Bootcamp, Parallels, Virtual PC question

[SMM]

I have an 'hour's old' MBP. I already owned Office:Mac 2004 Pro, with Virtual PC and XP Pro. I purchased Parallels with the MBP. Then there is Bootcamp, which I could download (but have not).

I really do not have too much use for Windows on my MBP. Documents I create, I use Pages. Sometimes I receive a Word doc and use Word:Mac for it. I despise Excel and would not create something on my own. If I have to open an Excel attachment, I use Excel:Mac. So, my Window needs are small. However, there are a small number of Windows apps I would like to run on occasion. MS Streets & Tips is a prime example.

For the rare Windows needs I have, I do not want to reboot to make it happen. So, Bootcamp is not an attractive choice. That is why I purchased Parallels. Over the past few months, I have seen some board traffic which seemed to indicate Parallels has some stability issues.

My first question; is Parallels able run MS apps without creating a lot of grief? I am going to doing some very vanilla stuff.

My last question; Virtual PC comes with a full copy of XP SP2. Has anyone used the Virtual PC copy to install on either of these shells? Were there any issues?

Thanks - appreciate any feedback.

 

[balamw]

My first question; is Parallels able run MS apps without creating a lot of grief? I am going to doing some very vanilla stuff.

Yes. Parallels works great for stuff that isn't quite basic, but not too taxing on the virtual video hardware. Office/banking/light audio all work well.

My last question; Virtual PC comes with a full copy of XP SP2. Has anyone used the Virtual PC copy to install on either of these shells? Were there any issues?

I seriously doubt that would fit with the EULA for VPC, but search the forum. I know some have considered and tried it.

B

 

[SMM]

Yes. Parallels works great for stuff that isn't quite basic, but not too taxing on the virtual video hardware. Office/banking/light audio all work well.



I seriously doubt that would fit with the EULA for VPC, but search the forum. I know some have considered and tried it.

B

I looked at the EULA for the copy of XP which comes with VPC. It looks to me that it is just a standard one. It does not say it has to be used with VPC. In fact, I think I can just legally install it on any computer, as long as it is not installed elsewhere (which it is not). I tried using VPC, but found it awkward to use and sloooooww. So, I removed it. As far as I can tell, I have a legal copy of XP which is not installed anywhere. So, I should be able to install it as I see fit.

 

[Westside guy]

So, I removed it. As far as I can tell, I have a legal copy of XP which is not installed anywhere. So, I should be able to install it as I see fit.

I think the pricing - VPC alone versus VPC + XP - supports your supposition. You've likely purchased a fully licensed version of XP. If you've got a separate XP SP2 CD that came with the package, that also supports your supposition - there'd be no reason for MS to separate the two products otherwise, really.

On the other question - I haven't noticed any stability problems with Parallels at all. I think some people on this forum (like any other forum) tend to do things like run the beta versions, which will be unstable at times, and then complain about stability. But the non-beta Parallels releases have been quite well behaved in my experience (actually the betas haven't been bad either). I occasionally have to reboot XP inside of Parallels, but mostly I just suspend it when I'm not using it, and then resume the same XP session the next time.

 

[balamw]

You've likely purchased a fully licensed version of XP.

Just a note that fully licensed doesn't necessarily imply that license transfer rights are granted. You can have a perfectly licensed OEM copy of XP (e.g. one that came with a Dell) and still not have the right (according to the EULA) to transfer the license to any other machine....

Whether MS cares or not is a different question...

B

 

[Westside guy]

Just a note that fully licensed doesn't necessarily imply that license transfer rights are granted. You can have a perfectly licensed OEM copy of XP (e.g. one that came with a Dell) and still not have the right (according to the EULA) to transfer the license to any other machine....

You have a good point. In the case you mention, though, the Dell "XP CD" actually won't allow itself to be installed on a different box. It's not a full version; it's a restore CD that is keyed to that particular computer (or type of computer).

I used to have a Dell Inspiron, and the annoying restore CD made it a pain at times with certain types of new installs that, for some reason, had to pull extra stuff off the XP disc.

 

[SMM]

Just a note that fully licensed doesn't necessarily imply that license transfer rights are granted. You can have a perfectly licensed OEM copy of XP (e.g. one that came with a Dell) and still not have the right (according to the EULA) to transfer the license to any other machine....

Whether MS cares or not is a different question...

B

The VPC version of XPP is not an OEM. It is not pre-installed on a particular machine anyway. Regardless, it has become moot. The VPC install program is what installs XPP from the disks. Parallels does not recognize the disks as XPP install disks. So, I am dead in the water here. I can just imagine trying to work this deal with a MS/India representative. Life is far too short.