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lordofthereef

macrumors G5
Original poster
Nov 29, 2011
13,161
3,720
Boston, MA
I was contemplating where to put this. Forgive me if this is the wrong place (and please move it).

What I am wanting to do is install windows on a few partitions f an external hard drive and be able to boot from each one at will from my iMac. I know how to set this up from my pc, and while I could go that route, the iMac would be more convenient due to its location in the house. Yes, I know I will need multiple keys. This is not a problem, as I can essentially get unlimited keys for $100 a year through a program through MS. What I need to know is if it can be done, and if so, how. Any help is appreciated!

EDIT: Forgot to mention that I found this from Apple because it talks specifically about OSX, but then it mentions that it "effects windows" as well.
 
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lordofthereef

macrumors G5
Original poster
Nov 29, 2011
13,161
3,720
Boston, MA
So it seems I can easily boot from the hard drive... but there is nothing on it... yet. Any thoughts of where to go from there?
 

Fishrrman

macrumors Penryn
Feb 20, 2009
28,240
12,388
I can only answer from the perspective of being a non-windows user (on my Mac).

Yes, it _is_ possible to partition an external drive, and to have multiple boot partitions on it. But again, I speak only from having installed multiple OS X systems on such partitions.

Whether this can also be done with Windows, I can't say.

Perhaps your only way to find out, is to try it yourself….
 

lordofthereef

macrumors G5
Original poster
Nov 29, 2011
13,161
3,720
Boston, MA
I can only answer from the perspective of being a non-windows user (on my Mac).

Yes, it _is_ possible to partition an external drive, and to have multiple boot partitions on it. But again, I speak only from having installed multiple OS X systems on such partitions.

Whether this can also be done with Windows, I can't say.

Perhaps your only way to find out, is to try it yourself….

Thanks for the input. I am going to do this here in a while. I guess I didn't think of multiple OSX partitions. That would work just fine as well. What are my "rights" in terms of licenses? With OSX I have never used a key, but I don't imagine I can install 10 copies of OSX just like that, can I?
 

gnasher729

Suspended
Nov 25, 2005
17,980
5,565
Thanks for the input. I am going to do this here in a while. I guess I didn't think of multiple OSX partitions. That would work just fine as well. What are my "rights" in terms of licenses? With OSX I have never used a key, but I don't imagine I can install 10 copies of OSX just like that, can I?

You can't (that is, you can, but it isn't legal).

The copy of MacOS X that comes with a Mac purchase may be installed once on one Macintosh computer. Copies of MacOS X that you purchased on the App Store give you more rights. You are allowed (copied from Apple's site):

(i) to download, install, use and run for personal, non-commercial use, one (1) copy of the Apple Software directly on each Apple-branded computer running OS X Lion or OS X Snow Leopard (“Mac Computer”) that you own or control;

(ii) If you are a commercial enterprise or educational institution, to download, install, use and run one (1) copy of the Apple Software for use either: (a) by a single individual on each of the Mac Computer(s) that you own or control, or (b) by multiple individuals on a single shared Mac Computer that you own or control. For example, a single employee may use the Apple Software on both the employee’s desktop Mac Computer and laptop Mac Computer, or multiple students may serially use the Apple Software on a single Mac Computer located at a resource center or library; and

(iii) to install, use and run up to two (2) additional copies or instances of the Apple Software within virtual operating system environments on each Mac Computer you own or control that is already running the Apple Software, for purposes of: (a) software development; (b) testing during software development; (c) using OS X Server; or (d) personal, non-commercial use.

So if you own say six Macs that you use non-commercially, you are legally allowed to install 18 copies (three on each computer, one running directly, two running in virtual machines). I could imagine that Apple isn't _very_ upset if you install copies on more than one partition, althought reading the license, it is not allowed.
 

lordofthereef

macrumors G5
Original poster
Nov 29, 2011
13,161
3,720
Boston, MA
So, multiple OSX installs have also left multiple recovery 10.8.3 partitions. Is there any way around this?

Also, I thought I read there was a way to boot into any partition directly from OSX. Basically I would like to bypass rebooting, holding down option, selecting boot partition, and booting. I thought there was a way to do it while OSX was loaded.
 

lordofthereef

macrumors G5
Original poster
Nov 29, 2011
13,161
3,720
Boston, MA
I have been able to see all partitions when I go to "add more partitions" except the recovery. I can only see recovery when booting with the option key. Any ideas? I don't mind one recovery partition, but now I have three...
 

lordofthereef

macrumors G5
Original poster
Nov 29, 2011
13,161
3,720
Boston, MA
Well, for anyone that stumbles across this thread wondering about how to remove the recovery partitions(s) I found this tutorial. It came in pretty handy and, although the tutorial speaks of snow leopard, it worked fine for my mountain lion install.
 
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