HOW DO YOU USE: (HELP) BootCamp and VMware without destroying BootCamp Drivers?

[tormentAZ]

First, so there is no question on resources: I have a MacPro 8-core, 16Gig Ram, 4 TB

Plenty of space, speed, and processing power, but I installed VMware and created 50gb space, to do office and games. But as you've all stated (I read this thread after I pulled out all my hair), Far Cry 3, Fallout 3, and Deadspace don't run due to video card drivers in VMware.

Then I installed bootcamp (new Partition) and the games run great! I mean faster than XP on a Dell, IBM, or clone. But, I can see the partition in Vmware for VMware and for bootcamp. So, I've got two XP3 copies and installed both, with two copies of Office, one on Bootcamp one on my VMware. Which has been suggested on this Forum.

Okay, Here is the question:

Can I boot into Vmware and use the Bootcamp XP Sp3 With out changing drivers when I log back into bootcamp directly? or which will change the drivers? I'm suspecting.

I would love to boot back to BootCamp to run my games with the video card drivers / all the speed? Or will bootcamp drivers and settings be changed over to use VMmare forever!

I'm honestly afraid to do it, because i've taken so much time and energy to get this far, I would rather keep all the office apps in VM and games in Bootcamp. But if I could run the VMware, then switch back to play games I'd free up the other 50GB, so I'd have just one windows partition.

One more question, while I'm at it. I'm only able to use the speaker in Bootcamp from my computer, not my desktop speakers. I've run the disk for bootcamp, (mac OS).. But it seems to default to the speaker. The VMware does play through my speakers? HELP!

 

[Keleko]

As for the drivers, VMware should figure it out for the bootcamp partition and use the appropriate drivers. At least that's how it works for me with Parallels. VMware did the same when I was trialing it.

Can't help you with the sound problem, since I use Parallels.

 

[tormentAZ]

Appreciate it

Hey, Keleko..

Here is the question posed. VMware uses a driver called VMware SGVA, when in windows. Will it update or Change the drivers in VMware, because Vmware and Parrallels uses the Microsoft equivalent or Branded VMware to update drivers for anything in the Virtual machine. Will it keep it if I switch back into the bootable or Bootcamp machine?

I'm concerned about having to reinstall all the drivers back every time.

 

[XianPalin]

You don't have to reinstall the drivers each time. When you setup VMWare and install the VMware tools it will install all the drivers for the VMware stuff and use those in VMware, however those drivers don't overwrite your original drivers.

If you load up the machine in boot camp, it just uses the drivers you originally had.

I've got a Mac Pro and Vista 64-bit setup and use it both through boot camp and VMware, I can assure you there's no driver reinstallation every time or anything. Every once and a while it might ask you to re-activate windows for some reason, probably just from the hardware changes back and forth, but it always reactivated with no issues, and I've never been prompted for driver reinstallation.