XP or Vista on Bootcamp?

ButtermilkJack

I've just received my new MacBook Pro and am going to install windows on it when I get it up and running. Would anyone recommend whether to go and purchase Vista, or just install a copy of XP I already own? Any advantages to going with Vista.

Anyone have any experience of either OS on Bootcamp?

im...LOST

XP with the main reason being that it's not such a RAM whore and of course it doesn't require as much hard drive space either.

squonk_ie

I have installed both on my old MBP. Both run well but of course you need at least 2gb of ram for Vista. Apples drivers are excellent. For me I would only install Vista if you have an over riding need for it or desire to check it out. Vista also takes up a lot more hard drive space than XP With XP you can get the install folder down to below a gig. On my iMac my Vista folder takes up over 8gb. I have 100gb of my 500 gb drive given to Vista so its no an issue but with a MBP it may be something to consider

ButtermilkJack

To be honest I've no burning desire to see what all the fuss is about with Vista. I guess my only reason for installing Windows is... 1) to test my web designs on the windows environment, and... 2) run one or two apps on the odd occassion.

I guess I'll stick with XP so. The new MBP has 250GB of HD but I wouldn't be happy handing over any more than 30GB or 40GB at the most to Windows.

Thanks for the heads-up!

flywheel

suggest you stick with 32GB max and format using FAT so that you can read/write to the Windows drive from OS X (larger partition and you need to use NTFS that OS X can only read from)

ButtermilkJack

Great suggestion, cheers!

Oriel

No NOT go near Vista.

fasty

Vista is fine these days, even better with Service Pack 1 installed. You can't install Vista on a FAT32 partition though.

I've got a 250GB HD in my Macbook so I gave Vista 80, needing to use it a lot. With Office2k7, Visual Studio 2008 and SQL Express it's about 25GB, which isn't much more than a VMWare virtual machine with similar apps installed.

ButtermilkJack

Well, it turns out that the version of XP that I have (XP Pro SP2) is an OEM version (I only have a restore disc that came with my Samsung laptop?) which apparently can't be used to install on Bootcamp. Looks like I'm going to have to purchase a new license :mad:

Anyone know what I should expect to pay for a new XP Pro SP2 or Vista Home Basic SP1? I've been looking around the web but to be honest there are so many different versions and all at varying prices it's starting to confuse me!

Creamy Goodness

vista is fine on desktops but on a laptop it's a no no for me, it rapes the battery twice.

Type 17

ButtermilkJack wrote: »

Anyone know what I should expect to pay for a new XP Pro SP2...

I went looking for this in PC World and they only had an upgrade version (from Win 98/ME/2k) for €169 (if I recall correctly). They said that it wasn't possible for them to sell a full version of XP any longer.

ButtermilkJack

Type 17 wrote: »

I went looking for this in PC World and they only had an upgrade version (from Win 98/ME/2k) for €169 (if I recall correctly). They said that it wasn't possible for them to sell a full version of XP any longer.

Hmm, interesting. I see it is available on the net alright but the prices are all over the place.

After reading Cremo's comment about the battery usage I think I'll stay away from Vista for now.

Type 17

Well, I recommend getting XP soon if you want it, because it looks like it will be gone soon...

Creamy Goodness

well i'll give some statistics to back up my comment as that's what counts.

i had vista ultimate on my macbook and from a full charge i got about 40 minutes use of it, all i had on was the wireless. even if a macbook pro battery can double that time, it's still shocking use of a good battery.

ohh and also tiger/leopard still look and function better

if i was you i'd get a copy of xp pro sp2 and run it through paralells then get IE7/opera/firefox for xp and then go from there with your web dev.

ButtermilkJack

Yep, that's exactly what I plan to do.

I notice that there are OEM versions for sale at a fraction of the price of full packages. The websites state that the OEM versions are for "system builders only" and that no support is provided by Microsoft.

Is it possible for anyone to purchase an OEM version? Is it wise to go this route?

Creamy Goodness

yeh OEM versions are fine, you break the EULA but it will work, also some companies will not sell OEM software unless a piece of hardware is bought as well.

Type 17

Query: When it is stated that there is no support for OEM versions, does this affect MS Software Update?

Creamy Goodness

Type 17 wrote: »

Query: When it is stated that there is no support for OEM versions, does this affect MS Software Update?

OEM products are generally not supported by microsoft and are meant to be supported by whoever you get the disc from ie. dell/hp etc. but they don't give discs out anymore but that's another story.

OEM versions of software work exactly like their retail copy but they do not have phone support or technical support that's all.

Type 17

Perfect, sure I can nearly always find technical answers on the Web or through a knowledgeable friend, so I can't say that I've ever called a support number for anything...

ButtermilkJack

Just a further thought... Boot Camp is telling me that I need to activate XP during installation. As I already have the XP operating system installed on the PC laptop it came with, does this mean I will not be able to activate/use it?

flywheel

it is, that's new, never been asked by bootcamp to activate... you sure it's not the windows install asking... i use a full XP install (non OEM) so it doesn't need to be actvated on install... maybe the version you are using does...

Type 17

DubWireless wrote: »

...I use a full XP install (non OEM) so it doesn't need to be actvated on install...

I recently installed a full (non-OEM) XP version (XP Professional SP2) with Bootcamp, and had to activate it (XP asked, not Bootcamp)

Dublinstiofán

I used the beta version of bootcamp with XP and it f**ked up my MBP so i'd advise against it unless theres a programme you simply must use on windows not available for the mac.

Breezer

Activation will work provided you have not used the same code to activate Windows within the last 3 months or so. Microsoft's database 'forgets' the activation after that long to allow for reinstalls.

flywheel

bootcamp works just fine... (installed it several times) with only two of issues none of which affected the OS X partition... i had a back-up anyhow (as the installer advises you do!!)

never been forced to activate XP after installing via Bootcamp, it just begins the 30 coutdown from the day it is installed...

ButtermilkJack

DubWireless wrote: »

it is, that's new, never been asked by bootcamp to activate... you sure it's not the windows install asking... i use a full XP install (non OEM) so it doesn't need to be actvated on install... maybe the version you are using does...

Sorry, should have said, it's not Bootcamp that's asking me for activation (I haven't actually started installation yet!) but rather I read in the Bootcamp installation guide that I will be required to activate once I do install Windows.

I just want to make sure I have all bases covered before I go ahead with the install.

Breezer wrote: »

Activation will work provided you have not used the same code to activate Windows within the last 3 months or so. Microsoft's database 'forgets' the activation after that long to allow for reinstalls.

I've actually just completed a format and clean install of my PC Laptop which had the copy of XP on it but not sure if I 'activated' it again or not?

scoot on

I'm going to upgrade to leopard next week and i want to run XP on my macbook for some applications I need. I'm not really techie, can anyone tell me if it's difficult to run boot camp? Also, anyone got a link for somewhere good to buy XP?

Breezer

ButtermilkJack wrote:

I've actually just completed a format and clean install of my PC Laptop which had the copy of XP on it but not sure if I 'activated' it again or not?

If you activated it, you would most likely have clicked an annoying balloon in the bottom right corner telling you you had 30 days to activate. A blue/purple window would have come up where you chose to activate over the internet or ring Microsoft, then if you chose internet you'd have entered your serial number. Sound familiar? If not, then you didn't activate it (sometimes OEM copies don't require activation when installed on the machine they came with).

Of course, it's a breach of the EULA to install a single licence copy of XP on both your PC laptop and your MacBook. Then again, it's a breach to install an OEM copy that came from another PC on the MacBook regardless.

scoot on wrote:

I'm going to upgrade to leopard next week and i want to run XP on my macbook for some applications I need. I'm not really techie, can anyone tell me if it's difficult to run boot camp? Also, anyone got a link for somewhere good to buy XP?

No, very easy to run. Assuming it's the same procedure as Tiger (I haven't used Leopard other than a demo in a shop) you use Boot Camp Assistant to partition the hard drive, boot from your Windows installation CD and install to the new partition (drivers are installed automatically in Leopard, though I'm not sure exactly when this occurs). Then, you can either set Windows as your default OS which the laptop boots into when it's turned on, or you can hold the Option key on boot up and select the Windows partition to boot from each time you need it.

OEM copies of XP can be bought cheaply on eBay. Amazon also used to have some.

ButtermilkJack

Breezer wrote: »

If you activated it, you would most likely have clicked an annoying balloon in the bottom right corner telling you you had 30 days to activate. A blue/purple window would have come up where you chose to activate over the internet or ring Microsoft, then if you chose internet you'd have entered your serial number. Sound familiar? If not, then you didn't activate it (sometimes OEM copies don't require activation when installed on the machine they came with).

Of course, it's a breach of the EULA to install a single licence copy of XP on both your PC laptop and your MacBook. Then again, it's a breach to install an OEM copy that came from another PC on the MacBook regardless.

No, definitely didn't do that so I guess it just allowed me to re-install as it was the same machine.

To be honest I think I will just go out and buy a new OEM version and go from there. Should save any hassles.

Gerard_Smith

Since I will probably be doing this soon I was wondering whether I should go for the 32 or 64 bit edition of Vista? I will probably pick Vista over XP purely because the OEM edition of Vista Home Premium is cheaper than any version of XP on komplett and hard-drive space should not be an issue.

Gerard_Smith

A little research into Vistas DRM has me questioning whether its the OS to go for. I would mostly be using the Windows partition for gaming would you still recommend XP over Vista?

Gerard_Smith

Really need some opinions on this. Time is rapidly running out on having XP as a option.

Type 17

Given the fact that a lot of PC users are downgrading from Vista to XP, and that Vista is seen as "a bit of a flop" (casual quote from a friend of mine who works for MS in Dublin), I'd buy a 64-bit* version of XP while you can, as you can always buy a copy of Vista later (Vista may even get cheaper as time goes on ), but XP will become unavailable shortly...

*If you have an Intel Core 2 Duo Mac, it is a 64-bit processor, so be sure to get the 64-bit version of XP (I'm not sure if the Intel Core Duo is 64-bit, but the Core 2 Duo definitely is).

Gerard_Smith

Type 17 wrote: »

Given the fact that a lot of PC users are downgrading from Vista to XP, and that Vista is seen as "a bit of a flop" (casual quote from a friend of mine who works for MS in Dublin), I'd buy a 64-bit* version of XP while you can, as you can always buy a copy of Vista later (Vista may even get cheaper as time goes on ), but XP will become unavailable shortly...

*If you have an Intel Core 2 Duo Mac, it is a 64-bit processor, so be sure to get the 64-bit version of XP (I'm not sure if the Intel Core Duo is 64-bit, but the Core 2 Duo definitely is).

My mac has a 2.8Ghz Core 2 Duo but I thought apple recommended only using the 32bit version of Xp/Vista?

Type 17

Gerard_Smith wrote: »

...Apple recommend only using the 32bit version of Xp/Vista?

You're right, further research shows that drivers for the 64-bit version of XP are thin on the ground, so I guess that is their reason for recommending 32-bit XP even though new Mac hardware has 64-bit processors.

Anyway, I'd get a copy of XP while you can - that's what I did - running XP Professional Version 2002 (which I now see is 32-bit!) on Bootcamp. I only use it for SatNav admin, BlackBerry firmware upgrades and running a copy of ETKA, though.

Gerard_Smith

I'll just be using Windows for gaming, I really dislike the OS its given me too many problems in the past. Anyway, think I might go with XP. If nothing else its cheaper!

Gerard_Smith

My copy of XP has arrived. Any advice on how much of my 1TB drive to give over to it? I'm thinking 100gb?