I have been reading about a lot of issues with Bootcamp installation under Yosemite. I am curious, is anyone here having issues?
I have been reading about a lot of issues with Bootcamp installation under Yosemite. I am curious, is anyone here having issues?
If the Mac has a thunderbolt port, the ideal solution is to have windows on an external disk, without bootcamp.
Unless you're trying to run two operating systems with a 128 GB SSD, how is this ideal?
I'm talking about not messing with OS X installation at all, in order to install windows.
I know what you meant. I'm asking why you think this is an "ideal" setup?
What you're suggesting is a waste of time (attempting to install Windows on n external device is difficult and Apple's half-baked EFI implementation causes problems in the aftermath) and money (Thunderbolt peripherals are stupid expensive).
I know what you meant. I'm asking why you think this is an "ideal" setup?
What you're suggesting is a waste of time (attempting to install Windows on n external device is difficult and Apple's half-baked EFI implementation causes problems in the aftermath) and money (Thunderbolt peripherals are stupid expensive).
No, not difficult at all, there are guides that take user by the hand and you are all set in a few steps. Like this one.
This allows you to save your valuable internal space (especially on later Macs that come with a small SSD), especially if you install windows for gaming. EFI is not an issue whatsoever as long as your external drive is bootable; it will always boot when you press ALT during boot, without messing with your internal OSX-only installation.
You can also move it without any work from your side on another Mac later, if you change machines. Just plug the external drive on your new mac and boot from it. Your windows installation, games and everything will be there ready to play. It's like having a portable gaming PC (well, one that needs a Mac to be plugged in).
I'm using this configuration for some months now (I'm actually using a small external disk where windows are installed and a bigger external one where I install the games). Using bootcamp and splitting my valuable internal SSD drive in order to play windows games natively, now seems a terrible idea thanks to thunderbolt (mind that this can be done also using USB3 drives, with a small hit in speed).
This cannot be done, though, with slower ports (e.g. USB2 or Firewire) as these cannot "fool" windows to "think" that they are internal drives (windows hate to boot from external drives normally).
Wouldn't booting Bootcamp from different Macs cause some conflicts with drivers? I'm surprised that it works!
Yes, this is correct, but it's a process that you'll need to do this, bootcamp or not. I'll explain.
With bootcamp running on the internal divided disk , changing Macs means that you'll have to do the following on your new Mac:
1. Re-run bootcamp assistant
2. Split your internal drive again (which for most recent Macs having a small internal ssd this is a problem on its own)
3. Re-install windows
4. Boot windows and re-run your bootcamp drivers, suitable for the new h/w
Having windows independently installed on an external TB drive, would only require step 4.