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+--- Thread: Parallels users: BootCamp vs Virtual (/showthread.php?tid=121151)
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Parallels users: BootCamp vs Virtual - olnacl - 08-01-2011
I'll be moving my apps to a new Mini in a couple days. I use Parallels (with BootCamp) on my current Mini. I dread going through the BootCamp Windows install again for several reasons - Windows Genuine Advantage for one with a new CPU and the fact that my copy of Win 7 is an upgrade and from what I understand so far, I can't install XP with Lion, thus being unable to upgrade. I use Windblows for the sole purpose of depositing checks. The Bank software doesn't play at all with my Macs - Java and scanner software conflicts prevent it working on Mac OS (SL and now Lion) while the same scanner works fine with my bank software in BootCamp.
Bottom line is I hate to waste both a copy of Win 7 and a copy of Parallels but I don't want to jump through all the hoops to do a BootCamp install with Lion. Last resort is to scrap Windblows altogether on the Mac and simply boot my crapola Dull when I need to make a deposit.
Help! Please!
Re: Parallels users: BootCamp vs Virtual - Robert M - 08-01-2011
Ol,
I've used Fusion with Win XP Pro on my office's imac. Windows ran reasonably well. However, I found printing to be an issue. Other annoyances came into play, too. End result: after my wife replaced her aging IBM/Lenovo laptop, I grabbed it and now use it for Windows tasks at my office. She didn't need the machine anymore and it was nice to see it not go to waste in storage. I was glad I could put it back to use again. So, if you already have a old Windows machine on hand, I'd be inclined to use it rather than go with Fusion or Bootcamp.
Another option might be to get an external drive and use it for Windows. No bootcamp. No virtual Windows machine. Boot off the external, do a standard installation of Windows on it. Use your mac normally. Boot off the Windows drive as necessary. I like the idea that it separates the Windows installation from the Mac installation. Not sure if this is feasible without using Bootcamp. Haven't tried it. Hopefully others will chime in with their experiences. I have an aging 160 gig drive which lacks the capacity for backing up the imac. It may be great for creating and playing with a Windows installation for the imac. I'll give it a try if time and circumstances allow.
My other question is, can you do without the bank software for depositing check? My office's bank is practically around the corner. It's easy enough to take a walk or drive over to do our daily deposit. If all you're doing is handling deposits with the Windows machine, it may be time to switch to the old fashioned method. I'd feel differently if you used the Windows configuration for other stuff but that doesn't appear to be the case.
Robert
Re: Parallels users: BootCamp vs Virtual - Trouble - 08-01-2011
Windows 7 screams under the i7's. Tons of horsepower there. Here is how to register an upgrade of win7 as a new install http://www.mydigitallife.info/clean-install-windows-7-with-upgrade-media-and-product-key-on-formatted-or-empty-blank-hard-drive/ I always use #3.
Re: Parallels users: BootCamp vs Virtual - flareslow - 08-01-2011
Change banks.
USAA Deposit@home works great on my Mac with a Brother AIO.
Mike
Re: Parallels users: BootCamp vs Virtual - olnacl - 08-01-2011
Robert & Trouble: Thanks for the tips. Could be that one or both will solve my dilemma. While I can use my Dull for the check scanning (had this checking account with the same bank for more than 40 years - in WI and I'm now in FL - not about to change) it would be far more convenient to continue using parallels on the new Mini. I'll try Trouble's suggestion first and, if that's not doable, I'll look into the external drive install.
Still wondering about the install of Parallels W/O using boot camp though…
Re: Parallels users: BootCamp vs Virtual - rz - 08-01-2011
flareslow wrote:
Change banks.
USAA Deposit@home works great on my Mac with a Brother AIO.
Mike
or just deposit your checks at an ATM. Seriously. Is it worth buying a copy of Parallels and a copy of Windows, not to mention all the time and grief you're experiencing, just to be able to scan your checks in?
Re: Parallels users: BootCamp vs Virtual - olnacl - 08-01-2011
rz wrote:
[quote=flareslow]
Change banks.
USAA Deposit@home works great on my Mac with a Brother AIO.
Mike
or just deposit your checks at an ATM. Seriously. Is it worth buying a copy of Parallels and a copy of Windows, not to mention all the time and grief you're experiencing, just to be able to scan your checks in?
Thanks for the advice, but, in the first line of the OP:
I'll be moving my apps to a new Mini in a couple days. I use Parallels (with BootCamp) on my current Mini. wrote:
Looking at that again, maybe I wasn't completely clear. I'll be selling the current 2010 Mini and wiping the drive, so I'll still have my licensed copy of Windblows 7 and Parallels to use on the new one. What I'm looking for is experience using Parallels without installing Boot Camp. I've never done it and I don't even know if you can, but from what I've read on the internet, t's possible with Parallels (and there are other choices as well). Looking for advice on that.
Re: Parallels users: BootCamp vs Virtual - bazookaman - 08-01-2011
I've never installed Parallels with Boot Camp. Using Parallels, I run 3 virtual machines on my work iMac and 3 virtual machines on my MacPro at home plus a single virtual machine on the wife's MacBook. I don't know why you'd install both. I would think you'd either use Boot Camp or you'd use Parallels.
Re: Parallels users: BootCamp vs Virtual - Robert M - 08-01-2011
Bazooka,
Excellent point! There was something about the initial post that was nagging me and that is it. I've always been under the impression that you either used Bootcamp or one of the virtual solutions like Parallels and Fusion. Not both and not both simultaneously.
Robert
Re: Parallels users: BootCamp vs Virtual - olnacl - 08-01-2011
I searched some more and found some instructions. I guess I'll just wait a couple more days and try out the virtual disk on the new one. Supposedly, the install walks you through the process. Then I'll see if it recognizes my scanner and bank deposits work.