Parrallels, BootCamp, or Crossover?

[SpankyPenzaanz]

I know this has probably been posted before but searching through these forums can be tedious so here goes...
I need win for visualbasic and later sql
and since I am HAVE to have win might as well throw in some upcoming games into the mix
your input would be greatly appreciated

 

[ceruleanventure]

I've tried all three...

And Boot Camp is definitely the best choice (and only choice) if you want to play games. I like Parallels, but it still doesn't support games. It would be useful though if you want to just run windows apps without rebooting. I find rebooting to be a pain ( I like to read Microsoft Reader Lit files while using Tiger Apps, so Parallels is great for that!) And finally, I am not impressed with Crossover. I understand that it's a beta, but I found the entire process clumsy and only one program (IE) out of like 10 worked for me. I hope that helps

 

[Glen Quagmire]

Parallels: locked up my Mac Pro solidly *twice*.
Boot Camp: works perfectly.
Crossover: not tried yet.

Boot Camp gets my vote. Parallels is too flaky.

 

[Shrek6446]

I would go with Crossover, for one you dont need a copy of windows like you do with the other two. Crossover has been rather stable for me and i installed4 programs with no problems. Visual basic is still untested by crossover but 3 of the 4 programs I tried were untested and worked great.

As far as the games go I heard that Cedega (Cedega is a program that allows linux users to play several windows games) was working on a version that works on Macs and again you wont have to throw away $150 for a new copy of windows.

The worst you could do is try Crossover (its free) if VB or SQL dont work then go elseware.

 

[drummerbooker14]

I haven't tried bootcamp, but that would be my first choice. parallels, you won't be able to play games. crossover pretty well sucks, i have tried to install things, and after hours all it has said was preparing to install(ON SUPPORTED SOFTWARE). so yeah, go with boot camp

 

[5683565]

Boot Camp, no question. Parallels costs money, and no real 3D support for games. Crossover is a joke.

 

[DamoRed]

Shrek, if I just want to run a stand alone .exe file, will crossover do that?

I don't have my Macbook yet, but hope to get one soon enough, maybe before or maybe just after Christmas. The only application I need, or want to run is called Pictures To Exe. It's a slideshow application. I know it's impossible to know beforehand, but from what you've experienced with Crossover, do you think this would run ok? I've looked at the applications list on the Crossover site and it isn't listed.

Could I be really cheeky and ask you very nicely to possibly try this?

It is available for download on a trial basis here...

http://www.wnsoft.com/apr/index.html

If I could run this without having to have Windows on my Macbook and all that entails, I'd be ecstatic. I don't want to be getting into partitions on my HD or rebooting with Bootcamp either.

Many thanks

Damo

 

[balamw]

Shrek, if I just want to run a stand alone .exe file, will crossover do that?

Depends on the EXE, but in general the answer to that is yes. You can even run a fair amount of EXEs with the free Darwine, which I use to run a custom app from work. I'll try the app you suggested on Darwine tonight if I get a chance.

B

 

[daveporter]

Depends on the EXE, but in general the answer to that is yes. You can even run a fair amount of EXEs with the free Darwine, which I use to run a custom app from work. I'll try the app you suggested on Darwine tonight if I get a chance.

B

Do you have any idea if Darwine or Crossover can host AutoCAD 2000?

Thanks,

Dave

 

[echeck]

My vote definitely goes to Boot Camp.

I bought a mini for the office, but I need to run Windows for some of the office applications and Boot Camp was really the only way to go.

I gave consideration to Parallels, but I went with Boot Camp because I needed the most stable solution of the three, and I haven't been disappointed. Granted rebooting can be a pain sometimes, but when it only takes a matter of seconds to reboot, I don't find it too inconvenient.

Plus if you're thinking about gaming as well, Boot Camp is the only solution for you.

 

[Scottyk9]

Bootcamp - right now the only option for games, or windows programs that utilize 3D stuff. Crossover has potential, but quite limited - you really have no way of knowing at this point what will and will not work (for example, one version of AutoCAD is given an "honorable mention" on their website - what does that mean??).

But booting in and out of OS X / windows is a pain. For most productivity apps, Parrallels works great, can use shared folders to easily share files with OS X, and (this is the biggest for me), you are still working primariliy in OS X.

Fwiw, many people have reported using the same copy of windows to install on bootcamp & parallels (just call them if you get grief, and tell them you are trying to install it on the same computer...)

 

[balamw]

Do you have any idea if Darwine or Crossover can host AutoCAD 2000?

http://www.codeweavers.com/compatibility/browse/cat/?app_id=117

If Crossover ain't fully up to snuff, Darwine definitely won't work, plus for a complicated app like that you'd spend a lot of time getting it right in Darwine.

If you don't want to Boot Camp, Parallels would be a better choice, esp. after they get 3D down.

B

 

[DamoRed]

Thank you balamw, that would be most appreciated. Whether it works or not.

I have to confess that I don't really know what is the mot important factor in running photo and sound apps. Is 3D power needed for photos? The basic concept is a slideshow, where there will be various types of dissolve between images. They aren't actually moving images as such, but there is apparent movement between them. I think this version also allows panning and zooming on images too.

Then this is all embedded with a sound file, mp3 or otherwise, and exported as an exe file.

Would such a program be heavy on resources, either on the graphics card or what would be required to run it on Crossover/Darwine?

Damo

 

[balamw]

The basic concept is a slideshow, where there will be various types of dissolve between images.

This would definitely work well under Parallels. My kids play some older 2D games that play quite smoothly under Parallels and would be more intensive than this sounds.

I'll let you know how Darwine does (or not).

EDIT: Darwine didn't like the sample files I downloaded from the site at all. I usually get some error messages in the log window when things don't quite work, but nothing this time. Perhaps it's just a missing DLL?

The two files I tried worked great in W2K on Parallels though....

B

 

[Xenesis]

I need win for visualbasic and later sql

You do realise that it's pretty simple getting sql to run on OSX? I've got a php/mysql setup on my iBook for testing out things I'm changing to my phpbb forum and it works a treat.

 

[Quartz Extreme]

I need win for visualbasic and later sql

You do realise that it's pretty simple getting sql to run on OSX? I've got a php/mysql setup on my iBook for testing out things I'm changing to my phpbb forum and it works a treat.

You might also want to look at RealBasic as an alternative to VisualBasic. It can import VisualBasic source code and compile for Windows, OS X, and Linux.

If you run SQL in OS X, and if RealBasic is an option for you, you might not need to mess around in Windows hell at all.

If you absolutely need to work in the Windows environment for these apps, Parallels would run them fine without having to reboot for Boot Camp.

and since I am HAVE to have win might as well throw in some upcoming games into the mix

For games, you're gonna definetly need Boot Camp. Parallels has no 3D support (yet.)

 

[DavidLeblond]

I have both Parallels and Bootcamp. I use Parallels for development work (Visual Studio .NET) and Bootcamp for games (right now only Dreamfall.)

Love both of them.

 

[SC68Cal]

While parallels is a great product, I play only games on Windows, so my usage habits are not compatible with Parallels. So I have to use Boot Camp. Rebooting wastes time so that I can waste some more time with games

 

[wix]

Boot camp

I've heard that when you use windows with boot camp that your power management on your computer does work. So cooling fans wont turn on and its possible to fry your laptop. Has anyone else heard this???

 

[thebeephaha]

I've heard that when you use windows with boot camp that your power management on your computer does work. So cooling fans wont turn on and its possible to fry your laptop. Has anyone else heard this???

Its not true, they come on.

 

[dzawski]

Yuri's Revenge

Hi - has anyone had success installing and running (successfully) Red Alrt 2 plus Yuri's Revenge on a MAC?
I just bought an IMAC and parallels. Parallels seems to work OK except, when I try to install these games, it keeps prompting me for the CD, which is in the drive. Looks like it loses track of the CD after being able to read it at first.
I am so hooked on that game and would be lost without it.

Thanks!

 

[MacAficionado]

I'm going to have to agree with the following:

Bootcamp is ok, to much hassle from installation to usage.

Parallels is what I'm using right now running Windows Vista RC2 I think. I also have Windows XP installed.

It is pretty fun having the ability to check out finally Vista. With VirtueDesktops I can just Alt-Tab to Mac OS. Unbeatable.

 

[coffey7]

At first I had boot camp but the track pad never worked very well even after the updates. I now have parellels and I have windows xp and Suse linux on my macbook and its great. The trackpad works great and everything is good. I don't play many games so bootcamp wasn't that great for me. I think the big bonus is you can run almost any linux and windows program in parallels. Also, in Parallels you can share the files from linux and windows with the mac folder you set up. The real bonus is you don't have to restart with parallels. if i could ever fix the wacko trackpad problem with bootcamp I would have that also so I could play games. I think its cool that I can run windows 2000 pro on my mac with par.

 

[youyou]

I am using parallels with windows vista beta rc1.
It works fine for me...
I just have a few questions.
How do i switch from windows to Mac OSX... there is no alt button on my keyboard so...
And as well i am wondering if there any way to fully utilize my video card that i have with my 24" Imac in parallels...
And lastly is there a way to transfer my music and pictures from my Mac OSX to Windows vista that i'm using. Like a simple drag and drop?
Or how come all my music and pictures that are on my computer don't show up when i'm running windows...

 

[wiraone]

Received my Parallels Desktop today but my new MBP is nowhere to be seen. I've no idea if Parallels will do the job, but I've been using VMware before (on Linux) and couldn't wait for the MacOSX version to come out. If I create a VM using Parallels now, will I be able to convert it into VMware whenever it is ready for the masses?