cost
Jun 2, 2006 3:43AM PDT

To legally do it, you would have to buy the full version of Vista, which is also the most expensive way to buy a Microsoft operating system.

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YES
Jun 5, 2006 11:47AM PDT

According to my most recent issue of Macworld, superior hardware will be able to run inferior software. Why you would want to, that is a better question.