14 DAY TRIAL // By means of a recently published Support document, Apple quietly announced that Macs shipping with Mac OS X Server pre-installed no longer carry Boot Camp, a utility created by Apple to aid the installation of Microsoft’s Windows operating system on a Mac.
Boot Camp is included with Apple’s Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard, and with version 10.6 of the operating system, dubbed Snow Leopard.
It was originally released on April 5, 2006.
As mentioned above, the utility assists users in installing Microsoft’s Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, as well as GNU/Linux operating systems on Intel-based Macintosh computers.
The software guides users through re-partitioning of their hard disk drive, which includes resizing of an existing HFS+ partition, if necessary, and using the Mac OS X Leopard or Snow Leopard disc to install Windows drivers.
The Mac OS X installation disc also includes an applet for the Windows control panel for selecting the boot operating system, in addition to device drivers for the hardware.
However, this is not the case anymore with Apple Xserves, or the Mac mini with Snow Leopard Server pre installed with the Server version of Mac OS X.
“Boot Camp is not included with Macs that ship with Mac OS X Server pre-installed,” Apple bluntly states on the Support area of its web site.
“This includes all Xserves as well as Mac mini and Mac Pro configurations that include Mac OS X Server,” the company says.
It outlines the affected products by listing the following: Xserve, Boot Camp, Mac OS X Server 10.5, Mac OS X Server 10.6 , Mac mini (Mac OS X Server). This doesn’t mean buyers of these systems will not be able to install Windows. The process will only be slightly less seamless, in absence of the Boot Camp utility.
Without providing any explanation whatsoever as to why the move was necessary, Apple refers customers to the Boot Camp support page, for more information about using Boot Camp and Microsoft Windows on a Mac.