hotwheels 22

Q: running win 7 on the air?

is anyone getting good results running boot camp on the new 11" or 13' air models and can anyone tell me if i can do this on the 2014 OR the 2015 models?

 

thanks for any advice.

MacBook Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.1), mid 2009 13" 2.53 core2duo 8 GB RAM

Posted on May 7, 2015 10:40 AM

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Q: running win 7 on the air?

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  • by dwb,Helpful

    dwb dwb May 7, 2015 11:45 AM in response to hotwheels 22
    Level 7 (24,194 points)
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    May 7, 2015 11:45 AM in response to hotwheels 22

    Quite a few of my colleagues are Windows users and consider their MBA to be the best Windows computer they’ve ever owned. I run Windows using Parallels Desktop because I use the Mac much more than I use Windows and when I am using Windows I generally want to get back to the Mac quickly. Windows 7 and the pre-release version of Windows 10 run pretty well in Parallels.

  • by hotwheels 22,

    hotwheels 22 hotwheels 22 May 7, 2015 1:09 PM in response to dwb
    Level 1 (12 points)
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    May 7, 2015 1:09 PM in response to dwb

    is there a way to tell /which/ boot camp i am getting on a newer purchase of an air so i know i can run window 7! this link indicates 5.1 will run 7...

    Boot Camp 5.1: Frequently asked questions - Apple Support

  • by dwb,Helpful

    dwb dwb May 7, 2015 2:10 PM in response to hotwheels 22
    Level 7 (24,194 points)
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    May 7, 2015 2:10 PM in response to hotwheels 22

    The newest Mac Pro appears to be the only computer that is limited to Windows 8 with BootCamp 5.1 - note that the document you link to was last updated less than 2 months ago.

  • by hotwheels 22,

    hotwheels 22 hotwheels 22 May 7, 2015 2:15 PM in response to dwb
    Level 1 (12 points)
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    May 7, 2015 2:15 PM in response to dwb

    ok yeah. thanks.

    do you know if the bootcamp version /comes/ with the OS or how this works? i mean there must be a list somewhere that tells me which models will run windows 7? i mean i am getting ready to get 7 on my new 2012 mac pro and i am keeping my 2006 to run XP but on the laptops i don't understand how to predict this before buying.

    also i am realizing i am HOPING installing /new/ OS's won't phase out existing boot camp installs.

    or can they even do this...?

  • by dwb,

    dwb dwb May 8, 2015 6:44 AM in response to hotwheels 22
    Level 7 (24,194 points)
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    May 8, 2015 6:44 AM in response to hotwheels 22

    Contact AppleCare or call your local Apple store for information about Windows 7 support. I just read a thread here on the MacBook Air site that indicates that the 2015 models don’t support Windows 7. That’s odd since when I check BootCamp help for my 2015 MBPr it indicates Win7 and 8 support….

  • by hotwheels 22,

    hotwheels 22 hotwheels 22 May 10, 2015 12:22 PM in response to dwb
    Level 1 (12 points)
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    May 10, 2015 12:22 PM in response to dwb

    hi dwb. thanks for all the advice.

     

    one thing i thought to share is that after visiting windows store, i am finding out that 8.1 is roughly 100 bucks though i guess the pro version is twice that.

     

    anyway, worst comes to worst i could just install win 8 and from what i gather there is an option to run certain software under older OS from within windows 8.

     

    presumably i would have to test this but moving up to 8 with the newer laptops may be an option if anyone wants to run boot camp.

     

    thanks.

  • by dwb,

    dwb dwb May 10, 2015 12:45 PM in response to hotwheels 22
    Level 7 (24,194 points)
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    May 10, 2015 12:45 PM in response to hotwheels 22

    Every program I run in Win7 runs okay in Win8.1 - I just don't like Win8.1 so I choose not to. If the software you intend to use isn't too CPU intensive or graphic intensive, virtualization is an option. You can test this free either by downloading Parallels for a free trial period (I think 30 days) or VirtualBox which is open source.

  • by hotwheels 22,

    hotwheels 22 hotwheels 22 May 10, 2015 3:52 PM in response to dwb
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    May 10, 2015 3:52 PM in response to dwb

    OK. thanks. so you don't like 8 and even though 7 programs work in 8 you are using the 8 UI which is not so fantastic i gather?

     

    for some dumb reason i am not a big fan of windows 7 in boot camp (like getting the icons on my desktop to work is still a cluster). also, i am not a fan of parallels having struggled mightily with it on my 13" MBP and not really seeing anything i like using parallels on my Mac Pro. so basically i have a separate machine at this point with a separate mouse and a windows keyboard to use my boot camp install with - on my desktop at least.

     

    i do wonder if XP programs would run in 7 or 8.

     

    i'm also wondering if using 8 may get me set up for 10 with the hopes that they have gotten a little more practical with the UI.

     

    any thoughts?

     

    also, do you know if i can upgrade a boot camp install of 7 up to 8 without too much trouble? if so i am under the impression that

  • by dwb,

    dwb dwb May 10, 2015 4:30 PM in response to hotwheels 22
    Level 7 (24,194 points)
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    May 10, 2015 4:30 PM in response to hotwheels 22

    I'm testing Win10 right now in Parallels and on an older PC I built years ago. I've done clean installs of 10 as well as upgrades from 7 and 8. The upgrades went well but I run clean machines with no hacks and fairly up to date software. Microsoft works hard to make Windows backward compatible so I expect a goodly amount of XP software will work  but I don't know

  • by hotwheels 22,

    hotwheels 22 hotwheels 22 May 10, 2015 4:45 PM in response to dwb
    Level 1 (12 points)
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    May 10, 2015 4:45 PM in response to dwb

    ok. thanks a lot for the good info. cheers.