"Install or import Windows"?

In preparation for installing PD7 with Lion on an iMac, I'm reading through "Getting Started with Parallels Desktop 7." It explains that I can install Windows 7 from an installation disk (I have one) or I can use Windows that I already have installed on a Boot Camp partition" (I have Win7 on a Boot Camp partition). So I can do either one of these, or both. My question is, which is the best way? The installation manual explains how to do all the variations but it doesn't talk about why one might choose one method over the other. My Boot Camp partition is 60 GB, by the way.

So to sum up, I can use my Boot Camp Win7, or I can install Win7 again in Parallels, or I could even do both. I would appreciate some advice before I plunge ahead.

Sort of a side note, I had the idea that Parallels had to have Boot Camp to run, but now I get the impression it doesn't. I used to use Parallels 6 a couple of years ago and it seems to me that I had to install Boot Camp. But that was a long time ago.

Thanks, all
Pattie

 

Thank you for your post. Boot Camp and Virtual Machine have some different pros and cons. Boot Camp cannot be suspended, cannot se used with Snapshot feature and cannot be run in Safe mode. But it is more powerful as it runs on the real hardware. You can read more in KB s at kb.parallels.com - the is a dedicated KB describing all pros and cons of Boot Camp vs Virtual Machine. KB server is temporary at maintenance at the moment - i cannot point you to the exact KB but you will find it easily yourself. Let me know if you cannot find it

 

I do both because I like having the option of booting native into Windows. Windows performs better running native, so some games play better. I was also trying to connect to an HP printer to configure it, and the Windows VM was acting strange. Booting into Windows got me past that.

Having said that, I seldom boot into Windows. Most apps (like Quicken or MS Office) run perfectly fine in a VM, and running a VM is more convenient since you don't have to reboot.

 

Printer should work fine - please describe your issue and we will try to solve it. Please open Configuration menu --> Hardware --> Printer and enable to share all Mac printers