DAK on a Mac
To say that I passionately love most things Apple is an understatement. I started with a Mac IIci in 1992 and have happily used several different models for the past 15 years, without the need for a tech support staff waiting in the wings.
My newest iMac is my all time favorite. With an Intel Core Duo chip, I can boot into OS X on the Mac side, or Windows XP on the PC side – all on the same computer without any hassles of virtualization software.
That is how I can use Designaknit on a Mac.
When I boot, I see this screen. I simply pick the partition I want. The only time I need Windows is for accessing some older clip art or running Designaknit. The rest of my life is spent on the Mac and OS X.
If you’ve recently bought an Intel iMac, you don’t have to pay Microsoft $300+ for a full install version of Windows XP. Despite what Apple claims, you can successfully install an XP upgrade as long as is comes with Service Pack 2.
The reason Apple says an upgrade won’t work is mechanical. During the XP upgrade installation, Windows tells you to eject the XP cd and insert a full version of Windows 98 or above for authentication. The Mac’s eject button is on the keyboard, which can’t be recognized at this stage because the Windows drivers haven’t been installed – a Catch 22.
There is an easy way and a hard way to bypass this problem.
Attach an external USB CD drive with a full versioin of Windows 98 or higher. When the Windows XP install process asks for the older software, simply hit the enter key, and Windows will search the USB chain, find Windows 98, and finish installing Windows XP. For some reason, it has to be an external USB cd player. We tried putting our copy of Windows 98 on a USB flash drive but it didn’t work.
The hard way involves Linux, a Linux live cd , and in my case, a husband who is comfortable with Linux commands. It worked for us, but describing the steps is beyond the scope of this small blog. We used the links starting here to help us through.
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January 11, 2007
2 comments
I’m also getting ready to use DAK on a Mac, but decided to use the virtualization provided by VMWare’s Fusion.
I read your other post at https://www.knittsings.com/how-to-use-designaknit-dak-to-translate-hand-knit-pattern-to-machine-knit/ and realized there are a few benefits to using a VM — like using familiar Mac functionality to accomplish certain things such as Shift+Command+4 to capture a portion of the screen. You can also copy/paste between the VM and the Mac. And a quick Google led me to a procedure for wiring up Mac’s Print To PDF functionality.
Hi
When are you going to make Designaknit compatible with Apple Mac without the Windows facility.
Regards
Kathy