There are two main ways for running Windows on your Mac. You can install Windows on a separate partition of your Mac's hard drive and boot up with Windows, this method is called Bootcamp. The other way is to run Windows directly from Mac OS X, this is called virtualization. We will have a look at both methods for running Windows on your Mac as they have their advantages and disadvantages.
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| Create a Windows partition in Bootcamp |
Bootcamp is the most effective way of running Windows on your Mac, the Bootcamp Assistant software comes standard with Mac OS X and can be found in the Applications/Utilities folder. Setting up Bootcamp is a very simple process. Once you launch the Bootcamp assistant you have to select your Windows partition size, partition your hard drive, insert your Windows installation media and install Windows. To select which operating system launch you need to simply turn on your Mac and hold down the Option/Alt key as soon as you hear the startup chime on your Mac, this will launch a menu where you can choose the operating system you wish to boot up from.
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| Boot Menu |
The advantage of running Windows with Bootcamp is performance. If you intend on running Windows applications that require lots of resources or the latest 3D games, then booting Windows on a separate partition is highly recommended. The only annoying thing about Bootcamp is that if you wish run an application on the other operating system, you must restart your Mac and boot up in the other OS.
Bootcamp supports Windows XP, Windows Vista & Windows 7 installations in Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. However, the Bootcamp assistant in Mac OS X 10.7 Lion only supports installations of Windows 7. An intel Mac computer is also required.
Using Virtualization
Virtualization is another method of running Windows on your Mac. Virtualization is creating a virtual system in your current operating system and running the other OS within. There are 2 main applications that let you run Windows with your Mac. These are: VMware Fusion & Parallels Desktop. However if you are after a free virtualization application, then you can use VirtualBox.
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| VMware Fusion 4 for Mac OS X Lion |
The benefit of virtualization is that you can run Windows and Mac applications together, and can switch between them very quickly and with ease. This makes it the most convenient way in running Windows on your Mac. You can run your virtual Windows in windowed mode, fullscreen mode & seamless mode. With the seamless mode, you can integrate your Windows applications to Mac OS X. The downside of virtualization is it takes up a lot of your systems resources, as you are running both Mac OS X and Windows together. So if you are planning on running resource heavy applications like 3D games, you may find the performance is poor.
VMware Fusion, Parallels Desktop & VirtualBox support Windows XP, Windows Vista & Windows. Older versions of Windows can also be installed including several other operating systems like: Ubuntu, Solaris, FreeBSD etc.
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| Windows running in VirtualBox |
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