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Running Windows for free on your Mac
Written by Topher Kessler
Virtualization is one of the most useful features of current computing hardware, allowing you to run multiple operating systems at once on a computer at near-native speeds. Despite its benefits, one of the big problems is that while many people have Windows software, they do not want to pay extra for running it on their Macs.
There are many ways to get Windows applications running on your Mac, and we discussed these in our article on options for running windows on the Mac. However, all of these options do require some form of license, either just for Windows (ie, Boot Camp or VirtualBox), the Mac software (ie, CrossOver), or for both Windows and the Mac software (ie, Parallels and VMWare). Depending on the version of Winodws and the Mac setup, getting a Windows application to run can cost up to $300.
Despite the seeming need for some sort of purchased license, there are a combination where you can legally run Windows for free on your Mac, both of which use the Windows 7 public beta instead of a retail version. The first is to run the public beta in Boot Camp, though since it is a beta release of the OS we caution againt this, as there may be unknown incompatibilities (though many people have reported success with this). The second option is to use Sun's VirtualBox virtualization software and install Windows 7 to a virtual machine.
Recently, CNET Executive Editor "Tom Merritt" has released a How-To video on CNET TV that outlines how to set up Windows 7 on the Mac. Check out the video for instruction on getting Windows to run on your Mac for free: http://cnettv.cnet.com/virtualize-windows-free-mac/9742-1_53-50072669.html
UPDATE: Despite Microsoft initially pulling the Windows 7 beta, they have it available for download until August 20th from this website: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/get/download.aspx. Additionally, since this is a beta OS, while you can install it and run Windows programs, be warned that it may not function completely or as expected.
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Topher has been an avid Mac user for the past 10-15 years, and has been a contributing author to MacFixIt for just over a year now. One of his diehard passions has been troubleshooting Mac problems and making the best use of Macs and Apple hardware both for family and friends, as well as in the workplace. He and the newly formed MacFixIt team are hoping to bring enhanced and more personable content to our readers, and keep the MacFixIt community going here at CNET. If you have questions or comments for Topher or the other MacFixIt editors, feel free to contact us at http://www.macfixit.com/contact
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quoted from the site in the original post:
Downloads will be available until August 20, 2009. After that, you can still install the RC and you can get a product key if you need one.
Watch the calendar. The RC will expire on June 1, 2010. Starting on March 1, 2010, your PC will begin shutting down every two hours. Windows will notify you two weeks before the bi-hourly shutdowns start. To avoid interruption, you'll need to install a non-expired version of Windows before March 1, 2010. You'll also need to install the programs and data that you want to use. (Learn more about installing Windows.)
A release candidate running until March when they expect a full release in Sept or Oct? (Read Dec_Jan 2010)
Oh well, enough people feel burned by the "We dug in our heels and finally did it right" nonsense of VISTA-and will be hard pressed in this economy to fork over big bugs (freudian?) big BUCKS for another OS POS.
the cracks are already starting to show
and URGENT emergency patch just came out (ill wait for the patch on the critical patch, thank you)
I installed Windows 7 RC using VirtualBox 3.0.4 on a MacPro (Early 2009) running Mac OS X 10.5.8. Windows 7 RC runs, but with no sound.
I get two missing item alerts that don't clear after doing repeated Windows Updates (running the updates only returns a message that the items cannot be found):
1. no "Base System Device (driver?) "
2. no "Multimedia Audio Controller (driver?)"
I spent a lot of time looking through the Microsoft.com Tech Net pages trying to stay oriented to Windows 7-specific potential solutions (but the searching kept defaulting back to Vista... no comment...), and as expected, I found no solution among the limited Windows 7 posts or otherwise, which is not surprising considering the triple-disconnect of a (strike 1) "trial" version Windows pre-release OS, run through a (strike 2) VM on a (strike 3 - you're out!) freshly updated Mac OS. I also searched through the Sun VirtualBox support pages, and of course, the usual Google search, and all turned up blank.
Can anyone suggest a fix, workaround, or pointers as to where else to look? Thanks in advance for sharing any knowledge or suggestions.
Its amazing actually how often I run into people running beta OSes or other beta products for every day use because either they half read about it online or the neighborhood computer kid put it on their system.
This advice is getting Windows to run for free, not to run important applications or other things on. I clearly stated that it is a beta and caution against running it in directly on the hardware in Boot Camp.
...however, in order to be as clear as possible I updated the article to reflect this caution some more.
Thanks, I guess I came off pretty harsh.
Treating Betas and RCs as "free" software is one of those sore spots with me because too often no matter how often you remind people that Beta and RC means unsupported, they don't comprehend that and as a support person I get stuck trying to resolve issues that often don't have any real solution besides "buy the final product"
When running windows in virtualbox, am I still subject to windows virii affecting my mac software or hardware? I assume any windows software that I run within the emulator is vulnerable.
Bravo!
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/get/download.aspx
Thanks for the update on still being able to get Windows 7 RC1.
I still stand by my point though, Windows 7 RC1 is for testing, not just as a method for people "run windows for free."
Its amazing reading through forums how many people installed Windows 7 as their primary OS then threw fits when they had driver and other problems. I realize this article is for VM or Bootcamp, but it still falls under the same category.
I agree.
It seems that "new" is enough for a lot of people to just install whatever it is that looks shiny on their screens. Seems like there needs to be some sort of innovation in documentation because obviously there are a lot of people that fail to read enough of it.
Maybe a required video?
I've attempted to download the Windows 7 beta. Is there a special trick to it? Must I use Windows to download it? I attempt to download it - all I get, when I attempt the download, is a circle of dots appearing then fading.
- by czarembo August 7, 2009 11:13 PM PDT
- Have tried to use the download link, but get nowhere. Perhaps it is gone. Or, is it necessary to download it from within Windows?
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