In 1996 and following years, software developer Insignia Solutions sold SoftWindows. It was one of the first major emulation software titles that enabled Mac users to run Windows. I think it wasn’t so popular. As I remember, it cost around US$145 those days. Then there was Virtual PC, which was developed by Connectix. Connectix’s introduction of PC emulation was an instant hint due to its easy usage. You can swap files between Mac OS and Windows with ‘drag and drop.’ I bought Virtual PC with Windows 98 along with iMac 333 MHz about 9 years ago.
Things have changed around Mac emulation software business for the past several years. Connectix sold its Virtual PC division to Microsoft. Apple abandoned PowerPC chips and adopted to Intel processors. Subsequently, Microsoft discontinued this popular software title. Now, thanks to Boot Camp, Intel Mac users can run Windows OS in native speeds. In the meantime, there are a few new emulation software titles like VMware Fusion from VMware, Inc. and Parallels Desktop for Mac from Parallels.
We’ve been playing with our first Intel Mac computer for the past several days. Now, we want to install Boot Camp on our iMac Core 2 Duo 2.8 GB. So if you are a little behind other Mac users just like we are, you can ride the same boat and install Windows XP or Vista.
There are a few facts that you should be aware of when you first got your Intel Mac machine.
- You can only run Windows OS under an internal hard disk drive, not under an external hard disk drive
- You cannot create partitions on the internal hard disk drive under which you install Boot Camp and Windows OS.
- You cannot install Windows OS through a disk image. You must have a physical Windows installation disk.
Soon after we got our iMac Core 2 Duo, we created a partition on the internal hard disk drive to install Adobe applications and other software titles. So we were forced to remove this partition.
If you have an Intel Mac model, there isn’t anything that you have to download from Apple’s website as far as Boot Camp is concerned. Find Boot Camp Assistant inside Applications > Utilities. (See Screenshot 01.) If you launch Boot Camp Assistant, you will see an introduction screen. Click on Continue. (See Screenshot 02.) Then you will be given two options – Create or remove a Windows partition and Start the Windows installer. (See Screenshot 03.) If you haven’t, you need to make a partition for Windows installation. If you already have multiple Mac partitions on the internal hard disk drive, you need to merge them into the one where Mac OS is installed.
Screenshot 01 – Source: MacHouse |
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Screenshot 02 – Source: MacHouse |
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Screenshot 03 – Source: MacHouse |
Okay. Let’s create a Windows partition. All you have to do is to slide the divider between Mac OS X and Window. (See Screenshot 04.) If you click on Partition, resizing will commence. Presumably, Boot Camp will also install the CD/DVD driver at this stage. This task can take some time, depending on how much data you already have on your internal hard disk drive. Continue reading →
