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Level 2

155 points

windows 7 OEM licensing? (boot camp vs. virtualization)

i have some astronomy-related software that only runs on windows. preferrably i will run this software under VirtualBox or VMware, but there is some indication that it will not run properly under a VM, and so i may need to use Boot Camp instead.

i understand that the OEM system builder licenses may only be installed on one computer. so if i find out that virtualization does not work, am i then dead in the water as far as installing the same license on boot camp?

i understand that VMware can actually boot from a Boot Camp partition, with some limitations. if i do this, is windows/microsoft going to think that the machine when booted under VMware is different than the machine booted under Boot Camp and refuse to run?

hopefully some people here have experience with this - thanks.

Posted on May 13, 2012 1:33 PM

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The hatter

Level 9

60,990 points

Posted on May 13, 2012 1:38 PM

The answers are in the VMware Support FAQ and Wiki entry.

If you want full access to RAM, cpu, hardware then run Windows natively.

VMs are fine for some apps maybe Office and such but not anything like 3D or CS5.

Considering we can't tell what you have now also limits this.

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33 replies

robert pfile Author

Level 2

155 points

Jun 15, 2012 7:00 PM in response to BobTheFisherman

BobTheFisherman wrote:

jason215 wrote:

There is another option no one mentioned its to install without the key. Windows 7 allows you to install the OS without a key and it will run like its activated for almost a year before it asks for a key. VM does not work properly on intel based macs (based on information from about 4-6 months ago) parallels is more stable than VM and offers more features and ease of use but recently I have heard (including me) and seen problems with making hard drives in parallels right now I think it has something to do with one of the updates apple put out.

Parallels lets you do a 14 day trial so get the trial and install windows without the key this will allow you to test the software on the virtual side instead of losing space doing the partition for bootcamp.
Another note using bootcamp you can also corrupt the apple side doing certain tasks ex is repartitioning within bootcamp windows.

Nonsense except for the free trial.

this is not nonsense, i just deactivated the nag after the 1st 30-day period with no key. very straightforward to do.

although, at this point i think i have proven to myself that the software is working perfectly fine when being run on windows 7 32-bit under VMware Fusion. so i could probably safely enter my key but i am going to put it off as long as possible just in case. I also happened to pick up the latest version of Parallels when it was available with the MacUpdate bundle; i may eventually see if Windows XP can drive my software/camera properly under Parallels.

so... false alarm. i'm going to stick with a virtual hard disk and pass on Boot Camp for now. this actually gives me the flexibility to run some of my software on macos and some on windows simultaneously; i was able to forward the network ports that they use to communicate between the two machines with ssh.

robert pfile Author

Level 2

155 points

Jun 15, 2012 7:02 PM in response to TomsiPhone

TomsiPhone wrote:

Our first Apple Mac 10MB external hard drive cost over $1,000 in 1985 or 86.

The 16K RAM card for my IMSAI 8080 cost $750 in 1976.

I will gladly pay $2,000 for the Ivy Bridge iMac 27 if/when it comes-out this year! Hasn't even been announced yet though...

😟

i remember that hard disk, we had one of those. hard to imagine that 10MB was a lot of storage at one point. i think we also had the 16K "language card" for our apple II, which brought the ram from 48K to 64K!

Jun 16, 2012 7:35 AM in response to robert pfile

robert pfile wrote:

i remember that hard disk, we had one of those. hard to imagine that 10MB was a lot of storage at one point. i think we also had the 16K "language card" for our apple II, which brought the ram from 48K to 64K!

There isn't much about getting older (or being old) that is a happy thing, except when you're faced with buying an iMac 27 with Parallels and VMware and whatnot. Doesn't seem all that expensive anymore for what you get!

😀

windows 7 OEM licensing? (boot camp vs. virtualization)