Win 7 on a MBA

Hi,

I have seen a few posts on this forum talking about some problems with the MBA running Win 7.

I bought a MBA 2012 4gb a week ago and I am still in the "honeymoon" period if I want to make a change. I need to put windows on to run Office 2010 and Quickbooks other than that I like Applae Mail better than Outlook and Chrome is just fine.

Previously I tried a Samsung 9 NP900 2012 and the trackpad was not for me.

Any thoughts on the MBA/Windows as I can't find a pc laptop that I like.

Thank you

Elliot

 

You can always run Office 2011 under OS X and there is even a version of Quickbooks for OS X. To me, booting into Windows just to run Office seems like a stretch. Actually, you could always run those programs and Windows in a virtual machine so that you don't have to constantly reboot your system just to write something in Word or check your finances. As it stands, you should not get a Mac if you plan on using Windows as the primary OS. The 2012 MBA will run Windows 7 fine but the small aspects are going to be hit or miss. The main issue is that Apple doesn't provide the best Windows drivers for their hardware. The trackpad isn't going to perform the same, neither the keyboard or display automatically adjust their backlight levels appropriately, the system is going to run a little hotter than with OS X, the battery life isn't going to be as long in Windows, and there are a few things here and there. Boot Camp, the utility that lets you install and run Windows on Macs, was made to be used as a tool for transitioning to OS X and/or to allow you to use Windows if you absolutely have to. Otherwise, Macs are better at running OS X (their native operating system) as Apple provides optimal software and drivers for their systems.

Will it work? Sure. I wouldn't do it if you are going to be in Windows the majority of the time though. Like I said, simple programs like that are going to be fine in a virtual machine. A virtual machine uses software, such as Parallels 7, so that you run a virtual installation of Windows. You start the program and then boot Windows 7 directly in OS X. It won't be as fast as shutting down OS X and booting into Windows straightforward. However, it will be just fine for the tasks you mentioned. I am even able to run MATLAB in my Windows 7 virtual machine on my 2011 MBA without issues. I am executing MATLAB macros with thousands of lines of code all referencing one another along with at least 120 Excel files each with 1.23X10^9 data points in each file. In other words, that is going to be more complex than anything Office or Quickbooks are going to require.

 

Windows 7 runs well for me, and I have a mid 2012 macbook pro 15. I did notice oddities like a slight sluggishness during normal use. However, this is a minor issue and won't impair applications or games.

If you have a retina mac (SSD drive), there is an issue with Windows booting slowly, but I believe someone outlined a fix.

Also, if you haven't upgraded to Mountain Lion, do so before you install Windows. Mountain lion comes with a newer version of Bootcamp.

Thanks,
Gabe

 

Thank you for replying and for your input.

Because I have an online business with 7 websites I spend most of my time using my desktop pc which is a pretty good build. The laptop is replacing my 4 year old Thinkpad which is just too slow and runs XP.

The new laptop is for 6 weeks of business travel a year and as insurance in case my desktop ever went down...I would be back up in minutes as I have 2 ext HDD, Sugar sync and a 2nd drive on the pcthat is a backup.

Do I hear you saying that for this particular purpose I am better off. With. A laptop instead of a MAC? I was having trouble finding an Ultrabook that I liked where the hardware was as good as the MBA...but in any case this laptop would not be used more than a few times a week

Thank you

Elliot

 

Maybe on the Mac side to get things set up, but when installing the drivers in Windows, it's exactly the same as Lion (4.0.4033).

 

The drivers are indeed the same. I just noticed a slight glitch with the option screen when you upgrade to mountain lion after installng windows. It could have just been coincidence, but it seemed like a slight incompatibility between bootcamp versions.

@Elliot - I think a mac would work well for what your interested in pursuing. There is so much flexibility with a mac, unlike windows machines. When I purchased my mac, I not only bought it for it's portability and build quality, but I also concidered dabbling on the mac side while I stayed in my comfort zone with Windows. Now, I prefer using the mac side for it streemlined experience and intuitive features. Why choose only a windows machine when you can have the best of both on a mac.

Gabe

 

You'll be fine if you stay in OS X the majority of the time and boot into Windows (or run a virtual machine) when need be. Do not buy a Mac if you are only going to use Windows and nothing else, there is no point in paying good money just to have a subpar experience running an OS the system wasn't designed to run optimally.

In other words, boot into OS X and do your day-to-day tasks and then boot into Windows when you absolutely have to. I still think you would be just fine with a virtual machine so you wouldn't have to constantly reboot the system. However, if you are only going to stay in Windows on this machine, you should look for a notebook that was made for running Windows.

 

Thanks,

I plan on booting into OS X as a regular routine.......and only when I travel will I need to use Windows to look at any Excel and Quickbooks files. For the normal business use, I am on my Desktop (Win 7) which is a Speed Demon and is great.

My thinking was the MBA would give me some piece of mind for e-mail.......I get 350 emails a day and when I travel I still answer them. Outlook 2010 (and 2003 and 2007) is one of my least liked programs as it freezes too often. I do like the e-mail on my iPhone and iPad...and I like it on the MBA especially since it has that "Classic View" which is perfect for me.

Question: is the 4gb Ram and the i5 on the MBA good enough to run Parallels or VMware or is 8gb the way to go? Since I cannot upgrade the ram after the 2 week exchange period I have 2 days to decide to keep this, upgrade to the MBA 8gb, Macbook Pro 13" 8gb or go back to the Samsung Series 9 which eliminates the windows problem and the buying of extra software.

I appreciate your help.

Elliot

 

4GB of RAM is more than enough for the majority of people out there, this also includes the vast numbers of people who think they need 8GB of RAM. The i5 is also more powerful than you think. I have the mid-2011 MBA with an i5 and 4GB of RAM. Like I said earlier, I have a 64-bit Windows 7 Ultimate virtual machine that I use to run very large MATLAB programs and everything is perfectly fine in Parallels 7. I let Windows 7 use 2GB of my RAM while running Win 7 and MATLAB in Parallels 7 and then having iTunes open (and playing music off of my external thunderbolt hard drive), Word 2011 open, and Safari open (with bout 5-7 tabs) in OS X. My MBA runs fine when doing all of that at once so I see no reason why the 2012 version wouldn't be able to pull the same thing off.

I definitely wouldn't go with the 13" MBP. I actually had that before getting my MBA. The 13" MBP is really overpriced for what you get. Not only is the display a lower resolution than the MBA but it is thicker and really only offers the benefit of having a built-in optical drive. Other than that, in their standard configurations, the MBA is actually going to be faster in day-to-day activities. About the only thing the 13" MBP pulls ahead in is video encoding and other processes that are really CPU intensive. Since you aren't doing any of that, the MBA is the way to go. At least with the MBA, I feel like I am getting my money's worth. I didn't feel the same way about my 13" MBP.

You can always go with the Samsung, it doesn't really matter. I guess it comes down to this: do you really want/need OS X? The hardware in the MBA is going to be similar to what you will find in the Series 9. The main draws of the MBA is that it really does have the best trackpad and keyboard of any ultrabook out there and OS X is a great operating system (I like Windows 7 too, I absolutely hate Windows 8 with a keyboard and mouse) that integrates itself nicely with the MBA. All-in-all, they are both going to provide about the same experience. The only difference with the MBA is that you will have to run Parallels 7 (it costs $50 through Amazon) to boot into Windows and run Office. Then again, you could always buy Office 2011 for OS X. It comes with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. That other program you listed is also available for OS X. You might be able to completely cut yourself away from Windows if you buy those programs for your Mac. It will be an extra expense though.

 

I run Windows 7 in Parallels 7 on a late 2010 Core 2 Duo MBA with 4 GB RAM, and have no problems with performance or memory in the VM. That said, I'd probably spend the $100 for an 8GB model if buying today, just for future proofing.

 

i ran windows 7 in parralel, but i did it with old macbook and sometimes it lag a lot