Filed under: Hardware, Software, Open Source
Windows 7 on Mac OS X Snow Leopard at no additional cost
Anil Dash has described how to run Windows 7 on a Mac running OS 10.6 -- as a virtual machine -- for free (after you buy Windows 7, of course). It's not very tricky and, according to Anil, works well. Start by installing Windows 7 in Boot Camp and wait while it grabs the necessary drivers (the duration of this process will vary). Next, eject the Boot Camp disk and enter a few simple Terminal commands. You'll also need VirtualBox, which is free and open source virtualization software. Once you're done in Terminal, launch VirtualBox and browse to the file you made with Terminal. Read Anil's article for the details.
As today is Windows 7 launch day, we're interested in hearing from anyone who has installed it on their Mac, either via Boot Camp or virtualization.
For more, read Christina's post on installing Windows 7 on a Mac (at Download Squad), or Steve's take here. You can get your absolute fill of Win7 coverage all day today at DLS.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Mike said 12:34PM on 10-22-2009
Too soon to install 7
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Jordan said 12:57PM on 10-22-2009
No it's not. 7 has basically been out for months now. No need to wait for the first service pack with 7, it's great the way it is.
Nick said 12:39PM on 10-22-2009
Been running it the last few months in Boot Camp. Works well enoguh, though I wish Apple would provide full support for the multi-touch trackpads on the unibodies
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Nick said 12:40PM on 10-22-2009
*enough
Yay fat fingers >.
Teesh said 12:45PM on 10-22-2009
I've installed the R/C version of Windows 7 in Bootcamp and it's working perfectly.
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Chuck Jacobson said 12:49PM on 10-22-2009
I have RC1 installed in Boot Camp simply so I can play Halo 2 "Vista".
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wase4711 said 12:52PM on 10-22-2009
have had the 64 bit rc installed as a virtual machine for months, and it works fine!
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Mihkel S. said 12:53PM on 10-22-2009
Have been running it since the RTM became available for Technet customers... tried on VMWare and Parallels, also on Boot Camp - no major issues, though managed to get a BSOD once when messing around with DEP settings in Office 2010 Technical Preview...
overall, thumbs up, though I still tend to call the Windows 7 taskbar the "Dock"... MS has done a pretty good job, running almost as fast as XP in the VMWare Fusion, can't wait til next Tuesday, when WMWare 3 starts supporting Aero...
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iLikeMyiPhone said 12:52PM on 10-22-2009
Title FAIL!
Try Parallels or VMWare for a seamless experience. Parallels can be had for about 3~4 starbucks visits!
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USC Trojan said 3:12PM on 10-28-2009
I have been running Win 7 Ultimate on my 2007 Intel iMac and 2008 mac mini for quite some time now - lovely, trouble-free and fun!
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plastkort said 12:58PM on 10-22-2009
Installed the x64 version of it with Boot Camp a couple of weeks ago and the only problem I had was with installing the drivers for Apple hardware. Had to use Windows compatibility mode to get the installer to run.
Feels quite fast!
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John said 1:00PM on 10-22-2009
Love windows 7 actually, it's a great OS, but the multi touch trackpad is horrible to navigate with, especially with tap to click enabled.
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Eduardo Ferraiuolo said 1:01PM on 10-22-2009
Running RC in Parallels. Works pretty well, but no aero support.
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Paul said 1:05PM on 10-22-2009
I've installed the release candidate in Fusion. Like when I installed XP in Boot Camp, I booted into it, looked at the desktop, asked myself "well, what now?"
With XP, I removed the Boot Camp partition after a couple of months of not using it. With Windows 7, I shut down Fusion and have only booted it a couple of times to install updates.
Yes, it looks ok, and I'm not rejecting just because it's Windows. I expect I'll use it a few times to test out websites I'm working on in IE, but otherwise I'll continue with OS X. I just don't see myself using it for anything else.
When Fusion 3 comes out, I'll get the update and test out the improved graphics drivers, but still, there's nothing compelling me to actually use it for anything.
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Bernard Ramsey said 2:05PM on 10-22-2009
Paul, I've had a similar experience. I installed it in bootcamp, tried out a few programs, wrote a few papers in Word and rarely use it. To save some space, I ended up deleting it and installing XP in Parallels and Fusion (2 macs) for those times I absolutely have to use MS Access or a Windows version of Word. Excuse me now, I just threw up a little bit. :)
Jeff said 1:20PM on 10-22-2009
I've been the running the 64-bit RC for a couple of months. Seems to work fine. Not really using much on my MacBook Pro. But at work, where I am forced to run Windows, I'm upgrading next week hopefully. Can't wait to get off this pos known as XP.
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Ima Hassen said 1:23PM on 10-22-2009
I installed the RTM on BootCamp a while ago. Truly stunning when compared to Vista. Can't call it an upgrade to XP, cause it doesn't allow a seamless upgrade, unfortunately.
Does it make me wanna leave my Mac with Snow Leopard? No way. Still a lot more to go to get there, but surely welcome upgrade for users who've chosen to stay with Windows.
On Mac specific notes, not sure if this is just me, but Apple's Multi-Touch trackpad is just too sensitive on Windows. Could it be something to do with drivers?
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Aygie said 1:08PM on 10-22-2009
Had W7 on my mac for months though VMWare.
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ben said 1:22PM on 10-22-2009
had W7 running on VMWare for a few months, also Office 2010 - all works fine, no problems. (W7 doesn't thrash the disk when it's idle like Vista, which is nice of it...)
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Richard said 1:21PM on 10-22-2009
For those of you using Fusion, how will you "upgrade" away from RC? I ordered the $29 student offered Pro Upgrade, but I don't think it will let me upgrade from the RC or install a clean install (it's things like this that make me thankful for OSX).
I have a friend who got a full version of Ultimate for hosting a release party so I may install his and see if it'll accept my key.
Just curious what others are doing.
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