Newbie Question: Formatting a Macintosh IBook to run Windows XP

[SnoopCat]

I just acquired an old Macintosh IBook.
I have rarely used Macintoshes before.

Im curious to know if its possible to format the hard drive of this thing and install Windows.

 

[jimikim]

Yea....I don't think mac procs can run windows without an emulator....and with an emulator will run it uber-slow.

 

[Rike]

Not going to happen. Windows and Mac hardware do not work together. It would be like trying to take a deep breath on Mars.

 

[Adul]

Originally posted by: Rike
Not going to happen. Windows and Mac hardware do not work together. It would be like trying to take a deep breath on Mars.

pretty much


you can only run Mac OS

 

[Maverick2002]

They're architecturally different. Your best bet is a Windows emulator (I think there was/is one called "PeachPC" or something), but it won't run as fast as a true Windows machine for obvious reasons. You can probably turn it into a Linux box though.

 

[addragyn]

VirtualPC

Which iBook do you have?
http://www.lowendmac.com/pb2/ibook-guide.html

 

[hopejr]

There's a version of NT 4 that works on mac natively 😛

 

[Googer]

Just learn to use Mac OSx it takes the average PC user a trip to the library and 2 weeks time to get used to it. Mac OS is like linux. There is a windows equilvalent out there somewhere for free or small charge.

 

[jbass]

there are linux distros that will run on mac..

 

[hopejr]

might as well just use OS X. It's easier to use that linux IMO, but also has the same power. It also has more software than linux (can run most, if not all, linux software, plus other software written for OS X which isn't available on linux). I know some PC users that took 2 days to learn OS X.

 

[TerryMathews]

Originally posted by: hopejr
There's a version of NT 4 that works on mac natively 😛

No. There's a version of NT4 that will work on _certain_ PReP-based PowerPC computers, but no Mac ever complied with the PReP specifications...

Ironically, Mac OS 8.0 will boot on PReP (Or it might be CHRP, I don't recall ATM) machines. It's the only version of the Mac OS ever that would load without tinkering/emulating on non-Apple hardware.

 

[halfadder]

If you have a Mac, you'll be limited to Mac OS X (yay), Mac OS Classic (9.2.2 or older, **YUCK**), Linux (iffy).

If it's an iBook, check to see if it qualifies for the logic board replacement:
http://www.apple.com/support/ibook/faq/
And then install Mac OS X 10.3 or newer. Previous versions of OS X were slower and more ugly. Note that you can turn off the blue theme in the Preferences app.

Linux is an option, but doesn't play well with all models. If you have a colorful "toilet seat" iBook.... well.... good luck. Those models are slow and have awful screens. The best Macs are snow-white or brushed aluminum.

 

[hopejr]

Originally posted by: TerryMathews

Originally posted by: hopejr
There's a version of NT 4 that works on mac natively 😛

No. There's a version of NT4 that will work on _certain_ PReP-based PowerPC computers, but no Mac ever complied with the PReP specifications...

Ironically, Mac OS 8.0 will boot on PReP (Or it might be CHRP, I don't recall ATM) machines. It's the only version of the Mac OS ever that would load without tinkering/emulating on non-Apple hardware.

Learn something new every day 😛