Install Windows Vista on Your Mac with Boot Camp

Apple computers now use Intel processors. This means it is possible to run Windows on the Apple hardware and Mac on Windows Hardware (Although Mac on a windows machine doesn’t always work too well.) In this guide we will learn how to put Windows Vista on your Mac.

Mac’s are great. The reason you are reading this is because you no doubt already own one. However, there are so many Windows applications today that wont run on a Mac. A good example of this is Microsoft OneNote (the software I use to compose my website entries, do homework, store graduation plans, store to do lists etc.)

To dual boot Windows Vista and OS X without destroying OS X you will need to use Boot Camp that is only included in OS X Leopard. To get started, you will need to follow these steps on your Mac:

1. Using the Finder, navigate through Applications, Utilities and run Boot Camp Assistant.
2. Click Continue on the Introduction screen.
3. Next, you will need to specify how you want your hard drive divided up for Windows. A separate partition will be created that Windows will use. Drag the divider to adjust the size for Windows. I recommend at least 15 GB (although anywhere up to 30GB will be good if you have the space and plan to use Windows a lot - my Vista partition is 33GB) to allow for the OS and some apps. When you are ready, click Partition and your disk will be prepared.
4. It is time to start the Windows installation. Insert your Windows Vista install DVD and click Start Installation. Your Mac will automatically reboot and boot to the install DVD.
5. Install Windows Vista as you would normally do. When asked where to install, select the partition called BOOTCAMP. You will need for format this partition with NTFS.
6. When Windows Vista has installed, remove the Windows Vista install DVD and insert your OS X 10.5 Leopard install DVD. Run the Boot Camp installer application and all the Windows drivers for your Apple hardware will be automatically installed.
7. When you want to switch to OS X or Windows, just reboot and hold down the Option key to select what partition to boot.

This really couldn’t be easier and is a lot more convenient than the other way round (Mac OS X on a Windows machine.)