Running SL in Windows Vista on a Mac: help please?

I've just installed Vista on my Mac, together with Parallels desktop 3.0 for Mac. The installation was done by an approved Mac Centre, so I can assume it was done correctly. They told me that I may have to install various drivers, for printers etc. for when I wanted to print in the Windows environment.

I downloaded the SL client but on trying to run it within Windows I get the following message: 'SL is unable to run because your video card drivers did not install properly, are out of date, or are for unsupported hardware. Please make sure you have the latest video card drivers and even if you do have the latest, try reinstalling them.'

I can't be the first person to try to run SL within Windows on a Mac, to see if the performance is indeed better. So, could anyone please

a) let me know where I get those video card drivers? As I'm running within Parallels, I assume I will then be able to download them directly into Windows Vista within Parallels.
b) which video card driver to look for. I have a MacBook Pro second series, with the GEForce 8600M GT graphics card that's standard for this model. Is that what I need to look for, and install within the Windows environment?

Any other comments that would help me would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in anticipation. Byee!

Christi

You can not run SL inside a virtual machine, they don't expose anything like a complete "virtual video card" to the software.

You need to either use Boot Camp and boot to Windows, or use the Mac client.

I do not believe Parallels 3 supports the hardware 3D graphics required for SL.

Parallels 4 may do better.


You aren't and it isn't. The Mac client is fine.

Okay, that's very helpful.
Um... now that I have both Windows Vista and Parallels installed on my Mac, how do I ignore Parallels and just run Vista under Boot Camp?

You would need to use the Bootcamp program, which you can get for free on the Apple site, to create a new partition on your hard drive and then install vista again. When you use bootcamp you have to either log into Vista or the Mac OS. It doesn't run inside the Mac OS like Parallels does. I have logged into SL through bootcamp when I am logged into that partition for other things, and it really isn't any different than just running it on the Mac side.

I'm curious as to why you're going to such lengths to install the Windows version of Second Life on a Mac. While I know the Mac version can be a bit clunky when using an older machine, I would guess that you're running a newer machine, an Intel Mac at the very least.

The Mac SL client should run fairly well on such a machine. Are you already running Parallels/Vista (a fairly expensive option, considering the purchase price of both programs) for some other reason, and are just giving it a go to say that you ran the Windows and Mac versions, or is there something I'm missing?

I got a MBP a few months ago, and the Windows client works like a charm under BootCamp.
On the other hand, the Mac client is complete crap that can't even load textures.

Yes, it comes hard to pay >£200 to instal Vista + Parallels after 20 years on a Mac. But I'm gradually migrating to the OpenLife grid, and need to transfer my own builds there. This is done using a package whose name I don't recall but which downloads SL stuff onto your hard disc (so long as you own all the perms) and then from there, uploads to OpenLife. Unfortunately, this software runs only on Windows.

Why am I leaving? Because of the way in which Linden backtracked on their original usage rules for opensims, and jacked up the tier. This was aimed at the Land Barons; all I ever had was 3 small dwellings that were part of a planned combat RP, but I was caught by the same brainless and inflexible rule change. I shall always retain a presence in SL, continuing the Isle of Faerun mediaeval community for the foreseeable future. But as OpenLife develops (it's like SL was 4 years ago, at present) I believe it offers more (e.g. US$75 tier on a 40,000 prim island) and so I'm giving up my opensim here in SL. It costs me the same now, US$75 for just 3750 prims, and will go up to US$125 next year. On top of which being in Europe, I pay 17.5% VAT (sales tax) to Linden; OpenSpace don't charge VAT. In the long run, Trilo, I'll save money so I regard the Vista purchase price as an investment!

And there's curiosity about whether SL does run better under Windows; some say yes and some say no. I do know that I freeze for 20 seconds or so, every 5 minutes, and tend to crash about half the time this happens, running the official Mac client; under the Nicholaz Viewer for Mac, the freezes happen but the Spinning Beachball of Death saves me from a crash. it would be nice to see if this can all be avoided under a Windows SL client.

Christi

I assume you mean the Second Inventory program? I use it through Bootcamp to back up my work, and it works great that way. At least with XP, it does.

I will probably consider leaving SL, too.
For the simple reason that they have never released a decent Mac client.

Yes, it can.
Of course the Windows client has its flaws, but the overall performance is significantly superior.

You don't need to run Second Life to run Second Inventory.

Also, SI only works for objects you created, or at least that's how it worked when I looked at it some months ago. This is necessary because you don't have any rights to transfer objects you didn't create out of SL, because SL doesn't require creators to grant Linden Labs a license for more than use within the Second Life service.

I don't have any more problems on my Macbook Pro than on my Wintendo.

Yes. Try the Nicholaz viewer, though, Joseph. It's certainly better than the official Linden Mac viewer.

Christi

Thank you to everyone who advised me on this.

_No_ you can't run SL in the Vista window that Parallels creates, cos it doesn't recognise the graphics card as people pointed out to me.
_Yes_ it works like a dream after I scrapped all that and installed Vista under Boot Camp.

At first glance SL looks brighter onscreen; other than that it's too early to say if it's any better than under the Mac OS. I'll download Open Life next, and dedicate the Windows environment to the latter, and whichever SL runs best in to SL. Of course all my other computer activities will be in the Mac OS, taking advantage of the Mac's greater safety with respect to viruses and malware attacks. Plus I have 20 years of files on the Mac side anyway! A simple USB stick will do for the transfer of any software and files that need to travel between the two.

A hassle to shut down each time I want to switch between Windows and Mac? Not really: quite comforting in fact as it reminds me of the days when 'Classic' (Mac OS9) and OSX had to be handled the same way!

Christi

You CAN run SL in VirtualBox on a PC.

I know, doesn't help much here, but it works .

In a window, or are you dedicating the GPU to Virtualbox?

It runs in a window. Haven't played much with it, but its encouraging.

Running version 3 does not offer DirectX support which the new version 4 of parallels does do but only Directx9 and not 10 which vista uses. Your problem might go away with an upgrade to version 4 but you need to test it, keep in mind SL on vista on a stand alone machine has had plenty of problems on its own, trying to run it on a virtue install will only complicate things. Are much better off doing a boot camp install of vista as you will get true hardware support and not emulated support of the hardware.

its not directx thats the problem... parallells 3 does do directX, but its DX9 support is barely there, they only officially support DX8.1 and earlier. The thing added in parallels 4 that should let SL run is the OpenGL 2.0 support added in, which Sl requires. But still parallels is running it off an emulated video card, it will never be even close to as fast as the mac client, or the native Windows client in boot camp.

its funny to hear people quiting cuz LL cant make a decent mac client. I've been playing on the mac for over 3 years, and its always been decent.

Thanks, this discussion answered a question I had as a new mac user. I got one of the new 13" macbooks, (2ghz processor, 4gig ram, Nvidia 9400) and just love the thing, but the screen is darker and the frame rate is a bit slower in complex sims than my comparably equipped Dell. Add to that difficulty finding some other software I use (or, for example, bad user ratings for Quicken for mac on Amazon) and I had been contemplating trying the Bootcamp/Windows route. Since I am pretty hardcore about SL I believe I will proceed.

Dani

I was running SL with Parallels 3 on a MacPro and it works really good. With the new realease of the client 1.21 I can't start the client anylonger. It's a pitty.

Ziggy

I run SL on a Mac Powerbook G4. I should actually say that I walk and stumble SL on a Mac Powerbook G4. It was much better a couple of months ago. For the last couple of months I cannot enter a mainland parcel and try to move but with just a few clicks of an arrow key resulting in freezing from a half minute, or so, to an endless freeze requiring me to log off/on.

Forget having all avatars and environment rez in less than five or ten minutes. Yes, I'm very close to leaving SL, too. I can't even chat with a friend without stalls due to freezes.

I'm surprised you kept up on a G4 this long.

I quit using SL on my G4 except for product testing at least a year and a half ago.

You might have more luck if you drop back to the older client.

How do I drop back to it? Is it still available somewhere?