Another Apple Question

[Namewithheld]

I will also be getting a 21" iMac and have a few questions. I plan on running windows on it since I have so many PC programs (ie Quicken, Microsoft Office etc). Some questions are:

1) Which program should I use on the Mac to run windows, bootcamp, parallels, VMware or any other program.

2) I plan on using Windows 7 but I upgraded from Vista on my laptop and XP Pro on my desktop. Now I don't want to buy a new full version of MS 7 ($199) to install. I do have a full version of XP so should I install that one then take one of my Windows 7 upgrade disks and use it to get to MS 7. Will that do the trick?

I may have other questions coming since I am a Apple newbe.

Thanks

 

[Dionysus]

I don't know about the XP to Win 7 upgrade, but I've been using VMware Fusion for 3 years and I've been pretty impressed with it. I've also heard good things about Parallels but have never used it myself.

There are Mac versions of Quicken and MS Office, so if those are the main things you would be using Windows for I suggest you get the Mac versions and just stay out of Windows altogether. I rarely need to launch my VM anymore and I prefer it that way.

As I mentioned on another post: back up your data regularly, at least once a week. For the Mac the best app for this is SuperDuper. If you only ever need it one time it will pay for itself several times over.

 

[brntorng]

VMware Fusion and Parallels are both good. However, why not just get the Mac versions of Quicken and Office (new version coming very soon)? I rarely use Fusion/Windows on my MBP, and only do when the SW I need isn't available for a Mac which is seldom. Remember one of the key reasons you got a Mac: to leave Windows in your rear view mirror. Now do it.

Nothing wrong with SuperDuper and it's good to have a bootable copy occasionally. However, very few people have the discipline to do a complete backup weekly. If you're not one of those, just use Time Machine that comes with your Mac. It works fine and requires no user interaction after setting it up initially which takes about a minute including hooking up a hard drive.

 

[Dionysus]

Time Machine is good, I use it as well for file restoration, but a bootable copy of your drive is needed for a full, immediate system restoration. If my laptop drive dies today, I plug in my external boot drive and don't miss a beat. Big difference. And the discipline part is very easy if you've ever lost important data.

 

[wherzwaldo]

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[Namewithheld]

Thanks for all of your responses. If you think of anything else please put it here.

Hook'em

 

[ACuriae]

1. It depends on what you're going to do with it. I use Fusion on my MacBook. It doesn't take long to bog down a machine with Fusion if you open up a lot of windows.

2. You can't upgrade from XP directly to 7. You either have to do a full 7 install or upgrade to Vista before upgrading to 7. I've heard that Microsoft has an in-house version of 7 that can upgrade directly from XP to 7, but that it isn't available to the general public.

It is true that the majority of the time you can install the upgrade onto a blank formatted disk as a full version and pass through Microsoft's verification system without being flagged for using an upgrade-only key for a full install (lots of people buy the upgrade, wipe the drive including the old OS, and do a clean, full install--which is the way you should be doing it anyway). The more you add or change your hardware after install, however, the more likely it is you'll be flagged for additional verification (by phone). This is only a problem when you get asked if you still have the copy of Windows you upgraded from (which doesn't happen every time as far as I know).