windows 7 on mac in bootcamp mode

i'm currently considering getting a MBP but would need to use windows 7 probably half of the time. When running that in bootcamp mode.. will the Fn key be able to be mapped to Ctrl key while in bootcamp mode? I'm trying to find out if the 4 keys to the left of the spacebar and whether they can be remapped to the standard 4 keys (should be: ctrl, fn, windows key, alt) on a windows laptop.

If anyone has this information, I'd be grateful. thanks!

 

You have the options to do whatever you want within the Windows Environment via the Bootcamp driver utilities provided by Apple. I would screenshot it for you but I'm currently too lazy to switch to Bootcamp, I prefer OSX Lion

 

People have successfully remapped some keys when in Windows. There is actually a thread dedicated to doing this (though I think that person took it too far as they run only Windows). One thing to keep in mind that is, if you are going to be in Windows half of the time, it likely isn't worth the price to buy a Mac. Additionally, unless there is something that you specifically want to run that is OS X only (without a Windows alternative), there really is no reason for you to buy a Mac.

 

if you don't mind.. or anyone else.. could one of you send me a screenshot of that bootcamp driver utility?

 

i'm kinda in the process of picking my next laptop (my old dell latitude e6400 is dying). I am very interested in all of the new ultrabooks that are coming out but none of them addresses all of my needs. hence i'm also looking at MBPs. Lastly.. since I don't really have a budget.. I want something that's better built, more rigid than a typical windows laptop. And the fact that if I buy a MBP, i can run both windows and mac apps, that's another added bonus. But I just want to make sure that my experiences with windows will be up to par with a typical windows laptop and the mapping of the ctrl, fn, alt keys are very important.

anyways, could you point me to the dedicated thread? I couldn't find it.

 

Sheshhh I better be getting rep or something for this, I had to cancel or pause all of my downloads I had going to make this switch for you. Generally I'm not that nice of an individual... However as requested:
(Obviously I do not happen to use the F keys within windows all that often thus I have it Unchecked, but if were to use an F key like Alt +F4 for instance I would have to push Alt + Fn + F4... I still prefer ⌘ + Q)

 

In case this is not already a known fact you obtain the BootCamp Driver utility from Apple via telling your Mac you want to run BootCamp, at which point they'll ask you to either enter a USB drive or DVD to create a Driver Utility Disk for you to run on the existing Mac within the Windows Main Frame.

 

That won't do what the OP wants though as it only addresses the function keys at the top of the keyboard. They want to change the layout of the keys to the left of the spacebar to match that of traditional Windows notebooks.

I wasn't able to find the thread where someone successfully re-mapped a few of the keys. However, I think they ended up physically altering their Mac to do so (which is not something you will want to do unless you are in Windows 95% of the time, then you wouldn't even want to buy a Mac if you were going to do that).

There is a mapping program out there, it took me about 15 seconds to find it using Google, I suggest you do that as many people had nice things to say about it. Also, I will say it again: unless you plan on using OS X the majority of the time, I don't see the sense in buying a Mac. For the price of a MBP, you can easily buy a Windows notebook with very similar build quality and features. Not only that but it will give you a better Windows experience without having to jump through all sorts of hoops.

The trackpad drivers that Apple implements under bootcamp are atrocious to say the least. You don't have any of the gestures (except for scrolling along with forward and back), it isn't as smooth of an operation, and I can keep going on. There is a third party program you can download that will make the experience better but again, you have to go through the process of doing that on top of paying for a Windows license (which can be cheap or come out to the full retail price depending on what your options are). There are a few other things too such as the keyboard backlight not automatically adjusting (its either on or off), the graphics card (for models that feature an IGP and dedicated graphics card) will be the only thing running not giving you access to Intel graphics, and the battery life is a lot worse under Windows (a large portion of that due to not using Intel graphics which are fine for driving a desktop and HD videos).

In my opinion (and I am not the only one), bootcamp is more of a tool that allows Mac owners to run Windows when they have to. It isn't something that lets people run Windows the majority of the time since the experience is sub-par compared to running OS X or even Windows on systems built for that.

 

darkloki, thx a bunch. I think i did the rep thing correctly (to be honest, i've never repped someone before, so i hope i did it right).

kornchild2002, i see. thanks for the recommendation. the main problem that i have is that most of the laptops that i would like to buy on the PC side, for example: the HP Envy line, they have ALL started to use the single trackpad with integrated buttons to emulate the look & feel of a MBP/MBA. And I have heard that as the single biggest complaint that people have. I have gone to bestbuy and other places to try out the laptop and sure enough, I hate it too. Otherwise, I think I would actually purchase the new Envy (or the 2nd gen one). This is partially why i'm kinda thinking about the MBP as well. If I'm spending that much money and buying a knockoff, I might as well spend the same amount of $ (or maybe a little more) and get the real thing and see if I'll like it.

I was really hoping bootcamp to be better than what you had described. But I guess the search for the perfect laptop for me continues..

 

I solely use windows 7 on my new mba. Works great. You gotta understand this is generally a windows forum so people have a bias.

for changing keys I use autohotkey

 

I have an older mac book pro that I have extensively used osx, vista and then windows 7 on.

Some of the earlier comments are spot on: runs very hot and kills battery life, poor drivers all around (both trackpad and wireless) for windows, just having the keyboard setup from apple is a problem (unless you change some of the keys around). There used to be major issues with the clock never staying updated. I could go on and on.

What I don't agree with is 'just buy a windows laptop'. That's exactly what some of us want to do...but there is literally nothing out there that is even close. Nothing out there has a good to great screen, good build quaility, good graphics card, small and light, excellent trackpad. Apple writes wonderful drivers for osx, just not windows.

I myself am facing this dilemma and am holding off till ivy bridge comes out. If HP doesn't have an envy without all the current issues, samsung doesnt have a series 7 without all the issues, etc I will be in a mac book pro using isx 90% of the time. It pains me to say that as am I a windows guy and like to play games here or there - which I still can via bootcamp, but its just not very convenient. Luckily a few games (notably civ 5) I can run on the mac side.


I very much like that this is a windows forum. When I got my mac book pro I tried asking many questions and discussions at macrumors and 1 out of 10 responses was helpful and not a rude apply fanboy response.

 

There literally are dozens of notebooks from various manufacturers all offering solid build quality, even better displays than the MBP, much better graphics (the MBP's have low-mid to mid level graphics), and everything else except the trackpad. The HP Radiance display is often thought of as being the best one you can get in a notebook and you can pick it up in a few models. HP's business class of notebooks offers solid build quality, better displays, great battery life, etc. and natively runs Windows while being competitively priced with the MBP line. Lastly, for every HP Envy issue out there, I can also find a MBP fault.

Every notebook has its issues and, if a user is going to run Windows the majority of the time (keyword being majority), then the list of MBP problems is even longer. Hence why people suggest that users who want to run Windows most of the time should purchase a Windows machine. There's nothing wrong with wanting to run Windows. People have their OS preferences and the computing world would otherwise be boring without competition. So that isn't the issue. The problem comes in wanting to run an OS on a system offering up a sub-par experience for that particular OS when there are many other notebooks out there built for running the OS.

 

if you're going to talk about a naming convention, and call the 6750m low-mid, what do you call all the stuff between the 6750m and the hd 3000?

 

I have done extensive research and working hard to stay away from Apple. Guess what, I felt the same way you do, and I agree - I would like to run windows. However, there is nothing that compares as much as I hate to say it.

Other laptops may have good build quality - only the business workstations which are beasts, big strong and powerful - but not really something I'd want to tote around all day.

Graphics? The mac book pro with the discrete graphics are as good or better than almost all other windows laptops in the same size range - not the asus gaming laptops, etc.

The HP envy display is great - but no ORANGE colors, what the h*ll? Samsung Series 7 was another winner but I have read over there extensively and just so many issues - are they using us as beta testers??

I don't neccessarily want to move to osx permanently. Yet I may have to.

The new ENvy and Series 7 are the only laptops out there that seem to compete directly with the discrete graphics 15" pro model-both seem to have glaring issues. There seem to be tons of decent competitors in the MBA/13" MBP range.

 

I don't know, I wasn't talking about them. My point was that the MBP's (particularly the 15" and 17") don't really offer that high end of a graphical solution. They are fine for everyday work, some gaming, pumping out external graphics, etc. However, there are much higher end solution offered in competing notebooks. It stemmed from someone saying that the MBP's offer high end graphics when in reality Apple has never put high end card in the MBPs (even dating back to the PowerBook G4's).

 

gotcha, fair enough