XP Pro (not SP2) + Mac Mini ===> [step 2? 3? etc?] ===> BootCamped XP Pro

Factual Questions
1

Is there a non-horrid non-tooth-pulling method of getting from a Mac Mini (modern version, Core Duo Intel, yadda yadda) + girlfriend’s legitimate but outdated installation cd of XP Pro (pre- ServicePack 2) to the desired end result of a Mac Mini running XP Pro, natively (not within Parallels)?

I say “not within Parallels” because I am already aware that it’s not an issue under Parallels. GF is kind of Mac-phobic. Those Apple Mac thingies are strange and alien. She wants this because of the cute nonintrusive form factor. (non-Apple PCs that are that small are hard to locate and either have lousier specs or are more expensive, as far as I can tell). I can probably talk her into ignoring the OS X that boots first, put Parallels into her Account PrefsPane as a Login Item, and configure Parallels to go to full screen and boot XP when it runs. But I did kind of promise her that we could get the thing to boot XP “not in emulation or anything”. She’s suspicious of OS X running Windows as something it dabbles in on the side, so to speak.

This non-tooth-pulling method could include a legitimate upgrade purchase based on owning the original XP Pro, if such a thing exists (and is cheaper than simply scoring a legit copy of XP Pro SP2 via some software reseller, I’ve looked at that and the legit copies still aren’t so cheap).

It is indeed Pro, not Home, that she’s got. Does MS provide any kind of upgrade-path to Pro owners (aside from Vista which she most vehemently does not want)?

2

A provisional never-mind: someone sent me a link to a webpage explaining how to “slip-stream”. I’ve got VirtualPC fired up on my PowerBook G4 and I’ve got the xpsp2.exe file and the installation CD for XP Pro and I’m doing arcane things from the cmd.com command line.

3

OK, everything was rosy until I got to the part where it said “OK, time to burn a bootable installation CD, please follow these instrux to do so from Nero Burning ROM, or these alternative instrux if you’re using Roxio EZ CD Creator”. Umm, I’m a Mac person. I’ve never had any reason to own a Windows-based CD-burning software app. I have Toast.

Here’s the guide I’m working from.

Must I tell my girlfriend that in order to complete this mission, she must invest in one of these CD-burning apps that she, too, has never needed before? (Mostly because I burn anything we need burned on the Mac) Or can Roxio Toast on the Mac create a bootable Windows installation CD? If so, what’s the procedure?

4

From the Nero site you can download a Free 15 Day Trial of Version 7. Assuming the trial isn’t limited in any other way, and you don’t mind the 170MB download, it could be worth a try.

5

Way cool. Thanks!