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Running windows on a mac

by alfardo
8 replies
God forbid I want to run windows on my mac. There are a few programs I need to run so I have no option.

I have a powerbook G4 (powerpc) can anyone tell me what my best option is.

Thanks
#mac #running #windows
  • Profile picture of the author Chuck Evans
    Take a look at Bootcamp, it should already be installed as a utility on your Mac. If not, look here to read more.

    You can also use Parallels desktop for Mac - read about it here.

    I'm not a Mac guy but I have been looking into getting one lately just for editing video and custom graphics.

    chuck
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  • Profile picture of the author J. Barry Mandel
    Actually bootcamp won't be installed on your mac since it doesn't have an intel chip. I have a trusty old G4 too that I use as my main computer so I know.

    You have one option to you which from what I have heard is buggy enough for me to ignore it all this time

    I believe what you want to look into is called "vr" and it runs on G4's. But it is frought with enough problems when running pc software for it to get bad reviews.

    Perhaps though since then they have made some solid upgrades?
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  • Profile picture of the author Sean Donahoe
    As you are on a G4 I don't think you can with the conventional options. Both Paralleles and VMWare Fusion need the Intel chip as does bootcamp.

    Now putting on my Geek cap.... You can emulate the intel chip (Darwin kernel is supposed to support this) and then run QEMU or WINE and you may well be able to run your Windows apps. Having said that, these are linux apps that do run on OSX 10+ but they are hit and miss with their actual abilities to run windows apps as some apps need custom code outside of the conventional windows support libraries.

    WINE has always been the best bet for me in Linux environments and may well be your best chance on a G4 mac.

    All that being said, you can get some cheap PC desktops now for as little as $300 that could do the job. They are limited in speed and power but at least you can run your required apps reliably without blowing too much of a budget.

    I am using a Mac Pro and use VMWare Fusion (its actually running now with some macros running for some automated tasks) and it works very well but this is the Intel mac.

    Good Luck and let us know how it goes.

    Sean Donahoe
    The Manic Marketer
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    • Profile picture of the author bgmacaw
      My suggestion is to buy a cheap Windows Desktop for about $200-300 and use Windows Remote Desktop (available for free from Apple) to operate it from your Mac.
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      • Profile picture of the author Wealth Mentor
        I run both Parallels and VM Fusion. They both run fairly well.

        I say "fairly well" because there will be some programs that refuse to run on these "virtual Windows machines"...primarily due to video driver incompatibilities or requirements.

        But they due work, for the most part.

        Your biggest issue is that you run a Power PC and these all require Intel processors.

        I am presently running Sourceforge Synergy [ synergy2.sourceforge.net ] to control a Windows Vista machine with my iMac keyboard and mouse. This is a marvelous solution if you have a cheap PC sitting around. It works like a charm and eliminates clutter from having a keyboard and mouse for both machines.

        I have 2-24" monitors: 1 for the Mac and 1 for the Vista PC. I am upgrading to Vista Ultimate so I can run Microsoft Remote Desktop on both the PC and the MAC.

        This will let me extend the Mac desktop across both monitors, then I will run the PC in a corner of 1 of the monitors.

        Another option for you may be something like the GoToMyPC.com applications. Both Synergy and Microsoft Remote Desktop are free, but GoToMyPC and the like cost $$$

        But I'm not sure any of these will give you exactly what you are looking for because you want to run PC apps on your G4 and I don't think you can easily do that.
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  • Profile picture of the author glofish
    I use VMWare fusion. Not as popular but has a great rep in the tech community.
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  • Profile picture of the author TheRichJerksNet
    PowerPC uses VirtualPC software emulator which was developed by Microsuck but bill gates discontinued support for the product when Intel came out...

    You may still be able to find a copy of VirtualPC 7 if you search Amazon or something but I warn you .. It is very very slow. Basically it cuts your processor speed in half. So if you are running like 1.42 GHZ it will cut that processing speed in half and that is about the speed you will get with VirtualPC 7.

    Depending upon what you really need to do should depend upon what you want to proceed with. You could go with the VirtualPC 7 or your could go out and buy a cheap windows laptop ..

    Edited to add link: http://www.amazon.com/s/192-2114391-...link%5Fcode=qs

    James
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    • Profile picture of the author knmrwarrior
      I used VirtualPC back in the day. It worked, sort of, but was slow, obviously as it is an emulator and has to do a lot of background work.

      Once I made the move to Intel macs, I've been using parallels & bootcamp but I echo bgmacaw's advice. Unless you need to take windows on the road or have a powerful Mac, get a cheap windows PC machine.

      Der
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