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Boot Camp Finally Supports Windows 7 On Macs

Dave Knott writes "After some delay Apple has updated Boot Camp to support Windows 7 on Macintosh computers. They have also provided an upgrade utility that facilitates transition to Windows 7 for Mac owners who have existing Vista installations. The new version of Boot Camp requires OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard)."

7 of 216 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Why do need to buy 10.6 to get this? more ways by iMouse · · Score: 5, Informative

    You DON'T NEED this update to run Windows 7 on a Mac in Boot Camp. This update is more or less targeted at newer Macs that already shipped with Snow Leopard that are experiencing problems installing 7. (see link)

    http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/windows-classic-linux-other-os/174668-windows-7-27-imac-black-screen.html

    Windows 7 installed on Boot Camp 2.0 in Leopard also works fine.

     
      ...more ways people post crap before doing any research.

  2. Re:I'm going to buy a Mac just to run Windows. by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I just wish that iPhone OS ran on their desktop systems. It's the best operating system I've used in a long time.

    Maybe single-application mode is what you want in Mac OS X?

  3. Re:...Windows 7 runs great on VirtualBox on Mac by tepples · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Of course, the problem with running Windows on a Mac is Microsoft's pricing structure. Boot Camp or Parallels or VMware or VirtualBox needs a retail copy of Windows. But it turns out that one can actually buy a whole PC running Windows, including a spare keyboard and mouse, for close to the price of a retail copy of Windows.

  4. Re:Why do need to buy 10.6 to get this? more ways by jo_ham · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Because if we say "the hardware is like a Ferrari" then you will come back with "no it;s not, its just the same parts as in my PC just costs more!" - which is true. The packaging of the components is what makes it cost more, and the price is at a point the market will bear.

    I know I couldn't find anything in the PC world that matched the features of my iMac - the form factor, the weight, the portability, the ability to run OS X without making a hackintosh. I'm not going to "kid myself" that the parts inside it are like a Ferrari though - I mean, it only has a Radeon X1600 which was only a midrange GPU at the time I bought it, and a regular SATA HD that is the same as the one in a normal PC. You get the picture.

    It is "good value" if you believe that the price you paid for something (anything you buy, not just computers) is worth the cost, regardless of what it is. My iMac cost me £1200 when I bought it, and it was totally worth the price *to me*. It wasn't the fastest, or the biggest HD, or the best GPU or the most RAM, but it was worth every pound I paid, even if I could buy an equally specced (in terms of just pure computer spec) PC for a lot less. It's not all about raw performance.

  5. Re:In other words by Bruha · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I agree, however Apple has a long history of breaking compatiblity to force you to upgrade to a new product.

    Aperature 1 owners upon upgrading to 10.6 find they can not load Aperature until they pay to upgrade to version 2. Happened to Me.

    2007 Mac Pro owners find they have to buy a new Mac Pro to get new graphics cards (what's the point of a Mac Pro if you can not upgrade the internals) guess hard drives suffice.

    I'm sure the list is longer than that as well. Also iPod 2g owners will soon probably find themselves forced to upgrade to get new apps when a SDK 5 drops or some similar excuse.

    In 2004 we got ipods, then mac mini,s then I got a Mac Pro in 07, worked for a good bit, then the BS started, and were back to using Windows 7. It's was just a phase I keep telling myself.

  6. Re:In other words by node+3 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I agree, however Apple has a long history of breaking compatiblity to force you to upgrade to a new product.

    Not quite. Apple has a long history of focusing on their current products. Windows 7 drivers are part of Snow Leopard because Snow Leopard is the current OS.

    You're partially right in that Apple does want people to upgrade to the current OS. But if their motives were as underhanded as you imply, it seems a bit odd they'd price Snow Leopard at $29.

  7. Re:In other words by node+3 · · Score: 4, Informative

    You're partially right in that Apple does want people to upgrade to the current OS. But if their motives were as underhanded as you imply, it seems a bit odd they'd price Snow Leopard at $29.

    Forces any 4+ year older Mac out of the way since they only started making Intel chips (required for 10.6, no PowerPC chips) in 2006. And thats if you didn't buy an older Mac off the shelf. While the $29 isn't much, it's still a forced upgrade

    No one is forced to buy Snow Leopard. Boot Camp with XP and Vista drivers is a feature of Leopard. Windows 7 compatible Boot Camp is a feature of Snow Leopard.

    Regardless, Leopard still runs just fine. But like every OS upgrade, if you want the new features, you need the new system.

    I'm not sure what you're getting at regarding the older Macs, as they can't run Windows 7 anyway.