Internet Myth: You Can’t Run Vista On Macs

There is a myth floating around that Microsoft’s end user license agreement prohibits you from running Windows Vista on Macs.

Status: Partly False

The EULA prohibits you from running Vista Home Basic and Home Premium under virtual machines, like Parallels, but you can still use it on Macs via Apple’s Boot Camp software. Vista will run directly on your Mac, and not in a virtualized environment.

Here is the quote that can be found under the Home Basic and Home Premium section of the EULA:

USE WITH VIRTUALIZATION TECHNOLOGIES. You may not use the software installed on the licensed device within a virtual (or otherwise emulated) hardware system.

With Vista Ultimate edition, you can run it in virtualized environments.

Sources:
Microsoft Windows Vista EULA

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