Using Encryption Software on the Windows side..

Question

Level 1

0 points

Using Encryption Software on the Windows side..

I am about to buy a Macbook Pro instead of the company suggested Dell because I have been bitten by the Mac bug and cant let go. The company also requires encryption software to be run on the computers because of client data that will be stored on it. I will only be storing client data on the Windows partition.

My question is can I run encryption software on the Windows partition without any issues swapping between Windows and the Mac OS? Here are the specs on what I need. Will the 13" MacBook Pro fullfill these requirements?

What are the minimum requirements for Guardian Edge (name of encryption software) EPHD 7.1.2?

EP Hard Disk is designed to run on Pentium processors or higher with Windows 2000 SP 0-4, Windows 2000 Server SP 0-4, Windows XP Professional SP 0-2, Windows Server 2003 SP 0-1, operating systems (32-bit only). NOTE: For Windows 2000 Server and Windows 2003 Server operating systems, EP Hard Disk has been tested on a basic disk configuration, not on a dynamic disk. RAID configurations are not currently supported. · Windows Installer 2.0 is required for Setup.exe installations with Windows 2000 SP 0-2. This environment can be installed by executing the Instmsiw.exe file that is included with both the Administrator and User Programs. Note: This installation software is included with Windows 2000 SP 3 and later and Windows XP. · No additional memory is needed above the standard requirements for Windows 2000/XP. · EP Hard Disk requires a minimum 800x600 video resolution. · EP Hard Disk requires at least 16-bit color resolution. · EP Hard Disk requires that the BIOS support extended INT 13h. SCSI devices that do not use INT 13h to access the hard disk are not supported.

Macbook Pro, Mac OS X (10.5.7)

Posted on Jun 14, 2009 1:59 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Fortuny

Level 7

21,461 points

Jun 14, 2009 8:30 PM in response to Ory69

Hi Ory69 and welcome to Discussions,

from the requirements you provided, I don't see a hinderance not to use Guardian Edge as long as you use Windows XP.
Why Windows Vista is not mentioned is a little mysterious, but might have a reason.

The MBP meets these requirements.

Only thing that could be a hinderance is the section with the 'BIOS Int 13h'.
According to this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/INT_13 the Int 13h is a Low Level Disk Services, which can cause trouble on a Mac, since Macs don't have a BIOS, but use the EFI http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ExtensibleFirmwareInterface , which is the successor of BIOS.

If Guardian Edge is relying on the presence of a BIOS, this can be a reason why it won't work on a Mac with BootCamp Windows.
So it might be wise, to contact Guardian Edge asking them if they see/know of problems using their software on a Mac.

Regards

Stefan

Reply

Answer 2

Ory69 Author

Level 1

0 points

Jun 15, 2009 9:45 PM in response to Fortuny

That is some excellent feedback. Thank you so much and I will be contacting the vendor shortly and will let you know the results.

Reply

Answer 3

dugslug

Level 1

0 points

Jun 15, 2009 11:48 PM in response to Ory69

I use EFS, which is the native encryption supported by both XP and Vista. It seems to work great and I've had no problems so far.

Reply

Answer 4

Aug 18, 2009 2:34 PM in response to Ory69

I am in the same boat with needing to encrypt the Windows partition on my Macbook. Did you ever find out whether or not Guardian Edge EPHD could be used on the Boot Camp partition?

Reply