MacBook Pro 15" - Arrived today

[Ctech]

Hi guys,

I have just recieved my first Mac ever.. that is not entirly true as my family have had quite a few through the years... but this is the first out of my own money.

First:

I have Windows Vista build 6000, on a dvd and I also have Windows XP SP2..
Which one should I install on my Mac? Will I have to restart the machine each time I want to switch OS, or can I do this with a button when on?

Second:

Hmm I think thats it really... Or how much of Windows is not working with Bootcamp? like 10% or more?

[kirreip]

hello and welcome to the forum.

To answer your first questions. If I were you, go for XP SP2. Vista is still BETA and officially bootcamp does not support it right now.
Of course you can make it work, like others in this forum do. But, I don't really see why. XP SP2 has become a stable OS (for a Windows OS...) Oh and, some programms you maybe want to install, may or may not work well or at all on Vista, as it is still BETA. And it is a very big resource eater...
Oh and yes, you have to reboot your machine to switch OS. Some rumors say, that when Bootcamp comes out in Spring 2007 with leopard, then there will be a feature to switch from one OS to the other without rebooting. But only time will tell.

To answer your second question. This one you will have to find out. For me, every programm or game I installed, worked well. Some people claimed about some games not working with the ATI drivers or some programms not working correctly, but then you always have to check if it is really relatet to the fact that it is Windows on a mac or just windows. See: you will always see people complaining about some stuff not working in a dell or IBM or what ever forum. This does not mean, that it is Bootcamp related. Maybe there is just a windows update to do or an update for the programm you want to install or whatever.

Hope I was able to help you a little bit.

[nerfjames]

In response to rumors that Leopard will include some sort virtualization (ie: fast OS switching), I think apple has put those rumors to rest.

From AppleInsider.com (http://appleinsider.com/article.php?id=2277)

Speaking to an analyst this month, executives for Apple Computer maintained that the company has no plans to incorporate virtualization technology into the final version of its Boot Camp software that will ship as part of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard next spring.

"Apple indicated that it is very pleased with Parallels software and didn't feel the need to compete with its own version of embedded virtualization," Bear Stearns analyst Andy Neff wrote in a research note to clients this week.