Upgraded To Parallels Desktop 4.0 NO PROBLEMS At All !!!

Yes you can create a new VM in PD4 that uses your BootCamp partition. The downside is you're limited in space to your hard drive partition. The upside is that it is BootCamp install. You can use either Parallels or BootCamp, as you need, and it's the same configuration, same installation, same files. The other benefit is only using disk space for one installation for both Bootcamp & Parallels with only the installation.

I use BootCamp for games. I use Parallels for VPN and MS Money, via my BootCamp partition. No matter whether I'm running Parallels or reboot into Windows in BootCamp, I'm using the same installation.

 

Let me explain the major differences between Boot Camp and Parallels Desktop:
Boot Camp allows one to install Windows natively, so it will use all the resources of your Mac computer. However you will need to restart your computer each time you need to run Boot Camp.

Parallels Desktop 4.0 emulates almost all hardware (except those Hardware which is translated directly to a virtual machine, like USB devices), so if you need to run some powerful appplication you may use Boot Camp in stead of Parallels Desktop.
Also you may install Windows in a Boot Camp partition and create a virtual machine based on Boot Camp:

http://download.parallels.com/desktop/v4/docs/en/Parallels_Desktop_Users_Guide/23112.htm

Please, note that you should have only one copy of Windows installed on the computer, so if you want to use Boot Camp a separate copy of Windows in Parallels Desktop you will need to buy the second copy of Windows.

If you will delete your virtual machine and install Windows into Boot Camp you will not need to purchase another copy of Windows even if you create a virtual machine based on Boot Camp.

Also there is no way to transfer Windows installation from virtual machine into Boot Camp

 

I am bit stupid...

Hi, thanks for the reply. So my understanding is I cannot simply set my current vm running in os x to suddenly point at a bootcamp partition? Why would there be any point in running a VM in a Bootcamp install of windows?

 

Well, if you have Windows installed in Boot Camp partition, you may create a virtual machine based on it or add this partition to an existing virtual machine.
The point of running Boot Camp Windows in a virtual machine is that if you have Windows already installed into Boot Camp you do not need to do it once again for the virtual machine. All your applications and data will be already there.

Otherwise I can not see any other purposes to set up Windows in Boot Camp and run it in a virtual machine.

 

God this is totally awesome, and thank you for replying to what may appear as a totally stupid new user. So does that translate to mean that you could run a vm in bootcamp XP and then see all your mac apps in that vm whilst booted in xp on bootcamp? As I thought the only way to see both was to run the VM and load xp within os x?

 

Unfortunately Boot Camp has no functionality to provide access to Mac Applications when running Windows natively.
But this is the feature Shared Applications of Parallels Desktop 4.0 which allows one to run Mac applications within Windows under Parallels Desktop virtual machine.

 

As a user, unaffiliated with Parallels, I'll add it's common knowledge that a single license of Windows XP (OEM or Retail) can be used with a BootCamp install and a Parallels install connected to that BootCamp installation.

 

This is a great topic. I have successfully installed PD3 and then upgraded to PD4 without issue. I am using OS 5.5 and Vista Home Premium. I have not used or implemented any part of Bootcamp but now my interest has been piqued by this discussion. Am I missing anything? Does Bootcamp offer some advantages? As posted elsewhere I haven't been able to use the onboard capabilities of the SanDisk Cruzer Micro Drive (www.U3.com) and am wondering about it's compatability with Bootcamp??
Please keep this thread going.

Thanks
Don S

 

Yes, probably you will be able to use SanDisk Cruzer Micro Drive with full functionality, however you may also create a ticket in our queue with feature request (if the aforementioned device does not work under Parallels Desktop) and we will put it forward to our developers or find some workaround.

 

Thanks Max. I will create a ticket with feature request. I will hold off on initializing BC until you all give this a shot.
Thanks
Don S

 

Yes you can install Windows XP from Boot Camp and use this installation as source Hard Disk in Parallels Desktop.
(you will need to chose custom installation in installation assistent, then select "create virtual hard disk image" and browse to Boot Camp Windows installation in next window).
Considering pros and cons - Parallels Desktop is primarily serves to create Virtual Machines and install Gues OS in it. Using Boot Camp Windows installation is supported but not preferred option.
1. If you boot natively in Boot Camp - all hardware only works for Windows installation, because Mac OS X is not running. If you boot Boot Camp Windows in Parallels part of hardware capacities is consumed by Mac OS X, which runs along with Parallels Gues OS. So it's slightly slower than running Boot Camp natively.
2. On other hand, booting Boot Camp Windows in Parallels you don't need to reboot Mac, so you can switch between Windows and Mac OS X, which is very convenient. To Access Boot Camp Windows natively tou need to reboot.
So it's up to to decide. Good luck.

 

Bootcamp makes your Mac a standard Windows PC. It runs at full (native hardware) speed. It will run faster than Parallels, and is the best choice for games or intensive video work, engineering analyses, etc.

 

Indeed an interesting topic. Few weeks ago I purchased my first MAC and it is MacBookPro. I simply liked the computer but I was no familiar with MAC software at all. However, I learnt that you can run both systems on MAC. Since I was a diehard Windows user I have decided to give it a try. Knowing that software like Parallels exist I actually bought the software before my Mac arrived. Anyway, I did not know what to expect so I have decided to add Vista Home Premier as boot camp. My line of thought was, maybe if I need computer to do just Windows application maybe it is feasible to get all resources into it. So I did. Than I loaded Parallels 3.0 and week later 4.0 was released so I upgraded (painful for my but finally works).

Anyway, the point was as I stated to get all resources for Windows if I needed. Using Parallels your sources need to be divided because you are running two systems at the same time. However, since my MacBookPro has fast processor (I got 2.83) and relatively high speed disk (7200 rpm) I don't see much of the difference running either Windows natively as boot camp or as VM (in contrary to some other users that see some slows down, but maybe because I do not run demanding applications such AutoCad for instance).

Just my 2 cents.

Kris

 

Kris
Thanks for the input. I think I will let well enough alone and stick with the PD4 configuration w/o BC.
Again thanks and your input was appreciated as well as helpful.

Don S