Boot Camp

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Level 1

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Boot Camp

Hello members
I have been using my MBP for a year now and for one program, Quicken Home and Business, I am thinking of(no other option) install boot Camp.
Do I have to defrag the drive before partition for BC? Is there anything I have to be specifically aware of for doing this step? Can I later, when XP is installed access any other partitions from BC, and, would I be able to load Fusion and boot Camp at the same time and drag files across?
Thanks in advance!

MBP, Mac OS X (10.5)

Posted on May 31, 2009 6:23 PM

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Answer 1

Lyssa

Level 8

41,327 points

May 31, 2009 9:00 PM in response to mactechy

Before you do anything make sure you have at least one current backup, just in case.

Whether you'll need to defrag or not is very dependent on how large your hard drive is and how full it is/has been. The BootCamp Assistant needs to find contiguous(connected) space on the drive when creating the new partition. Try having the BootCamp Assistant partition your drive and see if it works; if not, let us know what error message you see.

As for using Fusion as well, it's certainly an option. You'll have read access to your data in the BootCamp partition, but you won't be able to write to it unless you install some 3rd-party software.

Hope that helps a bit--let me know if you have more questions!

~Lyssa

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Answer 2

Fortuny

Level 7

21,455 points

May 31, 2009 9:55 PM in response to mactechy

Hi mactechy,

as Lyssa already posted: make sure you have a backup of your OSX before starting.

Personally I would say, that for your purpose, BootCamp would be overkill and not realy needed.

BootCamp is a neccessity for running hardware-demanding programs like 3d-games or other graphics intensive programs.
For 'office-like' programs like Quicken, a virtualization app like VMWare Fusion, Parallels or VirtualBox would suffice.
Plus these gaive you the advantage of not having to reboot your Mac in order to run Windows, which you have to do with BootCamp.

Since VirtualBox is free http://www.virtualbox.org/ it would be my starting point for trying.

And remember you have to have a valid Windows license (XP or Vista).

Have Fun

Stefan

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Answer 3

mactechy Author

Level 1

0 points

Jun 1, 2009 1:28 PM in response to Lyssa

Hi Lyssa and Fortune
After a slow start(Parallels 200mb Partition confusion problem) it all went well. The reason I have to have Boot Camp XP is because Quicken 2009(AU, NZ) won't install on any VM. I tried all sorts without success. It is not my preferred method , I just did not find any solution anywhere. If they change the installer one day, I certainly will place it in the Fusion VM.
What is then the best way to make the BC partition(documents) visible for the Fusion XP? As I work a lot on XP and need good access to the BC for my accounts/invoices?
Thanks for both of your support answers!!
Have a good day(from the southern winter)

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Answer 4

Fortuny

Level 7

21,455 points

Jun 1, 2009 8:46 PM in response to mactechy

Hi mactechy,

I don't have/use Fusion but Parallels and even with that I keep my BootCamp and Parallels VM Windows strictly divided.

According to VMWare it is possible to use a BootCamp Windows as a source for creating a Fusion VM Windows without 'destroying' the BC Windows.
However there were other reports, that this works for some and didn't work for others.

Might be good to use the VMWare support for this question: http://www.vmware.com/products/fusion/support.html

Regards

Stefan

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Answer 5

mactechy Author

Level 1

0 points

Jun 1, 2009 9:12 PM in response to Fortuny

Hi Stefan
In the meantime I tried to import the BootCamp partition into Fusion and it did work absolutely smooth.
Just the Quicken soft recognizes that it is a different "computer" and so the registration/activation is not working.
I don't want to hassle Quicken to give me another registration/activation number as I have been on the phone with them quite a lot over the last few days.
Thanks Stefan
Hope the summer has arrived for you up there!
Gion(downunder)

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Answer 6

Fortuny

Level 7

21,455 points

Jun 2, 2009 6:15 AM in response to mactechy

Hi mactechy,

yes summer has arrived in the past few days with temperatures up to 25° C (in Hamburg).
Had some 35° C last weekend in Breisgau (Schwarzwald) but that's too much for me.

Although nothing compared to what you have in Summer downunder.
And gladly no forest fires yet !

Glad to hear that nearly all worked out for you.

The registration/activation issues with some programs when importing from BootCamp to Fusion is a known problem.
There is a solution for some programs (not sure if it works for Quicken as well) to change the NIC (Network Interface Controller; e.g. network card) in Fusion to the same value as in BootCamp.
Check with the Fusion Forum on how this can be done.
Maybe it helps with Quicken.

Have Fun and thanks for the stars.

Stefan

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