Can I partition my Mac hard drive to run two different Mac OS?

I signed up for beta testing for Apple's new OS, OS X Yosemite and I'm currently running OS X Mavericks. I know with every new OS on any device it needs to be beta tested to fix any bugs and I use my MacBook for quite a lot. Is it possible to partition my hard drive like you do when running Windows, and run OS X Mavericks AND OS X Yosemite? The reason I'm asking is because I don't want to be stuck with an OS that's going to prevent me from doing what I need to do.

Yes it is possible... here's a link with instructions on how to do it. Cheers.

Similar Messages

  • 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

  • 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)

  • 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.

  • 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

  • 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.

  • HT201250 Can I partition my external hard drive and use one partion for time machine and the other one for data that i may want to use in different computers?

    I have this doubt. I've just bought an external drive, especifically a Seagate GoFlex Desk 3 tb.
    I want to know if it is recomendable to make a partion exclusively for time machine and let another one so I can put there music, photos, videos, etc that I should need to use or copy to another computer.
    May half and half, 1.5 tb for time machine and 1.5 tb for data.
    I have an internal hard drive of 500 GB (499.25 GB) in my macbook pro.
    Any recommendation?

    As I said, yes. Be sure your Time Machine partition has at least 1 TB for backups.
    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.

  • 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

  • Can I partition a 1tb hard drive and also run time machine on that hard drive

    I have a 1TB external hard drive which s currently running for Time machine only.
    I was hoping to be able to partition the EHD so that 500GB would be for the Time Machine side and the other 500GB would be used as an ecternal storage [ a friend of mine has just lent me a 250gb hard drive with a load of tv series which i want to be able to copy].
    Can anyone tell me if this is possible and if so how do i do it.
    I know that Time Machine is running now but I don't mind starting all over again.

    Yes it is possible, but it is generally not a good idea. That being said, if you decide to use the EHD for another purpose, partitioning it is the best solution. How big is your internal HD? It is recommended for a TM partition to be 2X as large as your internal drive, and it must be at least the size of your internal HD in order to be used.
    In order to partition:
    1) Connect the EHD
    2) Open Disk Utility and select the drive
    3) Click the "partition" tab and drag the original partition to its desired size.
    4) Click "Apply" to create the secondary partition.
    Resizing the TM partition will not erase it.

  • Can I partition an external hard drive?

    So like check it homes I b al liek hay nah man I ned 2 partition muh herddrove so eye can enstal windoze? Can dis b dun?

    Your spelling is so atrocious that I can’t figure out what you are asking.
    An external drive can be partition.
    Windows must be installed on an internal drive. That is a Microsoft requirement.
    Allan

  • Can I mount a Windows hard drive to run in Virtualbox?

    So my sister's girlfriend had a Dell laptop that had it's motherboard nuked from a power surge.  She got a new computer, but wants data that can only be exported from running programs (i.e. a library that integrated into a cabinet file).  I am running 10.7.2 and have used Virtualbox to test programs in a virtual XP machine running within OSX.  I wanted to know if it was possible to mount the hard drive from the dead computer and run a virtual machine using said drive.
    Basically, I want to set up a virtual machine within OSX that would use the Dell hard drive and mimic her old Dell.  The purpose is to export libraries by running programs within the installation.  Can anybody help with this?  Any help would be sincerely appreciated.

    madtube wrote:
    Basically, I want to set up a virtual machine within OSX that would use the Dell hard drive and mimic her old Dell.  The purpose is to export libraries by running programs within the installation.  Can anybody help with this?  Any help would be sincerely appreciated.
    This might work, but I suspect that you will have many more problems due to hardware drivers on the Dell HD.  The OS installed there will be looking for specific hardware, and almost guaranteed the Virtual Box emulated hardware won't be the same, and most likely it will be different enough to prevent the Dell Windows installation from booting.  Now, If you can use the Parallels Transporter, or the VMWare equivalent, I believe that they take care of stripping the hardware specific drivers when they create a virtual machine, but I don't know if Virtual Box has such a tool.

  • I would like to know if you have to back up a macbook hard drive, can I use a external hard drive that has been previously used to back up several pc 's, or is it best to have a separate external drive for the Mac?

    I would like to know if you have to back up a macbook hard drive, can I use a external hard drive that has been previously used to back up several pc 's, or is it best to have a separate external drive for the Mac?

    In the Mac side of things, backups usually come in two flavors: clones or incrementals.
    A bootable clone is a bit-for-bit copy of all essential files in the startup volume. If using the Lions, clones can be made using CarbonCopyCloner or just plain old Disk Utility. These backups represent the safest protection of your info, but take the longest to do. Recovery is an inverse process: you copy the clone back into the internal drive.
    Incremental backups start with a complete backup of the startup volume and only copy whatever changed from the previous run. OS X includes the fully integrated Time Machine backup utility to do this. It is extremely easy to do and takes the least amount of time. Recovery is another matter altogether since you have to start with a freshly installed instance of the OS and have to apply all intervening backups to bring the result to the latest saved version.
    As for where the backup takes place, the recommended media is an external dedicated drive or drives connected via the fastest interface available on your Mac: Thunderbolt, USB3, Firewire, or USB2. Network-based backups, wired or wireless, are attractive but may not offer the same performance and hence take longer. Also important to note that the entire drive need not be completely dedicated to a single backup. The Mac's EFI firmware infrastructure allows for an unlimited number of partitions on a hard drive and each can be used for either type of backups.
    Holler if you need specifics on how to do each. This was just an executive summary.

  • Partitioning an external hard drive for Mac and PC

    I want to partition an external hard drive (3TB) into 3 even partitions. I want to use one for PC storage, one for Mac storage and the last for Mac backup. Is this possible and how do I do it?

    Drive Partition and Format
    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 one. 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 Apply button and wait until the process has completed.
    4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
    5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Security button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
    6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
    7. Re-partition the drive to create the three partitions. The one you wish to use on a PC you should format MSDOS (FAT).
    When you connect the drive to your PC it should have no problem reading the partition set up for a PC. Now while on the PC you may wish to consider reformatting that partition using ExFAT (if supported on your PC.) This format is more compatible with both OS X and NTSF supporting long file names and other FAT filesystem irregularities.

  • Hi. My iMac hard drive is running Mavericks.  I have an old version of Quark Xpress (3.32) which won't run in Mavericks.  Can I partition my hard drive and run an older system on one partition, so I can access my Quark?  Is that possible?

    Hi. My iMac hard drive is running Mavericks.  I have an old version of Quark Xpress (3.32) which won't run in Mavericks.  Can I partition my hard drive and run an older system on one partition, so I can access my Quark?  Is that possible?

    Hi ancelau,
    QuarkXPress 3 is a Classic Mac OS application, so you need a version of OS X that still supports Classic. I believe 10.4 was the last one.
    So if you have an iMac that boots with 10.4, then yes that is possible. I doubt though that newer Macs boot with OS X 10.4.
    So why don't you upgrade QuarkXPress 3 to a newer version? I am not just asking that because I want you to spend money with us.
    Typically using software that was released almost 20 years ago is just feasible when you keep an environment that was current at the time of release or a few years after, so an older Mac with a operating system present at that time. 20 years in IT is a lot.
    So my opinion is that on a new Mac with a brand new operating system you need to use something a bit more current.
    How about QuarkXPress 9 (released 3 years ago) or QuarkXPress 10? You are better off with v9, as QuarkXPress 10 only opens v7 and higher (whereas QuarkXPress 9 opens v3.1 and higher).
    Or - I am even happy to make an exception - upgrade to 9 and we give you 10 for free? Let me know please.
    Thanks
    Matthias

Maybe you are looking for