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      05-19-2018, 10:15 PM   #1
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Coding with a Mac

Is there software out there that is compatible with my MacBook Pro? If not... what are my options (if any) for using this computer for coding?

Thanks!
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      05-19-2018, 11:16 PM   #2
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I recommend dual booting, or I have a external (old internal) hard drive I use for INPA and coding needs so i can use it on any of my computers. Just boot from the external if you don't want to use up storage space for dual booting or VM (virtual machine)
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      05-20-2018, 08:40 AM   #3
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What are you trying to do? I use a mac everyday for coding.
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      05-20-2018, 09:44 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by b4hand View Post
What are you trying to do? I use a mac everyday for coding.
Nothing too crazy. Code out TPMS & change it so it reads tire pressure from ABS. Also want to code out EDC instead of having to use the emulation module. And the seatbelt chime... That's it for now

What software do you use?
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      05-20-2018, 10:48 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 519.E82 View Post
I recommend dual booting, or I have a external (old internal) hard drive I use for INPA and coding needs so i can use it on any of my computers. Just boot from the external if you don't want to use up storage space for dual booting or VM (virtual machine)
I just spent all morning learning about dual booting and VMs lol. I will need to come back to this later when I have more time I guess.

Either way, I think I do need to pick up an external hard drive to put Windows onto since I don’t want to cram up my Mac’s hard drive with another operating software.

Thanks for your advice, it has given me a lot to think about.
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      05-20-2018, 10:57 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DreamTime View Post
Nothing too crazy. Code out TPMS & change it so it reads tire pressure from ABS. Also want to code out EDC instead of having to use the emulation module. And the seatbelt chime... That's it for now

What software do you use?
Ah I am an idiot. Yes dual booting should work
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      05-20-2018, 10:59 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DreamTime View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by 519.E82 View Post
I recommend dual booting, or I have a external (old internal) hard drive I use for INPA and coding needs so i can use it on any of my computers. Just boot from the external if you don't want to use up storage space for dual booting or VM (virtual machine)
I just spent all morning learning about dual booting and VMs lol. I will need to come back to this later when I have more time I guess.

Either way, I think I do need to pick up an external hard drive to put Windows onto since I don’t want to cram up my Mac’s hard drive with another operating software.

Thanks for your advice, it has given me a lot to think about.
If you're using INPA and such as well, you may have some small issues here and there at first and it will be frustrating but just stick with it, look around on youtube and forums. I had 1 small issue that i spent like 2 hours to figure out and jt was 1 wrong word. In the end i think it makes it all worth it.

Or you'll have a flawless install and use
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      05-20-2018, 01:29 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by b4hand View Post
Ah I am an idiot. Yes dual booting should work
Lol, I may not have been as clear as I needed to be in my first post
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      05-20-2018, 01:38 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 519.E82 View Post
If you're using INPA and such as well, you may have some small issues here and there at first and it will be frustrating but just stick with it, look around on youtube and forums. I had 1 small issue that i spent like 2 hours to figure out and jt was 1 wrong word. In the end i think it makes it all worth it.

Or you'll have a flawless install and use
I don't expect any of this to be flawless in the beginning, but that will be super cool if it is lol! I do expect to study a lot and really take my time with every step.

Thanks for the encouraging words! I'll keep going even if it is frustrating at first. I think it will be worth it too
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      05-20-2018, 02:54 PM   #10
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You can pick up a windows laptop for dirt cheap. Like a d820 or t60. Then install win7 for a dedicated coding laptop. I've had instances where I ran VM's and somehow, the settings changed and I would eventually spend more time reconfiguring it.

Now I have an x220 tablet with all the coding stuff like ISTA suite
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      05-20-2018, 07:56 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WingZeroX5 View Post
You can pick up a windows laptop for dirt cheap. Like a d820 or t60. Then install win7 for a dedicated coding laptop. I've had instances where I ran VM's and somehow, the settings changed and I would eventually spend more time reconfiguring it.

Now I have an x220 tablet with all the coding stuff like ISTA suite
That is so funny you mention that. Right at the end of about 3 hours of searching & reading articles about how to run Windows on my Mac an ad popped up for Best Buy... for cheap laptops... lol. Targeted advertising at its best! I have been thinking about that the rest of the day now. After adding up all the costs of making it work with my Mac, I have decided I will probably just buy a cheap laptop for coding purposes. Thanks for a few recommendations, I will check those ones out.
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      05-20-2018, 11:00 PM   #12
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DreamTime, I already mentioned it to you in a text but here are the details of my setup:

Hardware: 2015 Retina Macbook Pro 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD
Software: VMWare Fusion 10


VM Specs:
Windows 10 64Bit
4GB RAM
Thinly provisioned 200GB VM. (Thin means it only takes the space it is using but Windows thinks it is 200GB total.)

Software working on my VM:
BMW Standard Tools 2.12 (NCSexpert, WinFKP, INPA, etc)
ISTA+D (Dealership Diagnostic Software, I did not install ISTA+P due to space concerns)
E-Sys (For newer Fxx/Gxx/Ix cars)

I back up my VM on an external hard drive and I take snap shots of the VM in case upgrades to the software fails and breaks.

I am very happy with this setup.
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      05-21-2018, 08:04 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by derbo View Post
DreamTime, I already mentioned it to you in a text but here are the details of my setup:

Hardware: 2015 Retina Macbook Pro 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD
Software: VMWare Fusion 10


VM Specs:
Windows 10 64Bit
4GB RAM
Thinly provisioned 200GB VM. (Thin means it only takes the space it is using but Windows thinks it is 200GB total.)

Software working on my VM:
BMW Standard Tools 2.12 (NCSexpert, WinFKP, INPA, etc)
ISTA+D (Dealership Diagnostic Software, I did not install ISTA+P due to space concerns)
E-Sys (For newer Fxx/Gxx/Ix cars)

I back up my VM on an external hard drive and I take snap shots of the VM in case upgrades to the software fails and breaks.

I am very happy with this setup.
Cool, Derek. Thanks for explaining this in more detail. I guess I'm still on the fence about what the best thing to do is. I love my Mac and I would prefer to use it if I could. I downloaded the 30 day trial of VMWare Fusion 10 so I could mess around with it while I read up on VMs in general since I was not previously familiar with them. I guess all I would really need to do at this point is get Windows 10 and buy an external hard drive. I spent so many hours just learning about this stuff over the weekend I had to stop after a certain point lmao. It did become awfully tempting to just buy a cheap Windows laptop and not have to deal with all this other stuff. But, I think I'm pretty close to getting it set up. I'll get back at it this weekend when I have more time

Thank you!!
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      05-21-2018, 08:13 AM   #14
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Another option instead of VM fusion is to bootcamp the mac. That's what I've done. It partitions the hardrive into separate drives, allowing you to boot the Mac up into windows natively. Then used bimmergeeks.com software packages. It's very clear and easy to understand. It's also been condensed some and has the most recent updates in place....just make sure you have enough HD storage in general before doing any of this...and get a good cable such as the bimmergeeks cable...don't want to mess around with crappy cheap amazon cables.
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      05-21-2018, 10:40 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DreamTime View Post
Cool, Derek. Thanks for explaining this in more detail. I guess I'm still on the fence about what the best thing to do is. I love my Mac and I would prefer to use it if I could. I downloaded the 30 day trial of VMWare Fusion 10 so I could mess around with it while I read up on VMs in general since I was not previously familiar with them. I guess all I would really need to do at this point is get Windows 10 and buy an external hard drive. I spent so many hours just learning about this stuff over the weekend I had to stop after a certain point lmao. It did become awfully tempting to just buy a cheap Windows laptop and not have to deal with all this other stuff. But, I think I'm pretty close to getting it set up. I'll get back at it this weekend when I have more time

Thank you!!
No problem Mary. Feel free to hound me more if you want to know more..LOL


BootCamp

Pros:
1. Free + windows 10 license
2. All system resources are utilized by Windows only.
3. Acts like a windows machine

Cons:
1. Requires permanent space allocated to BootCamp
2. Requires rebooting if you ever want to go back to Mac
3. Unable to write into MacOS side of things without 3rd party drivers


VM

Pros:
1. Snapshots
2. Space allocated is only like a file, so free space is still utilized by Mac
3. No need to restart to get into Windows for something.

Cons:
1. Not free, and annual upgrades start to cost a lot
2. Shares resources with MacOS which can be limited if the Mac doesn't have enough RAM, CPUs etc.
3. A little more complicated in initial setup sometimes.


Both have its merits and I ultimately like VMs when the mac has enough resources to run it.




As far as software-wise there is a tool called Easy Mike Tools that will install most of the stuff on windows 10.
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      05-21-2018, 02:21 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TigerTater View Post
Another option instead of VM fusion is to bootcamp the mac. That's what I've done. It partitions the hardrive into separate drives, allowing you to boot the Mac up into windows natively. Then used bimmergeeks.com software packages. It's very clear and easy to understand. It's also been condensed some and has the most recent updates in place....just make sure you have enough HD storage in general before doing any of this...and get a good cable such as the bimmergeeks cable...don't want to mess around with crappy cheap amazon cables.
Thanks for your advice! I am always interested in knowing what all the options are

Really my main concern about the whole thing was available hard drive storage, but I really just need to move some crap off my computer so it is not an issue. And, this is the cable I ordered:

https://www.bimmergeeks.net/product-...eeks-pro-cable



Quote:
Originally Posted by derbo View Post
No problem Mary. Feel free to hound me more if you want to know more..LOL


BootCamp

Pros:
1. Free + windows 10 license
2. All system resources are utilized by Windows only.
3. Acts like a windows machine

Cons:
1. Requires permanent space allocated to BootCamp
2. Requires rebooting if you ever want to go back to Mac
3. Unable to write into MacOS side of things without 3rd party drivers


VM

Pros:
1. Snapshots
2. Space allocated is only like a file, so free space is still utilized by Mac
3. No need to restart to get into Windows for something.

Cons:
1. Not free, and annual upgrades start to cost a lot
2. Shares resources with MacOS which can be limited if the Mac doesn't have enough RAM, CPUs etc.
3. A little more complicated in initial setup sometimes.


Both have its merits and I ultimately like VMs when the mac has enough resources to run it.




As far as software-wise there is a tool called Easy Mike Tools that will install most of the stuff on windows 10.
Lol, you know I will have more questions for you! Thanks for sharing the pros & cons of these two different setups, it really helps put it all in perspective. I still have that link you sent for Easy Mike Tools, for when I get all this stuff up and running. Exciting!

Ps.. off topic, but my CF front lip shipped today!
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      10-31-2018, 02:22 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by derbo View Post
BootCamp

Pros:
1. Free + windows 10 license
2. All system resources are utilized by Windows only.
3. Acts like a windows machine
Huh? How did you get a free Win10 license via Bootcamp? I was bugging a friend of mine with an Enterprise license to give me one of his 50 seats, but I won't bother if I can get a license some other way.
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      10-31-2018, 05:39 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Freiheit View Post
Huh? How did you get a free Win10 license via Bootcamp? I was bugging a friend of mine with an Enterprise license to give me one of his 50 seats, but I won't bother if I can get a license some other way.
I meant, Bootcamp is free to use and + the cost of the windows 10 license.

You coulllllddd go illegal and do a KMSPICO server. :looksaway
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      10-31-2018, 07:55 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by derbo View Post
I meant, Bootcamp is free to use and + the cost of the windows 10 license.

You coulllllddd go illegal and do a KMSPICO server. :looksaway
Sure, if you don't mind grabbing a virus with that install. I guess if you used a sandboxed notebook and didn't install anything else on it but your coding stuff, you might be able to survive it.
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      10-31-2018, 09:51 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Freiheit View Post
Sure, if you don't mind grabbing a virus with that install. I guess if you used a sandboxed notebook and didn't install anything else on it but your coding stuff, you might be able to survive it.
False positive but yea, a real license is the way to go.
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      11-01-2018, 07:16 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by derbo View Post
False positive but yea, a real license is the way to go.
What I meant was if you search for that particular blanket install validator by name, you won't find a Sourceforge-hosted file with a CRC or Hexchecked binary, and you won't find the source code. Instead you'll find dozens of almost-same domain names hosting variations on the proper name of the software. Each one is potential malware. I'm sure there's clean versions of the software out there but its not worth the risk to search. I got away from that stuff long ago.
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      11-01-2018, 09:56 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Freiheit View Post
What I meant was if you search for that particular blanket install validator by name, you won't find a Sourceforge-hosted file with a CRC or Hexchecked binary, and you won't find the source code. Instead you'll find dozens of almost-same domain names hosting variations on the proper name of the software. Each one is potential malware. I'm sure there's clean versions of the software out there but its not worth the risk to search. I got away from that stuff long ago.
The only proper one is the MyDigitalLife one. That said, I've been on legal ones and never have to worry about it.
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