Boot OSX from Thunderbolt and Bootcamp from interal SSD?

[jimihat]

Hi Guys

I need the new iMac in my life, I'm using a PC based system at the moment and want the real thing....BUT...it's expensive!!!!

I need a windows partition with at least 256gb (im used to SSD so really want SSD speed again).

I'm wondering if I could get an external thunderbolt caddy and put an SSD in it to run OSX from, then use the internal iMac SSD for my Windows install. Or vice versa even.

I only really want to do this if it's relatively hack free however. I want the native MAC experience for once!!! 🙂

Look forward to your thoughts.

Jim

 

[Andune]

Yes.

I've been using a Seagate GoFlex Thunderbolt Adapter and a 256GB SSD with my iMac since the first half of 2012 without any problems or hacks. I use the external SSD for OS X and the internal 1TB HDD for backups/storage and boot camp. Not sure if boot camp works from a thunderbolt drive but OS X works great and is so much faster then the internal HDD.

 

[jimihat]

Yes.

I've been using a Seagate GoFlex Thunderbolt Adapter and a 256GB SSD with my iMac since the first half of 2012 without any problems or hacks. I use the external SSD for OS X and the internal 1TB HDD for backups/storage and boot camp. Not sure if boot camp works from a thunderbolt drive but OS X works great and is so much faster then the internal HDD.

Hi, thanks for the reply. That's very interesting, if OSX works from the Thunderbolt then I would have thought that there is some chance of Bootcamp working with it.

Hopefully somebody else can confirm experiences. I guess the easiest way for me to do it would be to get the Fusion drive, use that for OSX, then install windows on the Thunderbolt SSD - If I can.

Any thoughts from anyone are most welcome. 🙂

 

[yjchua95]

Hi Guys

I need the new iMac in my life, I'm using a PC based system at the moment and want the real thing....BUT...it's expensive!!!!

I need a windows partition with at least 256gb (im used to SSD so really want SSD speed again).

I'm wondering if I could get an external thunderbolt caddy and put an SSD in it to run OSX from, then use the internal iMac SSD for my Windows install. Or vice versa even.

I only really want to do this if it's relatively hack free however. I want the native MAC experience for once!!! 🙂

Look forward to your thoughts.

Jim

I did it the other way round.

My Boot Camp partition is on an external SSD (Buffalo HD-PATU3 with a Samsung 840 Evo in it), while the internal SSD is for OS X.

 

[steve62388]

Just remember that you can't install Bootcamp on the SSD portion of the Fusion drive.

 

[hfg]

You can do it either way with OS X or Windows internal or external. You do have to be careful which Thunderbolt enclosure you choose if you want Windows external.

I have the old 2012 iMac with internal 768GB SSD and no hard disk. I normally have it partitioned as 512GB for OS X and 256GB for Windows.

However, I just finished changing that to (again) run Windows on a external SSD Thunderbolt drive using WinClone to move it. I now have Windows 8 external on a LaCie "Rugged" Thunderbolt 500GB SSD. I simply velcro the tiny enclosure (less the "lifeboat" ring) to the iMac stand with a short Thunderbolt cable to the iMac.

If your iMac has a Fusion drive, you won't be able to simply use it for Windows since "Fusion" is a OS X function. You can either create a BootCamp partition which will install Windows on the hard disk, removing that space from the Fusion management. Or, you could "break" the Fusion drive back to its 2 parts: a 128GB SSD and a hard disk. You could then use the SSD for Windows, and the hard disk however you like (OS X would now be external on a Thunderbolt SSD).

I would keep the OS X Fusion internal, and put Windows on an external SSD (especially since you indicated you wanted a 256GB minimum Windows SSD installation).