Hi, I plan on Bootcamping with Windows 8 RP on my 2012 256GB SSD MBA. I have a Lacie 4TB Thunderbolt Raid drive (will run in RAID 1), that will be stripped down to 2TB. I will use this drive for TM backups and storage (I know it has to be formatted as MAC OS extended journaled). Will the Bootcamp partition recognize this external drive and can I also use it for external storage in Windows? Or will Windows not recognize it because it wasn't formatted in MS-DOS (FAT)? Will that even be possible to format a 4TB drive for MS-DOS (FAT)? Thanks!
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Bootcamp and External Hard Drive
- Thread starter MagicThief83
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Windows 7 does not have read/write support for HFS+. You might look at MacDrive.
After creating the 2TB mirror array, you will partition the array. One partition JHFS+ for Time Macine and other Mac oS data. And one partition can be formatted as NTFS which Windows 7 will see and can use.
Thank you for replying! So if I understand correctly, HFS+ is just another term for Mac Os Extended Journaled correct? Also, how do I format the partition as NTFS, I'm guessing just use disk utility and format it as Ex-FAT? Is an Ex-FAT partition readable/writable in Windows? Or would I use disk manager in Windows upon installing bootcamp to format the external hard drive partition created in OSX as NTFS? Instead of creating a 2TB mirror array, I was thinking of just separating the disks and using each disk separately. Is this even possible, would I use a JBOD array to do this, or can I undo the default raid 0 array and format each drive separately as an HFS+ partition? I'm sorry for all of the questions. I'm new to the OSX environment and have basically been a Windows user all my life, so learning this stuff is a little tricky. I have also done searches online but there is loads of information on this topic, and it's hard to get a definitive answer. Thanks!
"Mac OS Extended Volume Hard Drive Format" or HFS+ and is typically meant to refer to all variations of the format: journaled and unjournaled and case-sensitive. But technically HFS+ is not journaled. I mean it in the generic sense.
JHFS+ means journaled, case-insensitive.
JHFSX means journaled, case-sensitive.
Do it from within Windows, just make sure you choose the correct partition! You can format it ExFat in Mac OS, then reformat as NTFS in Windows.
Yes but is more fragile to use than NTFS so I'd use NTFS instead.
You can do this. Delete the array, partition each disk with 1 partition (or whatever), and format each partition whatever volume format you want.
Thanks!
Thanks very much! Your clear instructions have been most informative in assisting me to navigate such a perplexing topic!
Just one more question (sorry!), so when you say re-format the ExFat partition on the external hard drive in Windows as NTFS, am I doing this at the time of installing Bootcamp? Are partitions distinguishable by capacity? How would one know not to format the incorrect partition? I know the Bootcamp partition is labeled "Bootcamp" when you go to install Windows, but how will I differentiate between the ExFat partition versus the Mac OS partitions? Or would I just use disk manager in Windows to format the ExFat partition once Windows is installed and running? Thanks again!
Thanks very much! Your clear instructions have been most informative in assisting me to navigate such a perplexing topic!
Just one more question (sorry!), so when you say re-format the ExFat partition on the external hard drive in Windows as NTFS, am I doing this at the time of installing Bootcamp? Are partitions distinguishable by capacity? How would one know not to format the incorrect partition? I know the Bootcamp partition is labeled "Bootcamp" when you go to install Windows, but how will I differentiate between the ExFat partition versus the Mac OS partitions? Or would I just use disk manager in Windows to format the ExFat partition once Windows is installed and running? Thanks again!
Umm, good question. I *think* Boot Camp Assistant only prepares disks for receiving Windows itself, not for preparing a disk to receive data. And even then, it only formats it as FAT32. You still have to reformat as NTFS using the Windows installer.
Since you're probably going to have to use Disk Utility for all of this, Boot Camp Assistant is not applicable. And really, you can choose either FAT32 (MS-DOS) or Ex-FAT, it doesn't matter because once you get to Windows, you'd going to choose that volume and reformat it as NTFS anyway.
If I'm wrong, hopefully someone corrects this.
Yes.
You could drop a file, any file, onto that volume from within Mac OS. Then when you get to Windows you can make sure you've got the right lettered drive.
Thanks a bunch! I feel alot more confident now about doing all this! I can't wait until my 11" MBA arrives on Monday In your opinion, what are some first time steps a new mac user should perform upon setting up their mac? And any app recommendations?
In your opinion, what are some first time steps a new mac user should perform upon setting up their mac? And any app recommendations?So the problem here to be aware of is that you cannot use a 4TB disk for Windows. It presently must be 2TB or less. Here's why.
Currently, Apple's EFI is Intel EFI 1.10, not UEFI 2.x. Therefore Windows will not, without modifications, boot in EFI mode.
Apple's present support for Windows thus uses a CSM-BIOS. CSM=Compatibility Support Module. This is a set of EFI components to create a minmal BIOS for "legacy" operating systems which require it. BIOS requires an MBR partition scheme to boot. MBR encoding of sectors allows a maximum permissible number of 512 byte sectors equal to 2TB.
So until Apple produces firmware that Windows 7 or 8 can properly boot in EFI mode, instead of using the CSM-BIOS, officially we're all stuck with boot disks at or below 2TB.
Currently, Apple's EFI is Intel EFI 1.10, not UEFI 2.x. Therefore Windows will not, without modifications, boot in EFI mode.
Apple's present support for Windows thus uses a CSM-BIOS. CSM=Compatibility Support Module. This is a set of EFI components to create a minmal BIOS for "legacy" operating systems which require it. BIOS requires an MBR partition scheme to boot. MBR encoding of sectors allows a maximum permissible number of 512 byte sectors equal to 2TB.
So until Apple produces firmware that Windows 7 or 8 can properly boot in EFI mode, instead of using the CSM-BIOS, officially we're all stuck with boot disks at or below 2TB.
Since the it has been a couple of months since you guys were discussing this topic I guess it has all worked perfectly but I'd like to clarify something: when running a boot camp (at least a boot camp created with mountain lion) it will be able to see the hfs+ partition (the one where ML is installed and any other hfs+ partition in an external hdd)