Issue with bootcamp on multi partition setup

[Tim018]

Ok, so the issue is that i have my macbook pro partitioned off into to two partitions, one for the data and one for the os. i do this mostly as a habbit from the pc days of protecting my data but i still like to have my data separate from my os so that its easier to re-install and other things with out worry of affecting my data. however, when i open up the bootcamp utility it gives me the picture below. I understand that it is meant to be dummy proof and only be able to operate off one partition, but id like to bypass that if possible. can i just create a third partition and install windows on that? is there a way to tell the bootcamp what partiton to use to spilt?

any help would be great, i just wanna install 7 so i can have a more versatile computer, thanks

 

[bmcgonag]

I do believe that you can partition the drive with a third partition, but I believe anything over that, and Windows won't recognize any partitions, and will only see the whole drive.

There are tutorials on how to do it without BootCamp, you'll have to google around a bit.

You can use the OS X Disk Utility to non-destructively create your 3rd partition, but you need to go into options, and create it as a Fat partition using the MBR (Master Boot Record) setting.

Then insert your WIndows Disc, reboot, and force the Disc to boot. Run through the steps, and select the partition you want. Youll have to use the OS X disc to get the drivers though. And I don't recall how to force that...but there is a way.

Wish i could help more, but there is hope.

 

[Tim018]

thanks

thanks for the reply bmcgonag, but the options button is grayed out. do i need to use the disk utility off the leopard disk to make it so i can open options to make mbr the partition setup for the new partition?

 

[Mal]

What's all this talk about MBR? You can't have both a GUID partition map (the required scheme for booting OS X on an Intel Mac) and an MBR map on the same drive.

OP, I would recommend simply adding the partition, then booting from your Windows disk (by holding down the option key at startup) and make sure to reformat the partition before installing. Don't know for sure if it'll work, I haven't done it, but you're not going to be able to change the partition map scheme without completely reformatting the drive anyways.

jW

 

[bmcgonag]

What's all this talk about MBR? You can't have both a GUID partition map (the required scheme for booting OS X on an Intel Mac) and an MBR map on the same drive.

OP, I would recommend simply adding the partition, then booting from your Windows disk (by holding down the option key at startup) and make sure to reformat the partition before installing. Don't know for sure if it'll work, I haven't done it, but you're not going to be able to change the partition map scheme without completely reformatting the drive anyways.

jW

My apologies, he's right. Not sure what I was thinking...I've been reformatting a lot of drives with my mac recently...for windows pcs...I'm a bit off my game lately...and Mal is right about the steps to take as well. Just make sure that Win 7 sees only the partition, and doesn't want to reformat the whole drive....but like I said (at least I think this part is right), if you try to make more than 3 partitions, windows doesn't handle it well.

 

[Tim018]

figured it out

ok, i figured i had to use the bootcamp utility to create the partition. turns out shrinking one of my partitions using the disk utility and creating a new one allowed me to install windows onto the new partition created. thanks for the help