Setting up boot camp

Today I installed Windows on my Mac. (I'll need it to run MCNP this semester.) For my reference and for your enrichment, here's a few things I did to make my new system more homey.

For Mac-Windows interoperability:

• HFSExplorer, an alternative to MacDrive that gives read-only access to HFS+ (Mac-formatted) drives from inside Windows. (It needs Java.)
• Installed MacFUSE and NTFS-3G (and applied this fix to ntfs-3g) so that I can read and write to my Windows drive when in OS X.
• Exported my bookmarks from Safari to put them in Firefox for windows

To make Windows less annoying and more secure:

• Changed the theme from XP to classic (the menu bars and task bar take up a lot less space, and the colors are less garish)
• Ran Windows Update (and installed IE7)
• Installed Firefox, NoScript, and AdBlock Plus
• Installed a couple of other pieces of software from the Lifehacker top free Windows software list and the Power replacement list
• Disabled the clicky sounds in the audio control panel.
• Disabled autoplay with this hint
• Disabled the "nag bubbles"
• Changed the alt-tab behavior and modified my default Explorer file list behavior using part of this Lifehacker list
• Put a password on my user account (since it defaults to a blank password!)
• Disabled file sharing (which was on by default; seems pretty foolish)
• Disabled "offline files"
• Turned off the "welcome screen" so that Ctrl-Alt-Del behaves like it does on all the other domain-connected computers I've ever used
• Disabled the windows messenger service
• Swapped the Windows and Alt keys so that the keyboard has the same layout as a standard Windows one (using this key remap hint)
• Installed Cygwin, hid "My Documents" and "Network Places", made a shortcut from /cygwin/home/USER to my desktop, and changed its icon to the documents icon
• Went to Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs > Windows Components and unchecked Outlook Express so it would cease to reappear in my Start Menu
• Added Mac cursors

I have to say that being able to run Windows on here is nice. Apple's job with making it compatible with the Mac hardware is fantastic: all the necessary drivers are installed by simply inserting the 10.5 install DVD into the drive. It includes drivers for WiFi, Bluetooth, the iSight video camera, and even maps all the hardware buttons (sound volume, eject, etc.) to their proper functions.

With Cygwin, I don't have to mess around with the DOS shell, and I can also use its X11 server with MCNP's (admittedly primitive) visualization.