[X4U] Windows on Mac Fact

[Stroller]

On 14 Jan 2006, at 15:13, Jim Robertson wrote:
>
> ... Windows XP
> and all earlier versions of what started as MS-DOS require BIOS (basic
> input-output-system) as part of the chipset....

Possibly not:

    The first EFI computer, a Gateway PC, went on sale in November...
    Gateway, which uses EFI in its all-in-one Gateway 610 Media Center
    desktop, said it chose to do so because EFI proved a more efficient
    way to code preboot software and can also help to improve the  
product
    from a long-term development perspective, a company representative
    said.   [1]

A review confirms it runs Windows XP Media Centre Edition:

    Gateway's 610 Media Center not only acts like a home entertainment
    system ....The Windows XP Media Center Edition operating system is
    a superset of Windows XP, which means it can also run all the same
    software as any Windows XP computer. I'm writing this column on the
    machine using Microsoft Word and surfing the web in Internet  
Explorer
    while I have a TV show playing in the background.  [2]

However few other details are apparent. It's not clear how Windows XP  
is installed on the machine, and whilst Googling I found a forum  
thread of 610 owners confused because the hard-drive was not  
recognised when they tried to reinstall from CD. The 610 was released  
in November 2003, seems not to be a current model and I can find  
little on the interweb that is helpful.

However if my reading of this article is correct:

    ...with the introduction of newer operating systems such as  
Microsoft
    Windows, and Linux, the BIOS was relegated to principally providing
    initial hardware setup, and bootstrapping. Once it was up and
    running, the operating system didn't have to rely on the BIOS for
    much. [3]

then the problem may not be _running_ Windows XP on the MacBookPro,  
but _installing_ it.

My personal gut reaction in response to this posting is that XP  
_will_ run on the current Intel Macs, once some fiendish hackers get  
around to working out how, but I have no proof to support this. IMO  
all is conjecture until we see some of these Intel Macs in the hands  
of determined geeks. If XP is indeed installable on these machines I  
wouldn't be surprised if a 3rd part bootloader (such as GRUB, often  
used on Linux & BSD systems) was required to "chainload" the process.

Stroller.




[1] http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/Details.aspx?NewsId=8628
[2] http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/11/19/scitech/pcanswer/ 
main584545.shtml
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BIOS