Boot Camp v Parallels

OK now let's get some reactions from the knowledgeable ones here .

At present there are 4 machines in my house -

very elderly G3 iMac very very rarely used
MacBook - my main machine
elderly PC Lappy using XP
more modern HP desktop also using XP

NOW - something has to go , I don't want 4 machines . I don't NEED 4 machines . The PC Lappy possibly needs a new battery - certainly was not holding its charge. Don't think there's anything wrong with the HP Desktop and it has a newish Monitor - bought last year from our local PC shop and they don't deal in anything that's questionable . Oh - and remember I don't touch these funny windoze things and haven't an idea as to how they work.

I'm prepared for my G3 to go , had been wondering about getting a MacMini at some point in the future but not yet.

I need a PC in some form for my daughter #1 as she has to be in touch with her own work whenever she is up here [ her mobile goes non-stop with work stuff even though they know she is away ]

A suggestion was made to me that I get what I can for the PCs and install BootCamp on the MacBook so it can be used when necessary [ it's a secure encryption device that will be plugged in , which doesn't work on Macs ] The alternative to this is to put Parallels on .

Now I know that someone who uses Parallels is getting rather cheesed off with it - Kaspersky gave problems and he seems to have had other irritants too.

Since I , at present , have not a clue what my income is going to be I need to delay all non-essential expenditure till later this year.

Boot Camp is free and Parallels costs about £50

So - may I have te advice of this assembly of geeks please ?

I connect to my office network (Windows) from my Mac using Microsoft Remote Desktop connection, downloadable from the MS site. Could this be a possible solution?

What is the security device that you have to use that's incompatible with OS X? If that's really the only reason to run Windows, are you sure that there is no alternative Mac-compatible service?

I don't run Bootcamp, because I don't like rebooting at the best of times, and doing so in order to run Windows really goes against the grain. I run some Windows-only software in Parallels, and I have no significant issues with it. But I I use AVG Free for anti-virus, so I've never installed Kasperski.

However, if you have to use Windows then chances are that your security device would work better with Bootcamp than with Parallels. The only time I tried plugging hardware into Parallels - a Windows-only Vodaphone mobile Internet dongle I wanted to test - it steadfastly refused to recognise it.

That's a good idea. Keep the HP desktop in a corner somewhere, and connect to it from your Mac using Remote Desktop (you need XP Pro as a minimum on the PC to allow that). Then your daughter can use it when she visits.

AHEM

it's not me that has to use windows - it's daughter # 1 and the dongle thing is supplied by their IT folk and can't be used on a Mac - we did try and it told us " hahahahaha - go away " or words to that effect.

It's tiny and the size of a small Pen Drive but it has very clever stuff built in - she goes through 3 stages before she gets to her work stuff.

I understand that she had asked her IT folk and they said Windows only - but then what does one expect

I've got a bit of time before she come back up again so can afford to wait and not be hasty about this. Certainly I really would object to paying out good money for Parallels if it didn't work on there - and as I say - at present I can't afford it.

nother snag - big PC is XP Home

It's the old lappy that's Pro and I have a feeling [ can't prove it :) ] that XP Pro was not the original OS on that machine. I would not recommend doing a re-install on it

Sorry, I didn't realise the *only* requirement for Windows was for your daughter's work. I was guessing it was for some financial service that you need.

My first recommendation would be that, if your daughter's employer insists on her being able to work when she's staying with you, then they should provide her with a Windows Laptop that she can bring with her.

Can she use XP Home to connect to work? If so then just leave the HP alone and let her use it as a standalone PC when she visits. If not, or if you want to minimise the space it all occupies, then keep the Windows laptop with XP Pro for her to use instead. The state of its battery is irrelevant if it is only being used while plugged into the mains. Using the laptop liberates the HP's screen that could then be used if you do buy a Mac Mini later.

Nah - I have now got all the financial stuff organised - it's working beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeautifuly from the MacBook

She does have a Lappy for work - but moves around quite a bit - hence the device - saves carrying the lappy I've seen her office - 2 monitors , assorted printers and PCs a huge ergonomic keyboard .

At present she's on a 3-4 month secondment from her own area so the lappy is at home and she works off the secure device on whatever PC is in the Office she's using.

Certainly leaving the elderly lappy here makes good sense and getting rid of the HP Desktop would leave me room for a Mini in future.

hmmmm - this really does need thinking about

`nope - I really think I need the space that these machines are taking up

I'm fed up with the sight of them - AND an extra printer [ which is just slightly newer than mine - both are HP PSC1410 ]

I want to be able to organise this room so the computer and printer can be tucked away . I've given Raymond's portable external drives to new homes and I still have the Desktop and 3 [ yes 3 ! ] external drives for it - and an old DVD writer and the large tower unit [ well I think it's large ]

No - having thought while I had an enjoyable meal - it's Boot Camp or Parallels on my Mac Book .

Having Windows on my MacBook is bad enough - but having a genuine Windows Machine - NO WAY . It's not going to be used often enough to warrant keeping one of them - they will get new homes.

So folks - which do I put on the MacBook ?

Pros and cons for each please

Since you would be handing over your Mac to your daughter while she uses it to connect to the company network, she can reboot your Mac into Windows when she needs to, and you can reboot to OS X when you get it back. So Parallels may not offer any great benefit to you. Parallels costs money and adds risk and complexity, and it would be useless if it can't communicate with her dongle. Its main value is that you can run both operating systems at the same time, and you are able to share files across the two systems, but that may not be relevant in your situation..

Do you have a Windows installer disk for a Windows version that will work with your daughter's employer's system? If not then you will need to obtain one.

If your installer is for Windows XP SP2 or SP3, or for Vista, you can run Bootcamp at zero additional cost to install it. You can create a new partition on your internal hard drive to do this, or you may be able to use one of those external drives for the purpose.

If your installer is for an older version of Windows XP then you would need to update the installer to run it with Bootcamp. This is doable, but is not for the faint hearted.

One other issue: What applications does your daughter expect to use when running a PC? MS Office? Any special purpose applications? You will need Windows versions of those applications installed on your Mac, in the Windows environment, so you need to ensure that you have installers for them.