Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with WindowsXP and mac

WinXP OEM on a Mac

jrchaplin — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:25:10 -0800

I've a WinXP Professional OEM install disc that I'd like to (and tried to) install on VMWare Fusion on my 24-inch iMac (running OS X 10.5). But so far, it's a no-go. Is there some kind of restriction on installing OEM versions of Windows in a virtual environment and/or on a Mac? So far my Google-fu has failed me on this question, but what happens is when I get to the activation key box during install, the key is rejected as invalid. What's weird about this is that attempting to install this same XP Pro disc on an old (circa 2004-05) home-built Windows box works flawlessly.

I bought the disc on Ebay, from a seller who exchanged the first disc I bought from him (It would not load/install on any machine) with a new copy. At first I thought that I got hosed by the seller of the disc; but the subsequent ability to install on a Windows box has me wondering if the problem lies elsewhere.

I had hoped to use the WinXP install on my iMac simply for web development testing; not crazy about spending $200 for Win 7, plus another $40 to upgrade my VMware Fusion install to handle Win 7. I know I could use the old box to do the same, but space is at a premium and I was gonna wipe the old box and donate it to a local non-profit.

Windows XP SP2 hangs on install. Why?

Electrius — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 07:56:19 -0800

Help me with a weird Windows install problem. I have a two-year-old MacBook Pro which I have upgraded with 10.5. I was able to successfully install Windows Vista on it with the Bootcamp Beta under 10.4. Later, I wiped my Windows partition and resolved to install Windows XP instead. Using a tested Windows XP CD, I started the install but it would hang when it reached this screen, before I even press ENTER or F3 or R, all of which I have tested and which have had no effect. I have tried this with two different Windows XP Professional SP2 discs and the result has been identical.

I have searched far and wide to try to find the answer to this problem on Google and have plumbed the depths of Apple's support files, but to no avail. Apparently this problem is either unique or I'm not calling it by the right name.

I would prefer to not have to either use Windows Vista or try to find another Windows disc, although if that's the only option I suppose I have no choice if I ever want to play Team Fortress 2 again. I am reasonably computer-literate.

So, then, the questions:
1) What is causing this? CD drive failure? Bizarre bug in the particular verison I'm using?
2) How can I fix the problem? Some voodoo key combination at bootup? Use a different version of Windows altogether? Give up? Repartition my hard-drive?
3) Does this problem indicate a larger issue with my computer?

Comprehensive XP -> Parallels migration

maniabug — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 10:12:27 -0800

What's the most efficient way to transfer an entire functioning Windows XP PC to my new Mac running Parallels? I'm looking to ship over the whole nine yards: files, settings, apps, and appropriate registry entries. The Windows File and Settings Transfer Wizard does not move the apps. I'm going to have to do this on a regular basis, and would prefer to do as little by hand as possible. Do you have a favorite software tool for this?

I considered imaging the hard drive, but I believe Parallels uses a proprietary image format.

Is it possible to share network/internet connection via a usb dongle (from XP)?

mule — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 22:31:57 -0800

wifi sharing via USB dongle filter: Is it possible to share network/internet connection via a usb dongle (from XP)? if so how? My mum just purchased a new laptop (ibook) which she would like to connect wirelessly to her home network. She has a wired Linksys broadband modem connected to her WinXP box via ethernet.

I advised her to pick up a wifi usb dongle to share the internet and network from her PC to the iBook, thinking that the dongle could be used to 'push' the netwprk out. With plenty of fiddling the laptop can see the network as a peer to peer but not share the connection to the net.

I'm pretty experienced with the mac side of things but the Windows stuff seems like an endless loop of wizards.

Can anyone point me to set of instruction on how to get this working?

Why does XP hate my network?

logovisual — Thu, 12 Jan 2006 18:27:35 -0800

Mixed wireless network: 3 Macs, one Windows XP PC. We're using 40-bit WEP encryption, and for some reason the Windows XP laptop simply cannot stay on the network... why that be? We use the hex equivalent for the password, and the laptop can get on the internet when it's entered, but even so, XP still insists that the computer is "not connected" to the network, and every few minutes the internet connection gets dropped. Anybody have any ideas? It's not a reception issue; the laptop can be sitting right next to the router and this will still happen. It's got to be some kind of configuration thing I'm missing, but I was hoping somebody would know what this behavior is symptomatic of (i.e. the sporadic connection)...

Shared drives between PC and Mac

pieoverdone — Sat, 07 Aug 2004 22:15:30 -0800

I have a PC with WinXP Pro. She has an iBook with Mac OS X. Together they ~~fight crime~~ share a router. e:\ is where I shove all my ~~porn~~ music. How can I make this available to her to copy what she wants to her machine or her ipod?