How to install Windows on Mac? Read on for 4 easy ways…

July 22, 2010 Computer Tips And Tricks

Mac OS X is an awesome and well maintained operating system. Most Mac users are generally satisfied with their choice of OS X. However, there are still those few instances that only Windows can assist with…

Luckily, one does nto need to throw out their Mac computer when wanting to make use of a Windows application. It is highly possible to run both OS X and Windows from the same computer.

In fact, it has come to light that a good percentage of Mac users choose to run both Windows and Mac, simultaneously.

There are a variety of ways that one can run Windows on a Mac computer. Below are some of the more popular ways to do just that.

Bootcamp

Mac computers (iMac, Mac Pro, Mac Mini, MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air) come equipped with Apple’s Bootcamp software. Bootcamp allows Mac users to run a second operating system, like Windows 7, on a Mac by partitioning their hard drives.

As the name suggests, using Bootcamp requires that you boot into one operating system or another, at Start-Up. Bootcamp is completely free to use. One pro of using Bootcamp is that you get a direct install of Windows.

Whether you are using Mac OS or Windows, you are only using one operating system at a time. Thus, all of your computers power goes to running that particular operating system.

One downfall of using Bootcamp is that a user cannot easily share files between Mac OS X and Windows. Also, you have to restart your computer each time you want to switch between operating systems.

Parallels Desktop

Parallels Desktop is a premium virtualization software for running Windows on a Mac. In fact, Parallels was the first official software that allowed for the practice of Windows to be run within OS X via virtual machines.

Installing Windows on a Mac using Parallels is rather easy and simple, and is quite similar to installing any other program on a Mac.

Simply install Parallels, insert a Windows 7 DVD, flash drive, or ISO file, and install using a step-by-step wizard interface.

One strong benefit of Parallels is that the user will be able to run Mac and Windows simultaneously, making file sharing between the two operating systems extremely easy.

Parallels opens and closes just like any other application on a Mac, meaning no restarts required to utilize either operating systems.

One disadvantage of using Parallels is that it eats up more of your Mac’s memory, but it’s not really a problem if you have at least 2GB of RAM.

VMware Fusion

Vmware Fusion is another virtualization software, rather similar in nature to Parallels.

Fusion does differ from Parallels in that it has a different layout, interface, and a couple of different features. However, the functionality, pros, and cons are the virtually the same.

Virtual Box

Virtual Box is the 3rd example of virtualization software – allowing Mac users to run Windows (by using virtual machines). Although Virtual Box holds the same basic concept of Parallels and VMware Fusion, it does not have as many features. The great thing about Virtual Box however is the fact that it is open source and completely free.