One of the huge advantages of getting an Apple computer with the Intel processor is the ability to run a native boot version of Windows. Lets face it, we still live in a Windows world no matter how much faster, safer, and more productive the Mac OS X operating system is.
But as Apple continues it’s rise in popularity, you can feel safe in making the switch to an Apple computer now because there really is nothing it can’t do. With the addition of Apple Boot Camp software, which now comes with the Leopard version of Mac OS X, you can easily setup Windows XP or even Vista as a dual boot system.
There are a few tips that I can give you to make this process go smoothly because even though it is easy to get everything setup, there are a couple of things in the setup guide that I didn’t bother to read first that caused problems.
The first step is to run the Boot Camp Assistant application. You can find this by going to Applications -> Utilities. Run through the steps in this wizard and create the partition for your Windows installation. When you finish, it will ask you to put your Windows installation disk in. You will need to make sure you have a full installation disk, not an upgrade disk. Also, if you are installing Windows XP then it has to be a SP2 install disk.
Put in the installation disk and restart. This will allow it to boot to the installation disk and start the Windows installation process. Go through the installation wizard to the partition selection page. At this page, select the Windows partition you created with the Boot Camp Assistant. On the format options, make sure you select the Full format FAT32 option. You cannot use the Quick format option or it will cause problems with finishing the installation.
After the Windows installation has finished copying the installation files to the hard drive and restarts, make sure you hold down the Option button so it gives you the option to boot into the Windows partition. If you do not do this, you’ll never complete the installation because it will just keep booting to the Mac OS partition.
Once you’ve completed the Windows installation, you’ll need to run the setup.exe program from the Leopard installation disk to let it finish setting up and installing the drivers to make all of the hardware function correctly in windows.
One last optional step to improve the access to your Windows OS is to buy and install Parallel’s Desktop 3.0 for Mac. This will give you the ability to run both operating systems at the same time as well as mirror and share files between the two operating system.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi, I’m trying to install windows vista on my imac that runs OS X Leopard. I’ve installed vista already, but after inserting the OS X installation disc into the disc drive, vista doesn’t seem to detect the ’setup.exe’ program that you mentioned. Without this, I can’t complete installing all the requisite drivers for proper vista functioning. How do I make vista recognise the OS X installation disc and run it? Please help!
Hi..
I tried the above… my problem is that I have a bluetooth keyboard on my MACPRO so it doesn’t seem to see the keyboard before the bootup, hence I cannot finih the WINDOWS install…. do I need to use a MAC fixed keyboard is can I do it another way?
Thanks very much, Ben! I looked at many websites before finding yours, and your instructions are the only ones that are simple enough to do the job.
The only thing extra that made it work on our imac, AFTER selecting the Full Format FAT32 option on one screen, was to then select Format Partition with NTFS file system, in the next set of 4 options. We first tried selecting something like, Keep File System unchanged (FAT32), but that resulted in an error message and the computer freezing.
Thanks again!
Hello all, I installed windows XP service pack 3 on my imac. After doing so when I restarted I never got an option between the two it auto took me to windows everytime. What can be the cause of this? Windows runs great but I cannot get back to the mac operating system. Also do you have to use FAT32 or can you us NTFS?
Hi Ben
I install window xp on my Mac but I dont have the leopard disk o program and all the drivers dint not active I will like to now if ther is a way for me to run this program in another way pleast let me now.
Thank you!
Gregory
Hi All,
Do Boot Camp supports windows xp 64 bit. Can we upgrade the partition to NTFS. Can we create logical partition after installing windows.
Please help.
Thanking you all.
Prasant
Thanks A Lot !!!!!!!!!!
Whenever I installed windows, I did not boot it from windows
Thanks A Lot!!!!!!
Hello
I clicked install now, advanced past the page where you select the language, and arrived at a page with the options: “custom install” and “upgrade.” i clicked install because upgrade had been disabled. Then i got to the partition selection page. i chose the boot camp partition, but i could not click next, and an error message said that i could not install windows on that drive because it was not in NTFS format. How do i get my mac to change the partition to NTFS format or install windows on it even though it is not NTFS?
Here is background info if you need it to help me: I am using a backup disc of windows vista home premium 32bit that came with a dell. I made the partition, restarted, and then a black screen came up with a white bar at the bottom and the message: “windows is loading” or something close to that. Then the installation started. i clicked “read more about installation” and it said you could use it to install windows on a computer with no OS, so it should work on one with Mac Leopard.
what if you realease that you didnot partition well. that is only windows appear. how do i recovery mac?
Tshepang, you can’t.. i’ve done it myself, you have to completely reinstall Mac OS X fresh.