Due to the fact that in order to get any assistance from any one at Apple I need my to sit on their hotline for 20 mins answering automated questions and give them a serial number that i do not have on me, i figured someone out here might know. I am aware the new macbook pros need windows xp service pack 2 in order to run windows on an apple. I am able to get regular windows xp (legally) for cheap ($75 or so) through a university discount, but that does not come with the service pack 2 update. Service pack 2 for xp is a free update that you download from their site, but that would involve installing the windows i bought onto a computer and then downloading the update. So this is my conundrum, im not able to put it on my Mac unless i have the sp2 update, but in order to get the sp2 update i need to put XP on a computer... any ideas?
i would agree with mleitner. I dont think that Apple provides support for windows. At one point, they wouldnt even mention windows being able to run on the new computers at the stores
talking of microsoft, today i had a problem upgrading to hotmail plus so i ended up sending an email to some tech line never expecting a reply EVER, and i got one in less than an hour. surprised the hell out of me.
didn't the beta version of bootcamp end for the previous version of mac os x when apple released Leopard (its most current release). so i think that means you can't reinstall or upgrade your windows os. you might need to upgrade to leapard to get the full version of bootcamp to run windows.
you need to slipstream sp2 onto your xp disc, and burn a new xp install disc. you will need a PC with a cd burner, and possibly some other software, to do this. There are lots of guides on the net, here's one:
holzwacw , when the plus purchase didnt work i just followed a link and sent off a very general looking form. and jesus! the damn thing even works now.
But your question was about Windows XP, not Boot Camp. Don't blame Apple for Microsoft's badly-written software, or for the fact that you didn't have your serial number on hand when you called.
I almost bought an Apple for my mom (thought the pretty look and intuitive photo/video might be nice for them).
I asked what the return policy was. There is none. If you chance anything, and there are only 2-3 options for the imac, they will not take it back at all.
So, I stick with PC and so does my mom.
I love the way Apple looks and hate MS as much as the next guy, but Apple really needs to get better support and service if they want a larger market share.
Excuse me? Apple has a 14-day return policy, 90 days of free phone support, and one year of warranty coverage. If you buy the optional AppleCare coverage plan, you get three years of phone support and warranty coverage.
Apple also has the highest customer satisfaction rate, and the lowest defect rate, of any computer manufacturer.
...and a 2.2% market share
I will admit I have a few iPods and an iMac iTunes server in the bedroom. It's cool company and their designers are revolutionary - the iPod is revolutionary - but the computers are not business machines. When you push them too hard they screw you - and it's ususally when you need them the most.
any computer you push too hard will screw you. my laptop harddrive took a shit on me during my thesis and later the motherboard failed. i loved that computer and it lasted me three years and i put it through hell. i now have a mac pro running windows and i push it everyday. i have had it over a year now and haven't had any problems. well, a pixel went out on my studio display - which drives me nuts. why even put bootcamp on your computer. run parallels and you won't have to deal with all that shit and you won't have to re-boot to switch operating systems.
XP does me right...it is an apple issue in that on a pc there is no problem installing xp and then downloading the service pack...just because the os had an update does not make it suck...what is leopard 10.2.3? (kidding, just noting mac os is on a regular update schedule too...leopard already had a service update itself if I am not mistaken...mac vs. pc bashing is just dumb.
My sister got a macbook pro and the screen cracked after a week and they are not replacing it...she is filing a claim against them using the california lemon law...this after many hours trying to explain to them that no she did not drop it etc. etc...they are not infallible...far from it actually.
I was a mac guy until they screwed me with the .mac crap...at first it came with your box in like 1998...lifetime .mac account...I had jason@mac.com...then a year later they revoke it and start charging roughly 50 bucks a year for email...pahleez.
I have also worked in many mac offices and seen the macs choke and crash just like any other box...yes they are pretty machines with a shinny os...but sometimes I just need to get some work done...and I personally prefer using a box that the os is meant to run on.
I love seeing people buy a 3500 laptop to run windows on when they need to use rhino, max, autocad, etc. etc. etc....all those software developers must just be morons.
use the tool that gets the job done for you...other than that, who cares. end of rant.
You can buy an OEM version w/ SP2 for about about $90-100 for xp home, $130 for pro.
Its fully capable and legit, the only difference is it comes in an envelope instead of a box. I bought the xp pro oem for my macbook pro and it works fine, have never had an issue.
LMAO! I've thought the same thing several times reading any thread dealing with computers.
The irony is that Apple is now so hip, so trendy, that with their success comes all the failures that everyone so loves to blast Microsoft about. Do a google search for Leopard & Viruses, or bugs and you'll get millions of hits. Security flaws, bugs, hackers now writing Apple viruses, etc. Why else did Apple start a new ad campaign to knock on Vista? No software is flawless and Apple is finally getting their due.
I still say Apples problem is they have an idenity crisis, neither knowing if they are a software company or hardware company. If they wanted to beat Microsoft at the OS buiz they could've done that years ago, but didn't.
Now starting to think the same of Apple users that want Windows on their computers. Do you want to run AutoCad, Rhino, etc., or do you want to be the hipster with a ibook?
Here's an interesting tidbit: Our office is going through some Revit training and all the tech geeks administering the training from Autodesk are running Revit on MacBook Pros with Parallels...
I think that says something about the quality/stability of Windows when a software company that makes a product specifically for that platform decides it would rather run it on a Mac...
Also, Apple advertises that you can run windows on a mac...so, then it would be logical to think they might need to support their claims in doing so. i.e. this guy is not wrong in contacting apple in how to get his mac to do so.
That said, it is nice that some folks actually came on to the thread to help him get the information he was after...it is obviously more than apple did for him.
You can actually run OSX on a pc too...but I am not one who is going to diddle with that...maybe 10 years ago...but today...my machines are merely there to help me get work done...not define my life.
Apple also advertises that you can run Photoshop on a Mac. But if I'm having problems with my Photoshop installation, I'm going to call Adobe, not Apple.
So, again, why should Apple be blamed for not providing tech support for a Microsoft product?
Almost all customer service hotlines require a 20 minute wait, regardless of the product. And most of them require an account number (or serial number in this case) in order to record the problem/service. So this guy's complaining that it's Apple's problem that he didn't have his serial number with him? c'mon...
You might have better luck and better service by taking your machine down to the genius bar at your local Apple store (they seem to be sprouting up everywhere now)...
No, the OP'er wasn't asking a simple question. He was stupidly trying to blame big bad Steve Jobs because he was trying to install an incompatible version of Windows on his Mac, despite ample documentation that he needed a version with SP2.
And if both of your computers are constantly crashing, it sounds like user error to me. As much as I hate Windows, my 2-year-old Dell PC almost never crashes because I keep it in good working order and I'm careful about what I install on it.
dml- i was at work when i asked the question, and i thought posting (which i normally do not do due to responses such as most of these), might be a quick idea because by the time i get home from work and rush hour, apple tech service is not available (too late at night). LIG is taking swings at me for no apparent reason, and thats cool too i guess. I figured out my problem anyways, thanks to some help from people with ideas so im gonna go with that.
LiG - I just tried to order an iMac and that is what they told me. No returns if you change the standard specs (it comes with 1 gig of ram and a 250gb hd, too low).
So unless the sale person was wrong or lying, they do not have a return policy.
Eitherway, they lost me as a customer
(I also didn't like that they will not put a larger hd in at the store OR that you can't get one sent to the store to pick up - I am flying across country, so a big Apple box showing up on my mom's door step would kinda give it away)
No flexibility = bad service, imho. Great looking products and seemingly solid build, but until their support and service equals the industry standard (onsite, next day replacements, etc.), it is hard to justify.
actually, if you read the fine print on the service agreements with dell, hp, etc, they say the same thing - they only support it in it's original configuration. Now, most of the time they'll still provide you support, but if things get nasty they'll just ship you off.
Stupid question that I'm too lazy to research elsewhere and you guys all seem to be able to answer in your sleep: If I miraculously get a MacBook Pro for Christmas, and want to run Parallels on it, will I have to use Vista, or can I stick with XP? I have SP2.
XP 32 will still be available until February 2008 (and it's possible to buy OEM XP32 sp2), I'm running xp32 sp2 on a mac pro and it rocks, well, as much as xp can rock anyway. Plus, for what I do, it's faster than using OSX or a dell/hp/? machine with the same specs.
If you want a 64bit Windows OS, you'll need to run Vista as XP64 is not supported through bootcamp (don't know about parallels/vmware/etc.) though I know people that have managed to get XP64 running on their macs.
Leopard is a little wonky right now (weird color issues, etc.) but it is faster than tiger.
bootcamp/parallels/etc. is a good way to go since you have the ability to run both OSX and Windows.
If you've been using the beta version of bootcamp you'll only need to upgrade to Leopard if you want/need to change the Windows partition. A windows partition that was created with a beta version will still function, though you won't have the most current drivers and you could potentially have problems.
Trace: An iMac is basically a laptop on a stick, and is not the computer to be considering if flexibility is your main priority. It's a consumer machine designed for people who generally have no intention of ever opening up their computers for upgrades. The iMac's hard drive is buried behind the display and is not something that can be serviced at a store without voiding the warranty. If you want flexibility, the Mac Pro is what you're after.
Apple's return policy is here. Most manufacturers, Apple included, won't accept returns on items that have been custom-configured. However, the base iMac is also available off-the-shelf with 2GB RAM/500 GB HD.
mana - I was ordering it all from Apple, so it would be original specs (just like I spec out a Dell before ordering). I don't consider it 'custom' if it is all coming from the factory at one time - kinda like a car, if I order a red one out of the stock color choices, that's not custom.
LiG - nope, don't care about flexibility (its for my mom), just wanted a larger hard drive, that's all (and Apple offers it).
Only the 24" top-o-the-line model comes with a 500gb drive. I just wanted the base model with a larger drive.
I don't mean to keep this going....Dell accepted a return and I've never bought a preconfig'd model.
Dec 6, 07 4:35 pm ·
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Because you can't just CALL Apple for a simple answer....
Alrighty,
Due to the fact that in order to get any assistance from any one at Apple I need my to sit on their hotline for 20 mins answering automated questions and give them a serial number that i do not have on me, i figured someone out here might know. I am aware the new macbook pros need windows xp service pack 2 in order to run windows on an apple. I am able to get regular windows xp (legally) for cheap ($75 or so) through a university discount, but that does not come with the service pack 2 update. Service pack 2 for xp is a free update that you download from their site, but that would involve installing the windows i bought onto a computer and then downloading the update. So this is my conundrum, im not able to put it on my Mac unless i have the sp2 update, but in order to get the sp2 update i need to put XP on a computer... any ideas?
buy a PC
I think you should call Microsoft.
i would agree with mleitner. I dont think that Apple provides support for windows. At one point, they wouldnt even mention windows being able to run on the new computers at the stores
talking of microsoft, today i had a problem upgrading to hotmail plus so i ended up sending an email to some tech line never expecting a reply EVER, and i got one in less than an hour. surprised the hell out of me.
p2-
what tech line?
didn't the beta version of bootcamp end for the previous version of mac os x when apple released Leopard (its most current release). so i think that means you can't reinstall or upgrade your windows os. you might need to upgrade to leapard to get the full version of bootcamp to run windows.
What mleitner said. How the hell is Apple supposed to provide tech support for a Mircosoft product?
you need to slipstream sp2 onto your xp disc, and burn a new xp install disc. you will need a PC with a cd burner, and possibly some other software, to do this. There are lots of guides on the net, here's one:
http://www.helpwithwindows.com/WindowsXP/winxp-sp2-bootcd.html
I did this for my GF's macbook pro. worked fine.
muum- i have already upgraded to leopard, and this is a first install of windows, so its not a reinstall or upgrade..
LIG- leopard comes with bootcamp. im gonna take a guess and say they MIGHT have an idea on how to work it.
mana- thanks a bunch, ill look into this
holzwacw , when the plus purchase didnt work i just followed a link and sent off a very general looking form. and jesus! the damn thing even works now.
But your question was about Windows XP, not Boot Camp. Don't blame Apple for Microsoft's badly-written software, or for the fact that you didn't have your serial number on hand when you called.
Microsoft is such a piece of shit. I can't wait to go Mac.
I almost bought an Apple for my mom (thought the pretty look and intuitive photo/video might be nice for them).
I asked what the return policy was. There is none. If you chance anything, and there are only 2-3 options for the imac, they will not take it back at all.
So, I stick with PC and so does my mom.
I love the way Apple looks and hate MS as much as the next guy, but Apple really needs to get better support and service if they want a larger market share.
Excuse me? Apple has a 14-day return policy, 90 days of free phone support, and one year of warranty coverage. If you buy the optional AppleCare coverage plan, you get three years of phone support and warranty coverage.
Apple also has the highest customer satisfaction rate, and the lowest defect rate, of any computer manufacturer.
...and a 2.2% market share
I will admit I have a few iPods and an iMac iTunes server in the bedroom. It's cool company and their designers are revolutionary - the iPod is revolutionary - but the computers are not business machines. When you push them too hard they screw you - and it's ususally when you need them the most.
any computer you push too hard will screw you. my laptop harddrive took a shit on me during my thesis and later the motherboard failed. i loved that computer and it lasted me three years and i put it through hell. i now have a mac pro running windows and i push it everyday. i have had it over a year now and haven't had any problems. well, a pixel went out on my studio display - which drives me nuts. why even put bootcamp on your computer. run parallels and you won't have to deal with all that shit and you won't have to re-boot to switch operating systems.
You work for Apple LIG?
XP does me right...it is an apple issue in that on a pc there is no problem installing xp and then downloading the service pack...just because the os had an update does not make it suck...what is leopard 10.2.3? (kidding, just noting mac os is on a regular update schedule too...leopard already had a service update itself if I am not mistaken...mac vs. pc bashing is just dumb.
My sister got a macbook pro and the screen cracked after a week and they are not replacing it...she is filing a claim against them using the california lemon law...this after many hours trying to explain to them that no she did not drop it etc. etc...they are not infallible...far from it actually.
I was a mac guy until they screwed me with the .mac crap...at first it came with your box in like 1998...lifetime .mac account...I had jason@mac.com...then a year later they revoke it and start charging roughly 50 bucks a year for email...pahleez.
I have also worked in many mac offices and seen the macs choke and crash just like any other box...yes they are pretty machines with a shinny os...but sometimes I just need to get some work done...and I personally prefer using a box that the os is meant to run on.
I love seeing people buy a 3500 laptop to run windows on when they need to use rhino, max, autocad, etc. etc. etc....all those software developers must just be morons.
use the tool that gets the job done for you...other than that, who cares. end of rant.
You can buy an OEM version w/ SP2 for about about $90-100 for xp home, $130 for pro.
Its fully capable and legit, the only difference is it comes in an envelope instead of a box. I bought the xp pro oem for my macbook pro and it works fine, have never had an issue.
OFF TOPIC...sorry
has anyone had this problem with a macbook?
no sound from built in speakers, a red light glows from the port.
sound does work with external speakers.
LMAO! I've thought the same thing several times reading any thread dealing with computers.
The irony is that Apple is now so hip, so trendy, that with their success comes all the failures that everyone so loves to blast Microsoft about. Do a google search for Leopard & Viruses, or bugs and you'll get millions of hits. Security flaws, bugs, hackers now writing Apple viruses, etc. Why else did Apple start a new ad campaign to knock on Vista? No software is flawless and Apple is finally getting their due.
I still say Apples problem is they have an idenity crisis, neither knowing if they are a software company or hardware company. If they wanted to beat Microsoft at the OS buiz they could've done that years ago, but didn't.
Now starting to think the same of Apple users that want Windows on their computers. Do you want to run AutoCad, Rhino, etc., or do you want to be the hipster with a ibook?
Here's an interesting tidbit: Our office is going through some Revit training and all the tech geeks administering the training from Autodesk are running Revit on MacBook Pros with Parallels...
I think that says something about the quality/stability of Windows when a software company that makes a product specifically for that platform decides it would rather run it on a Mac...
Also, Apple advertises that you can run windows on a mac...so, then it would be logical to think they might need to support their claims in doing so. i.e. this guy is not wrong in contacting apple in how to get his mac to do so.
That said, it is nice that some folks actually came on to the thread to help him get the information he was after...it is obviously more than apple did for him.
You can actually run OSX on a pc too...but I am not one who is going to diddle with that...maybe 10 years ago...but today...my machines are merely there to help me get work done...not define my life.
yet, they are still running windows...so?
Apple also advertises that you can run Photoshop on a Mac. But if I'm having problems with my Photoshop installation, I'm going to call Adobe, not Apple.
So, again, why should Apple be blamed for not providing tech support for a Microsoft product?
anybody want to start an apple vs. microsoft flame war with me?
photshop is not an os...they make an apple version...apples and well oranges.
they are not blamed...the guy stated he was looking for a simple answer...its nice that others chose to help him as opposed to deride him.
I happily use either machine...mac or windows...they both suck as they both crash when you need them most...its a futile debate.
Almost all customer service hotlines require a 20 minute wait, regardless of the product. And most of them require an account number (or serial number in this case) in order to record the problem/service. So this guy's complaining that it's Apple's problem that he didn't have his serial number with him? c'mon...
You might have better luck and better service by taking your machine down to the genius bar at your local Apple store (they seem to be sprouting up everywhere now)...
No, the OP'er wasn't asking a simple question. He was stupidly trying to blame big bad Steve Jobs because he was trying to install an incompatible version of Windows on his Mac, despite ample documentation that he needed a version with SP2.
And if both of your computers are constantly crashing, it sounds like user error to me. As much as I hate Windows, my 2-year-old Dell PC almost never crashes because I keep it in good working order and I'm careful about what I install on it.
well steve jobs is a douche, you cant deny that
Apple people are the most defensive bunch (users, I mean)
somewhere I think Steve Jobs and Bono are plotting to take over the world
dml- i was at work when i asked the question, and i thought posting (which i normally do not do due to responses such as most of these), might be a quick idea because by the time i get home from work and rush hour, apple tech service is not available (too late at night). LIG is taking swings at me for no apparent reason, and thats cool too i guess. I figured out my problem anyways, thanks to some help from people with ideas so im gonna go with that.
LiG - I just tried to order an iMac and that is what they told me. No returns if you change the standard specs (it comes with 1 gig of ram and a 250gb hd, too low).
So unless the sale person was wrong or lying, they do not have a return policy.
Eitherway, they lost me as a customer
(I also didn't like that they will not put a larger hd in at the store OR that you can't get one sent to the store to pick up - I am flying across country, so a big Apple box showing up on my mom's door step would kinda give it away)
No flexibility = bad service, imho. Great looking products and seemingly solid build, but until their support and service equals the industry standard (onsite, next day replacements, etc.), it is hard to justify.
actually, if you read the fine print on the service agreements with dell, hp, etc, they say the same thing - they only support it in it's original configuration. Now, most of the time they'll still provide you support, but if things get nasty they'll just ship you off.
Stupid question that I'm too lazy to research elsewhere and you guys all seem to be able to answer in your sleep: If I miraculously get a MacBook Pro for Christmas, and want to run Parallels on it, will I have to use Vista, or can I stick with XP? I have SP2.
I'm running XP on Parallels... works fantastically...
Please tell me that my question wasn't as nonsensical as asking "If I want a steel frame structure, can the doorknobs still be 34" above the floor?"
well...not quite.
it's more like asking, "if I want to use a steel frame structure, will I have to weld the facade material to it or can I use rivets?"
rivets = vista, or rivets = XP?
My partner's computer uses XP with Parallels and works flawlessly. But it has Jaguar, and if I get a new one it will have Leopard.
XP 32 will still be available until February 2008 (and it's possible to buy OEM XP32 sp2), I'm running xp32 sp2 on a mac pro and it rocks, well, as much as xp can rock anyway. Plus, for what I do, it's faster than using OSX or a dell/hp/? machine with the same specs.
If you want a 64bit Windows OS, you'll need to run Vista as XP64 is not supported through bootcamp (don't know about parallels/vmware/etc.) though I know people that have managed to get XP64 running on their macs.
Leopard is a little wonky right now (weird color issues, etc.) but it is faster than tiger.
bootcamp/parallels/etc. is a good way to go since you have the ability to run both OSX and Windows.
If you've been using the beta version of bootcamp you'll only need to upgrade to Leopard if you want/need to change the Windows partition. A windows partition that was created with a beta version will still function, though you won't have the most current drivers and you could potentially have problems.
Oops - did I mean tiger not jaguar? How many big cats are left?
Thanks rehiggins!
I'm still waiting for apple ocelot!
Trace: An iMac is basically a laptop on a stick, and is not the computer to be considering if flexibility is your main priority. It's a consumer machine designed for people who generally have no intention of ever opening up their computers for upgrades. The iMac's hard drive is buried behind the display and is not something that can be serviced at a store without voiding the warranty. If you want flexibility, the Mac Pro is what you're after.
Apple's return policy is here. Most manufacturers, Apple included, won't accept returns on items that have been custom-configured. However, the base iMac is also available off-the-shelf with 2GB RAM/500 GB HD.
mana - I was ordering it all from Apple, so it would be original specs (just like I spec out a Dell before ordering). I don't consider it 'custom' if it is all coming from the factory at one time - kinda like a car, if I order a red one out of the stock color choices, that's not custom.
LiG - nope, don't care about flexibility (its for my mom), just wanted a larger hard drive, that's all (and Apple offers it).
Only the 24" top-o-the-line model comes with a 500gb drive. I just wanted the base model with a larger drive.
I don't mean to keep this going....Dell accepted a return and I've never bought a preconfig'd model.
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