Just bought new Intel iMac - best way to start?

M

marklee

Bit poster
After having an iBook for 2 years and loving it, I am ready to make the full jump to Mac and have replaced my Dell Dimension with a new iMac. I need to set up Win XP support on it and have some questions about the best approach. I think that the vast majority of time I would just like to run a VM with parallels, but there may be occasions when I would like to boot the iMac directly into XP.

1. Should I install boot camp and set up a partition with WIN XP and get that working BEFORE I install Parallels? If so, will Parallels then recognize the partition and help me set it up as a VM?

2. Will I have the option to have separate VMs with separate installs from the same XP license or would I need a separate license to activate Windows on the bootcamp partition and a Parallels VM?

3. I have ordered the bluetooth wireless keyboard and mouse for the iMac. Will Bootcamp or Parallels have any difficulties with these?

4. My main application that I need XP for is MS Money 2005. I cannot find any issues with that app by searching the forums. Can anybody relate any experience?

5. I also have Civilization IV that I like to play. I understand that Parallels doesn't support Direct X. Does this mean I cannot play in a VM? How about BootCamp. Will that support my game?

Thanks for any help you can give.

Mark
 
1) I'm going to leave "should" our of the language when I rewrite it. I have a bootcamp installation and a Parallels installation and they are totally separate, which is exactly what I want. Sharing the bits between bootcamp and a VM will always (IMNSHO) be less stable than keeping them separate. It is possible to share data between bootcamp and a VM.

2) You can install XP (or Win2k, or soon even Vista should you feel the masochistic need) in a VM and XP in bootcamp. If XP won't activate automatically the second time, you can call Microsoft and tell them you are installing again on the same machine and they will give you a code.

3) No.

4) No clue -- I'm a Quicken user.

5) Parallels will not support Direct-X, therefore if the game requires it, the game will not run. Bootcamp does support it so the game is more likely to run. I don't play games so I can't tell you anything from experience. Life is enough of a game for me and keeps me busy.

have fun.
 
Joe

I just installed Parallels for the main purpose of running Quicken. How has it worked for you?

Any tips on installing or seting up. I'll be transfering my backed up files from a PC.

Thanks
 
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