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Limited HD space, but want to game on windows...

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NJPitcher

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 26, 2006
145
1
So I have 22gb left on my MBP (I only have a 100gb HD), and I have vista ultimate, and I want to install it so i can play games (well, I'm only interested in one game right now, B&W 2, but anyways). I don't think I'll have enough room on my HD if I partition a 15g space - I'd feel too cramped.

Oo, actually, I just thought of this - since I can access my windows partition while running osx, could I put all of my itunes/iphoto on the windows partition, and still have them accessible for itunes/iphoto? They're what takes up the most space.

Anyways, if I can't do that, can I boot windows from an external hd and have it be fast enough to play games?
 
TuffLuffJimmy

TuffLuffJimmy

macrumors G3
Apr 6, 2007
9,022
136
Portland, OR
No to all of your questions.
and No to one of your statements. You can look at your windows partition in OS X, and you can copy from it, but you can't write to it, so you couldn't put your iTunes/iPhoto Library on it.
 
N

NJPitcher

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 26, 2006
145
1
Wow, fast response. So I guess my only real option is to get an external and operate itunes/iphoto off of that to free up space on my computer. Ugh.
 
TuffLuffJimmy

TuffLuffJimmy

macrumors G3
Apr 6, 2007
9,022
136
Portland, OR
NJPitcher said:
Wow, fast response. So I guess my only real option is to get an external and operate itunes/iphoto off of that to free up space on my computer. Ugh.
Click to expand...

Or get a bigger hard disk. 320GB should be plenty. Has anyone come out with the 500GB that fits in the Macbook/Macbook Pro yet?
 
N

NJPitcher

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 26, 2006
145
1
I didn't know I could upgrade my internal hd - I thought only the macbooks could do it?
 
iShater

iShater

macrumors 604
Aug 13, 2002
7,026
470
Chicagoland
I use a mini-external drive to store my iTunes library since I ran low on disk space on my powerbook. I don't sync my iPod that often, so it has worked great for me. When I am at home, I connect the external to update podcasts, rip new CDs or buy new music. It is not that bad actually. Much easier and cheaper than upgrading the internal.

Have you considered archiving old files that you don't use to make more room?
 
N

NJPitcher

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 26, 2006
145
1
What about heat issues? Also, my friends and I bought a family pack for our leopard upgrades to save money, and I have no idea where the disc is - I guess that means I wouldn't have leopard then, right? I can't somehow transfer it to my new hd I'd assume. I have my tiger discs, but don't know if I'd want to go back...
 
F

frazz

macrumors newbie
Jun 23, 2008
11
0
tuffluffjimmy said:
No to all of your questions.
and No to one of your statements. You can look at your windows partition in OS X, and you can copy from it, but you can't write to it, so you couldn't put your iTunes/iPhoto Library on it.
Click to expand...

I can write onto my Windows partition, it's no big deal. Try googling "write NTFS boot camp" or something.
I forgot exactly which program I used, but I can just treat the partition like another hard driver, reading and writing from the Mac side.

Maybe it was NTFS-3G or MacFUSE, those seem to be popular google results.
 
N

NJPitcher

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 26, 2006
145
1
Frazz-

Do you have to run the terminal scripts everytime you start up your mac, or once it's done is it permanently read/write? the macfuse/ntfs-3g route requires those terminal commands which could get annoying, but I guess I could just use automater to make my life easier?
 
JNB

JNB

macrumors 604
Oct 7, 2004
6,872
9
In a Hell predominately of my own making
tuffluffjimmy said:
you totally can. some people will tell you it voids your warranty but it definitely doesn't. Just search around for a good tutorial on how to do it.
Click to expand...

The MBP HDD is not considered user-servicable by Apple, so while the OP can successfully replace their own drive and not void the warranty (the no harm-no foul concept), if they break it in the process (or if the new drive was determined to cause a failure), then the warranty is kaput.
 
N

NJPitcher

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 26, 2006
145
1
Yea, don't think I'm going the new internal HD because without the leopard install disc, I'm stuck with Tiger. I think I'm just going to try and free up space (I've already gotten up to 30 free, so I've gained 10gb) and go from there.
 
thejadedmonkey

thejadedmonkey

macrumors G3
May 28, 2005
9,182
3,338
Pennsylvania
You could also give Vista 10 gigs of space, and install B&W2 on the external drive. Personally I feel that 100gigs is too small in general (as is my 120gig drive!) and would opt to upgrade my internal if I have the funds, but I'm the type of person to rip into things and worry about putting it back together later...
 
TuffLuffJimmy

TuffLuffJimmy

macrumors G3
Apr 6, 2007
9,022
136
Portland, OR
NJPitcher said:
Yea, don't think I'm going the new internal HD because without the leopard install disc, I'm stuck with Tiger. I think I'm just going to try and free up space (I've already gotten up to 30 free, so I've gained 10gb) and go from there.
Click to expand...

you could connect your new drive to your computer, use carbon copy cloner to copy your entire hard disk contents to the new one. After that you put your new hard drive in your computer and start up your computer, no need to reinstall.
 
F

frazz

macrumors newbie
Jun 23, 2008
11
0
NJPitcher said:
Frazz-

Do you have to run the terminal scripts everytime you start up your mac, or once it's done is it permanently read/write? the macfuse/ntfs-3g route requires those terminal commands which could get annoying, but I guess I could just use automater to make my life easier?
Click to expand...

Nope. I haven't had to do anything since I first set it up. In fact, I've repartitioned my hard drive and reinstalled Windows on multiple occasions without having to redo it.
 
M

m1ss1ontomars

macrumors 6502
Oct 1, 2006
273
2
tuffluffjimmy said:
Or get a bigger hard disk. 320GB should be plenty. Has anyone come out with the 500GB that fits in the Macbook/Macbook Pro yet?
Click to expand...

Samsung, Fujitsu, Hitachi, Seagate, and possibly WD have all come out with them already, I think.

I was too lazy to do any detailed searching.

EDIT: Also, MacFUSE with NTFS-3g is necessary for NTFS writing on Mac OS X, unless you wanna pay for Paragon NTFS. MacFUSE allows you to make semi-virtual file systems. NTFS-3g allows MacFUSE to allow you to read and write NTFS drives.
 
M

minicoop503

macrumors regular
Feb 11, 2008
137
0
Just put the games on a external drive. It might take a little bit longer to load the game, but once it is, its all stored in ram so you won't lose any fps.
 
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