Dual booting, Tripple booting etc etc...?

[Messy]

Hi chaps,

Wondered if anyone has a guide somewhere to assist someone hoping to install 2-3 different versions of MAC OS X on their Mac.

The guys at work want to have Leopard, Snow Leopard and Lion installed on one machine, and boot into them as needed.

Is there a simple way of doing this without messing up the current installtion on the HDD?

Appreciate your help.

Thanks

 

[0007776]

If you don't want to mess up your current install what you need to do is get another HD either internal or external, internal will be faster, and then you can install the other copy of OS X on it. if you want them all on one drive you will have to make separate partitions for each OS.

 

[Messy]

If you don't want to mess up your current install what you need to do is get another HD either internal or external, internal will be faster, and then you can install the other copy of OS X on it. if you want them all on one drive you will have to make separate partitions for each OS.

So are you saying that as I have an OS on here already, we'd be unable to install a new OS without messing something up in the file system?

 

[0007776]

So are you saying that as I have an OS on here already, we'd be unable to install a new OS without messing something up in the file system?

You can't easily partition you current boot drive without wiping it so your best option would be adding another drive to boot the other OS off of. You can install a new OS, it just needs to be on a different drive or partition.

 

[Mal]

You can't easily partition you current boot drive without wiping it so your best option would be adding another drive to boot the other OS off of. You can install a new OS, it just needs to be on a different drive or partition.

Wrong. Disk Utility can add partitions to a Mac OS X boot disk without erasing any data.

OP, just pop open Disk Utility, select your drive (the entry with the size of the drive, not the name of the volume), and click the Partition tab. Use the + button at the bottom to add two additional partitions, setting their size however you want. Then just name them so you can keep track, run your installers, and proceed as normal! You'll hold the option key at startup to choose, or use System Preferences -> Startup Disk.

jW

 

[Synthion]

As a linux guy, do what MAL said. Try using rEFIt with it. I've never tried it with more than one OS X partition, but it is worth a shot.

 

[Consultant]

Can the machine handle Leopard? It has to come with Leopard restore disk.

1. You should backup the whole boot disk, test backup.
2. Partition drive. Install, etc.
3. Hold OPTION / ALT when booting to select.

As a linux guy, do what MAL said. Try using rEFIt with it. I've never tried it with more than one OS X partition, but it is worth a shot.

You DO NOT need rEFIt to just boot to multiple Mac OS X partitions.