Windows 7 Boot Camp Small SSD

[donga]

so i've got an 80 gb intel ssd in a 13" 2.53 mbp and want to install windows 7 via boot camp.

what's the best way of going about this? how much should space should I use for the partition?

I'm probably going to use it primarily for gaming (l4d, other steam games) and maybe office. I was thinking of adding in a 640gb 5400 rpm optibay drive, and then putting that into two partitions as well (hfs+ and ntfs), then making the windows ssd partition smaller, and putting windows progs on the 2ndary HD.

 

[balamw]

I'd wait until you have the Optibay drive.

Requirements for W7 are 16/20 GB for 32/64 bit, and if you want some internal space for games you probably want 25-30GB at least to begin with.

EDIT: Actually, I guess it depends on how much data you currently have on the SSD. You might just want to split the drive 50/50 and keep data on the optibay.

I've never had good success with a small C:\ drive in Windows, stuff always seems to want to go there regardless of how you tell it you want it elsewhere...

B

 

[rgarjr]

It really depends on what you wanna install in Windows 7. If you want a lot of games and apps, of course you will need plenty of room.

 

[donga]

right, so i was thinking maybe 30gb for windows SSD partition, then put the games/applications on the secondary hard drive. is it possible to do this?

or what do others do that have the smaller ssd, and want to run windows?

 

[ayeying]

right, so i was thinking maybe 30gb for windows SSD partition, then put the games/applications on the secondary hard drive. is it possible to do this?

or what do others do that have the smaller ssd, and want to run windows?

I have a 128GB SSD and I did 50/50 for OSX and Windows. I gotta admit, it's a real tight fit for my Windows Partition after installing L4D2 Demo and MW2.

 

[donga]

so adding a second hard drive, can i put windows 7 progs on that and leave the OS on the ssd?

 

[ayeying]

so adding a second hard drive, can i put windows 7 progs on that and leave the OS on the ssd?

You can. Remember, not every program can be installed on a 2nd drive. But almost all the programs I've installed can be and it'll run great. You'll have a fast boot up (provided all drivers and start up programs are on the SSD) and still have room for the fun stuff.

Loading on games would be a little slower though since it's not on the main SSD.

 

[balamw]

You can. Remember, not every program can be installed on a 2nd drive.

Somehow, I always seem to get the kind of programs that insist on being on C:\ !

I did remember something that might be useful here though.

It seems like W7 is finally getting closer to ditching drive letters once and for all. You can actually mount a separate partition to a folder instead of a drive letter as you have always been able to do in unix.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/11253-mount-drives-partitions-folder.html

Maybe this way you can have your cake and eat it too.

Keep things looking like a single partition, but actually have many of the folders on the Optibay drive.

B

 

[donga]

another thought. could i just put all windows 7 on the second hard drive? or does it need to be on the primary?

 

[balamw]

As long as it's internal it should work fine on the secondary drive. Windows doesn't like being on an external removable drive.

That's what I was suggesting up top. Just wait until you have the larger drive and install it there.

B

 

[ayeying]

another thought. could i just put all windows 7 on the second hard drive? or does it need to be on the primary?

You can. There's nothing wrong with that. I had a 13" uMB before running 2x500GB 5400RPM drives and it had OSX and Windows separately.

 

[donga]

will boot camp assistant suffice for the 2ndary hard drive? or do i need to do something more complicated?

 

[CylonGlitch]

another thought. could i just put all windows 7 on the second hard drive? or does it need to be on the primary?

Actually Windows wants to be on C:, if it is on anything else, things are not happy. Technically it works, I had XP installed on drive D: at one time and let me tell you, TONS of things will not install or will crash because they search for drive C: first for the OS. Really causes problems; I couldn't even install Microsoft Office, it really went haywire!

 

[ayeying]

will boot camp assistant suffice for the 2ndary hard drive? or do i need to do something more complicated?

Don't even need it. Pop in the windows CD, boot from it, format the 2nd drive and install. Boot Camp.app is required for partitioning, since its gonna be installed on a full drive, no partition is needed.

 

[donga]

Don't even need it. Pop in the windows CD, boot from it, format the 2nd drive and install. Boot Camp.app is required for partitioning, since its gonna be installed on a full drive, no partition is needed.

ah but i was gonna get the scorpio blue 640gb and partition 100 for windows, then the rest for os x.

same steps apply?

 

[ayeying]

ah but i was gonna get the scorpio blue 640gb and partition 100 for windows, then the rest for os x.

same steps apply?

Any partition, then you'll require to use Boot Camp... or you can partition via Disk Utility and boot from windows CD/DVD