Installing Win7 via BootCamp on new late 2012 iMac

Knuckleheadz said:

Hi guys,

First time I have setup dual boot on any Mac since I am finally doing away with my beige box and using my iMac for Windows as well as OS X.

Here is my intended setup:

Seagate GoFlex Thunderbolt Caddy + SSD

• Partition 1 = Macintosh HD
• Partition 2 = Audio Samples

Internal WD 1TB Drive

• Partition 1 = Projects (HFS) - 300GB
• Partition 2 = Data (HFS) - 500GB (ish)
• Partition 3 = Windows (FAT32) - 80GB

Can I install Windows on this last partition?

I tried to run BootCamp Assistant but it said something about the disk not being one single partition... I don't know which disk it is talking about since both were partitioned!

I thought I would just be able to specify the installation partition.

I have already created my USB boot image with my Win7 ISO + additional WindowsSupport files.... Can I just boot from it and point it at the Windows Partition, format it as NTFS and then let it install?

My only concern is that I have read somewhere about multiple partitions and the Mac's ability to identify the Windows one.... or maybe I just didn't quite understand!

Hoping you can help?

Thanks
Jon

Click to expand...

If you've already partitioned the drive, then you don't need to run "Bootcamp Assistant". That app is just there for people who don't want to screw up their drive when partitioning it. (Bootcamp Assistant does it nearly automatically).

Try rebooting and hold the option key. If just your OS X partition and the recovery partition show up, then OS X would be able to see your Windows partition.

If you don't want to take the risk of OS X not being able to see the Windows partition then just install rEFit (http://refit.sourceforge.net) which allows your Mac to "see" multiple Operating Systems (you also don't have to hold the option key to bring up the boot menu).

EDIT: Sigh, I wrote all that for nothing. I didn't see you had the Macintosh HD running in a ThunderBolt enclosure. Disregard this, I'm a idiot.



Basic Info:

When installing Windows on a Mac, Windows needs to be on one of the first 4 partitions.

This is because while Apple computers use GUID Partition Tables, the Boot Camp BIOS compatibility module still boots off of the Master Boot Record (MBR).

The MBR can only hold 4 partitions which (for most users) are:
    • 200MB EFI (FAT32) - 200MB
    • Mac OS X (HFS+)
    • Recovery HD (Apple_Boot) - 620MB
    • Boot Camp (FAT32 or NTFS)

---

How to get everything working:

Before you start make sure when creating the Windows partition to format it as FAT32, this lets Disk Utility know to write out a Hybrid MBR (you can re-format it as NTFS in the Windows installer). Also you can't have 2 partitions for Projects and Data because that's more than 4 partitions, Sorry.

    1. Backup Everything
    2. Delete Projects, Data and Windows Partitions
    3. Copy the Recovery HD partition to a ThumbDrive
    4. Delete the Recovery HD partition on your Computer (Scroll Down to "How do I Delete the Recovery Partition?")
    5. Create 2 New Partitions: "Windows" and "Projects & Data" (Ideally Windows should be first because as you get closer to the end of the drive its slower)

Try unplugging the ThunderBolt SSD enclosure.

>_< For whatever reason I thought you had OS X installed on the 1TB internal. After I noticed the mistake (9min after the post) I put a "Edit" at the top telling you to disregard my suggestion.

I never meant for you to erase the recovery partition on your SSD, I was telling you to delete it on the 1TB. I'm really sorry for the confusion and you having to reinstall OS X. The thing about 4 partitions (on the 1TB) still stands though, Windows won't boot otherwise.

Reinstalling OS X will get you the recovery partition back (although I've never tried installing OS X onto a ThunderBolt drive).


P.S. Again I'm really really sorry you have to re-install OS X, when I give advise I try not to make things worse.

That list looks good but keep in mind there is 1 hidden EFI partition. The EFI System partition is part of the GUID partition table (GPT) spec and Apple uses it as a staging area for Firmware updates, it should always be the first partition on a GPT disk.

You can check this by opening up a Terminal window and typing "diskutil list":

For some reason while I was typing my first reply I thought you had OS X on that 1TB drive, which as you can see would have added 2 extra partitions (a total of 6).

---

Since you deleted the Recovery Partition on your SSD (and not the 1TB) make sure to grow the Macintosh HD partition to take up the space the Recovery Partition was in:

You don't have to do this, but if you don't there will be 650MB of free space in-between Macintosh HD and Audio Samples.

---

One final thing, if you don't want to re-install OS X you really don't have to. That ThumbDrive you made has almost the same functionality as the Recovery Partition that was on your hard drive. The only thing you won't be able to do is use full disk encryption on the SSD (FileVault 2).

Awesome, Good Luck with everything.

That 4 partition limit also only apply's to Hybrid MBR (Boot Camp) and normal MBR drives. If the drive is a normal OS X (GPT) drive without Windows, you can have as many partitions you want on it.

Remember never use Windows partitioning tools on a drive that has been "Boot Camp'ed". If a drive does not have a Boot Camp install on it, then you can partition it wherever you want.