Bootcamp Assistant vs. Bootcamp

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Level 1

73 points

Bootcamp Assistant vs. Bootcamp

What is the difference between Bootcamp Assistant and Bootcamp? :-?

Is it:
Bootcamp Assistant is used to partition the HD and aid in installing Windows?
Bootcamp is used during boot up to choose which OS to run after Windows has been installed using Bootcamp Assistant?
Other?

Thanks

-Mike

iMac 24", Mac OS X (10.5.6)

Posted on Feb 16, 2009 8:07 AM

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Answer 1

amgqmp1

Level 4

1,665 points

Feb 16, 2009 8:54 AM in response to Soniq2

Yes (on both counts). You've correctly summarized the general idea of what they both do.

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Answer 2

nerowolfe

Level 6

13,090 points

Feb 16, 2009 1:02 PM in response to Soniq2

Soniq2 wrote:
What is the difference between Bootcamp Assistant and Bootcamp? :-?

Is it:
Bootcamp Assistant is used to partition the HD and aid in installing Windows?

Exactly correct

Bootcamp is used during boot up to choose which OS to run after Windows has been installed using Bootcamp Assistant?

Actually the term "BootCamp" is the generic descriptor for the entire Windows installed system.
There are the "BootCamp" drivers on the DVD and in the software update, but in essence, once the drive is partitioned, the only item that still used the term, "BootCamp" is the little Windows app located in the system tray on the lower right.
In theory, the HD could be partitioned with other software, formatted for windows and a 3rd party boot loader such as rEFIt could be used to select the Windows OS.
What Apple has done is to make the solution simple and they simply named it "BootCamp"

Many people think that they are running Windows under BootCamp, or even that they are running
"BootCamp" which, of course is completely incorrect.

Thanks

-Mike

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Answer 3

Soniq2 Author

Level 1

73 points

Feb 16, 2009 5:00 PM in response to nerowolfe

Thanks nerowolfe.

My assumption is that once BootCamp Assistant completes, there will be two completely autonomous partitions on the HD, one installed with OSX and the other with WinXP SP2. Each one runs natively, autonomous from the other (as apposed to running something like VMWare, which seems to me must run interpreted from within OSX).
I'm also assuming that the boot loader that allows the user to select which OS to run upon bootup, is provided by an app that is part of the BootCamp suite (something similar to BootMagic by Norton) and either
1) runs from within OSX upon bootup and changes the active partition to the WinXP partition if chosen and then boots from that partition or
2) runs in its own small partition at the beginning of the disk and sets the active partition to either the OSX or WinXP partition based upon the selection made by the user.

This is what I'm assuming. 🙂

-Mike

Message was edited by: Soniq2

Message was edited by: Soniq2

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