Running Boot Camp

What You'll Need

There are a few things you'll need to have readily available before you can install Windows XP on your Mac. Fortunately, this is much easier than trying to crack open the case of a Mac mini to upgrade the RAM; you don't need a putty knife or anything else that could possibly harm your Mac.

Here's the list of things you'll need:

An Intel Mac

Okay, this one sounds obvious, but you'd be surprised at how many people think this procedure will work on an older Mac. Think again, people; it can't be done. You'll need one of the Intel-based Macs to pull this off. If you don't have one, and if you really want to install Windows XP, pull out your credit card and go to your local Apple Store, or go online and custom-configure your system (http://store.apple.com).

An Intel Mac running Mac OS X Tiger, version 10.4.6

All of the Intel Macs shipped with Tiger, so you don't have to worry about upgrading from Panther or Jaguar, but you do need to make sure you're running at least version 10.4.6. To find out which version of Tiger you're running, go to → About this Mac, and the window shown in Figure 1 appears. The version number appears beneath the bold "Mac OS X" text.

If it says you're running 10.4.6 (or higher), you're good to go. But if you're running an earlier version, you'll need to run Software Update ( → Software Update) to install the latest system update on your Mac.

Figure 1. Look ...