If you're a Mac user in a Windows corporate environment who needs to check email in a Windows program or tap into a Windows server.And you might find that all Windows applications are sluggish when running an emulator. So you'll never have 'full speed' for intensive applications like Adobe Photoshop or other Creative Suite programs. Your RAM and processor power is split between the Apple OS and Windows OS, with Apple taking the larger portion of your power. If you're a designer who works mainly on a Mac but who occasionally needs to 'hop' into Windows for quick task, than either of these two emulating software programs will work for you.īut there's a downside to these programs: since you're running both OS's at the same time, as well as your applications, you'll never have all your computer's power dedicated to your Windows tasks. Many Mac users opt for Parallels or Fusion so that they can run both OS's at the same time.Īnd for many users that's a fine solution. Bootcamp gives you the 'real deal' Windows running at the full speed of your computer. You run one OS or the other, not both at the same time.

Bootcamp divides your hard drive into 2 partitions, one with the Apple OS X and the other with Windows XP, Vista, or Win 7. The third method is Apple's free Bootcamp software that comes with OS X. Two software programs, Parallels Desktop for Mac and VMware Fusion, are emulators or virtual machines, which means that they run Windows in a window while you're booted in Apple OS X.īoth operating systems can run at the same time and you can switch between OS X and Windows with a quick keyboard shortcut. With Intel-based Macs, you now have some practical ways to run both Apple OS X and Windows operating systems on one computer. This article helps you choose Parallels, VM Fusion, or Bootcamp to run Windows on your Mac, and gives some details to make things work smoothly. Are you thinking about running Windows on a Mac? Here's what you need to know to run Windows on an Intel-based Macintosh.

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