Windows On Mac :: Using 64-bit Versus 32-bit For Windows 7?
Dec 15, 2009
I just got off the nut and purchased win7 but my question is which flavor would work the best for my situation. Since the OEM versions require you to choose at purchase time, I want to choose wisely.
I'm thinking of running mostly in VMware Fusion, on a late 08 (unibody) MacBook Pro with 4gig of ram. I understand that the going with 32bit would decrease my accessible ram a bit but would running 32-bit increase compatibility.
I do plan on setting up a bootcamp partition and perhaps in time using that, but so far I only forsee my usage being in vmware.
I've heard Office:Mac isn't that great, and doesn't make up for what iWork 09 is missing. So I'm wondering what people think about it and why does it get such a bland reputation? Also, do people use a combination of the above? Such as iWork and Office:Windows? Both Offices? I do mainly word processing, some soft Excel work (no hardcore giant spreadsheets...yet), and general PowerPoints for presentations. I have access to cheap iWork/Offices (school discount) and a family pack of the top-level edition of Office:PC (family) so it isn't a big deal to get any of the above.
Lastly, what's the difference between Camino and Firefox? I use Firefox currently and love it, mainly due to the add-ons (weather at the bottom, Gmail alert, skins, page views, other customizations). Tabs seem to be on all browsers these days, so are there any other key differences?
I wanted to let you know of my experiences attempting to install Windows 7 Professional on my brand new iMac 27".
I purchased the machine new on 10/24/2009. It has the ATI 4670 video card, not the Nvidia.
I made four seperate attempts to install Windows 7 Professional 64-bit. Each attempt fails the exact same way. When Windows Setup is on the final reboot prior to completing the install, it starts up and displays a message, "Starting Services". Then it displays a message box stating that a problem occurred and windows needed to reboot to continue setup.
On a side note: I also have a copy of Windows 7 32-bit Professional. After formatting the BootCamp partition, the 32-bit version installed with zero problems (black screen aside). If you plug a second monitor into the Mac the display is actually on that monitor.
If anyone can offer any advice on how to overcome installing the 64-bit version, that is what I really want. I'm holding off on activating this copy of windows for a few days to see if anyone can offer a solution to the problem installing the 64-bit edition.
I bought Windows 7 today (Premium version) and it came with both a 32-bit disc and a 64-bit disc. I'm just wondering if there are any real significant advantages to using the 64-bit version. The specs of my MBP are in my sig.
I was one of the ("new converts") XP people who got Macs for the first time because of some very fabulous advertizing and Apple's image as a company with superior products. But after 1 year of using a Mac, I have come to believe that a computer is a computer is a computer.
Latest OS whether it is windows or OSX, would always have learnt something from its predecessors and competitors and in some extent would be better. Some new OS represent a big step forward (windows XP or leopard), others a small step (vista or snow leopard). Microsoft suffered because they took a small step forward with XP when Apple took a big step with leopard and now it is Apple's turn to suffer when Microsoft takes a big step with Seven vs. Apple's small step forward with SL.
I went for a better product switching to Mac at that time when time comes around for my next computer; it won't be a Mac just because I am a Mac user. It will be whichever is a better product at that time in both features and value. Whether it is a PC or a Mac, because a computer is a computer is a computer.
Is it just me or do any of you have a different tactile experience with laser mice on a Mac OS vs. Windows? I have both loaded operating systems on my new MP and it just feels like the mouse tracks better in Windows... like it's just snappier as if it had a higher refresh or sampling rate. I've actually always noticed this going back and forth between Macs and PCs for years -- the mouse just works better in Windows -- maybe Windows has better mouse drivers or something because it just feels more responsive. I should try an old ball mouse to see if it's the optical factor. My mouse on the Mac just feels ever so slightly choppy. Maybe I need one of those special optical mouse pads(?)
So when the windows 7 beat was launched, i ended up choosing to download the 32-bit version as I knew it would run, and I wasn't sure if I was compatible or not.
1. I have a 20" iMac 2.4GHz 2GB RAM etc. Is my computer capable of running 64-bit?
2. Whats the difference between 32-bit and 64-bit? Is 64-bit faster?
When I want to finish a session of using Vista in VirtualBox. If I "x" out the application, "it says "save in state" or something like that and "power off machine" is power off machine different than shutting down windows? What's best to do and what does what? I'm assuming also that I can't just close virtualbox and come back to it later without windows being shut down or affected?
Could I get some feedback on what the community feels is the better of these two programs and why. I want to run Win 7 and have been trying Virtual Box and it's just not working out for me.
Currently, I installed windows xp via Bootcamp and it's having no issues. However, I also have parallels 5 and windows 7 so i was wondering if I should delete the bootcamp partition and install win7 via parallels instead?
I'm playing Left 4 Dead on Windows 7 x64. Frame rates are down compared to Vista x64 SP1. Not what I was expecting. Playing both on same low quality settings.
I'm running on a Radeon x1600 (MacBook Pro). As far I remember the graphics drivers are the same version under 7 and Vista (i.e. the Boot Camp driver).
i have been a long time macbook pro user and I finally got around to installing bootcamp to run some windows software for school. I'm sure that many of you have noticed how the acceleration path for the mouse tracking on OSX feel "different" than Windows and my problem is that I prefer the OSX method of tracking and can't stand the fidgety nature of windows tracking (especially while using the new buttonless trackpads which work great on OSX but fail miserably on windows). I did a search on google and found that there are many ways to get the OSX tracking to "feel" like windows using software like USBOverdrive but I couldn't find any solutions for my problem which involves the opposite, getting windows tracking to feel like OSX.
I have a lot of computer experience, mostly with Windows. This is my first Mac (MacBook Pro Lion). I'm having trouble understanding how to search for files with the Mac OS.For instance, let's say there's a file named "shakeyt" inside an application folder and I want to search for it (even though I know this file does exist there). If I select the root of my hard drive and type "shakeyt" in the search box in Windows Explorer, it searches the entire drive and shows me all the results for that search, including the file "shakeyt" that I knew was there and it's path.
This does not seem to work for me in Lion. When I select Macintosh HD or "this mac" or click on the Applications folder (where I know it exists) and type "shakeyt" in the search box (or in the spotlight search box) the only results that I get are a couple of emails that contain the word "shakeyt". I have looked through all the finder and system preferences to see if I have something set wrong but cannot find anything. Isn't there somewhere in this OS that you can simply type a word and it will show you all instances of this word (file names, text references, etc)?
Is it better for me to buy the upgrade for windows 7, from vista to windows 7 or to buy the full copy? If i buy the fully version, should i get rid of my pardon, and re-do it with bootcamp, or should i just do it over my current pardon? (Vista) I just want the best way, less pain, less anger. Im willing to pay more for full IF IT IS THE BEST way to do it.
when I get my new MBP (when they release them *sigh*), I intend on doing some moderate gaming on it. Things like MW2, Starcraft, Sims 3, Battlefield BC2, and some others I can't think of right now.
My question is, if a game is available for both OSX and Windows, would it be better to get it for OSX, or Windows? I was wondering if I should have like all my games in the windows partition, or have ones that I can get for OSX separate.
so i have a windows XP professional disk, SP2 and all. i am trying to install windows, i get as far as partitioning the disk, but once it says "please insert XP disk" i do that, and it will think for a few minutes, and make a loud noise [coming from the mac] then a message pops up and says 'please insert installation disk.' the disk is brand new, what am i doing wrong? should i be partitioning the windows side larger?
Im interested in trying Windows 7 RC, but don't know which version to download. Im planning to install it on a MacBook Pro (May 2008), in Boot Camp and in VM.
i have my aluminum 2.4GHz 4gb RAM aluminum macbook with the geforce 9400m. and i was wondering. is DirectX 9 better then DirectX 10?. even if the difference is only 8 FPS it still counts.(really the only game im going to play is elder scrolls 4 oblivion)
just trying to get back into Windows 7 after installing it via Boot Camp. Only thing is that holding down the option key during restart does nothing, and although the partition in which Windows 7 is installed under shows up in finder, I am unable to view it in system preferences so that I can boot from it. Any advice?
Ok, Here is the scoop. I am trying to get Wifi to work on my macbook while on XP. When I put in the disk and it says "The package requires a newer version of Windows Installer. Would you like to update?" I say yes and it says "The requires resoruce update is missing." and if I click no it says "The operation is aborted." or something.
I just purchased a new iMac (2.66 c2d & 4gb of ram), Parallels 4, and Windows XP. I would like to get great performance whenever I use Windows XP and would like to know which installation procedure would help accomplish that.
Would Parallels provide me with a better user experience by installing Windows directly via Parallels OR by having Parallels utilizing a Boot Camp Partition? Which is better and why? Also, how much memory should I allocate to Parallels/Windows XP?
Last night I installed VMWare Fusion and Windows 7 on my Unibody MBP running SL. When I use Fusion, my computer slows to a crawl. I spent a few hours getting Windows set up and installing software last night.
I would like to try using Boot Camp instead, but do not want to lose all of the software and files that I have installed. Is it possible to set up Boot Camp, and keep the same Windows setup?
A question about windows 7 and a Mac pro 3.1 edition 2008. I have installed windows 7 and all is fine and dandy everything works, except in the bottom right hand corner there the error flag showing on the tool bar.
This is the error.
Apple Memory Controller GPE event is not compatible with windows 7.