Easy Mac OS X Lion - Kate Binder [21]
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Note: Remain in Control
Yet another way to maneuver among running programs and open windows is to use Mission Control. Turn to “Managing Multiple Windows” in Chapter 1, “Getting Started.”
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Running Windows on Your Mac
If you’re reading this book, you probably love your Mac a lot. But sometimes you might need to use Windows—maybe your employer requires it, or perhaps you have a piece of hardware that doesn’t have any Mac drivers. With Apple’s current generation of Macs, you can have the best of both worlds by running both Mac OS X and Windows on your Mac using a little program called Boot Camp.
Start up Boot Camp Assistant (located in the Utilities folder within your Applications folder).
Click Print Installation & Setup Guide to print out a copy of the important information you’ll need to run Boot Camp; then click Continue.
Click the radio button and then Continue to download the support files you’ll need; in the next screen, click a radio button to choose a location for the files and click Continue again.
Drag the divider between the partitions to determine the size of your Windows partition.
Click Partition.
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Tip: Intel Inside
Only Apple’s Intel Macs can run Windows, because they have the same kind of processor that PCs have. To see whether your Mac is one of these, choose Apple menu, About This Mac.
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Tip: Power Up
If your Mac is a laptop, be sure to connect the power adapter before you begin setting up your Windows installation. If the battery power runs out while the installation is taking place, you could lose data.
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Insert your Windows disc, click Start Installation, and follow the instructions on the screen to install your Windows system.
To restart your Mac using your new Windows system, choose Apple menu, System Preferences.
Click the Startup Disk button to display startup disk preferences.
Click to choose your Windows partition, and then click Restart.
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Note: Standard Precautions
Before starting your Boot Camp installation, be sure you have a Windows 7 system disc ready, and make sure you note the size of your Boot Camp partition so you will recognize it when you’re installing Windows.
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Tip: The Choice Is Yours
If your computer is turned off, you can choose to start it up in either Windows or Mac OS X by holding down the Option key as you press the power button. Don’t release the Option key until you see the Open Firmware screen.
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Chapter 4: Setting System Preferences
Preferences make the world go round—or, at least, they are what make your Mac into your Mac. You can control so many aspects of your everyday computing experience that it’s worth a trip to the System Preferences window every once in a while just to remind yourself what’s there. Be sure to explore all the tabs of each preference pane, too, to make sure you know what all your options are.
The System Preferences command in the Apple menu opens a command center for preferences. It contains buttons for each preference pane, organized into categories.
In this chapter, you’ll learn how to set preferences for everything from how your mouse or trackpad works to what size objects are displayed on your monitor. A couple of tasks—“Setting Trackpad Preferences” and “Monitoring Battery Use”—deal with preferences for laptop users only; if your Mac isn’t a MacBook, you won’t even see these settings, so don’t worry about them.
The System Preferences Window
Setting System Preferences
In a flashback to the days of the Mac’s System 6, Mac OS X stores all its preferences in a central window called System Preferences. It’s accessible via the Apple menu, so you can reach it from any program. You can find preference panes for non-Apple programs and utilities in System Preferences, in the Other section at the bottom of the window.
Choose Apple