Ellis
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Registered: 11th Sep 07
Location: Aberdeenshire
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Has anyone any experience using Boot Camp on a Mac to run Windows 7?
I've been reading up on it for a while and now I feel relatively confident doing it. I would however be interested to hear if anyone has any experience in doing it? Any issues worth telling me about? What did you set the partition bias as?
I want to run VCDS software for diagnostics on my new car but can't be arsed buying a Windows laptop specifically for this function only.
Ever so difficult to 'acquire' software online these days; all the files I find are woefully infected. May have to purchase a Windows 7 OS disc to do it safely.
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evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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Pretty sure Windows 7 is no longer supported via Boot Camp.
Have you considered virtualising?
Check out Virtual Box (free) and if that doesn't work out for you try one of the paid options: Parallels or VMWare Fusion.
These software packages enable you to run Windows, in a window, as though it were just another application. Saves faffing about rebooting.
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evilrob
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Also, I have a legit, boxed, surplus to requirements Windows 7 Pro disc and license as I've moved on to Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 Technical Preview.
[Edited on 16-04-2015 by evilrob]
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Ellis
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Registered: 11th Sep 07
Location: Aberdeenshire
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Wasn't aware of Virtual Box but will research now. Sounds very good - just what I need really. Thanks.
I opened Boot Camp on the Mac last night and it appears that Windows 7 may still be supported if I go that route.
I presume you would consider selling your Windows 7 disc then?
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evilrob
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I would consider selling it but not for dodgy eBay prices! You can pick up a questionable license for as little as £30-40 on eBay/Amazon.
Legit boxed copies trend to go for £50-85. I'd sell mine for somewhere in the middle - £70 posted and it'll be with you tomorrow. Any less than that I'd be inclined to hold onto it for "just in case" purposes.
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evilrob
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Although, at the risk of doing myself out of a sale, if you can pick up a product key sticker (on its own, without disc) on the cheap, you can download a Win7 ISO directly from Microsoft:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-recovery
Using Virtualisation software you can install straight from the ISO, no need to faff about burning it to disc.
Alternatively, if you want to buy my license, I can U2U the key so you can get cracking today, with the physical disc/box to follow in the post.
[Edited on 16-04-2015 by evilrob]
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Ellis
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Registered: 11th Sep 07
Location: Aberdeenshire
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quote: Originally posted by evilrob
I would consider selling it but not for dodgy eBay prices! You can pick up a questionable license for as little as £30-40 on eBay/Amazon.
Legit boxed copies trend to go for £50-85. I'd sell mine for somewhere in the middle - £70 posted and it'll be with you tomorrow. Any less than that I'd be inclined to hold onto it for "just in case" purposes.
Oh wow. I didn't know it cost so much for an OS disc. Pardon my naivety.
I'll let you hold onto that disc for the moment then. Thanks for the advice; have been reading about VirtualBox and sounds like a much less intrusive way of running Windows on the Mac.
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evilrob
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No worries, fella. Virtualisation is the way forward! 
[Edited on 16-04-2015 by evilrob]
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evilrob
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quote: Originally posted by Ellis
Oh wow. I didn't know it cost so much for an OS disc. Pardon my naivety.
The disc itself is worthless; especially as you can download the ISO for free directly from Microsoft. It's the license key you're paying for when you buy a copy of Windows either physical or just the product key.
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evilrob
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I don't know if the software you want to run works on Windows 10 (there's no reason why it shouldn't), you can get the technical preview for free currently:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/preview-iso
Should tide you over until the Summer when the full thing is released. Windows 10 will be a free upgrade for all users of Windows 7 onwards, so in the meantime you can be looking for a cheapo license you can use to get a Windows 10 license for free later this year.
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Ellis
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Registered: 11th Sep 07
Location: Aberdeenshire
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quote: Originally posted by evilrob
quote: Originally posted by Ellis
Oh wow. I didn't know it cost so much for an OS disc. Pardon my naivety.
The disc itself is worthless; especially as you can download the ISO for free directly from Microsoft. It's the license key you're paying for when you buy a copy of Windows either physical or just the product key.
Very true. Again, pardon me if this is a ridiculous question, can you get one of those keygen / cracks to generate a product key?
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evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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quote: Originally posted by Ellis
quote: Originally posted by evilrob
quote: Originally posted by Ellis
Oh wow. I didn't know it cost so much for an OS disc. Pardon my naivety.
The disc itself is worthless; especially as you can download the ISO for free directly from Microsoft. It's the license key you're paying for when you buy a copy of Windows either physical or just the product key.
Very true. Again, pardon me if this is a ridiculous question, can you get one of those keygen / cracks to generate a product key?
I'm sure you could, but I wouldn't recommend it. The software that generates such keys is almost certainly going to be riddled with AIDS.
Just use the Windows 10 Technical Preview for now - it's free, legal, and shouldn't expire for a good while yet.
[Edited on 16-04-2015 by evilrob]
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Ellis
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Registered: 11th Sep 07
Location: Aberdeenshire
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Just checked, they only support up to and including Windows 8.1 at the moment 
Yeah, I should've guessed that software will also be riddled with AIDS similar to others I've been looking at.
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evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
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You can install Windows 10 Technical Preview on VirtualBox no probs:
http://www.techrepublic.com/article/pro-tip-how-to-install-windows-10-technical-preview-in-virtualbox/
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Ellis
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Registered: 11th Sep 07
Location: Aberdeenshire
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quote: Originally posted by evilrob
You can install Windows 10 Technical Preview on VirtualBox no probs:
http://www.techrepublic.com/article/pro-tip-how-to-install-windows-10-technical-preview-in-virtualbox/
OK thanks for your advice matey. I'll give it a go!
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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quote: Originally posted by Ellis
Ever so difficult to 'acquire' software online these days; all the files I find are woefully infected. May have to purchase a Windows 7 OS disc to do it safely.
Not at all; getting 'clean' software is relativity simple 
As for Windows, you download it from Microsoft themselves and then 'activate' it 
And if you're needing to use hardware, then you might stumble on a few issues using a visualised OS; worth trying though considering it'll take all of 15/20 minutes.
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Ellis
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Registered: 11th Sep 07
Location: Aberdeenshire
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quote: Originally posted by Dom
quote: Originally posted by Ellis
Ever so difficult to 'acquire' software online these days; all the files I find are woefully infected. May have to purchase a Windows 7 OS disc to do it safely.
Not at all; getting 'clean' software is relativity simple 
As for Windows, you download it from Microsoft themselves and then 'activate' it 
Please elaborate if you would be so kind. U2U if more appropriate.
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