What am I expecting...?

[geordie]

Hey now...

I'm looking for a new laptop and want something a bit stylish, and someone suggested trying a Mac with XP dual boot so I get something looking nice, and get to still use Windows...

But from looking at the board here it seems like there are LOADS of little itty bitty problems with doing this. In reality, if I buy a new Macbook, and set it to dual boot Windows XP, what am I expecting when I turn it on?

What are the things that will definately not work from the off, and what CAN'T I do with a setup like this? And then what are the other likely limitations and shortcomings of a setup like this?

I was really into the idea, but now I've had a look through a few pages on the forum, it seems like nothing works! Cameras, speakers, headphones, lights, screen ... etc etc... I don't mind having a bit of a fiddle to get things working, but if it's going to need constantly fixing, I can't be bothered!

Any advice on what won't work, and what kinds of things I will be struggling with, and pulling my hair out with will be appreciated!

gk

[bdj21ya]

For the most part, there should be no problems. The built in i-Sight will not work in Windows, neither will the remote control--at least not until someone comes out with a working versin of these drivers. However, you wouldn't get those things in another laptop, while with a MacBook, there is at least a good chance that these things will be available in the near future (~6 months).

The one thing that will be hampered is switching between headphones and the built-in speakers. This will also likely be dealt with by the time Leopard rolls around (late this year or early next). Right now you can choose to have the speakers disabled and simply use the headphones jack for headphones or external speaker--if you install the driver suggested in the wiki on this site. However, the downside is that the internal speakers do not work using this driver.

The driver Apple has currently bundled with Boot Camp works for both the internal speakers and the headphone jack, but does not currently support turning off the internal speakers when the headphones are plugged in. Personally, I like the first option I mentioned better--I don't need internal speakers in Windows.

My experience with XP on my MBP has been overall very smooth. In fact, it actually runs quite a bit better than on any other machine I've ever used. (faster with fewer crashes). It's not for everyone, but I wouldn't worry too much about its reliability. It is not a matter of constantly fixing things or working around problems again and again. You simply get things set up the way you want, and then they should work. I like the extra set-up personally, because it's fun for me to get things working the way I want them.

[cgd]

yepp, same thing here. I'm running XP on my Macbook (and on a Mac Mini at home) without problems so far. There are some stakes when setting up, but once you have installed the necessary tools (i.e., input remapper) and drivers (i.e. newest Intel drivers for GMA 950), everything runs well.

Sure i'd love to use iSight and headphones that switch the internal speakers, but hey, all nice things come at a price, and the missing drivers will hopefully appear some time soon.

[geordie]

Thanks for that... that's very interesting to read, and it seems it's a lot more trouble free than I thought.

A few questions in follow up - I think - but am not 100% from your post - that you can get the internal speakers work - I couldn't quite make out?

And does this speaker problem only happen under XP or does it affect the Mac OS too?

Finally, will anything, and every program I'm running on XP now run on a dual boot Mac?

Thanks!

[bdj21ya]

The internal speakers work fine in XP using Apple's provided driver (included in Boot Camp). However, when you plug in headphones or external speakers using this driver, the internal speakers are not switched off. (So, if anything, the internal speakers work just a little TOO well. :) )

Everything works fine in OS X. I can't describe what a joy it is to use over XP. However, as I've said before, even XP runs faster for me on my Mac than on any machine I've run on before.

Almost anything and everything will run on your Mac. Everything I've tried works fine. You see, there is actually nothing different now between an Intel Mac and a PC that uses EFI bootloading, that is, in relation to the architecture/operating system relationship. The only programs you might run into trouble on are a couple 3d games (though I play Battlefield 1942 all the time with no problems). It sounds like you're not too worried about 3d games though, since you're looking at a MacBook (if you are worried about 3d gaming, go with the MacBook Pro, you'll want a dedicated graphics card, or so I hear). The only other thing I know of that won't work is using a TV as an external monitor, at least on the MacBook Pro. Right now, the graphics card detects my TV as a monitor in XP and so it doesn't set it up right at all (works just fine in OS X). However, I'm sure this will be fixed in the future. In short, most every program should run just fine. I have personally used 3d games, MS Office, Video editting (the MS program), Graphics editting (Ulead PhotoImpact), and Skype.

[nickcmac]

...after 5 plus years of Dell laptops i decided to splurge the company money on a MacBook (dual).

After two weeks and installing a few tidy drivers im very happy with it. Yep right click etc.. is a slight workaround from a PC but it still works - just a little different.

The internal speakers are not that great anyway (and who ever uses them!). The driver i installed recognizes a headphone jack and switched off internal speakers (thats all i want so i can listen to muic in private) The internal speakers still work when headphones taken out.

I use it as a hardcore business machine - visio, outlook, excel, powerpoint, IM etc.. All work fine for me. In fact already more stable and quicker than previous dells. The fact it looks like an Aston Martin is even better.

Even OS im slowly moving over to. Entourage is quite good on there, so outlook email is still accessible.

If you want something that is just ready to go with NO changes than buy a dell. But i wouldnt bother - ive had numerous serious crashes and lost data with Dells. So take a chance and buy a Macbook.

My two cents:)

Cool forum (although i do need to find that input remapper so i can get brightness/volume keys mapped in onXP...)

[bdj21ya]

You say your headphone/speakers switching works with the driver you installed. What driver is this?!? It would be awesome to have the speakers stop playing when I plug in headphones. I don't even need the speakers to ever work, but when I install the intel driver from the Wiki, the internal mic doesn't work anymore.

Does your internal mic work?