David Hurst

With the release of Apple’s Boot Camp software, it is now possible to run Microsoft Windows on Intel based Apple computers natively - i.e. without using Virtual PC etc. Whilst this is hardly fresh news (Boot Camp has been about for a few months now), I have only today had the opportunity to try it out for myself. I actually installed it for a client on a brand new Macbook.

I guess the first question that pops into one’s head is: ‘why on earth would anyone want to run Windows on an Apple - particularly given that OS X is so far superior to Windows?’. A fair question. The answer is simple. Despite all the superiorities that OS X offers, there are many software packages that simply aren’t available on OS X. For me, I need my Sage accounting software and payroll software, plus I need to test websites in Internet Explorer, so I do need to use Windows XP on a daily basis and I keep a Windows laptop for just that purpose. I guess many others are in the same boat as me, and for those that can’t afford or justify two seperate computers, this problem would prevent a switch to OS X.

So, how good is Boot Camp and how easy is it to install?

First, I visited the Apple site and downloaded the Boot Camp Public Beta (the software is still officially beta, although it will be included as standard in the forthcoming OS X 10.5 Leopard release), which is a 202MB disk image (.dmg) file. Inside the DMG is an installation script which places the Boot Camp program in your /Applications/Utilities folder. Double click this and you will be prompted to pop a blank CD in the drive, after which the software creates a driver disc for Windows with drivers for your specific hardware. Nice and easy so far.

In order to install Windows it is necessary to partition your hard disk drive (i.e. split it into two sections - one for OS X and one for Windows). The Boot Camp software makes this ludicrously easy - just drag the partition divider to get the size you want - I opted for 10Gb, but you can choose anything you like. 5Gb is about the minimum I would recommend.

Next, the software tells you to insert your Windows disk. It needs to be Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 2. I used a brand new OEM disc, which you can nab at a bargain price from the friendly chaps at eBuyer. After inserting the disc, the Macbook restarted and I was presented with the Windows setup screens just like on a regular PC.

When it comes to choosing your partition to install Windows on, you will see the partition you just created labelled as the C: drive. Choose this and format it with FAT if possible (the partition size will need to be less than 32Gb to use FAT). If you format with FAT then OS X will pick up the Windows partition and display it as a seperate disk on your OS X desktop, allowing you to transfer data easily between systems - very useful. If you set your partition bigger than 32Gb or you format with NTFS, then OS X won’t see this partition.

Once Windows setup had finished, I popped in the drivers CD that Boot Camp made. The CD auto-runs and installs all the drivers for you. And that’s it! Ludicrously easy.

A new Control Panel icon is added in Windows and a new preference pane to the System Preferences in OS X, that allows you to select your default startup disk, but you can choose which system you want to boot by simply holding the option key (Alt) when you switch on the Apple.

And how does Windows run? Fast! Easily as fast as any of the dual core PCs I have built recently. All of which throws the entry level Macbook, priced at just £749, into a whole new light. Unlike Virtual PC, this is no workaround to a problem - it’s a real solution. Personally, I’m considering trading my Sony Vaio for the Macbook Pro - I can use Windows at work and OS X everywhere else. The best of both worlds.