Can I partition an external hard drive to run windows games on my Macbook Pro

I want to play windows games on steam but I am not sure if I want to partition my Macbooks hard drive. I heard you could partition external hard drives but didn't know if you could run games on that external hard drive. I have a lot of files on my computer and don't want to take time to move my files to the external hard drive, so can I buy the external hard drive and then partition it to run window games or do I have to partition my actual default hard drive?

Hi! If your macbook doesn't have a cd drive you need to have Windows 7 but an ISO image, you can't just copy the contents of the copy into a USB and expect it to work. There are many tutorials on internet on how to obtain an ISO image from an installation disc, for example: http://pcsupport.about.com/od/software-tools/a/create-iso-image-file.htm As for "just download Windows 7" (i suppose you mean free download) this is not the right place to ask, believe me. Try searching Windows 7 ISO on google, but be careful with what you download and form where, also you are going to download the Windows drivers from the Bootcamp program, try reading this manual to give yourself a better idea: http://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/1000/MA1636/en_US/boot_camp_install-setup_ 10.8.pdf

Similar Messages

  • Can you partition an external hard drive to run both mac and windows files

    I have an external hard drive fomated for windows NTFS. I am unable to Write mac files to this drive. I need to be able to share the files
    between both platforms. Any suggestions? Thanks

    Format it as MS-DOS from a Mac or exFAT from a PC, or install Mac OS X software which allows it to write to NTFS drives, or hook it up to a PC and make it available as a network share.
    (78564)

  • Can I use an external hard drive to install Windows 7 on a macbook

    Hi!
    I currently have a 13" retina macbook pro and want to install windows 7 home premium to use on bootcamp. The problem is that my computer does not have a disk drive. So can I use a desktop to put in the windows disk and download it to an external HDD, then install it on my macbook with the external HDD? Or do I have to use a USB. Also, does anyone know of a place I can just download Windows 7 Home premium 64bit?
    Thanks

    Hi! If your macbook doesn't have a cd drive you need to have Windows 7 but an ISO image, you can't just copy the contents of the copy into a USB and expect it to work. There are many tutorials on internet on how to obtain an ISO image from an installation disc, for example: http://pcsupport.about.com/od/software-tools/a/create-iso-image-file.htm As for "just download Windows 7" (i suppose you mean free download) this is not the right place to ask, believe me. Try searching Windows 7 ISO on google, but be careful with what you download and form where, also you are going to download the Windows drivers from the Bootcamp program, try reading this manual to give yourself a better idea: http://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/1000/MA1636/en_US/boot_camp_install-setup_ 10.8.pdf

  • How can I partition my external hard drive supporting mac OS in one partition and windows OS in another?

    Hello everyone, how can I partition my external hard drive supporting mac OS in one partition and windows OS in another?

    OK. Start with:
    1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
    2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
    3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to two (2). Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
    4. Click on the Erase tab in DU's main window. Select one of the two partitions, preferably the first one, change the Format type: to MSDOS then click on the Erase button.

  • Can i use my ext hard drive USB 2 on the the new macbook pro laptops with a USB3

    can i use my ext hard drive USB 2 on the the new macbook pro laptops with a USB3

    stephan ach wrote:
    but i read that there are lots of problems with the new macbook pro. i  have all my data on ext. la cie hard drive. i wont have a problem reading them?
    What problems specifically? If you have a problem you should start your own thread and explain the problem in detail.
    External USB devices including hard drives and DVD work fine on the new Macbook Pros.

  • My Western Digital external hard drive suddenly stopped showing up on my Macbook Pro and disappeared from Disk Utility. It works on a PC.

    My Western Digital external hard drive suddenly stopped showing up on my macbook pro and it disappeared from disk utility. I have tried making invisible files visible but nothing has worked and my hard drive shows up on a PC but not my Mac anymore.

    What is the manufacturer of the external and how old is it? Does it have its own AC power supply or is it USB bus powered?

  • How can I partition an external hard drive with data in it? When I select the drive, the partition option is grayed out.

    I am having a problem partitioning an external hard drive with data in it. 
    When I select the partition, everything is grayed out.  I can't add a a partition for some reason.  When I asked this question to other people, they told me to select my partition "io" to do it from there.
    As you can see, I can't seem to partition it form there either.  I ran the Verify Disk utility but the volume came out okay.
    Any ideas as to what the problem would be?
    Thanks!
    Luis

    Select the main hard drive entry (topmost one.) Click on the Partition tab. Shrink the existing partition by grabbing the sizing gadget in the bottom right corner and pushing up until you free up enough space for your second partition. Be sure you do not shrink to less than the space currently occupied by your files. Click on the Add[+] button to create a new partition in the free space. Click on the Apply button and wait until the partitioning is completed.

  • How can I partition my external hard drive into NTFC and Mac OS Extended Journaled?

    I brought a 1tb external hard drive from Western Digital. It currently have one partition which is Mac OS X (Journaled). I want to have two partition, one Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and one NTFC for Windows. When I try to choose 2 partition and choose a partition type, I only get the following choices:
    1. Mac OS X Extended (Journaled)
    2. Mac OS X Extended (Case-Sensitive, Journaled)
    3. MS-DOS (FAT)
    4. ExFAT
    5. Free Space
    I don't want to use MS-DOS (FAT) because I am limited to only 32gb of space and I need plenty of space for Windows files.

    Assuming that  entire drive is GUID and you keep the existing journaled partition.
    Make a second partition that is exFAT (more storage ability than FAT) using DU.
    Then mount the drive on a Windows 7 and reformat that exFAT as NTFS.  But remember that Mac can read and write exFAT natively, but cannot write NTFS without special software.  Perhaps exFAT is what you want.
    But more the the point: is the journaled partition used as a backup device?  If it is, I would leave that drive alone as a backup drive and use a second device for "data only" sharing between types.

  • Can I partition my external hard drive so that one partition is for Time Machine and the other is to install Windows with Boot Camp?

    I have a Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex 1TB USB 3.0 external hard drive that I currently use just for Time Machine backups.  Is it possible for me to go into Disk Utility and create a new partition on the drive so that I may install Windows 7 via Boot Camp? Or since I am already using it for Time Machine do I have to keep it only for Time Machine?

    You must install Boot Camp in your internal drive because Windows can't be installed in an external disk and Boot Camp can't do that

  • I currently have a MAC Mini, which has 1 Firewire 800 port.  I have a 1TB external hard disk that runs at Firewire 400.  Can I insert another external hard drive that runs at Firewire 800?

    Here's the deal.  Currently running SL 10.6.8 on a MAC Mini.  Planning for eventual upgrade to ML.  Have a 1TB external hard drive partitioned into two volumes, one volume for Time Machine and one volume for SL which I periodically update using Superduper.  Thus I always have a point-in-time bootable backup on the external hard drive.
    The MAC Mini supports Firewire 800.  However, booting from my current external hard disk is pretty slow, since it only supports Firewire 400.  I am considering buying an Iomega MiniMax which supports Firewire 800.  Then, I would use the MiniMax as my bootable backup volume, and relegate the older hard drive to Time Machine. 
    So, question #1 is, can I daisychain the new MiniMax between the MAC Mini and my existing external hard drive?  My expectation is that the new Mini Max would run using Firewire 800 and that the existing hard drive would run at Firewire 400 speed as it does today.  If it doesn't (e.g., daisychaining in the Firewire 400 external disk with the MiniMax Firewire 800 external disk ends up running the whole leg at 400), my resolution will be to run the existing hard disk off an available USB port and have just the MiniMax running at Firewire 800.
    Why am I going to all this trouble?  That's question #2.  I don't trust upgrades; they always break something.  When I upgraded from 10.5.x to 10.6.x, the web directories got renamed, and all of my web apps 403'd until I figured out what happened.  Plus, I have accounts for other family members, and in order to ensure their ability to use the computer during my upgrade process, I need to have the ability to fall-back quickly to a known-stable version of OSX.  So what I'm trying to do is insulate myself from problems by partitioning the MiniMax into two volumes, taking a Superduper image of my current installation on the Mac Mini to MiniMax external drive volume 1, then upgrading to ML on the MAC Mini, and take a SuperDuper image of that to MiniMax external drive volume 2.  Then, if the upgrade results in problems I can't resolve immediately, I can simply reimage the MAC Mini from MiniMax volume 1.  BUT ...
    ... I've read that the ML installation creates a "service and support" partition that is different than the startup disk.  I'm concerned that I won't be able to reimage the hard disk in the MAC Mini once I upgrade it to ML because of the partitioning changes it introduces on the startup disk.  Theoretically, I +should+ be able to use the disk utility on my SL system to repartition the disk in the MAC Mini prior to reimaging it from my backup, but I'm considering the possibility that the new partition may be of a type that the SL disk utility cannot identify, and might therefore be unable to delete or even detect.  So I'm hoping someone else has been down this road and can advise me.  Even at Firewire 800 speeds, booting from an external disk is still going to be slow, so I want to be able to restore my SL image to the MAC Mini hard disk.
    A little background on me.  I work for a major disaster recovery provider.  I used to have a Mac PRO G5, which I got used, and the first thing I did with it was install a second hard disk, SuperDupe an image from the first disk to the second, and made sure I could boot from the second.  THEN I started using and customizing the MAC.  I really feel vulnerable with the MAC Mini, since it only has the single internal hard drive - sort of like going out in public dressed only in a long T-shirt.  So my whole thing is, I ABSOLUTELY MUST BE ABLE TO PUT THINGS BACK THE WAY THEY WERE before I do the migration to ML.
    Obsessive-cumpulsive?  Yep.  Anal?  You got it.  That's why I'm in the DR business.

    You may have overloaded the port, following the instructions below it should reset:
    +1. Shut down the computer.+
    +2. Disconnect all devices and all other cables, except the keyboard and mouse cable(s).+
    +3. Disconnect the computer from the power outlet and wait for 3 to 5 minutes.+
    +4. Plug the computer back in and turn it on.+
    +5. Reconnect the device(s) (one at a time if there is more than one) and test. Test with each port if you have more than one.+
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1317?viewlocale=en_US

  • What size external hard drive do i need to backup my macbook pro?

    I know I need to backup my computer, especially since I have been experiencing some problems with it and will need to take it into a store to get looked at, but I do not know what size external hard drive I need to back my computer on.

    Drives are so low in cost today, go for something that will meet your needs for a while...if you are going to use Time Machine, get a drive large enough that you can have a partition double the size of the internal drive for TM backups, and a partition you can use for more storage and work space.
    A decent drive like the Mercury Elite Pro 2 TB drive OWC sells goes for less than $200 (US) now.  Has a fast interface and is easy to setup.

  • My external hard drive won't show up on my MacBook Pro

    So, I'm trying to transfer my music from my PC to my MacBook Pro. I put all my music on an external hard drive, but for some reason when I plug it into my MacBook it won't show up on the desk top. I've already changed my preferences in Finder so that hard drives and disks will show on the desktop, but still nothing. I looked in utilities to see if the hard drive was there, and still nothing. The hard drive is a Toshiba and is fairly new, the light goes on when I plug it into my laptop, so I'm very confused. Can anyone help me with my predicament?

    Check that the data cable is securely inserted at both ends.
    Try a different cable.
    If you're connecting the drive through a hub, connect it directly to a built-in port on the Mac.
    If you're connecting it directly, try a different port.
    Disconnect all other devices on the bus, or as many as possible.
    Test the drive with another Mac. Test another drive with this Mac.
    If the drive is bus-powered, but has an AC adapter, connect the adapter.
    Boot into Recovery and launch Disk Utility. Is the drive recognized?
    If the drive doesn't work under any of the above conditions, and if another drive does work with the same Mac, then the drive has failed. You may be able to salvage the mechanism by removing it from the enclosure and installing it in another one, or in a drive dock.

  • External hard drive will not power up on my macbook pro

    I have a 120GB external hard drive that uses a USB port and it use to power up and work but now it just makes a clicking noise and nothing is recognized. the hard drive works on every other computer even pc's. the light on the hard drive is on but does not power up. Can someone help? thanks

    hello. thanks for the help. It did come with a usb cable that had two plugs on one end. I never used both because the cord was not long enough to attach to both. I didnt have this problem at first. It would start right up but now it will not start at all. It does have an option for external power supply. Do you think I messed up the usb ports in the computer? thanks again for your help.

  • How do I keep photos and videos on an external hard drive  and run the application on the macbook

    I am running out of space on my Macbook and would like to move all my photos and videos to an external hard drive to free up disk space. How do I designate those drives as the destination drive when running the application (iPhoto, iMovie) on the Macbook.

    Moving your iTunes Music folder   http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1449
    Moving your iPhoto library    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1229
    Moving iMovie footage to another drive    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1026

  • External hard drive to run windows?

    I have recently gotten a macbook pro and, as a student, I will occasionally need to run windows applications such as office etc.. I have considered buying an external USB HD to do this with.
    Questions:
    1. Will an external hard drive work to run windows and associated apps without putting any microsoft products on my Mac? If so, what size will I need?
    2. Is there a better way to accomplish this?
    Message was edited by: biggjohn

    Will an external hard drive work to run windows and associated apps without putting any microsoft products on my Mac?
    Basically, no.
    Is there a better way to accomplish this?
    Check for Mac versions of those applications. If there aren't any, try CrossOver Mac or WineBottler.
    (57567)

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