Windows on a Macintosh Computer

by Jane Olivera

Jane has been a technical communicator for 20 years. For the last 10 years, she has leaned heavily toward Web development and some programming.

Can you run Microsoft Windows on a Macintosh computer? You can now! All new Mac models use Intel processors — either the Intel Core Duo or Intel Core 2 Duo processor. You do have to buy your own copy of the Windows software (Apple doesn't provide it), but after you do, there are three ways you can run it on your Mac.

The first way is by using the Boot Camp software provided by Apple in its newest version of OS X (10.5 Leopard). After you perform the appropriate preparations and install your copy of Windows, Boot Camp gives you the ability to boot the Mac in either OS X or in Windows. This method has no costs beyond the purchase of Windows and, for some, the cost to upgrade a previous version of OS X to Leopard.

Parallels Desktop  

The second way is with a product you can purchase separately, Parallels Desktop. It also allows you to run Windows, but operates a little bit differently. After you complete the installation process, Parallels allows you to have both operating systems running at the same time, so there is no rebooting to move between the Windows and Mac environments. You can share folders, copy and paste text between Windows and Mac files, and run Windows programs as if they were native Mac applications. Cost: $79.99.

The differences between these two products go deeper than whether or not you can run Windows and OS X side by side or need to reboot to move between them. With Boot Camp, Windows runs natively, as if it were running on an actual Windows PC, while Parallels Desktop is a virtual machine. This means that Windows runs inside the Parallels virtual machine rather than natively on the Intel processor. One approach is not necessarily better than the other, and they both have pros and cons. The one that is better for you depends on your needs.

Note: One source cautioned not to install both at the same time to try to decide between them. If you install both and activate both, only one will work.

Boot Camp's native support of the hardware means Windows runs a lot faster than with Parallels. You have full compatibility with peripherals, so you have the same access to the CPU, graphics processing, and so on, that you would have if you were using any non-Mac PC. Because the graphics support is native, the GUI is very responsive. These two factors make the Boot Camp version of Windows perform the same as Windows does on a PC. It does have some drawbacks, however. There is limited support for other operating systems such as Linux and BSD, you have to reboot to switch between Windows and Mac OS X, and it is hard to share your Windows files with OS X. If you're a Windows user and you want your experience to be unchanged, or if you have many Windows applications you want to run, you would probably prefer Boot Camp.

On the other hand, you might prefer to use the Parallels virtual machine if your primary need is to move files between Windows and Mac or you have only a few Windows applications you need to run, providing you're comfortable with some degradation of the "Windows experience." One example might be a Web developer whose main use of Windows is to view pages on both platforms. Parallels Desktop also gives you a faster boot time than Boot Camp, and is quicker yet if you are resuming Windows. Drawbacks for Parallels include a sluggish Windows GUI, which makes the perceived speed of an operation slower even though the actual CPU speed is almost identical. Parallels also may not be compatible with all peripherals.

VMware Fusion  

The above two ways to run Windows were available soon after Apple switched to the Intel processor. There is now a third option available, VMware Fusion. It comes from VMware, a company with a long history of providing virtual Windows environments for Macs. VMware is trusted by millions of past users. The early versions had some problems, though, so you'd want to check the reviews about the current version before making a decision. Like Parallels, VMware Fusion is a virtual machine, but a very sophisticated one. From the reviews it looks like Fusion is better at accessing all your hardware, and is the most seamless way to run the two environments. Cost: $79.99.

Games   

For some people, there is one last important consideration — Windows games. For some people, this is the Windows functionality they most want to keep (or get). If games are very important for you, Boot Camp is your only choice. Graphics support is not native with Parallels, so performance on games just won't be the same. VMware Fusion apparently runs select games well. However, you should research this product more thoroughly if you want its excellent virtualization capability.

Summary  

In short, the new Intel Macs make it possible to have two machines in one, a Mac OS X machine and a Windows machine. Depending on what you need from your Windows-on-a-Mac, you can run your copy of Windows using the software that is included with the newest version of OS X (Leopard), or you can purchase virtualization software such as Parallels Desktop or VMware Fusion and run Windows in a virtual machine, side by side with your Mac's OS X.