To the surprise of pretty much everyone, including the rumor sites, Apple has announced public beta testing of Apple Boot Camp their official solution for installing Windows XP on Intel Macs. This is a dual-boot solution so you have to restart to choose which OS you will use, you can’t use them both simultaneously.
That said, Boot Camp seems to be well designed and very easy to use. It offers to non-destructively re-partition the hard drive to make room for XP and to burn a CD with all the appropriate Windows drivers; quite a difference from the unofficial open source solution announced just a few weeks ago.
Some auxiliary hardware devices are not yet supported, they are documented on Apple’s site. But it appears all the essentials are supported, including the video chip which was a crucial missing piece in the unofficial package.
Firmware Update Required
Before attempting this a firmware update is required for all Intel Macs (firmware is the hardware resident code that is responsible for initializing the machine and loading the operating system)
- Intel iMac firmware update
- MacBook Pro firmware update
- Intel Mac mini firmware update
- Firmware Restoration CD
This update is not limited to XP booting support, it probably also contains other improvements so its worth installing even if you aren’t interested in running Windows. I’ve successfully installed it on my MacBook Pro but there was a brief moment of confusion. I followed the instructions carefully but the firmware did not update on the first attempt, when it rebooted I saw the same firmware installation instructions instead of a report of success. I repeated the procedure and it worked correctly the second time.
Other Requirements
You must also have upgraded to Mac OS X 10.4.6 and you have to provide your own Windows XP Install disk, it is not provided by Apple. I would also strongly recommend only attempting this after performing a full backup of your Intel Mac just in case there are problems.
Understand that this is beta quality software which means there is greater chance of something going wrong. At the moment this is definitely not for novices and not for people with no previous Windows experience. If the thought of re-installing Mac OS X on your machine gives you a rash, get someone else to help you.
Why?
Well, some people have a legitimate need to use Windows only applications for their work and with Boot Camp they can do so without buying a second Windows PC. It can also allow potential Switchers to buy a Mac knowing that they will have the option of reverting to Windows if necessary, even if they never do so.
Me, I just want to be able to play Half-Life 2.
Updates to follow.
FIRST UPDATE (06-Apr-05 6pm):
Comments & Trackbacks
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I guess this will mean the death of Virtual PC (although I don’t know if Microsoft was going to get around to updating the program for at least a year anyway). Another Microsoft for Mac program killed by Apple.
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From what I have I have read, which isn’t really that much, an alternative to Boot Camp called Parallels was just announced. It apparently provides parallel use of Mac OS X and Windows XP on the Intel based Mac. Here is a link to the beta version.