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Can someone clarify a Bootcamp/Parallels problem for me?


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Can someone clarify a Bootcamp/Parallels problem for me?
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Gizzer
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Hampshire (the original one)
 
2008-03-04, 17:38

For reasons too long to go into now, I need to run Microsoft Visual Studio 2008, Lotus Notes Developer 8, and MS SQL Server 2008 (and I also need to learn ASP). But I refuse to buy a PC to do it

That leaves me with either Boot Camp or Parallels (or both). As a result I have several questions that a quick skim on here hasn't answered. Apologies in advance if these are dumb questions.

1. Assuming I install Boot Camp, then buy Parallels, does parallels use the Boot Camp partition to store/retrieve files and run the virtual machine?
2. Or is Parallels like Virtual PC, where all it does is create a single file on your Mac partition that acts as the virtual machine (meaning the Boot Camp partition is a completely separate entity)?
3. If Parallels runs as in 2. does that mean I can't create files in Boot Camp and then access them seamlessly in Parallels?
4. Would Parallels even be capable of running all the above apps?
5. Again, if 2. is applicable, what are the licensing implications? Can Windows be activated under Boot Camp, then Activated again under Parallels?
6. Last, but not least, on my Alu 24" iMac 2.8Ghz, Should I be thinking of using XP Professional SP2, or Vista?

Apologies for making this sound more like a PC Support Forum rather than a Mac one, but that's the downside of being a Mac lover whose daytime job is being a PC developer
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ghoti
owner for sale by house
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Charlotte, NC
 
2008-03-04, 17:49

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gizzer View Post
That leaves me with either Boot Camp or Parallels (or both). As a result I have several questions that a quick skim on here hasn't answered. Apologies in advance if these are dumb questions.
There are no dumb questions, only dumb people

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gizzer View Post
1. Assuming I install Boot Camp, then buy Parallels, does parallels use the Boot Camp partition to store/retrieve files and run the virtual machine?
2. Or is Parallels like Virtual PC, where all it does is create a single file on your Mac partition that acts as the virtual machine (meaning the Boot Camp partition is a completely separate entity)?
Both. You can run the installation on your Boot Camp partition directly under the VM in Parallels, and you can install the OS onto a disk image to be independent of the partition. I would actually recommend the latter, because it's a lot more flexible, but of course it doesn't work with Boot Camp. But since you're not going to be playing games (at least you're not mentioning it), you will probably do fine in a VM, and so I would not bother with Boot Camp. Rebooting just takes too long is nowhere near as flexible as a VM.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gizzer View Post
3. If Parallels runs as in 2. does that mean I can't create files in Boot Camp and then access them seamlessly in Parallels?
You can access files very easily through emulated or real network drives, and even do drag&drop between OSX and Windows.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gizzer View Post
4. Would Parallels even be capable of running all the above apps?
Sure, it's just a question of how much memory you have. You probably don't want to devote more than 1GB to Parallels at most if you have 2GB, and the more the better, obviously.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gizzer View Post
5. Again, if 2. is applicable, what are the licensing implications? Can Windows be activated under Boot Camp, then Activated again under Parallels?
Yes, but only once. You can't go back and forth between Boot Camp and Parallels, at least unless you have a site license for Windows that doesn't care about activation.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gizzer View Post
6. Last, but not least, on my Alu 24" iMac 2.8Ghz, Should I be thinking of using XP Professional SP2, or Vista?
I would go with XP unless you need Vista. Vista just needs more resources and a VM is always slower than running the OS directly on the machine. But I don't think you'll have a problem with either. Just be sure to get enough RAM.
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turbulentfurball
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Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Québec
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2008-03-04, 17:49

1: Yes
2: Yes and No. It can do both.
3: See 1 and 2.
4: I don't know.
5: That used to be a problem; where everytime you switched between Parallels and Boot Camp, you had to reactivate Windows, since Windows was 'seeing' different hardware. I'm almost sure it's fixed now though.
6. Personally, I'd go with XP Pro, unless any of those apps require Vista (which I doubt). If you're only going to use those three apps, why clog up your iMac's Hard Drive with a Vista install that's larger than an XP install.

edit: I suck at life
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Gizzer
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Hampshire (the original one)
 
2008-03-04, 18:02

Thanks for the answers guys.

Looks like I will go with XP from your advice - I want the apps to run as fast as they possibly can under Parallels.

Also if I understand you both right, it's handy to know that if I hop between Boot Camp and Parallels, then the files I create as a result are shared between both solutions from the Boot Camp partition. That means I can go 'Native' when I need to, and still access the same files I created from within the VM.
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ghoti
owner for sale by house
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Charlotte, NC
 
2008-03-04, 18:04

Yes, but you should make sure that you can switch between Parallels and Boot Camp without problems, because I don't believe that that has been solved.
  quote
Capucina
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
 
2008-03-11, 04:34

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gizzer View Post
For reasons too long to go into now, I need to run Microsoft Visual Studio 2008, Lotus Notes Developer 8, and MS SQL Server 2008 (and I also need to learn ASP). But I refuse to buy a PC to do it

That leaves me with either Boot Camp or Parallels (or both). As a result I have several questions that a quick skim on here hasn't answered. Apologies in advance if these are dumb questions.

1. Assuming I install Boot Camp, then buy Parallels, does parallels use the Boot Camp partition to store/retrieve files and run the virtual machine?
2. Or is Parallels like Virtual PC, where all it does is create a single file on your Mac partition that acts as the virtual machine (meaning the Boot Camp partition is a completely separate entity)?
3. If Parallels runs as in 2. does that mean I can't create files in Boot Camp and then access them seamlessly in Parallels?
4. Would Parallels even be capable of running all the above apps?
5. Again, if 2. is applicable, what are the licensing implications? Can Windows be activated under Boot Camp, then Activated again under Parallels?
6. Last, but not least, on my Alu 24" iMac 2.8Ghz, Should I be thinking of using XP Professional SP2, or Vista?

Apologies for making this sound more like a PC Support Forum rather than a Mac one, but that's the downside of being a Mac lover whose daytime job is being a PC developer
I think if the problem is with parallels, contact their support-department. I'm sure they will help you!
  quote
dmegatool
Custom User Title
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: At home
 
2008-03-11, 07:42

Quote:
Originally Posted by ghoti View Post
Yes, but you should make sure that you can switch between Parallels and Boot Camp without problems, because I don't believe that that has been solved.
I really really thought it was. Maybe an investigation is needed here.
  quote
ghoti
owner for sale by house
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Charlotte, NC
 
2008-03-11, 09:46

The hardware that Windows sees when booted into Boot Camp and what it sees when in the VM is quite different. Parallels and VMWare don't try to hide their drivers or emulate other hardware (Microsoft wouldn't like that, I'm sure), so Windows thinks it's running on a different machine, and that trips off WGA etc. I don't even think it's possible to just replace drivers and not have WGA find out, since that's the whole idea of that program. Unless MS provides a solution (and they might in the future with built-in virtualization support, but it's a bit unclear if that will work with other systems), I don't think this can be solved.
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