VMWare Fusion on the base level 13.3" MBP ?

[Sounds Good]

Will VMWare Fusion run comfortably (aka: not sluggish) on the base level 13.3" MBP ?

Or does it need more (fill in the blank) to be zippy enough for comfort?

Thanks!

 

[iHackz]

Should run real fine... I have an early 2009 Macbook and it runs good IMHO...

 

[cluthz]

Will VMWare Fusion run comfortably (aka: not sluggish) on the base level 13.3" MBP ?

Or does it need more (fill in the blank) to be zippy enough for comfort?

Thanks!

Getting 4 GB ram will indeed speed things up when running both Mac OS and Windows the same time.

 

[Sounds Good]

Getting 4 GB ram will indeed speed things up when running both Mac OS and Windows the same time.

Gotcha... thanks. I assume that's cheaper aftermarket, right?

 

[pekedey]

I was using fusion for a while running vista ultimate and the windows 7 release candidate. Both worked pretty well, but when I upgraded to 4GB RAM I saw a HUGE performance boost - especially when running both VMs simultaneously! (Cost me about 120 bucks to upgrade and I have never regretted it).

 

[cjacks68]

Gotcha... thanks. I assume that's cheaper aftermarket, right?

Oh yeah, so much cheaper.

 

[LowMach]

hi!

will someone tell me the best way to install vmware fusion:

i only have osx now on my mac

i would like to be able to boot up to either osx or windows

i would also like to use fusion while in osx to use a windows app

so do i boot camp first and then start using fusion?

-cheers

 

[5DollaFootlong]

Gotcha... thanks. I assume that's cheaper aftermarket, right?

it may be cheaper, but on the new macbook pros it voids your warranty since you can't access the internal components without removing the "permanent" battery.

 

[Dexter v House]

hi!

will someone tell me the best way to install vmware fusion:

i only have osx now on my mac

Meaning you had bootcamp as well in the past, or another OS ? Just trying to be clear.

i would like to be able to boot up to either osx or windows

To be able to "dual-boot" you need to install bootcamp, using Bootcamp Assistant. If you have this utility (most modern macs do), there's a helpful read-me pdf in there that'll guide you.

i would also like to use fusion while in osx to use a windows app

You can instal Fusion under MacOS (and still have a bootcamp partition). They are not mutually exclusive.

so do i boot camp first and then start using fusion?

Here's where I think you might be a bit confused (sorry if I've mis-understood you). Bootcamp is effectively a separate partition on your hard-drive that allows you to instal Windows. Bootcamp assistant will assist you to create the partition and install necessary drivers for Windows to run on your mac.
Fusion is an app that runs with in Mac OS and it emulates a virtual Windows machine, but you essentially run it from within the Mac environment (as opposed to running Windows in it's own separate partition which is what bootcamp does).
There's no restriction to doing both, but most people plump for only one of the solutions when they want to run Windows. Either use Fusion (or Parallels) -OR- use bootcamp.

Hope that helps.

Edit: Just realized what you may have meant is that you want to run your bootcamp installation from within Fusion ? Is that correct? If so, yes you are correct: install bootcamp 1st and get Windows running as you want. Then run Fusion from Mac OS and it should automatically detect your bootcamp partition and ask you if you want to create a virtual machine for it. You can then delete the bootcamp partition if you so wish (to re-claim the disk space).

 

[LowMach]

Dexter:

you are fantastic help and explanations! Thank you for this.

no bootcamp before.

Yes i want to run the same xp from bootcamp and from fusion.

So do i understand that fusion will just copy the xp partition back in to osx's partition for use?

If fusion is efficient enough then i will recover the bootcamp partition like you mentioned and if not then i will use bootcamp for more intensive apps.

I started the bootcamp load and now have xp loaded in a ntfs partition of 40gb's. I need to load drivers though. My disks are not with me now. i tried to use some disks form a imac 24" we have here but it didn't have the correct drivers for this 13" mbp i assume since nothing works after the bootcamp installation completed from the osx disk. Once i get the drivers right i will load a demo of fusion for testing.

 

[Dexter v House]

Dexter:

you are fantastic help and explanations! Thank you for this.

No probs. That's why I joined the forum too - to get help

Yes i want to run the same xp from bootcamp and from fusion.

So do i understand that fusion will just copy the xp partition back in to osx's partition for use?

Fusion doesn't so much copy the partition, it CREATES a big file called a Virtual Machine from what it sees in the bootcamp partition. Fusion can then run this VM file so that to you it looks like it's running Windows. But it's really just emulating it. That's why you get a "window" within the Mac OS environment. You can do pretty much anything and everything you want with the virtual machine that you would do on a proper windows installation. It really is v clever stuff!
You can get ready made VM files from the VMWare web-site for some Linux distros.
Eg
http://blogs.vmware.com/teamfusion/2009/04/ubuntu-904-on-vmware-fusion-2.html

Or, you can create a VM file from any Windows machine you have control over (and legal access to) by using VMWare's Converter utility
http://www.vmware.com/products/converter/

If fusion is efficient enough then i will recover the bootcamp partition like you mentioned and if not then i will use bootcamp for more intensive apps.

Yep - that's a good plan if the response you want in Fusion is too slow (and you have the disk space). Eg for intensive gaming.

I started the bootcamp load and now have xp loaded in a ntfs partition of 40gb's. I need to load drivers though. My disks are not with me now. i tried to use some disks form a imac 24" we have here but it didn't have the correct drivers for this 13" mbp i assume since nothing works after the bootcamp installation completed from the osx disk. Once i get the drivers right i will load a demo of fusion for testing.

You might be able to d/l the drivers you need from the Apple web-site - I'm not sure but it's worth looking there. Make sure you look for the latest drivers for your model.
Good luck!

 

[Sounds Good]

it may be cheaper, but on the new macbook pros it voids your warranty since you can't access the internal components without removing the "permanent" battery.

Seriously? Wow... that just doesn't seem right...

 

[LowMach]

update:

i now have xp pro on bootcamp and windows 7 running on fusion

all i can say is wow! win 7 runs great in full or unity mode. there is a small delay while going from osx to win 7 full mode, but in unity mode i am very pleased with the performance. I did notice that the 13" mbp ran almost 20 degree's C hotter at 78-80. Also the battery lasted about 1/2 as long. i wasn't able to get smc fan control working correctly, so i used fan control and it seemed to speed up the fan.

i may just load a xp pro vmware machine to compare resource usage. can anyone tell me if there is a difference in cpu/ battery/ temp between the different windows OS's?

i will continue to test and if all is good i may just reclaim the xp pro partition.

i am using the demo of fusion and do see me purchasing in the next 30 days.

fun stuff!

 

[-tWv-]

Will VMWare Fusion run comfortably (aka: not sluggish) on the base level 13.3" MBP ?

Or does it need more (fill in the blank) to be zippy enough for comfort?

Thanks!

It should run fine. But if you want it to run just like you are booting from a regular machine. I would upgrade the ram. After I did this and was using windows 7 for a while on it in full screen mode. And after I had been using it for a while I forgot that I still was running OS X behind it because it was so responsive and felt like a regular machine. A memory upgrade will really help when it comes to virtualized machines.

 

[Sounds Good]

Thanks touchdown. Looks like 4GB is the way to go.

Is it really true that adding extra memory yourself will void the warranty on a new 13" MBP?