Question about Windows Upgrade from a Virtual PC License

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Twangster - 20 Aug 2006 03:10 GMT

I need to run MS Project 2003 on my MacBook Pro. I have a Windows 2000
Professional license that I purchased with Virtual PC 7 last year. Of
course, Virtual PC is useless on the MBPro, and as far as I know,
there's no way to "unbundle" Windows from the Virtual PC installer
discs. Unless I've missed something, that means my Windows 2000
Professional license is useless as well. If that's the case, so be it;
it looks like I'm in for buying another Windows license in one form or
another to use with Parallels Desktop on the MBPro.

Here's my question: Does anyone know whether the Windows 2000
Professional license that came with Virtual PC 7 qualifies for an
upgrade to Windows XP Professional? According to Microsoft's
"Eligibility for Upgrade Package" matrix...

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/upgrading/matrix.mspx

...a Windows 2000 Professional license qualifies for an upgrade to
Windows XP Professional, but I'm not certain whether that applies to
the Windows 2000 Pro license that was bundled with Virtual PC. I've
searched through Microsoft's upgrade web pages, but I can't find any
conclusive answer there. I'd hate to buy the upgrade and then find out
that Microsoft rejects my Windows 2000 Pro license number as being
non-qualified for the upgrade license. I'll buy whatever I have to buy,
but obviously I'd prefer to buy the upgrade if I qualify.

Thanks for any help anyone can provide.

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Barry Margolin - 20 Aug 2006 05:27 GMT

> I need to run MS Project 2003 on my MacBook Pro. I have a Windows 2000
> Professional license that I purchased with Virtual PC 7 last year. Of
> course, Virtual PC is useless on the MBPro, and as far as I know,
> there's no way to "unbundle" Windows from the Virtual PC installer

That's correct.

> discs. Unless I've missed something, that means my Windows 2000
> Professional license is useless as well. If that's the case, so be it;
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
>
> Thanks for any help anyone can provide.

The Windows license that comes bundled with VPC is like the OEM license
for Windows that you get when you buy a PC with Windows pre-installed on
it. I believe it allows you to upgrade to new Windows releases, but
it's still tied to the particular PC that it came with.

So I think you would be able to upgrade to WinXP, but you'd still have
to run it on VPC. You'll have to purchase a brand new license for any
OS you want to run on the MacBook.

Signature

Barry Margolin, barmar@alum.mit.edu
Arlington, MA
*** PLEASE don't copy me on replies, I'll read them in the group ***

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Twangster - 20 Aug 2006 18:12 GMT

> In article <1156039825.054532.34970@p79g2000cwp.googlegroups.com>,

(snip)

> So I think you would be able to upgrade to WinXP, but you'd still have
> to run it on VPC. You'll have to purchase a brand new license for any
> OS you want to run on the MacBook.
> --
> Barry Margolin, barmar@alum.mit.edu
> Arlington, MA

Barry:

Thanks for your reply. I assume that the upgrade to WinXP for Virtual
PC would have the same OEM-style bundling limitation that came with the
copy of Win2000Pro bundled into VPC 7. As you pointed out, that still
limits me to running WinXP in Virtual PC...which obviously is a no-go
on the MacBook Pro. It looks like I'll have to buy a new license.

Thanks again.

Reply to this Message

Colin Barnhorst - 20 Aug 2006 06:38 GMT

You will need a full edition of XP SP2 to install on the MBP. You cannot
use the copy of Windows from your present VPC for Mac because, among other
reasons, Bootcamp does not support installing Windows 2000. It doesn't even
support installing XP Gold or XP SP1. It must be XP SP2.

Bootcamp also does not support installing an upgrade edition of XP SP2
because there is no way to swap cd's during Setup in order to provide a
previous edition cd to satisfy the upgrade requirements. Swapping cd's is
not possible until XP is fully installed and the Mac drivers for Windows are
installed. Until that point the Eject key on the MBP is not functional. So
even the trick of using a Win9x/ME cd that you might have lying around or
could borrow to use during Setup to qualify for the upgrade price won't work
either.

I have an MBP and have XP Pro SP2 running on it just fine. The BootCamp
assistant worked without a hitch. Performance is great. You'll be amazed
at the difference in Windows performance once it is running natively on the
Core Duo.

>I need to run MS Project 2003 on my MacBook Pro. I have a Windows 2000
> Professional license that I purchased with Virtual PC 7 last year. Of
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
>
> Thanks for any help anyone can provide.

Reply to this Message

Twangster - 20 Aug 2006 19:41 GMT

> You will need a full edition of XP SP2 to install on the MBP. You cannot
> use the copy of Windows from your present VPC for Mac because, among other
> reasons, Bootcamp does not support installing Windows 2000. It doesn't even
> support installing XP Gold or XP SP1. It must be XP SP2.

Colin:

Thanks for your reply. BootCamp is really not an option for me. For my
purposes, it's best to have Windows and OS X running simultaneously on
the same desktop. Parallels Desktop has come along at just the right
time. I just need to get another copy of Windows to install...and
Parallels Desktop does support Windows 2000 Pro.

> I have an MBP and have XP Pro SP2 running on it just fine. The BootCamp
> assistant worked without a hitch. Performance is great. You'll be amazed
> at the difference in Windows performance once it is running natively on the
> Core Duo.

I've no doubt that's true, but If I get performance in Parallels
Desktop on my MBP that's equal to what I get in Virtual PC 7 and
Windows 2000 Professional on my G5 DP 2.5, I'll be happy. I have a
large multi-year project with nearly 800 lines of tasks, and it runs
very fast in MS Project 2003 in that configuration. It's the only
Windows app I need to run, so naturally that's the only performance
benchmark I have for comparison.

Thanks again!

Reply to this Message

Colin Barnhorst - 21 Aug 2006 02:52 GMT

Because Parallels virtualizes the Core Duo instead of the way VPC emulated
an Intel cpu on the PPC you should get about three times faster performance
than you were getting.

>> You will need a full edition of XP SP2 to install on the MBP. You cannot
>> use the copy of Windows from your present VPC for Mac because, among
[quoted text clipped - 27 lines]
>
> Thanks again!

Reply to this Message

Twangster - 21 Aug 2006 20:00 GMT

> Because Parallels virtualizes the Core Duo instead of the way VPC emulated
> an Intel cpu on the PPC you should get about three times faster performance
> than you were getting.

Colin:

Wow! That's good news...thanks.

Reply to this Message

Michael Vilain - 20 Aug 2006 06:39 GMT

> I need to run MS Project 2003 on my MacBook Pro. I have a Windows 2000
> Professional license that I purchased with Virtual PC 7 last year. Of
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
>
> Thanks for any help anyone can provide.

AFAIK, any VPC Windows license isn't included in any upgrade package for
Windows. You have to buy Windows NEW and separate to run it on an Intel
Macintosh either under Boot Camp or Parallels. Sorry.

If you think about it, you bought VPC with Windows as a cheaper rate
than if you'd bought VPC without an OS and a full Windows XP package.
Usually, that's a $100 difference in price. The catch is that the
license is bound to VPC and for use with it ONLY.

You only option at this point is to forgoe using MS Project on your
MacBook Pro and run it on a cheap PC with comes with Windows or bite the
bullet (or bend over, depending on you view) and buy Windows XP for you
MacBook Pro along with Parallels if you want to run under MacOS X.

If this seems unfair to you, contact Microsoft and complain. They're
viewing the Intel Macintosh as an opportunity to sell more copies of
Windows to totally new users.

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DeeDee, don't press that button! DeeDee! NO! Dee...

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Twangster - 20 Aug 2006 19:25 GMT

> In article <1156039825.054532.34970@p79g2000cwp.googlegroups.com>,

(snip)

> If you think about it, you bought VPC with Windows as a cheaper rate
> than if you'd bought VPC without an OS and a full Windows XP package.
> Usually, that's a $100 difference in price. The catch is that the
> license is bound to VPC and for use with it ONLY.

Michael:

Thanks for your reply. I was a complete Windows newbie at the time I
purchased VPC 7 with a Windows 2000 Pro license. I admit that I didn't
consider the implications of buying a bundled version of Windows at the
time (March 2005), principally because I expected that I would always
be running Windows in Virtual PC. (At that time, Apple's announcement
of the switch to Intel processors was still three months in the
future.) But that's neither here nor there; today's reality is what I
have to accommodate.

> You only option at this point is to forgoe using MS Project on your
> MacBook Pro and run it on a cheap PC with comes with Windows or bite the
> bullet (or bend over, depending on you view) and buy Windows XP for you
> MacBook Pro along with Parallels if you want to run under MacOS X.

Option 2 is really the only choice for me. For ease of use due to the
complexity of the project, it's far more efficient for me to be able to
run MS Project in Windows on the same desktop as MS Excel 2004 for Mac
in OS X. Switching between two machines (or rebooting, as in BootCamp)
is significantly less convenient.

> If this seems unfair to you, contact Microsoft and complain. They're
> viewing the Intel Macintosh as an opportunity to sell more copies of
> Windows to totally new users.

Your suggestion that I contact Microsoft is appropriate. In fact, I've
already used the Mactopia feedback page to suggest to Microsoft that
they make some sort of upgrade allowance available to Windows for
Virtual PC users. That seems reasonable to me.

I don't think it's reasonable to expect that Microsoft would simply
allow a transfer of the Windows license from Virtual PC. After all, it
was Apple's decision to switch to Intel processors, not Microsoft's.
However, Microsoft did decide not to support Virtual PC on Intel Macs,
which leaves no viable upgrade path for the Windows 2000 Pro license I
purchased for Virtual PC. Microsoft has an opportunity to cultivate
good will among its customers by offering some consideration to Virtual
PC users whose upgrade options are now foreclosed on Intel Macs. That
seems fair to me.

Nevertheless, what seems fair is mostly irrelevant to reality, and the
reality here -- as you've observed -- is that Apple's switch to Intel
is an opportunity to sell more copies of Windows. It seems likely that
Microsoft will take that opportunity regardless of whether its users
are totally new, or whether they are disenfranchised Virtual PC Windows
users.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply.

Reply to this Message

Colin Barnhorst - 21 Aug 2006 02:58 GMT

Tip: When you install Windows in Parallels you will have the option of
formatting FAT32 or NTFS. Check the Parallels docs on this because you may
not be able to move files easily to or from the host OS/X and guest Windows
under NTFS. Just check before you format the Parallels guest. I also have
Parallels and I seem to remember something like that.

>> In article <1156039825.054532.34970@p79g2000cwp.googlegroups.com>,
> (snip)
[quoted text clipped - 52 lines]
>
> Thanks again for taking the time to reply.

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Mac Forum / Applications / Virtual PC / August 2006

Question about Windows Upgrade from a Virtual PC License