is it possible...? (boot camp related question)

[itou]

i have a mac pro.

is it possible to install Windows 7 using bootcamp on a separate hard drive than the one I'm using for OSX?

[maven8]

Yes, absolutely.

[itou]

Yes, absolutely.

and how?
do i still use boot camp utility? i've read the support pages on it, just mentions partitioning. i don't want to partition. i want windows on a whole separate drive.

[Guiyon]

No need to use the utility. You should just be able to boot off the W7 DVD and format the drive within the Windows installer; you aren't doing anything fancy with multiple partitions so it should just work. Just make sure you don't blow away the wrong drive!

[iHateMacs]

Just remember to hold down the Option(Alt) key when you boot and it will show you your Win7 install DVD next to your OSX Drive. Choose that and off you go.

[itou]

No need to use the utility. You should just be able to boot off the W7 DVD and format the drive within the Windows installer; you aren't doing anything fancy with multiple partitions so it should just work. Just make sure you don't blow away the wrong drive!

my apologies. i'm a novice.
so you mean, i don't need to use boot camp utility?
just install a blank drive, pop the Windows 7 DVD in, boot into the disk, choose the empty drive to install, and from then on, press and hold OPTION to choose Windows 7 or OSX?

All my drivers will be installed? Don't i need to use the boot camp to get my drivers installed?

[Guiyon]

my apologies. i'm a novice.
so you mean, i don't need to use boot camp utility?
just install a blank drive, pop the Windows 7 DVD in, boot into the disk, choose the empty drive to install, and from then on, press and hold OPTION to choose Windows 7 or OSX?

Yep, that's about it.

All my drivers will be installed? Don't i need to use the boot camp to get my drivers installed?

No and no. The Boot Camp utility you run in Mac OS X is simply there to assist with partitioning a drive; It doesn't do drivers at all. If you want to install the Boot Camp drivers you will need to complete the installation, boot into Windows, insert the Snow Leopard/Leopard CD and run the install located on the top-level of the disc.

[DualShock]

Personally I'd use the Boot Camp Assistant. If you have multiple hard drives in the system, it will prompt you to choose which drive to use. See page 9 of this (http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/boot_camp_install-setup.pdf) PDF for a screenshot. (Note: That PDF is for Leopard, but the newer one on Apple's site for Snow Leopard does not have the screenshot.)

The reason I say that is because the Boot Camp Assistant will label the appropriate partition on the drive you selected as "BOOTCAMP" so that you're less likely to make a mistake installing Windows during the first part of setup. It's not always easy to tell which is the correct drive, especially if you're installing XP because the first part of setup is all text based.

[EricTheRed71]

I've always found it easier to remove the OSX disk whilst installing Windows to avoid any confusion. This also ensures that Windows is installed on the standard "C" disk rather than D or E which can happen if the installer detects your OSX disk.

[itou]

pull out the drive?
you mean just leave an empty hdd inside, hold down OPTION until i see the Windows 7 boot disk and install onto the empty hdd?? that works?

[EricTheRed71]

pull out the drive?
you mean just leave an empty hdd inside, hold down OPTION until i see the Windows 7 boot disk and install onto the empty hdd?? that works?

Yes of course, why wouldn't it? It's pretty much a bog standard PC.

I have a couple of MacPros where I never put the OSX disk back in at all, but don't tell anyone!

[blinkfrog]

And I want to install Windows without using BootCamp into existing partition at primary hard drive consisting boot Mac OS X partition. Is it possible? I don't want to install Windows and discover that boot record or overall mac partition is damaged somehow...

[EricTheRed71]

And I want to install Windows without using BootCamp into existing partition at primary hard drive consisting boot Mac OS X partition. Is it possible? I don't want to install Windows and discover that boot record or overall mac partition is damaged somehow...

I've never done it but as far as I know it's not possible. You need BootCamp (or maybe some other utility?) to split the existing OSX partition & then create the new part with a different file system.

[itou]

I've never done it but as far as I know it's not possible. You need BootCamp (or maybe some other utility?) to split the existing OSX partition & then create the new part with a different file system.

but using another empty hdd is OK?

[EricTheRed71]

but using another empty hdd is OK?

Yes because the Windows installer will format the empty disk the way it needs it. The Windows installer can't partition & partially format your OSX disk without trashing your OSX installation so you need to use Bootcamp for that.

2 separate disks is by far the best solution.

[tomllama]

I've done it both ways (partition and completely separate disk). I used boot camp for both and it was very easy as long as you follow the directions exactly.

[itou]

I've done it both ways (partition and completely separate disk). I used boot camp for both and it was very easy as long as you follow the directions exactly.

OK. I'm taking the plunge today.
I'll let you all know how it goes. As far as documentation is concerned, they've really narrowed it down to only partitioning and using boot camp. Not much is mentioned about Mac Pro's, especially their ability to have more than 1 hdd with a separate hdd JUST for windows.

I'll see how it goes and document it for anyone who needs it later. Never thought I'd do this, but I'm paying Microsoft after 16 years of trying to stay the hell away from anything they make.

[itou]

hit my first speed bump.
after reading reviews and considering the pros and cons of using boot camp or not, i've decided to waste a couple gb's of space and use bootcamp. i've got 2 hdds. one is a 2TB drive and another, the stock 320GB drive. the 2TB drive is the main drive with OSX installed, the 320GB will be used for boot camp.

after running the boot camp utility, and choosing to partition the 2nd drive, everything seemed OK, Windows 7 installer came up, and all was good to go. when the screen came to selecting a drive, NONE of the drives could be installed. Windows said it must be installed on NTFS drives. i thought the boot camp partitioning was supposed to take care of this?

so i boot back into OSX, and now i've got a new disk mounted on the desktop named "BOOTCAMP". it's FAT formatted under Disk Utility so i'm not sure why it's not working... any ideas?

[Guiyon]

Simple: FAT32 is not NTFS. You need to reformat the drive as NTFS from within the Windows 7 installer. It's one of the buttons below the area where you select the drive (don't remember it off the top of my head).

[itou]

that's odd. i don't remember seeing the FORMAT button.
wouldn't it be redundant to have to format it again seeing that formatting to NTFS was what boot camp was supposed to do?

i found this in the boot camp manual:

"Note: If your computer has more than one internal disk and you want to install Boot Camp on a disk that isn’t in the first hard drive bay, remove the drives in the lower numbered bays. You can reinstall the drives after you install Boot Camp."

i've only got 2 drives!! is my only option installing windows on the drive with OSX?? i'd hate that!

[Guiyon]

that's odd. i don't remember seeing the FORMAT button.
wouldn't it be redundant to have to format it again seeing that formatting to NTFS was what boot camp was supposed to do?

Bootcamp doesn't do that. The only thing that can format NTFS reliably is Windows. Bootcamp's partitioning creates the new partition and handles the changes required to keep the GUID partition tables and the MBR partition tables in sync and tries to prevent you from destroying the bootloader. The utility is one gigantic NOP unless you are installing onto a GUID partitioned drive which one or more pre-existing partitions.

Edit:
To format the drive:

Click "Drive options (advanced)"
Click on your drive
If your drive has NO partitions on it click "New"
If you drive has one or more partitions on it, click on the partition you want to format and select "Format"


I can't stress enough, make sure you select the correct drive. If you do not your files will most likely not be recoverable (depending on how much of the install process completes)

[itou]

Bootcamp doesn't do that. The only thing that can format NTFS reliably is Windows. Bootcamp's partitioning creates the new partition and handles the changes required to keep the GUID partition tables and the MBR partition tables in sync and tries to prevent you from destroying the bootloader. The utility is one gigantic NOP unless you are installing onto a GUID partitioned drive which one or more pre-existing partitions.

Edit:
To format the drive:

Click "Drive options (advanced)"
Click on your drive
If your drive has NO partitions on it click "New"
If you drive has one or more partitions on it, click on the partition you want to format and select "Format"


I can't stress enough, make sure you select the correct drive. If you do not your files will most likely not be recoverable (depending on how much of the install process completes)

Hi Guiyon, thanks.
just to clarify, this 4 step process is in Windows right? when i am at the "select a drive" screen?

thanks!

[Guiyon]

Hi Guiyon, thanks.
just to clarify, this 4 step process is in Windows right? when i am at the "select a drive" screen?

thanks!

Yep. Another option you can do is instead of hitting 'New' or 'Format', just delete all the partition off the disk you want to use and Windows *should* notice that the entire drive is free space and create the standard layout for you.

[itou]

OK. i'll only have 2 drives, one with 2TB and the other with just 320GB. i should be able to tell which is which ;)

would i still be able to run the bootcamp drivers on the windows 7 side? would i still benefit from the apple drivers? i've heard that bootcamp is the only way i can have those drivers.

[itou]

OK. windows 7 is installed!
it seems to be all good and working. with the exception of one thing:

i have 2 partitions (90%/10%), one that is labelled "bootcamp" and one "windows" (which i named for that drive). is there any way i can delete that 10% partition to maximize the "bootcamp" partition?

or this is asking for trouble?

[MacRumorUser]

and how?
do i still use boot camp utility? i've read the support pages on it, just mentions partitioning. i don't want to partition. i want windows on a whole separate drive.

On a Mac pro Bootcamp utility also gives you the option of selecting the entire drive.