Migrating to a Mac from Windows

If you own one of the newer Intel-based Macs, you can run OS X and Windows XP on one machine. In the spring of 2006, Apple's Boot Camp beta software shook up the computing public upon its arrival. Apple announced that Boot Camp will be featured in the next major release of OS X (dubbed Leopard), which is expected early in 2007. In the meantime, you can download a version of the software at Apple.com. It includes Boot Camp Assistant software, stored in the Utilities folder under Applications.

Boot Camp itself is free, but you have to supply your own single-disc, full-install version of the Windows XP CD with Service Pack 2. An XP upgrade disc won't cut it.

Other requirements are as follows:

* An Intel Mac with OS X version 10.4.6 or later. If necessary, run Software Update.

* At least 10GB of free space on the startup disk.

* A blank recordable CD or DVD.


If you don't run into snags, the entire installation (including Windows) should take about an hour.

Because snags are possible, back up all your important information on the Mac's startup disk. Remember too that when you transform your Mac, it becomes as vulnerable to viruses and spyware as any other Windows PC.
Getting basic training

Follow these steps to get through Boot Camp:

1. Run Boot Camp Assistant (in the Utilities folder under Applications) to make sure that you have the latest firmware on your computer.

You can find updates at Apple.com. Follow any on-screen instructions if you are updating the firmware.

2. Click Burn a Macintosh CD, and insert a blank recordable CD or DVD.

Boot Camp Assistant guides you through burning a Macintosh Drivers CD. You need these software drivers later on to instruct Windows.

3. Create a partition for Windows XP.

You are essentially carving out an area of your hard drive for the XP operating system. This partition must be at least 5GB and can swell as large as the total free disk space on hand minus 5GB. Drag the divider to set the partitions for both OS X and XP.

4. Insert the Windows XP CD, and click Start Installation.

5. When asked to select a Windows partition, select only partition C.

Failure to do so could wipe out your entire Mac OS X startup disk.

6. Format the partition in either NTFS or FAT.

FAT provides better compatibility between the two operating systems; NTFS is more reliable and secure.

7. After Windows is installed, use the Mac Drivers CD you created in Step 2 so that AirPort, Bluetooth, the Eject key on the Mac keyboard, networking, audio, and graphics are recognized by the XP operating system.

A Startup Disk control panel for Windows is also added. You have to eject the Windows XP CD to install the Mac Drivers CD. To eject the CD, go to My Computer, select drive D, and click Eject This Disk in the System Tasks list.

8. When you see the message indicating that the software "has not passed Windows Logo testing," click Continue Anyway.

Don't cancel any driver installers. The computer will restart.

9. Follow any Found New Hardware instructions.

As with any new Windows computer, Microsoft requires that you activate your XP software with 30 days.

Not everything in Windows may run smoothly (or at all) off the bat. For instance, many PC manufacturers include DVD decoders that help your machine recognize and play discs. But a DVD decoder is not included with a retail copy of XP. You'll have to separately add a DVD decoder for XP or merely watch those movies in Tiger.
Switching operating systems

You can go back and forth between Tiger and XP, but you can't run both simultaneously under Boot Camp. Instead, you have to boot one operating system or the other; thus the name Boot Camp.

Here's how: Restart your machine and hold down the Option key until icons for each operating system appear on the screen. Highlight Windows or Macintosh HD and click the arrow to launch the operating system you want for this particular session.

If you want OS X or Windows to boot every time, choose Mac menu --> System Preferences and click Startup Disk. Choose the OS you want to launch by default.

You can perform the same function in XP by choosing Start --> Control Panel and then choosing (under Category View) Performance and Maintenance. Next, click the Startup Disk control panel and click either the Macintosh HD or Windows icon, depending on your startup preference.