A few questions before I install windows 7 on my MacBook

[reaganjh]

I am planning on installing Windows 7 on my MacBook next week and will run natively with bootcamp. I just want to know a few things before I do:

Can you access the Mac HD from Windows? and vice versa?

Should I install Windows 7 in 64 bit?

Once I partition the hard drive is it possible to increase or decrease the size of each of them? non-destructively?

I think I had some other things to ask... but I can't remember...

Oh and how much space should I give windows? The only reason I really am installing it is for games (and maybe a few windows programs). My HD is 160 GB.

ALSO: I am not that sure if I would like to have to split the Mac HD.. Is it possible to install Windows 7 onto a portable hard drive or something? Would that run OK?

Thanks, Reagan

 

[rgarjr]

install 64 bit otherwise you won't get to use all your 4 Gigs of RAM. You can read your Mac partition but you can't write to it. If you install Macdrive however you will be able to do both.

 

[Darth.Titan]

I am planning on installing Windows 7 on my MacBook next week and will run natively with bootcamp. I just want to know a few things before I do:

Can you access the Mac HD from Windows? and vice versa?

If you have the BootCamp 3.0 drivers (included with Snow Leopard) you'll have read-only access to your Mac partition from Windows. You can get r/w access via third party utilities like MacDrive though.
You'll have read-only access to your NTFS Windows partition from the Mac side as well. (NTFS r/w capability is also possible in OS X with third party add-ons such as NTFS-3G, but use at your own risk)

Should I install Windows 7 in 64 bit?

Sure, why not.

Once I partition the hard drive is it possible to increase or decrease the size of each of them? non-destructively?

Not without third-party utilities or a Linux Live CD with a partition manager.

I think I had some other things to ask... but I can't remember...

Oh and how much space should I give windows? The only reason I really am installing it is for games (and maybe a few windows programs). My HD is 160 GB.

That's entirely up to you. I believe a standard Win7 install takes about 16GB so the partition at a minimum should be 20GB. Since you have a 160 GB HD I'd assign 60GB for Windows and leave the rest for OS X

ALSO: I am not that sure if I would like to have to split the Mac HD.. Is it possible to install Windows 7 onto a portable hard drive or something? Would that run OK?

Thanks, Reagan

You cannot boot Windows from an external drive. You have to install it on an internal partition or on a dedicated internal HD. (I replaced my internal SuperDrive with a second hard drive for windows, but that's just me.)

 

[reaganjh]

Thanks for the info. Isn't there any way at all to have some kind of drive to install Windows on? I saw another thread talking about solid-state drives?

 

[reaganjh]

BTW sorry! I am only just seeing the guides at the top of the forum >.<