Install or not install Bootcamp, that is the question.

[doadam]

Hey,

I own a Mac Mini (i7, 16GB RAM, fusion drive), in short, it's stable and strong (for now).


I got a new job and currently it requires me to develop on Python and C#.
I also have a laptop but it's really sucks, it has i3, 4GB RAM and it flicks when using Ubuntu and can't handle lots of open Chrome tabs on Windows.

I thought about bringing the Mac Mini to the office, however I keep reading about slow performance when using Boot Camp.

So my questions are:

• Can Bootcamp be completely removed from the system? (without leaving leftovers and data)
• Currently, with i7 2.3GHz, 16GB Ram and a fusion drive, would Boot Camp be good enough to handle Visual Studio and lots of Chrome tabs opened? (around 30-40 tabs).
• Can I install Ubuntu on my Mac Mini? (apart from Windows and OS X)

I plan on installing Windows 7, 64 bit (or 32bit if it's more stable).
Other than Visual Studio, I don't think there are any other tools I need for my Windows installation.

Sincerely,
Adam.

 

[Dalton63841]

Boot Camp only suffers from a MILD bit of performance hit, because the bios emulation uses legacy IDE instead of AHCI. It is still more than sufficient for what you need. Removing boot camp is as simple as formatting the partition that Windows is on. No leftovers. And yes, you can run linux, such as Ubuntu, on a Mac.

 

[doadam]

Boot Camp only suffers from a MILD bit of performance hit, because the bios emulation uses legacy IDE instead of AHCI. It is still more than sufficient for what you need. Removing boot camp is as simple as formatting the partition that Windows is on. No leftovers. And yes, you can run linux, such as Ubuntu, on a Mac.

Ok, thank you.
Where can I find a tutorial or something about the installation process for Boot Camp?

And another question, could I plug in an external hard drive (SSD probably) and install Windows & Ubuntu from there? (without messing, in any way, my fusion drive)

source links are also welcomed, I'm a fast learner so I'm fine with that.

 

[xcodeSyn]

Where can I find a tutorial or something about the installation process for Boot Camp?

And another question, could I plug in an external hard drive (SSD probably) and install Windows & Ubuntu from there? (without messing, in any way, my fusion drive)

Here is a link for Boot Camp Resources from the Apple support site.

If you read the FAQ here, you'll realize that Boot Camp doesn't support installation on the RAID or external drives. For fusion drive, Windows partition will be installed only on the hard disk as a separate logical unit. You can temporarily remove your fusion setup and use a new disk with OS X installed and do the Windows installation using Boot Camp, and later move it to a bootable external enclosure, if you don't mind the trouble.

 

[saturnotaku]

because the bios emulation uses legacy IDE instead of AHCI.

Boot Camp 5 uses AHCI mode for the chipset.

 

[Dalton63841]

Boot Camp 5 uses AHCI mode for the chipset.

Oh awesome. Was not aware of that.

Also it should be noted that if the OP intends to triple boot with Linux, using Boot Camp will actually be much more difficult than just doing it manually. That is, unless he uses Wubi to install Ubuntu.