Wanna try it out on my laptop, have the ISO, but should I use Windows 10 through VirtualBox or should I install it on an external hard drive?
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Should I install Windows 10 through virtual box?
- Thread starter TechGod
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External hard drive all the way, especially if it has USB 3.0 with UASP, but your Mac must have USB 3.0 for optimal performance.
Running it through a VM doesn't make use of full system resources.
The steps to get it running are a bit long winded, but I'll post it if you're interested in going down that route.
Depends entirely on what your needs are. If it's just running MS Office, then virtualbox is fine. If you want to game, then bootcamp is the way to go.
VB is a nice way to test out win10 without risking your current system's boot drive. If you think you'll be doing more with win10, i.e., not just playing with it, to see what it has. Then perhaps installing it via bootcamp but other wise a virtual environment is a good move.
For the record, I've been using win 10 full time on my SP3, and its been very good. Two things that are issues I'm dealing with. Scaling isn't working too well and right now I cannot connect to my corporate wifi. I usually don't bring in my SP3 to the office, but I was disappointed that it kept getting rejected this morning. My wifi works fine every where else, just something with my corporate wifi. (it may be security related on their side).
For the record, I've been using win 10 full time on my SP3, and its been very good. Two things that are issues I'm dealing with. Scaling isn't working too well and right now I cannot connect to my corporate wifi. I usually don't bring in my SP3 to the office, but I was disappointed that it kept getting rejected this morning. My wifi works fine every where else, just something with my corporate wifi. (it may be security related on their side).
Hi all, thanks for the replies. I have an external hardrive and yes both the laptop and hard drive support USB3. I was considering the external hardrive route because while all I wanna do with windows is play around with it, I also wanna get the max performance outta it especially since people are saying Windows 10 performs better than Yosemite.
If anyone can help by posting a rough guide as what to do, please do!
If anyone can help by posting a rough guide as what to do, please do!
Most USB enclosures are not UASP or not SATAIII... the best I got was something like 150MB/s on a SATAII-USB3 enclosure. I think it was UASP, but my SATAIII SSD downgraded to SATAI... these enclosures are a mess.
I'm trying to find an enclosure which does what it's expected to do: fill up the entire USB3 bandwidth once you install a modern SSD on it.
I'm trying to find an enclosure which does what it's expected to do: fill up the entire USB3 bandwidth once you install a modern SSD on it.
- I believe these are well-respected:
http://www.amazon.com/Optimized-Ina...&qid=1432164442&sr=8-5&keywords=inateck+usb+3
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
I got some Archgon enclosure with UASP (based on the ASMT 2105 controller), and I could get around 450MB/s in reads and writes with a Samsung 850 Evo in it.
It's easy to get if you're living in a developed country, but not as easy in developing countries (like Malaysia, India, Brazil...etc).
Here you go:
Connect external drive to Windows VM. You must have a Windows VM in VMware/Parallels/VBox, or a Windows PC. Any existing Windows environment will do.
Note: If youre using a 32-bit ISO, your Windows environment used to do these commands have to be 32-bit. And if its a 64-bit ISO, the environment has to be 64-bit.
What you need:
install.wim file (obtain this from your Windows ISO)
Open elevated cmd.exe (run as admin)
Note: All commands aren't case sensitive, including pathway to files.
Type diskpart
Type list disk
Take note of the disk you want to select
Type select disk 1 (if your disk is Disk 1)
Type clean
Type convert gpt (do this and then stop at this point if you're using a drive with a Thunderbolt port. If installing in BIOS-CSM, type convert mbr and then stop at this point if youre using a drive with a Thunderbolt port)
Type create partition EFI size=100 (skip if installing in BIOS-CSM)
Type format quick fs=fat32 label=EFI (skip if installing in BIOS-CSM)
Type assign letter=S (skip if installing in BIOS-CSM)
Type create partition primary
Type format fs=ntfs quick label=W2G (or any other name you wish for label)
Type assign letter=E
Type exit
Open up File Explorer. In your C drive, create a new folder named WIN2GO.
Put the install.wim file in this folder
Back in cmd.exe:
Type dism /apply-image /imagefile:C:\WIN2GO\install.wim /index:1 /applydir:E:\ (this process will take quite a while)
Type E:\Windows\System32\bcdboot E:\Windows /s S: /f UEFI (use this one for UEFI installation)
Type E:\Windows\System32\bcdboot E:\Windows /s E: /f ALL (use this one for BIOS-CSM installation)
Restart your entire Mac. After the chime, hold down Option and when prompted to select your boot drive, select EFI Boot (or whatever else that comes up for a BIOS-CSM installation).
Proceed installation normally.
After installation, install Boot Camp drivers. Feel free to trash the VM once you're done too.
For best results, use USB 3/Thunderbolt. If you don't have USB 3, use Thunderbolt. If you have neither, stick back to the internal drive
Dont use a USB stick.
Note: This method involves reformatting the entire external drive.
For Thunderbolt drives, just boot from the Windows USB installer and install directly onto the TB drive. Windows sees TB drives as an internal PCIe connection. However, you must format the TB drive as GPT first.
CAUTION: Windows can only be installed in UEFI flawlessly on Haswell Macs and later. Ivy Bridge and earlier Macs can only run Windows in BIOS-CSM flawlessly. Attempts to boot a UEFI installation of Windows on an Ivy Bridge or earlier Mac will result in driver issues.
These steps do not work with Windows 7, as it lacks the dism.exe utility.
UEFI-compatible Macs:
MacBook Air (mid-2013 and later)
iMac (late-2013 and later)
Retina MacBook Pro (late-2013 and later)
Mac Pro (trashcan shape)
Mac Mini (late-2014 and later)
Long story short, only Macs with PCIe SSDs support UEFI. Non-retina MBPs, along with other Macs not listed above (basically all Ivy Bridge and older Macs), are not UEFI compatible.
WinToUSB basically does the same thing, but doesnt always work because WinToUSB doesnt really take into account between BIOS-CSM and UEFI Macs; it only uses one method for all (which may result in boot failures and other problems).
PM me if you have any trouble.
This.
Virtual machines are great for running alternate OSes in a safe manner. Today's computers (above the bottom-end, at least) are more than capable of running them in this manner. And they have the huge advantage that OS X continues to run, and you can switch in and out (even between multiple virtual machines) without problem.
But, if you need certain USB features or balls-to-the-wall performance for gaming where direct hardware access to the video circuitry, RAM, etc is needed, then do the Boot Camp thing (not an external disk).
VirtualBox is free and great for testing things out like this. I use it all the time, though I tend to prefer VMWare Fusion for its better integration with OS X (drag/drop of files to/from host and client OS, for example) and user interface.
Yep... The Inateck enclosure costs USD 50,00 thanks to Amazon expensive shipping methods. This one seems to be a better deal to me (USD 28,00, shipping included):
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/pro...SB-3-0-Tool-Free-HDD/1509115_32326882455.html
Here you go:
Connect external drive to Windows VM. You must have a Windows VM in VMware/Parallels/VBox, or a Windows PC. Any existing Windows environment will do.
Note: If youre using a 32-bit ISO, your Windows environment used to do these commands have to be 32-bit. And if its a 64-bit ISO, the environment has to be 64-bit.
What you need:
install.wim file (obtain this from your Windows ISO)
Open elevated cmd.exe (run as admin)
Note: All commands aren't case sensitive, including pathway to files.
Type diskpart
Type list disk
Take note of the disk you want to select
Type select disk 1 (if your disk is Disk 1)
Type clean
Type convert gpt (do this and then stop at this point if you're using a drive with a Thunderbolt port. If installing in BIOS-CSM, type convert mbr and then stop at this point if youre using a drive with a Thunderbolt port)
Type create partition EFI size=100 (skip if installing in BIOS-CSM)
Type format quick fs=fat32 label=EFI (skip if installing in BIOS-CSM)
Type assign letter=S (skip if installing in BIOS-CSM)
Type create partition primary
Type format fs=ntfs quick label=W2G (or any other name you wish for label)
Type assign letter=E
Type exit
Open up File Explorer. In your C drive, create a new folder named WIN2GO.
Put the install.wim file in this folder
Back in cmd.exe:
Type dism /apply-image /imagefile:C:\WIN2GO\install.wim /index:1 /applydir:E:\ (this process will take quite a while)
Type E:\Windows\System32\bcdboot E:\Windows /s S: /f UEFI (use this one for UEFI installation)
Type E:\Windows\System32\bcdboot E:\Windows /s E: /f ALL (use this one for BIOS-CSM installation)
Restart your entire Mac. After the chime, hold down Option and when prompted to select your boot drive, select EFI Boot (or whatever else that comes up for a BIOS-CSM installation).
Proceed installation normally.
After installation, install Boot Camp drivers. Feel free to trash the VM once you're done too.
For best results, use USB 3/Thunderbolt. If you don't have USB 3, use Thunderbolt. If you have neither, stick back to the internal drive
Dont use a USB stick.
Note: This method involves reformatting the entire external drive.
For Thunderbolt drives, just boot from the Windows USB installer and install directly onto the TB drive. Windows sees TB drives as an internal PCIe connection. However, you must format the TB drive as GPT first.
CAUTION: Windows can only be installed in UEFI flawlessly on Haswell Macs and later. Ivy Bridge and earlier Macs can only run Windows in BIOS-CSM flawlessly. Attempts to boot a UEFI installation of Windows on an Ivy Bridge or earlier Mac will result in driver issues.
These steps do not work with Windows 7, as it lacks the dism.exe utility.
UEFI-compatible Macs:
MacBook Air (mid-2013 and later)
iMac (late-2013 and later)
Retina MacBook Pro (late-2013 and later)
Mac Pro (trashcan shape)
Mac Mini (late-2014 and later)
Long story short, only Macs with PCIe SSDs support UEFI. Non-retina MBPs, along with other Macs not listed above (basically all Ivy Bridge and older Macs), are not UEFI compatible.
WinToUSB basically does the same thing, but doesnt always work because WinToUSB doesnt really take into account between BIOS-CSM and UEFI Macs; it only uses one method for all (which may result in boot failures and other problems).
PM me if you have any trouble.
Success! Thank you so much!
Does anyone have experience with the Inateck enclosure? The new rMBP I'll finally have USB3 and now I have an extra SSD after selling my old MBP and I didn't know about the enclosure speed limitations.
Just like any other UASP USB 3 enclosure, the Inateck should support around 420MB/s or so. Generally, for an external SSD, speeds in the range of 350-420MB/s is considered as good.
Look at OWC enclosures
I got an OWC Mercury Elite Pro enclosure (http://eshop.macsales.com), which has a fast USB 3 controller and eSATA III (6GBps).
I get 450MB/s reads from the Samsung 840 SSD that I put in it.
I got an OWC Mercury Elite Pro enclosure (http://eshop.macsales.com), which has a fast USB 3 controller and eSATA III (6GBps).
I get 450MB/s reads from the Samsung 840 SSD that I put in it.
Many thanks for your detailed information, this looks to be the right solution for me. Could you please confirm, that I'll be able to use all USB's and Thunderbolt connectors in my rMBP from Windows? I'll be using 8.1
Best regards
For USB, yes.
For Thunderbolt, you've to plug it into your Mac before powering up Windows.
Ok thanks, so I understand that I'll be able to enjoy all connectivity once logged into Windows, right?
Si. Just remember that you have to connect all TB peripherals before starting up the Mac and going into Windows.
Here you go:
Connect external drive to Windows VM. You must have a Windows VM in VMware/Parallels/VBox, or a Windows PC. Any existing Windows environment will do.
Note: If youre using a 32-bit ISO, your Windows environment used to do these commands have to be 32-bit. And if its a 64-bit ISO, the environment has to be 64-bit.
What you need:
install.wim file (obtain this from your Windows ISO)
Open elevated cmd.exe (run as admin)
Note: All commands aren't case sensitive, including pathway to files.
Type diskpart
Type list disk
Take note of the disk you want to select
Type select disk 1 (if your disk is Disk 1)
Type clean
Type convert gpt (do this and then stop at this point if you're using a drive with a Thunderbolt port. If installing in BIOS-CSM, type convert mbr and then stop at this point if youre using a drive with a Thunderbolt port)
Type create partition EFI size=100 (skip if installing in BIOS-CSM)
Type format quick fs=fat32 label=EFI (skip if installing in BIOS-CSM)
Type assign letter=S (skip if installing in BIOS-CSM)
Type create partition primary
Type format fs=ntfs quick label=W2G (or any other name you wish for label)
Type assign letter=E
Type exit
Open up File Explorer. In your C drive, create a new folder named WIN2GO.
Put the install.wim file in this folder
Back in cmd.exe:
Type dism /apply-image /imagefile:C:\WIN2GO\install.wim /index:1 /applydir:E:\ (this process will take quite a while)
Type E:\Windows\System32\bcdboot E:\Windows /s S: /f UEFI (use this one for UEFI installation)
Type E:\Windows\System32\bcdboot E:\Windows /s E: /f ALL (use this one for BIOS-CSM installation)
Restart your entire Mac. After the chime, hold down Option and when prompted to select your boot drive, select EFI Boot (or whatever else that comes up for a BIOS-CSM installation).
Proceed installation normally.
After installation, install Boot Camp drivers. Feel free to trash the VM once you're done too.
For best results, use USB 3/Thunderbolt. If you don't have USB 3, use Thunderbolt. If you have neither, stick back to the internal drive
Dont use a USB stick.
Note: This method involves reformatting the entire external drive.
For Thunderbolt drives, just boot from the Windows USB installer and install directly onto the TB drive. Windows sees TB drives as an internal PCIe connection. However, you must format the TB drive as GPT first.
CAUTION: Windows can only be installed in UEFI flawlessly on Haswell Macs and later. Ivy Bridge and earlier Macs can only run Windows in BIOS-CSM flawlessly. Attempts to boot a UEFI installation of Windows on an Ivy Bridge or earlier Mac will result in driver issues.
These steps do not work with Windows 7, as it lacks the dism.exe utility.
UEFI-compatible Macs:
MacBook Air (mid-2013 and later)
iMac (late-2013 and later)
Retina MacBook Pro (late-2013 and later)
Mac Pro (trashcan shape)
Mac Mini (late-2014 and later)
Long story short, only Macs with PCIe SSDs support UEFI. Non-retina MBPs, along with other Macs not listed above (basically all Ivy Bridge and older Macs), are not UEFI compatible.
WinToUSB basically does the same thing, but doesnt always work because WinToUSB doesnt really take into account between BIOS-CSM and UEFI Macs; it only uses one method for all (which may result in boot failures and other problems).
PM me if you have any trouble.
Just to be 100% clear, I cannot use my W7 machine to do the above steps?Here you go:
Connect external drive to Windows VM. You must have a Windows VM in VMware/Parallels/VBox, or a Windows PC. Any existing Windows environment will do.
Note: If youre using a 32-bit ISO, your Windows environment used to do these commands have to be 32-bit. And if its a 64-bit ISO, the environment has to be 64-bit.
What you need:
install.wim file (obtain this from your Windows ISO)
Open elevated cmd.exe (run as admin)
Note: All commands aren't case sensitive, including pathway to files.
Type diskpart
Type list disk
Take note of the disk you want to select
Type select disk 1 (if your disk is Disk 1)
Type clean
Type convert gpt (do this and then stop at this point if you're using a drive with a Thunderbolt port. If installing in BIOS-CSM, type convert mbr and then stop at this point if youre using a drive with a Thunderbolt port)
Type create partition EFI size=100 (skip if installing in BIOS-CSM)
Type format quick fs=fat32 label=EFI (skip if installing in BIOS-CSM)
Type assign letter=S (skip if installing in BIOS-CSM)
Type create partition primary
Type format fs=ntfs quick label=W2G (or any other name you wish for label)
Type assign letter=E
Type exit
Open up File Explorer. In your C drive, create a new folder named WIN2GO.
Put the install.wim file in this folder
Back in cmd.exe:
Type dism /apply-image /imagefile:C:\WIN2GO\install.wim /index:1 /applydir:E:\ (this process will take quite a while)
Type E:\Windows\System32\bcdboot E:\Windows /s S: /f UEFI (use this one for UEFI installation)
Type E:\Windows\System32\bcdboot E:\Windows /s E: /f ALL (use this one for BIOS-CSM installation)
Restart your entire Mac. After the chime, hold down Option and when prompted to select your boot drive, select EFI Boot (or whatever else that comes up for a BIOS-CSM installation).
Proceed installation normally.
After installation, install Boot Camp drivers. Feel free to trash the VM once you're done too.
For best results, use USB 3/Thunderbolt. If you don't have USB 3, use Thunderbolt. If you have neither, stick back to the internal drive
Dont use a USB stick.
Note: This method involves reformatting the entire external drive.
For Thunderbolt drives, just boot from the Windows USB installer and install directly onto the TB drive. Windows sees TB drives as an internal PCIe connection. However, you must format the TB drive as GPT first.
CAUTION: Windows can only be installed in UEFI flawlessly on Haswell Macs and later. Ivy Bridge and earlier Macs can only run Windows in BIOS-CSM flawlessly. Attempts to boot a UEFI installation of Windows on an Ivy Bridge or earlier Mac will result in driver issues.
These steps do not work with Windows 7, as it lacks the dism.exe utility.
UEFI-compatible Macs:
MacBook Air (mid-2013 and later)
iMac (late-2013 and later)
Retina MacBook Pro (late-2013 and later)
Mac Pro (trashcan shape)
Mac Mini (late-2014 and later)
Long story short, only Macs with PCIe SSDs support UEFI. Non-retina MBPs, along with other Macs not listed above (basically all Ivy Bridge and older Macs), are not UEFI compatible.
WinToUSB basically does the same thing, but doesnt always work because WinToUSB doesnt really take into account between BIOS-CSM and UEFI Macs; it only uses one method for all (which may result in boot failures and other problems).
PM me if you have any trouble.
