Xp on new Macbook Pro

[Aton]

I'm a PC user. My studio is XP. I need a new laptop for Gigging but want an antiglare lcd. It looks like my only choice is a Macbook Pro. My plan is to use it solely as an XP system via bootcamp. Am I nuts?

I have a few questions.

1. Can you access the files on the mac partition from Windows and vice versa?
2. Do Ableton Live and Native Instruments plugs perform better on MBP or Windows XP?
3. Any known issues running XP on MPB?

Thanks for your help.

[adventurepants_]

I'm a PC user. My studio is XP. I need a new laptop for Gigging but want an antiglare lcd. It looks like my only choice is a Macbook Pro. My plan is to use it solely as an XP system via bootcamp. Am I nuts?

I have a few questions.

1. Can you access the files on the mac partition from Windows and vice versa?
2. Do Ableton Live and Native Instruments plugs perform better on MBP or Windows XP?
3. Any known issues running XP on MPB?

Thanks for your help.

youre not nuts. but its a massive waste of money to buy a macbook and not run OSX.

[gomi]

I'm a PC user. My studio is XP. I need a new laptop for Gigging but want an antiglare lcd. It looks like my only choice is a Macbook Pro. My plan is to use it solely as an XP system via bootcamp. Am I nuts?

I have a few questions.

1. Can you access the files on the mac partition from Windows and vice versa?
2. Do Ableton Live and Native Instruments plugs perform better on MBP or Windows XP?
3. Any known issues running XP on MPB?

Thanks for your help.

do it

and play with osx in your spare time

soon you will find yourself booting into window less and less.

[Aton]

youre not nuts. but its a massive waste of money to buy a macbook and not run OSX.

Ok. but where can I find an antiglare pc laptop with the similar specs as the macbook pro for cheaper price?

[dallas!]

I'm a PC user. My studio is XP. I need a new laptop for Gigging but want an antiglare lcd. It looks like my only choice is a Macbook Pro. My plan is to use it solely as an XP system via bootcamp. Am I nuts?

I have a few questions.

1. Can you access the files on the mac partition from Windows and vice versa?
2. Do Ableton Live and Native Instruments plugs perform better on MBP or Windows XP?
3. Any known issues running XP on MPB?

Thanks for your help.

Personally you are nuts!

I bought my first(and so far only mac) last year. A tidy little powerbook g4 for djing.

I've always used PC's and know my way around them very well, but the whole mac experience is just so much better, I don't have to worry about anything with the mac and I'm starting to loath my pc. especially when it takes 10mins to boot up and seems these days to be slow doing anyhting (it's a p4 3.2ghz with 1gb ram....and for some reason has been clitchy recently when playing through itunes...idea's anybody...nothing else is running too!! when itunes is on)

Anyway...back to you.

What do you really need windows for, seriously ask yourself.....what will I do in windows that I can't do in osx?

You asked about access files on the windows partition via osx and vice versa....my understanding is that you have to spilt the drive in half GB wise to dual boot, also as far as I'm aware you can't access files across the partitions, since they won't see each other (but if someone can confirm that it would be nice)

as for running ableton and plugins you'll have to experiement, but everything works better on a mac compared to windows, ableton is the same.

Why do you need anti-glare too? Are you really sure you need it?

If it were me I'd look at the idea of a 2nd hand mac to get you started, my 12" G4 1.5ghz with 80gb drive cost me about £550 a year ago on ebay.....I'd have a look if it we're me.

Cheers
Rich

[GUY SMILEY]

i haven't go a mac, but on a dual boot linux/xp pc you have to create a third FAT32 format partition to access from both XP and Linux..

[jonny72]

You don't have to split the drive 50/50 with Boot Camp, there is a minimum size for the Windows partition (5Gb or so) but other than that it is up to you. Windows runs really well via Boot Camp as Apple supply all the drivers to make everything work.

I think there is a shared folder you can use to swap files from Windows, plus the Windows drive is accessible from OS X provided you keep it in FAT32 format. I don't think you can see the OS X partition from Windows but I might be wrong. Have a read of the manual before you install it as that explains everything to you.

Personally I'd recommend getting Parallels so you can run Windows from within OS X. I set mine up with Boot Camp and then added Parallels which supports the Boot Camp install perfectly. Performance isn't brilliant but it's very useful being able to run them both at the same time for some things.

I'm not convinced by your reasons for buying a Mac, I'm sure you could find a PC with similar specs and everything you want for a similar price. However, I would 100% recommend you buy a Mac and start off by running Windows on it as well.

I'd give you about a month at tops before you totally drop Windows and go 100% OS X. I bought a Mac as a 2nd computer to use for a few specific purposes and to have a play with it and was planning to keep my PC as my main machine. About a week after getting the Mac I'd moved everything over and sold the PC.

Get the Mac and you won't regret it.

[Aton]

dallas!,
Why do I want to use Windows?

I build my own desktop systems to save money. All my workstations are XP. 3 of them. My HTPC is XP. My Server is XP. I use J. River Media Center instead of itunes. (Amazing software).

I do have an imac but it never caught on. My preference is Windows.

This is my main problem, I want a laptop that runs Win XP and has Core 2 Duo 2.4ghz or higher and 250 GB hard Drive with a matte screen for a good price.

I've looked everywhere and it looks like the 15 inch macbook pro is the cheapest deal. Also, If i wanted to go Glossy screen, it seems that the Mac has a special coating that helps cut down the glare. I went to best buy and ALL of the PC laptops are mirror finish and the MACs looked much better.

[Akshara]

Running XP on a MBP here.

1. Win XP can not see nor access the files on the Mac partition, without a 3rd party application. OS X can read and copy from an NTFS partition, yet not write to; and can read/write from/to a FAT32 partition. I use a small WD Passport formatted as FAT32 for sharing files between the operating systems, and one of my main external recording drives is FAT32 for storing and sharing Ableton Live projects.

2. Both Live and NI plugins perform better on Win XP, yet Live is more stable under OS X. Certain NI plugs have problems, or are simply incompatible, with Intel Mac OS X 10.5.x. What I do is write/arrange on the XP side, then perform on the OS X side.

3. Yes, there are known issues.

The internal fans under XP run at a lower default speed and don't spin up early enough, so it is possible to overheat the system and have it shut itself off. What I do is boot into OS X and set a minimum fan speed with the free 3rd party plugin SMCFanControl, then boot into XP.

Also, about 1 in 7 tries the XP side simply won't boot up, requiring a hard shutdown or restart, then it boots in fine.

There is no bios. Windows based 3rd party partitioning and disk imaging programs which access the partition table or the boot manager either won't work or will hose the system. Except for registry optimization and basic Windows maintenance procedures, all hardware maintenance takes place from the Mac side.

Now, my opinion...

XP runs wonderfully on a MBP. However, I don't recommend getting a Mac and running windows unless either: a) you work with both Mac and PC often; or b) you have a desire or interest to learn OS X and want to experience the Mac side of life.

Even if you love XP and end up using it 80% of the time, you have to get familiar with and use OS X even if only to maintain and troubleshoot the system. For example, common Mac things like zapping the Pram and resetting the SMC power system can improve Windows booting and performance too; and the best solution for cloning the Windows partition is a Mac utility called Winclone.

It's a great setup, running XP on a MBP... but it's a Mac, not a PC.

[Parametex]

Good post Akshara! Much needed...

P.

[Machinate]

uhm, does everyone of these posters completely miss the boat here?!?

There ARE antiglare pc laptops... tons of them! it's not by any means an apple USP.

[GUY SMILEY]

the best solution for cloning the Windows partition is a Mac utility called Winclone.

To back up (i.e. clone) the entire drive, I would also recommend gparted. i've just done it and it works a treat on any computer no matter what the hardware or software. http://www.justlinux.com/forum/showthr ... did=134457

[Yhtomit]

While a Macintosh is fun and pretty, the Apple company itself is far from it. There is no such thing as a help desk. You can buy Apple Care but the Apple geniuses are only located in the US. An old Compaq (not HP!) notebook has better support than a brand new Apple iMac. The new Apple systems have major firewire issues. iMac's and Macbooks get really really hot so your hard drive or logic board will die sooner. You can run SMCfancontrol but then your Mac will become really noisy. The screens of the iMac's are worth shit. they have gradient issues and have ghosting images after one hour of use. I would not recommend an Apple computer at this time
You can read all about it at www.apple.com, in the discussion section, at the RME-audio forum, etc

[djlimbs]

dallas!,
I've looked everywhere and it looks like the 15 inch macbook pro is the cheapest deal. Also, If i wanted to go Glossy screen, it seems that the Mac has a special coating that helps cut down the glare. I went to best buy and ALL of the PC laptops are mirror finish and the MACs looked much better.

are the adkproaudio laptops glossy? can't tell because the pics of their laptops seem generic. they match up to macbook pros except for a small step down on the video card. i'm actually in the market for a new laptop too, been going back and forth between dual-boot mbp or an adk machine..might wait for new mbps but that might be another 2-3 months

peace

[Aton]

Thanks for all the great feedback. I believe after reading Akshara's response, that since I'm getting this notebook for Live perfoming, I'll go Macbook Pro and use OSX to perform since it appears to be more stable with Live and NI plugs. I'll probably use my studio to arrange my sets.