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After using a tiny xp with this thing, I was convinced that this is the way to run windows. The whole thing is saved as one file that you can copy to an external hard drive or cd/DVD rom and then you can just reload that backup copy on another computer or the same computer.try to find yourself a copy of tiny xp or tiny vista or xp lite or vista lite. These are stripped down versions of the original xp/vista operating systems that take up much less room in installation and take only 15 minutes to setup. Opens up just like another mac program and can be used either during windows-to-mac transition for programs that just require windows os. Then install your favorite operating system. And you can have as many copies of any supported (or in some cases unsupported) operating systems all saved as separate virtual machines as you want.(note: you can use the bootcamp partition if you want, or install a separate virtual machine)This is actually better than using windows laptop, because if you use windows and it stops working, you must troubleshoot and usually reformat/reinstall everything. Sure you can use bootcamp, but I was having issues with getting bootcamp setup anyway but I had already gotten comfortable with using fusion. or windows 7 tiny or lite when official release hits.
You can use the snapshot feature to just rollback to a previous state. Or just save a backup copy of the fusion virtual machine. Also, save a copy of the actual file when you first install everything so that if it crashes, you can just run it in safe mode, extract needed files, and then just start over in a new window.What will ultimately be ideal is aftermarket laptops that have the same functionality as a macbook/macbook pro, without the price. Then emulate windows, mac, or whatever else you need.
Another couple issues I have is that I have the keyboard with the numeric keypad on my imac. I really like not having to reboot into bootcamp each time I need a windows program for a small bit. So far it's been mostly great. The numeric keypad doesn't seem to work in xp in fusion (unless I'm missing something). There's like 1 or 2 programs I have that does not work with it as it does in a real windows computer. Probably due to codecs or that it's in a virtual environment. The other is in one program where I have to use ctrl+(I forget which key) for a function, it brings fusion out of full screen mode since it's the same key combination. Other than that, everything seems to be just fine.
Pretty easy install. It was a bit complex (and required a trip to the support website) to install the free virus protection software. Works well.
This product has truly solved my problems. I get to keep using Microsoft Publisher and create awesome brochures, flyers, etc on my Macbook.
Results may be different with XP.The second thing I don't like is that the VMWare mouse driver (installed in Windows, lets it talk to a mouse connected to the mac) will not recognize horizontal scrolling on a mighty mouse. The Mac side would lock up during any significant operation on the Vista side, and installing software was extremely slow.
Overall, it's made running Vista on my Macbook very easy.Two things I've had trouble with, one large, one small. Fusion works great, is easy to install and set up, has lots of settings to control your virtual machine, and has great features to help you save snapshots of the virtual machine automatically.
I mean like don't even bother trying. VMWare recommends 2GB RAM for Windows, assigning 1GB to the virtual machine.
I had 2GB RAM stock, assigned 1GB to the virtual machine, and it was not enough to run Vista. I've upgraded to 4GB and now it runs very well.
This is a disappointment, as I spend a lot of time in large spreadsheets on the windows side.
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