I finally bit the bullet and installed Windows XP on my Mac. I have an Intel Mac Powerbook (2 Gb RAM, 180 Gb HD, 2.5 GHz dual core, 17 inch screen). I had Parallels installed in the machine at the time of purchase and bought Windows XP Professional version 2002.

Most of us feel pretty comfortable when it comes to our Macs. Over the past few years we’ve learned the ins and outs of Mac OS X. But the release of has knocked many Mac users out of their comfort zone.

What does it all mean? Can you really run Windows on a Mac? What’s required to do so, and what are the potential pitfalls if you try? Relax a little bit. Macworld has put together a comprehensive list of questions and answers about Boot Camp, installing and running Windows on Mac hardware, and more. And if you’ve got any lingering questions, feel free to stop by the discussion thread linked at the bottom of every page of this story. Using Boot Camp How does Boot Camp work?

Boot Camp is software that helps users of Intel-based Macs install and use Windows XP on those systems. The Boot Camp Assistant helps you change the set-up of your hard drive so that it has two partitions—your existing Mac volume and a new Windows-compatible volume. Reviving my passport for mac how to backup. The Assistant also burns a CD-ROM that contains drivers —files that Windows needs so that it can operate your Mac’s hardware efficiently. Xbox one format for hard drive. Once the Boot Camp Assistant does its job, your Mac reboots and—thanks to a recent firmware update—you can insert your Windows XP installation CD and it will be recognized as a bootable volume.

When the lengthy Windows installation process concludes, you insert the CD-ROM that the Boot Camp Assistant burned, which installs the appropriate Windows drivers, as well as a Windows utility (much like the Startup Disk preference pane) that lets you choose your startup volume. Wait—I thought all I had to do was install Boot Camp and then I’d be running Windows. No, you need to have your own full version of Windows XP Service Pack 2.

(And yes, we specifically mean SP2—when we tried installing SP1 during one of our tests, it didn’t work at all.) You can’t just copy the version of Windows that came with any old PC, because it can’t be installed on any system other than the one it came with. You can’t buy an “upgrade” copy, because you’re not upgrading from a previous version of Windows. A full version of Windows XP SP2. It’ll cost you $150 to $200. OK, I understand that Boot Camp requires a version of XP that includes Service Pack 2, but I only have an original XP disc. Is there a way to create a SP2 disc with what I have?

You can use a process called slipstreaming. Explains exactly what you need to do. Note that you’ll need to have access to a PC for this process.

Does Boot Camp provide all the drivers I need? Boot Camp provides the basic drivers for audio, video, Bluetooth, AirPort, Ethernet, and keyboard and mouse. If you have peripherals that require their own drivers in XP, you’ll have to download and install those yourself. How is Boot Camp different from the software hack that lets me install Windows XP?