Bootcamp partitioning and install.

My girlfriend has had a mac for about a year now, and I really wanted one after using it several times etc. so I got one for when I go back to school.
2.4ghx
4GB ram
My question is regarding partitioning the hard drive for windows install. I had actually done the partitioning of my girlfriends computer using bootcamp(made it really easy) What is the best setup for the partitioning though?
I am a business student and would like to use the mac side exclusively, however from my past experience this is not always possible. for example, I would have to use excel(Windows version only) for certain statistical information and programming etc. I plan on starting with bootcamp, and if my windows use is significant, then I would consider using fusion or parallels etc. But for now, what would be the best setup for the partitioning?
Would a 50/50 split of the hard drive be good?
More for the mac?
More for windows?
3 partitions, with one for documents?
Any other ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks

When in doubt, my recommendation is to go 32GB for Windows XP or Vista if you have the space. Larger if you have more programs to load and only you would know what you have for Windows.
Axel F.

Similar Messages

I used bootcamp assistant to partition my hard drive to install windows. When I got to the part to install windows, I selected the bootcamp partition and then choose format as instructed but it would not continue stating that the partition was in GPT par

Please help!! I partitioned my macbook pro hard drive in bootcamp so that I could install windows. Everything appeared fine until I got to the install part. I selected the BOOTCAMP partition and then selected format as instucted. That was it. The install could not proceed because it says the partion is in the GPT format instead of NTSF. At this point it erased the "BOOTCAMP" name from the partion but the partion still exists.
I tried to reform by going back on the OS side, in disk utitly, erase and format. It will not allow me to select NSTF format.
What do I do to fix this??
Thanks for you comments.
Kristina

In Boot Camp Assistant when you select the format option the Boot Camp partition it automatically formats the Boot Camp partition as NTFS since this is what Windows requires. There is no option to select NTFS or any other format type.

HT1461 I created a partition and installed Windows through bootcamp. But I need to increase my partition size due to me needing more space on the windows side. Can I do this with bootcamp, and how do I do it?

I created a partition and installed Windows through bootcamp. But I need to increase my partition size due to me needing more space on the windows side. Can I do this with bootcamp, and how do I do it?

Welcome to Apple Communities
You can delete the partition in Boot Camp Assistant or use Camptune to modify it

HT3986 In using bootcamp to partition and install Windows on my computer, the partition step stops and sends me a message that "files cannot be moved" so partitioning is incomplete. I am stuck. Please help.

In using bootcamp to partition and install Windows on my computer, I keep hitting a snag. Message says that partitioning can not be completed because files can not be moved. I have tried several things but nothing seems to be helping to move the process along. What should I do?

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities
In most of the cases, that message appears when there's a problem with the filesystem, so you have to repair the disk. This doesn't mean that the hard drive is damaged.
First of all, open  > About this Mac, and check Version. If it's 10.5 or 10.6, insert the Mac OS X DVD of the version you are using and press C key while your Mac is starting. If it's 10.7 or 10.8, press Command and R keys while your Mac is starting. After doing this:
1. Go to Utilities menu > Disk Utility (if you have 10.5 or 10.6) or open Disk Utility (10.7 and 10.8).
2. Choose Macintosh HD in the sidebar and repair the disk.
3. Restart, open Boot Camp Assistant and follow the steps to install Windows on the Mac

Partition and install Leopard 10.5 on Intel Mac Pro

Hi,
I've just taken the plunge and dumped my PC in favour of a Mac Pro(details below).
MacPro2.4 8CX/6X1G/ 1TB/5770/SD
I've successfully created a BootCamp partition and have Windows XP up and running.
I now want to (need to) creat a partition in order to install a previous version of the Mac OS (10.5). This is required in order to install drivers that will allow me to link up with my Yamaha 01X (Yamaha have decided not to update their mlan drivers for anything above Mac OS 10.5... and I have Snow Leopard 10.6.7...
I've spoken to the Mac support teams and have received mixed messages ranging from "Yes, you can create a partition and install 10.5" to "No no no... that'll never work".
I'm sure there must be a way to achieve this (I mean - If I can have Windows XP up and running on my Mac surely I can create a partition and have a previous version running...).
So far I have:
Created a GUID partition, attempted to re-boot from the install disk (holding the C key). This hangs on the grey screen with apple logo.
I've also attempted to boot from the disk in safe mode (Holding the shift key). Hangs on the grey screen-apple log.
I've had the Mac OS (10.5) installed onto a external drive and attempted to boot from that (Hangs).
Is there something I am missing? Any help, guidance would be welcomed (unless it's along the lines of re-format and build from scratch as, let's face it, that isn't an useful option).
To re-cap: All I want to do is create a partition on my Mac-Pro and install Mac OS 10.5. I am not looking to replace my existing OS (10.6.7) with 10.5, just have a separate partition.
Thanks in advance.
D

Hi Grant,
Thanks for assisting me with this.
My Mac has Two 2.4GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon “Westmere” (8 cores)
This link takes you to the full spec/ configuration:
http://store.apple.com/us_smb_78313/configure/MC561LL/A?mco=MTg2OTUwMTk
The retail version of Leopard that I'm attempting to install is: 10.5.6 so, I'm assuming, the install should work??
Is there anything I should check/ do prior to installing? (as every time I try the DVD spins and then halts - it's like it's trying to do something but can't).
Any pointers would be very much appreciated.
Thanks again,
D.

Want to install windows 7 64bit only partitioned for 20mb in bootcamp can i increase bootcamp partition before installing?

Want to install windows 7 64bit only partitioned for 20mb in bootcamp can i increase bootcamp partition before installing?

Yeah, just open Boot Camp Assistant, restore the hard drive to a single partition and then redo the partitions again. You should have a bare minimum of about 50GB as @The hatter said. You might want to just divide equally, that's usually the easiest thing to do.

I installed win 8.1 on my iMac on the bootcamp partition and can't access OSX anymore. What am I doing wrong?

Ever since I installed Windows I don't have an option to switch to Mac.I installed it on the bootcamp partition with the lastest OSX and Windows versions. I did this a few years ago with an older Mac and Vista and remembered a prompt to choose OS during boot. I get nothing but Windows now. Any ideas?

if you restsrt and hold down alt, what boot options do you see
try restarting holding down command+R, choose disk utility and tell me what you see on the upper left hand side under the name of your physical drive

I have snow leopard with bootcamp what will happen if I create a new partition and install Lion

query as subject line - I was planning to create a new partition using disk utility and installing lion on that - I am aware Lion will Create a recovery partition in addition - so is it possible to have Snow with it's Bootcamp and Lion with it's recovery on my imac purchased jan 2012?
Subsequent question although I purchased Lion from the mac store can I jump straight to Mountain Lion (if I purchase it) from Snow leopard?

If you plan to create a third partition, then you will lose control over your Boot Camp partition and ability to boot Windows. You cannot have three partitions as you desire.
You can upgrade the Snow Leopard system to Lion or Mountain Lion. You can obtain another HDD and install Lion or Mountain Lion on the external drive.
Yes, you can purchase and download Mountain Lion to upgrade the Snow Leopard system.

Problems with partitioning and install Grub. Fresh install

All,
First post here. I appreciate any help you can offer.
I am having some problems when installing Arch Linux.
I am installing Arch on a brand new (3 days old) Toshiba SatelliteC655D-S5300 Laptop.
Hot sheet can be found at http://cdgenp01.csd.toshiba.com/content … -S5300.pdf.
I was initially installing from 2011.08.19 x86_64 Core CD but someone suggested using the latest version.
Now I am installing from 2011.11.13 x86_64 CD burned at 4x (the slowest my burner can go).
I am able to complete all steps up to installing GRUB, but it fails to install.
During partitioning I receive a few errors and I believe this is contributing to the issue.
At first I tried automatic partitioning with 100mb boot, 1024mb swap, 10,000mb / and the rest of 320g for /home. Each partition is ext3 except /boot which is ext2.
During the automatic partitioning an error briefly occured: /usr/lib/aif/core/libs/lib-blockdevices-filesystems.sh: line 355: !((partition_flag)): command not found.
After speaking with a friend they suggested manually partitioning and using UUIDs instead.
1) So far I have removed all partitions, rebooted.
2) Partitioned using cFdisk. Bootable 100mb parition, 1024mb swap, 15,000mb primary (/), 3000mb logical (/var), and the rest 300949mb logical (/home).
3) Once I write the changes and quit I reboot.
4)I go back into the installer and complete steps 1-3.
5) Go to step 4 and and then manually configure block devices, file systems, or mount points.
6) I choose the option for uuid and hit ok.
At this point 3 error messages appear at the bottom:
/usr/lib/aif/core/libs/lib-ui-interactive.sh: line 602: local: 'part,' : not a valid identifier
/usr/lib/aif/core/libs/lib-ui-interactive.sh: line 602: local: 'type,' : not a valid identifier
/usr/lib/aif/core/libs/lib-ui-interactive.sh: line 602: local: 'label,' : not a valid identifier
(Screenshot: http://i.imgur.com/OHRKo.jpg)
7) Next it prompts me to add the mount points for each partition set.
8) Select the partition, the mount point, it asks me for label and any additional opts for mkfs.ext3.
9) I leave the label and opts field blank. After selecting ok to the opts field I get the same 3 errors as above:
/usr/lib/aif/core/libs/lib-ui-interactive.sh: line 602: local: 'part,' : not a valid identifier
/usr/lib/aif/core/libs/lib-ui-interactive.sh: line 602: local: 'type,' : not a valid identifier
/usr/lib/aif/core/libs/lib-ui-interactive.sh: line 602: local: 'label,' : not a valid identifier
(Screenshot: http://i.imgur.com/QqkSP.jpg)
I am able to successfully set a mount point and format each partition. But I receive the same set of 3 errors occur for each partition.
10) Once I complete the formatting I proceed to step 8, install bootloader.
It says Generating Grub device map.. This could take a while. Please be patient.
I receivieve the following error on this screen: /usr/lib/aif/core/libs/lib-blockdevices-filesystems.sh: line 355: !((partition_flag)): command not found.
(Screenshot: http://i.imgur.com/B5j4K.jpg)
11) After the error displays it goes to the next screen, before installing grub you must review config file. etc.
12) I hit ok and then :q the config file. Is there a critical change in the config file that I'm missing?
13) After closing the file I select which the boot device where the GRUB bootloader will be installed. My only option is /dev/sda. I hit ok
Then I get the following 2 errors:
/usr/lib/aif/core/libs/lib-blockdevices-filesystems.sh: line 355: !((partition_flag)): command not found
/usr/lib/aif/core/libs/lib-blockdevices-filesystems.sh: line 355: !((partition_flag)): command not found
(Screenshot: http://i.imgur.com/ol840.jpg)
13) Error installing GRUB. See /dev/tty7 for output. Ok
14) GRUB was NOT successfully installed. Ok
I checked out TTY7.
It shows the installer issuing the following commands in GRUB.
1) device (hd0,) /dev/sda
Error 12: Invalid device requested
2) root (hd0,0)
Filesystem type is extf2, partition type 0x83
3) setup (hd0,)
Checking if "/boot/grub/stage1" exists... no
Checking if "/grub/stage1" exists... yes
Checking if "/grub/stage2" exists... yes
Checking if "/grub/e2fs_stage1_5" exists... yes
Running "embed /grub/e2fs_stage1_5 (hd0,0)"... failed (this is not fatal)
Running "embed /grub/e2fs_stage1_5 (hd0,0)"... failed (this is not fatal)
Running "install /grub/stage1 (hd0,0) /grub/stage2 p /grub/menu.lst "... succeeded
Done.
4) quit
I have tried rebooting from here and using the Arch CD to boot into the existing OS but it does not work.
I tried grub-install /dev/sda
I get Probing devices to check BIOS drives. This may take a long time.
/dev/mapper../dm-0 does not have any corresponding BIOS drive.
I have tried going into grub and issuing the same commands the install script did.
Same errors.
I'm afraid I don't have network access at the moment so I can't get a successful /arc/report-issues to run.
I hope I've included enough information to start the troubleshooting.
Let me know if I've missed anything!
Thanks in advance,
-Jason
Last edited by username17 (2011-11-17 22:37:56)

username17 wrote:I get Probing devices to check BIOS drives. This may take a long time.
/dev/mapper../dm-0 does not have any corresponding BIOS drive.
Your drive does not have an MBR to install grub to as it is a GPT disk - which is also not supported under the old GRUB.
You need to create a small partition at the very beginning of the drive (8MB is plenty) and set the "bios_grub" flag. ie the "BIOS drive" your error refers to.
You will then need to install the grub2-bios package following the chroot instructions on the grub2 wiki page here: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/GRUB2#Installation
** Please note that I found the chroot mounts to be outdated - replace "/tmp/install" with "/mnt" **
Your alternative solution is to boot a gparted liveCD and prepare your disk as MBR - this will (most likely) destroy all existing data on the disk.

Partitioning and Installing Windows 7 with Mac OS X Lion

Hi
after failing seriously with the partitioning after installing Win 7, I hope that I will find some help from the scratch...
I want to install OS X Lion with Win 7.
3 Partitions with Mac are needed and 1 fro Windows.
I got 750Gb on my Mac Book Pro.
Disk should look like this:
100Gb Main Partition (Mac)
200Gb Documents Partition (Mac)
300Gb Stuff and Games (Mac)
150Gb Windows 7 Partition
I tried now to create a 100Gb Partition for Mac and a 150Gb Partition for Windows 7.
After Installing the Mac OS, I was trying to add the 2 other Partitions, but it already telling me that i'm gonna loose my Windows Boot when I change the Partitions. I pressed ok and restarted with the windows 7 DVD for the recovery, which wasn't working due to version incompability -.- (I installed Windows from that DVD)
What steps should I make to get this to work? Some guys says that it not gonna work, but a friend of min has 3 mac partitions and a windows. Sadly he can't remember the way to this setup
Thank you for the help
NESTi

What you are talking about is illegal.
Here are the relevant words from the Snow Leopard EULA
A. Single Use License. Subject to the terms and conditions of this License, unless you have purchased a Family Pack or Upgrade license for the Apple Software, you are granted a limited non-exclusive license to install, use and run one (1) copy of the Apple Software on a single Apple-branded computer at a time. You agree not to install, use or run the Apple Software on any non-Apple-branded computer, or to enable others to do so. This License does not allow the Apple Software to exist on more than one computer at a time, and you may not make the Apple Software available over a network where it could be used by multiple computers at the same time.
You should also read the terms and conditions of use of these forums, which include the following:-
Keep within the Law
No material may be submitted that is intended to promote or commit an illegal act.
Do not submit software or descriptions of processes that break or otherwise ‘work around’ digital rights management software or hardware. This includes conversations about ‘ripping’ DVDs or working around FairPlay software used on the iTunes Store.
Do not post defamatory material.

Can I create a Bootcamp partition without installing Windows immediately?

I have a clone of my bootcamp that contains Windows 7, but can't restore to the Clone without a Bootcamp partition.
I am running Lion.
Is there anyway to create the bootcamp partition without the Windows Install Disk?...if so, I could just restore my Cloned Bootcamp onto the Bootcamp Parition.
Thank you,
AK

Wait...after I hit send, I realized you had cloned your boot camp parition with winclone. My bad...well, you can always try putting the cloned partition on the exFAT partition, if possible. I think what I had to do when I bought a new hard drive was to boot into the old had drive. I then attached the new drive with a handy universal drive kit (http://eshop.macsales.com/item/NewerTech/U3NVSPATA/). I think I used iPartition to create an NTFS partition on my new drive. I then copied my cloned Windows partition onto the new drive.

I was trying to resize my bootcamp partition and it got deleted now I have 217 GB of free space that I cant use and I want to rejoin it with my macbook partiton.

So I was trying to resize my bootcamp partition with Paragon and it was taking forever so I decided to use iPartition the Paragon started doing something and it was almost done when my macbook began to shut down. It was shutting down becuase I though the paragon wouldnt work. Anyway it shut down and I wasnt able to boot to the iPartition CD, so I decided to just screw it and just stick with Mac osx. Then while in the iPartition app once I booted up back into OSX it said I had 217 gigs of free space and my hardrive/mac os partition can only use like 270 gigs. But I desparetely need these 215 gigs back becuase I do things that require alot of memory. Does anybody have any idea how I can rejoin this free space with my mac partition. I already tried it in disk utility and it kept failing with a couldnt unmount disk error everytime I tried to resize back to its full size! PLEASE HELP! Heres a pic of what iPartiton shows me.

You need an external disk that is formated as HFS+ with a GUID partition map.
You can use either Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper to create the clone.
Once ypu have the clone you can boot from my holding down the option key ater power on.
Once booted from the clone open Disk Utility.
Select the internal drive.
Click partition.
Select single partition.
Once drive has bee formated, restore the clone nack with the application used to make the original clone.
Boot from internal drive.
Allan

Removing a Bootcamp Partition and restoring drive fully to OS X

Hi all
I currently have a small partition on my 27' imac allocated to Bootcamp which I now no longer require. I would like to remove this partition and restore the complete drive back to OSX without losing any vital info.
Yes, I have done research on this however I remain a little confused. I would be grateful if someone would take the trouble to confirm that this is possible and, if they have the time, write a simple step by step procedure for me.
Thank you
Kindest regards
Ian

Allan
Thank you for your very quick reply, I do appreciate it.
As you may of read into my initial question I am not that confident in making changes to my system, in my profession as a photographer I have a lot of critical images that I cannot afford to lose.
I see within the Bootcamp Assistant I can remove the option to remove the Windows partition but I am not sure of the steps I further need to complete to restore the drive completely to the OS X system. Currently I have 100GB partitioned to Windows and I would like this space be available for my work.
Any step-by-step guide you can provide me would be very much appreciated.
Thank you again
Kindest regards
Ian

Can i create a disk partition and install SL onto it from my disks I got with my iMac

I want to start learning how to use the Terminal and how to start inputting and outputting data via the Terminal. I thought that I could create a small partition on my hard drive and then install Snow Leopard onto that partition (so that while I was learning how to use Terminal commands I would not wreck anything.)
It then occurred to me that by doing this I would also learn how to install OS X.
Can I do this?
Does the disks I got with my iMac have a limited number of installs? Because if they do I don't want to use them up in case I have to reinstall at any point in the future.
Do those disks have a full version of OS X Snow Leopard on them, or are they just for repairing the version on my system?
If I was to create a partition, when I delete that partition will I automatically get back the space?
Is what I want to do hard?
Can someone please give me some guidance before I begin doing this?
Many thanks
Jason

The OS X Install Disc that came with your computer is just that a full licensed copy of OS X for your system, it can be installed as many times as you would like but it will ONLY work on your machine. The only limitation to those discs that I'm aware of is they are machine specific.
My suggestion would be to get an external HD and use the Install Disc to install OS X on the external. Don't get a cheap USB drive, get the fastest drive (at the moment that would be Firewire 800) you can get. Drives I'd recommend are Lacie Quadra d2 series, G-Tech G-Series and OWC (www.macsales.com) Mercury Elite Pro series. This would be a much wiser strategy than partitioning your internal drive, that way if you real create a major mess it won't affect your internal HD.
Roger

I have a MacPro with 10.7.2 installed. I want to create a new partition and install 10.5. When I put in the install DVD and restart the computer, it does not restart. What can I do?

I just purchased a MacPro with 10.7.2 installed. I want to install 10.5 on a separate partition.
I created the partition with no issues, now when I put in the 10.5 install DVD and restart the computer, it does not restart.
All I get is a grey screen. no icons, no nothing. I have to shut the computer down.
I really need to do this. I plan on upgrading to FCP X, but I still need to finish some old projects that were done with FCP 7. I need the different boot drives

Mac Pro - Mid 2010
Processor 2 x 2.66 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon
Memory 8 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 ECC
Graphics ATI Radeon HD 5870 1024 MB
Software Mac OS X Lion 10.7.2 (11C74)
This is a brand new machine that I just purchased from Apple. It was delivered yesterday
The old computer is an old PowerMac G5, but my OS X install disc is a retail version of 10.5.
I also tried the OS X 10.5 install disc that came with my MacBook Pro (2.6 Ghz Intel Core 2 Dual).
Same issue - nothing but a grey screen when the system tries to boot from the DVD

Bootcamp partitioning and install.

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