I have been a Mac user for 17 years. I have a B&W G3, iMac (both running 9.2.2 and 10.2.6) and a refurbished Compaq Laptop running Windows 98. I use the laptop to run various Windows programs that are not available for the MAC. Generally I use the laptop for my hobby - astronomy. I am seriously thinking about getting rid of the laptop and buying a new MacBook with Parallels and Windows XP. I am deathly afraid of spending all that money only to find that the programs I have will not run or that the hardware I have (HP 7960 printer, HP Scanner) will not run - especially the software I have. Didn't see a forum at the Apple discussion site so I thought I would try here first. Anyone have experiences running Windows Applications with Parallels ?
Parallels generally runs Windows applications very well. That is what most of us use it for. The exception are those games that address video hardware directly, like DirectX. Chances are your programs will run. However, you can always use Apple Bootcamp if something goes wrong.
Can you install Parallels first, the, if you find you can't run certain software, install boot camp at a later date using the same installation of Windows XP?
You will have to activate again, but if Internet activation fails, you can call Microsoft and get an authorization key since you are reinstalling on the same machine. So the answer is yes.
