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Do NOT order 3TB iMac for Bootcamp. Does not work!

hybroid

hybroid

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 12, 2010
180
433
Slightly worrying: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4441

Best stick to 1TB if you want to run Windows in Bootcamp.

You can get the Fusion drive but the SSD will only be for OSX. Does not work on Windows.

iMac (27-inch, Late 2012) computers do not support installing Windows on the 3TB hard drive at this time.
Click to expand...
 
F

Fifemacuser

macrumors member
Mar 16, 2012
55
0
Just when I think I know what to order I see this!

Really would prefer the 3 tb fusion but was going to go with 1 tb because of the bootcamp issue. If this works then I will be getting the 3 tb.:):)
 
R

RichiMac

macrumors regular
Dec 14, 2012
203
31
SoCal
Well that sucks. Why don't they tell you that when you order?? I don't plan using bootcamp, so anyone know if it affects Parallels8? Also I am getting the fusion drive with 3 tb. Anyone know for sure whether that is affected?
 
MatthewAMEL

MatthewAMEL

macrumors 6502
Oct 23, 2007
380
13
Orlando, FL
RichiMac said:
Well that sucks. Why don't they tell you that when you order?? I don't plan using bootcamp, so anyone know if it affects Parallels8? Also I am getting the fusion drive with 3 tb. Anyone know for sure whether that is affected?
Click to expand...

Because it's a problem that

  • has nothing to do with OS X
  • has nothing to do with Boot Camp
  • has been a problem for years

It's on the Apple website and more importantly, has been discussed on this forum (and others) since the introduction of 3TB drives (October 2010).

ANY drive larger than 2.2TB will be affected.
 
T

tyche

macrumors 6502
Jul 30, 2010
413
65
Running VMware or Parallels is fine. They use the osx file system to store the VM which doesn't care how big your disk is or where it's located.
 
R

RichiMac

macrumors regular
Dec 14, 2012
203
31
SoCal
RichiMac said:
Well that sucks. Why don't they tell you that when you order?? I don't plan using bootcamp, so anyone know if it affects Parallels8? Also I am getting the fusion drive with 3 tb. Anyone know for sure whether that is affected?
Click to expand...

I went back and checked the Apple iMac upgrade page. In very faint grayed out lettering there is a small disclaimer saying the bootcamp is not supported on 3 tb drives yet. And you have to bring down the menu that talks about the different hds to even see that. If you order off the list you may miss it. Yet, in the hype about running windows it clearly mentions bootcamp will let you run windows natively. This is my first iMac in several years. Luckily I don't really care about bootcamp, but it is poor practice to bury that disclaimer from new customers. You shouldn't have to check forums to see if the manufacturer is being forth-write about a listed feature.
 
D

Darby67

macrumors 6502
Jul 5, 2011
395
3
the corner of Fire and Brimstone
RichiMac said:
Well that sucks. Why don't they tell you that when you order?? I don't plan using bootcamp, so anyone know if it affects Parallels8? Also I am getting the fusion drive with 3 tb. Anyone know for sure whether that is affected?
Click to expand...

The following statement when ordering isn't enough?
Storage
Configure your iMac with a large Serial ATA hard drive. Or choose flash storage for greater performance. Or get the best of both worlds and select Fusion Drive.
About Serial ATA Hard Drives

Serial ATA hard drives offer high capacity to store your apps, files, and digital media. Which hard drive capacity is right for you?

Select the 1TB capacity if you're storing text documents, email, and a regular-size photo, music, and video library.
Select the 3TB capacity to give yourself more room to expand your media collections and store even more documents.
Note: Boot Camp is not supported on the 3TB hard drive at this time.

​
 
F

fossen

macrumors member
Jun 14, 2010
54
0
RichiMac said:
Well that sucks. Why don't they tell you that when you order?? I don't plan using bootcamp, so anyone know if it affects Parallels8? Also I am getting the fusion drive with 3 tb. Anyone know for sure whether that is affected?
Click to expand...

They do tell you when you order.
 

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nikster0029

nikster0029

macrumors 6502a
Jul 21, 2010
693
450
WHAT DO I DO?

i ordered a 3tb and I planned to use windows.

Should I return it to a store and buy again?
 
W

Westacular

macrumors regular
Oct 9, 2007
120
4
MatthewAMEL said:
Windows 8 support and GPT support have nothing to do with each other.

Boot Camp will be updated with drivers for Win8, it will never be re-written to support GPT.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say never:

Apple's support article say "iMac (27-inch, Late 2012) computers do not support installing Windows on the 3TB hard drive at this time." (emphasis added)

Sounds like they're trying to send the message that this lack of support isn't a forever thing.

In order to support 3TB hard drives with Boot Camp, you need to use a version of Windows that supports GPT -- that means a 64-bit version, running in EFI mode. The EFI mode is what's lacking.

People have been trying to hack together ways to get that, but they run into problems due to a combination of bugs/limitations both in Apple's EFI implementations and the EFI-mode boot code in Windows.

If Apple makes an EFI update that's Windows-friendly, it should be relatively straightforward for them to support GPT with Boot Camp. And if I had to guess, I'd say the likeliest time to release such an update would be to bundle it with the Boot Camp update for Windows 8 support (although you're right, they don't actually have anything to do with each other).

Realistically, this is bound to happen sooner or later -- storage isn't getting any smaller and Windows is slowly moving towards EFI/GPT being standard, so if Apple wants to keep Boot Camp as a viable feature, it needs to support Windows in EFI mode with GPT partitions.
 
hfg

hfg

macrumors 68040
Dec 1, 2006
3,621
312
Cedar Rapids, IA. USA
You might find this helpful ... not the most elegant solution but it works....

Installing Windows via Boot Camp on a large (2.2 TB or larger ) Drive in Lion (10.7) and later

http://www.twocanoes.com/support/wi...tb-or-larger-)-drive-in-lion-(10.7)-and-later



===================

Furthermore:
For those of you with 3TB Fusion systems, I think you can break and re-build the Fusion drive to use the first partition of the hard disk as created in the link above. Follow the instructions widely available on various threads here and use "DrivePartitionID" for the hard disk where the partition-# is that of the first HFS+ created on the hard drive. The middle partition will be your Windows, and the top partition can be used for data or however you wish as it will not be a part of your Fusion drive.

Good luck...
 
Last edited:
MatthewAMEL

MatthewAMEL

macrumors 6502
Oct 23, 2007
380
13
Orlando, FL
Westacular said:
I wouldn't say never:

<snip>
Sounds like they're trying to send the message that this lack of support isn't a forever thing.

<snip> so if Apple wants to keep Boot Camp as a viable feature
Click to expand...

I really want you to be right.

However, I doubt Apple's commitment to Boot Camp. 3TB drives have been around since 2010. All 64-bit versions of Windows (except Win Server 2003) support booting from GPT. They have had 2+ years to develop a fix. At the very least, the configuration for the current model iMac has been set for 3-6 months. They couldn't get a Boot Camp update ready for release?

Apple used Boot Camp as bait during the PowerPC/Intel switch. Now they have far less motivation for providing their competitors operating system to run on their hardware.

Virtualization has improved dramatically. Excepting games, of course, VMWare and Parallels provide a good experience using Windows.

Finally, Apple realizes how small the user base is for Boot Camp. 17 million Macs sold in 2011. How many of those use Boot Camp? I would be shocked if it's 10%.
 
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