Dual boot for iMac?

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Dual boot for iMac?

Hi! I'm planning to buy a iMac soon.. but I have a question.. if let's say I would like to have my iMac to have dual boot, meaning I can choose to boot either OSx or XP upon start up.. if my PC was hacked or infected by virus.. will the OSx be affected? And also, can the dual boot be done and Apple can do the installation for me?

Thanks!

Windows XP Pro

Posted on Jul 15, 2010 6:33 AM

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Answer 1

Jul 15, 2010 6:42 AM in response to ryan2706

Hi

You're talking about using Boot Camp, which comes with all current Macs. It's very easy to set up for yourself with a purchased retail copy of Windows XP/Vista/7. (I don't believe Apple will do it for you.) And no, there's no way that the OS X side can be infected by viruses on Windows. Having said that, you should certainly protect your Windows system with good AV/anti-spyware.

Matt

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Answer 2

ryan2706 Author

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Jul 15, 2010 7:14 AM in response to Matt Clifton

O.. I see.. if you don't mind me asking, Boot Camp is not liken to a Virtual Machine am I right? It is just like what I've described on my previous question right?

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Answer 3

Jul 15, 2010 7:22 AM in response to ryan2706

Yes, Boot Camp allows you to create a dual-boot system with WIndows and Mac. Virtual machines are possible with Parallels Desktop, VMWare Fusion and Sun VirtualBox.

Matt

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Answer 4

ryan2706 Author

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Jul 15, 2010 7:24 AM in response to Matt Clifton

o.. ok thank you very much for your time and information! 🙂

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Answer 5

Jul 15, 2010 7:58 AM in response to ryan2706

No trouble at all. The guide to Boot Camp setup is pretty straightforward (you should print it out, though!) Post back if you get stuck.

Matt

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Answer 6

Jul 29, 2010 4:00 AM in response to Matt Clifton

I have a question on this.
1. You think one could install their win7 copy dual booting using boot camp "and also" install the same win7 copy using parallels?

2. Is there an advantage one over the other, as to dual booting using Win7 or parallels using Win7? Other than dual booting you'd not have access to the other os at the same time? Would you have more function and less issues dual booting win7 as compared to using win7 in parallels?

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Answer 7

Jul 29, 2010 6:34 AM in response to randym431

Yes, once you install a Boot Camp version of Windows, Parallels will let you use it as a virtual machine (as well as retain its Boot Camp dual-boot nature). I haven't done too much work with this, but one thing to note is that you won't be able to "suspend" such a Windows image within Parallels, you'll have to shut it down each time.

Matt

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