Running Parallels: Can I delete Bootcamp?

[ROKMAN919]

Hi everyone,

I read through several pages on this forum to see if my topic was addressed specifically, but I came up empty handed. Here goes:

Just looking at my desktop on the MBP and I realize I never click on the BOOTCAMP Hard drive icon. So I select it, and then eject it. But I get to thinking: It has to mean I have a partition. Inside Disk Utility now, and I select the BOOTCAMP hard drive and there it is: 60GB of space allotted to Bootcamp. Hmmmmm.... Well, I don't use Bootcamp. I use Parallels. So.... I'm pretty sure I want that 60GB partition to come back to my MBP side of things. Just to make sure, I open the Bootcamp drive and look at what's inside. The last time any of the files inside were "Last opened" was April 2012. It's now Oct 2013 and I use Parallels almost everyday. Ok... I'm feeling reassured that I should be able to wipe out this Bootcamp partition without any adverse reactions. Afterall, I don't even know why it's there. So, I'm wondering: How do I know if I can safely delete the BOOTCAMP hard drive and all that it does on this MBP?

I've read that you can run Parallels without running BOOTCAMP. I didn't install BOOTCAMP on this MBP as I purchased it used and it came with it. I did install Parallels on it myself. I guess I'm wondering, how do I know if the Parallels software that I am using is going to work fine without the Bootcamp disk that I currently have? And finally, how does one go about getting that 60GB partition of Bootcamp off the computer and regain that 60GB of space back to the MBP hard drive.

Thanks; I'll hang up and listen to your answers

 

[Mike Boreham]

Hi everyone,

I read through several pages on this forum to see if my topic was addressed specifically, but I came up empty handed. Here goes:

Just looking at my desktop on the MBP and I realize I never click on the BOOTCAMP Hard drive icon. So I select it, and then eject it. But I get to thinking: It has to mean I have a partition. Inside Disk Utility now, and I select the BOOTCAMP hard drive and there it is: 60GB of space allotted to Bootcamp. Hmmmmm.... Well, I don't use Bootcamp. I use Parallels. So.... I'm pretty sure I want that 60GB partition to come back to my MBP side of things. Just to make sure, I open the Bootcamp drive and look at what's inside. The last time any of the files inside were "Last opened" was April 2012. It's now Oct 2013 and I use Parallels almost everyday. Ok... I'm feeling reassured that I should be able to wipe out this Bootcamp partition without any adverse reactions. Afterall, I don't even know why it's there. So, I'm wondering: How do I know if I can safely delete the BOOTCAMP hard drive and all that it does on this MBP?

I've read that you can run Parallels without running BOOTCAMP. I didn't install BOOTCAMP on this MBP as I purchased it used and it came with it. I did install Parallels on it myself. I guess I'm wondering, how do I know if the Parallels software that I am using is going to work fine without the Bootcamp disk that I currently have? And finally, how does one go about getting that 60GB partition of Bootcamp off the computer and regain that 60GB of space back to the MBP hard drive.

Thanks; I'll hang up and listen to your answers

Because of the history it sounds like you do have genuinely separate Parallels VM and Bootcamp installations. Most people have a Bootcamp installation which they can access with Parallels.

The final confirmation would be the size of the VM you installed. The VM you created should be enough to be a proper VM....if it is just a VM pointing to the Bootcamp partition it will be very small.

Another check would be to unmount the Bootcamp partition and launch Parallels. If it launches and runs OK with the Bootcamp partition unmounted you should be OK to delete the Bootcamp partition....which you should do with Bootcamp Assistant in Applications/Utilities.

 

[ROKMAN919]

Thanks Mike,

I really appreciate it. So, to follow up on your reply.

Your first paragraph: I think you are right.

Your 2nd paragraph: I don't understand. I don't know what size of VM I installed. I bought Parallels online, downloaded it and away I went with using Windows.

Your 3rd paragraph: I unmounted Bootcamp from the desktop (ejected it) and as I suspected, I can still click on my Parallels application and she starts up just like it always has and still runs like a gem. Now it's basically a personal decision.

1) Delete Bootcamp using the assistant.
2) Keep Bootcamp incase I want to use it down the line.

If I delete it, here are my dumb questions:

1) How long will it take?
2) Will I regain the 60GB that was allotted to Bootcamp back to the Mac harddrive?
3) How easy can a guy reinstall Bootcamp?

Cheers and thanks again.

 

[Mike Boreham]

Thanks Mike,

I really appreciate it. So, to follow up on your reply.

Your first paragraph: I think you are right.

Your 2nd paragraph: I don't understand. I don't know what size of VM I installed. I bought Parallels online, downloaded it and away I went with using Windows.

Your 3rd paragraph: I unmounted Bootcamp from the desktop (ejected it) and as I suspected, I can still click on my Parallels application and she starts up just like it always has and still runs like a gem. Now it's basically a personal decision.

1) Delete Bootcamp using the assistant.
2) Keep Bootcamp incase I want to use it down the line.

If I delete it, here are my dumb questions:

1) How long will it take?
2) Will I regain the 60GB that was allotted to Bootcamp back to the Mac harddrive?
3) How easy can a guy reinstall Bootcamp?

Cheers and thanks again.

Parallels will have created a VM, probably in the ~/Documents folder. If this is a full VM it will be a 20Gb or more. If it was pointing at the Bootcamp partition it would be much smaller. From everything else you have said it seems pretty clear your Bootcamp is quite separate from your Parallels and can be deleted.

If this Bootcamp came already installed on the machine sounds you don't know much about it. Have you ever booted from it? any data of yours on it? Any useful apps? Is it activated?

I can't remember how long it takes to delete a Bootcamp partition, but that would not be a consideration for me. It think it was a few minutes.

Yes you should regain the 60Gb

One mans "easy" is another man's "nightmare". It can be straightforward. However it doesn't sound like you have the install disk used for the Bootcamp?
So you would probably want to use the Windows disk and license currently being used in Parallels. As far as I remember it is not possible (confirmation required) to create a Bootcamp partition from your Parallels VM, but it can be done the other way round, so you might find yourself starting all over.