Disadvantage of using Prallels + BootCamp? Win XP or Vista?

[nman040]

Hi there,

1)
Just got me a 2nd Mac (Macbook Air 2.13 SSD) and I'm thinking of installing Windows XP on it as I have done with my primary Mac. XP was installed on my primary mac from scratch using Parallels 4.0.

However, I would like to have the option to run XP natively this time around- when performance matters. Hence I'm planning on installing Parallels which would boot from a BootCamp partition. On my primary Mac (where BootCamp was not involved) I could easily "Suspend"/quit XP using Parallels 4.0 and immediately resume where I left off when I launch Parallels again.

As I recall, using earlier versions of Parallels which had booted from a BootCamp Win XP partition, I would not be able to suspend and quickly resume where I left off. I would have to Shut Down normally as I would if I ran it natively. Would I be able to "Suspend" and resume where I left off with version 4.0? Or would I have to shut down windows to exit out of Parallels

2)
Should I consider using Windows Vista over XP? Is it a performance hog? Which of the two would give me he best battery life?

Thank you for your time

 

[RemarkabLee]

1, If you are using a physical partition, you will need to shut down Windows, or perhaps use Windows' own hibernate function if it is available.

2, XP will probably be my choice, as it's less of a hog as you say. Or you could experiment with Vlite to create a sleeker Vista install. http://www.vlite.net.

 

[nman040]

1, If you are using a physical partition, you will need to shut down Windows, or perhaps use Windows' own hibernate function if it is available.

2, XP will probably be my choice, as it's less of a hog as you say. Or you could experiment with Vlite to create a sleeker Vista install. http://www.vlite.net.

Thanks for you feedback.

Have you tried hibernating XP while running it using Parallels, quitting and then resuming where you left off when you boot XP using Parallels again? Anyone have any first hand experience?

 

[nman040]

Thanks for you feedback.

Have you tried hibernating XP while running it using Parallels, quitting and then resuming where you left off when you boot XP using Parallels again? Anyone have any first hand experience?

Anyone?

 

[ayeying]

Thanks for you feedback.

Have you tried hibernating XP while running it using Parallels, quitting and then resuming where you left off when you boot XP using Parallels again? Anyone have any first hand experience?

You can do that, but you can't boot natively with a hibernated XP done through Parallels and vice versa.

 

[nman040]

You can do that, but you can't boot natively with a hibernated XP done through Parallels and vice versa.

Thanks for the info.

Notice that you run vista on your MBA. What kind of battery life can I expect on it (surfing and coding mostly)? And does it run well on the MBA? I've only had experience with xp and win 7 on my primary mac.

 

[ayeying]

Thanks for the info.

Notice that you run vista on your MBA. What kind of battery life can I expect on it (surfing and coding mostly)? And does it run well on the MBA? I've only had experience with xp and win 7 on my primary mac.

With the VM running, I'd say 2-2.5 Hours depending on brightness/wifi/bluetooth. Without the VM running, you can probably hit 4-4.5 hours, again, depending on brightness/wifi/bluetooth.

I'm running the Vista VM in VMWare Fusion with 512MB ram dedicated to Vista. It runs great. I use it constantly for MSN Messenger w/ Video Chat and Skype (I don't like the Mac version of skype, just personal preference). I also have to use Windows for Visual C++ 2008. Besides an awkward problem with Visual C++ won't compile anything, it runs pretty native speed, or close to it.

 

[macfanboy]

parallels screwed up my boot camp install. i had to reinstall windows cause i got bsod everytime i tried to boot from boot camp.

 

[fibrizo]

Thanks for the info.

Notice that you run vista on your MBA. What kind of battery life can I expect on it (surfing and coding mostly)? And does it run well on the MBA? I've only had experience with xp and win 7 on my primary mac.

I run win 7 on my 13 mbp now, I would say it tends to run with approximately 60% of the battery life of the mac side. I don't know if it's because there's alot less power optimization on the windows side. I also notice the temp runs hotter. (ie when I boot back to mac os after running windows abit, the start up temp is 65-70, where as it's usually 50-55 running most of the time on mac side.

 

[OatmealRocks]

My opinion

I have VMware installed on my MBP 2.33 w/4GB RAM. I have installed Vista and XP natively. Running VMware (Vista) is a drag. Vista is too slow. It is unusable. Takes forever to start up, windows to open and apps to execute. I would not recommend it. My Vista and XP are both fresh installs with all the updates and no junk installed. I have also tried to increase the RAM allocation to Vista (3.3GB - 2 CPU) with no luck.

Since I am on triple boot Vmware only regonize the Vista partition (ANYONE???). I would like to see how XP loads in VMWare but as for Vista run it natively or not at all.