Install two SSDs (one OSX, one windows) on MacBook Pro

[masaguchi46]

Hey guys,

So I have the 2011 Early MacBook Pro 15' with 2.2 GHz core i7.
I currently have a 256GB SSD with OSX and bootcamp windows 7.
I am running out of space on my SSD and was thinking about getting a new SSD to replace the optical drive that I rarely use.
My question is, can I put windows 7 on this new SSD using bootcamp while keeping the OSX on the current SSD? (So having two operating systems on two different SSDs)
If I were to take the optical drive out, there would not be a way for me other than to boot windows 7 using a USB. Also, how would I bootcamp windows into a SSD that doesn't have OSX running?
Sorry if this is confusing.

Thanks!!

 

[dusk007]

Works and makes no difference.
You can just option boot into like always. There is no difference.
Personally I would get an HDD and put stuff like movies, music and stuff on it. That stuff is sequential in nature and doesn't benefit from an SSD anyway. The HDD is cheaper and bigger.
An SSD imo only makes sense if you need a big Windows partition for games because you like to keep them all installed.

You can also just exchange the new SSD for the old. Install Windows via DVD and exchange the optical drive afterwards and put the old SSD back in.
Later once Win is installed on some partition. It is way easier to do everything else from within a VM like VMWare or Parallels.

 

[seveej]

Personally I would get an HDD and put stuff like movies, music and stuff on it. That stuff is sequential in nature and doesn't benefit from an SSD anyway.

I agree
Put the two systems (and their apps) on the SSD and keep the common files on the HDD (you can even have it spin down when you don't need it).

Another thing worth noting is that the SATA channel for the Superdrive is slower (if Memory serves, only 3 Gb/s vs. 6 Gb/s on the hard drive channel), thus partially negating the advantage of a SDD.

RGDS,

 

[masaguchi46]

You can also just exchange the new SSD for the old. Install Windows via DVD and exchange the optical drive afterwards and put the old SSD back in.
Later once Win is installed on some partition. It is way easier to do everything else from within a VM like VMWare or Parallels.

When I replace the new SSD for the old, do I have to install OSX on the new SSD and then use bootcamp? Or is there a way to directly install windows on the new SSD?

 

[dusk007]

That bootcamp application is nothing more than a Wizard for computer illiterates.
You have to do nothing more than put the DVD in. Format a NTFS partition and Install.

Later when you got both SSDs in you will have to use the bootcamp assistent (in OSX) to download the bootcamp drivers and install them on Windows. You can also do that now and save them somewhere but you can also do it later. Windows has enough on board to work. The drivers are only needed for stuff like Touchpad, Keyboard Backlight ...

If you use it for Gaming, you might also want to install your own GPU drivers later. Apple only supplies GPU drivers once and never updates them. New drivers help in games a lot and allow for over clocking of the GPU.

UPDATE: I forgot I never tried it before but I think if you format with the Windows disk you might end up with a MBR disk. So you should first put in the OSX Disk and start diskutility to create the NTFS partition. Don't let Windows to the first formatting. With the Windows installer select the partition that you prepared with disk utility.

 

[masaguchi46]

Thanks everybody for the help

Thank you everybody for the help.
I have one last question about the installation process.
Currently I have windows 7 installed on a bootcamp partition.
If I were to uninstall this and then install windows 7 on my new SSD, would I be able to use the same product key to activate windows?
Or would I need to get a new product key?

Thanks a lot!!

 

[dusk007]

You can USE one product key for one system. You can install it as often as you want. You only have to stop using the old installation. As in delete it.
Stuff that isn't allowed is a bootable clone like the ones you can make from OSX via CarbonCopyCloner. A Backup is allowed but not a bootable one afaik. Which is why most software supports that very poorly in Windows.
You may reinstall Windows a hundred times afaik.
Windows Update would eventually run into a problem if you try to actually use both installs as in one time this another that.