Drivers for Windows 7 64-bit? Also a partition question.

[superriku11]

Alright, I have a new MacBook Pro non-Retina, 15 inch.

I want to install Windows 7 x64 mainly to play games, since I've read that the 650M can actually run some modern games on some decent settings.

I'm curious what I'll need to install on the side of Windows. I know for older computers that there are Apple Bootcamp drivers, essentially a package of everything you'll need to give Windows proper control over your hardware. Everything I have read though has said that the new 2012 models don't have Bootcamp drivers yet.

I'm aware there's some 302.something beta/generic driver that runs the 650M, and I have heard that the Intel HD 4000 driver is available in Windows Update.

I've also heard that the Broadcom wireless drivers need to be downloaded separately, and the keyboard and trackpad drivers can be gotten from the old Bootcamp driver package.






Anyways, enough of that. Anyone who's knowledgeable should know what I need. So can anybody tell me what drivers I will need to install and where to get them from?

Or, if Apple will soon release a Bootcamp driver package, would anybody know how soon that might come? I want to get Windows 7 up soon, so if it's possible, I'll do the manual install now and switch to Apple's Bootcamp drivers when they're released if they offer better performance.






Also, I want to give Windows 7 a pretty small partition to start, so here comes my question about partitions. I want to give it a small one, but I'm somewhat certain I'll be resizing it later. Is resizing partitions safe?

On top of that, is creating partitions safe? Is there any risk of messing up my drive and having to reformat?



Thanks!

 

[brian540]

About Partitions:

For the most part creating a partition is a fast and easy process but it is not without risk- lost power or any other rare events can easily corrupt a hard drive and requiring a format-

Re sizing for boot camp will require a third party tool that I believe you will have to boot from its disk can't remember the name off hand-

Its best to create the size you want because if you want to resize with the boot camp tool, it erases and recreates

If your going to install some programs and a few games 100GB should work.. just don't want to run on minimal space

 

[leenak]

Basically all the drivers you need will be available through Bootcamp. I did this the other night. Set up bootcamp to partition my drive, install Win 7 and also download the 'apple drivers for windows'. Your wireless, video card, trackpad, etc will all have drivers.

After installing everything and removing all I could, Windows took up 40GB.

 

[superriku11]

About Partitions:

For the most part creating a partition is a fast and easy process but it is not without risk- lost power or any other rare events can easily corrupt a hard drive and requiring a format-

Re sizing for boot camp will require a third party tool that I believe you will have to boot from its disk can't remember the name off hand-

Its best to create the size you want because if you want to resize with the boot camp tool, it erases and recreates

If your going to install some programs and a few games 100GB should work.. just don't want to run on minimal space

That's exactly what I planned, a 100 GB partition. I think it should be the right amount, but that's just the problem, I only think so. If I run through the install and get all the games I want and find out there's only 3 GB left, I'll want to expand the space.

I doubt I'll quickly fill up 100 GB with just games, but games are amongst the largest things you can download, so I'm sure it'll fill up eventually as I find more and more games I want.

Can't partitions be resized in Disk Utility though? If you open it up and select your internal HDD, it gives you partition options. One thing you can do is drag the boxes which represent partition sizes.


Losing power shouldn't be an issue at all though. I can simply be connected to my MagSafe with a full battery. As far as rare events, I'm not entirely sure what you mean, besides possibly jarring the disk, by dropping it or something, but that won't happen either. I mainly keep my laptop on my desk, and I'll be sure to while partitioning.

If there's no real risk in doing general partition stuff then that makes me feel better of not yet having a backup drive for this computer.

Basically all the drivers you need will be available through Bootcamp. I did this the other night. Set up bootcamp to partition my drive, install Win 7 and also download the 'apple drivers for windows'. Your wireless, video card, trackpad, etc will all have drivers.

After installing everything and removing all I could, Windows took up 40GB.

Did you do it on one of the new 2012 MacBook Pros? There are Bootcamp drivers for the 2011 and older models, but from all I've heard, there's no drivers for the 2012 models yet.