What is the best way to add storage to Mac OS and Bootcamp ?

[iamjuju]

Hi everyone ! I’ve received an 2014 iMac with a 500gb SSD storage, I will split the SSD in two part ( Mac / Windows ) later tonight.

I have also bought in Amazon a 2tb HDD storage, is it possible to split the HDD in two part , one for the Mac data and another for the Windows data ??

If yes , how can i manage to do this ? Thanks guys !

 

[iamjuju]

Also it’s an external HDD

 

[hwojtek]

Yes, you can format an external disk to ExFAT, this will make it accessible to both Windows and MacOS.

You will obviously regret it, as it will be dead slow compared to your SSD.

Use this guide to add a regular SATA SSD to your computer and separate MacOS and Windows properly. It only looks hard.

 

[iamjuju]

Yes, you can format an external disk to ExFAT, this will make it accessible to both Windows and MacOS.

You will obviously regret it, as it will be dead slow compared to your SSD.

Use this guide to add a regular SATA SSD to your computer and separate MacOS and Windows properly. It only looks hard.

My original plan was to put windows OS and Mac OS + all the 3rd party apps launcher on the SDD , and put all datas on the HDD . Do you think it will make the computer slow ?

 

[hwojtek]

Yes.
Also you will want to have your Windows on a separate drive, trust me.

 

[iamjuju]

Yes.
Also you will want to have your Windows on a separate drive, trust me.

Ok you made me regret my decision to buy my 2tb HDD haha. I did watch a YouTube guy who told people to use an external HDD to put all the music library so this is the main reason i m doing this , SSD cost so much… Also why is it so important to install windows on a separate drive specifically ?

 

[hwojtek]

1. You will be able to install Windows in UEFI mode instead of legacy mode.
2. A single-disk issue will not take out two operating systems
3. You will have your systems work as they were designed (MacOS apps may or may not be happy with data on ExFAT partition)
4. You will avoid inevitable clutter on your data disk
5. You will avoid a setup with at least one (split stock SSD) of not two (split data drive) weak links.

 

[madeirabhoy]

Ok you made me regret my decision to buy my 2tb HDD haha. I did watch a YouTube guy who told people to use an external HDD to put all the music library so this is the main reason i m doing this , SSD cost so much… Also why is it so important to install windows on a separate drive specifically ?

you wont notice the difference, if its for music and documents. yeah if you are rich get a big SSD but for normal people, HDD is perfectly fine. I have two HDD plugged into my 2017 imac, one is exFAT which i can access from both sides, never had a problem.

and tbh splitting your internal drive, whether HDD or SSD, using the bootcamp app, is the most common way of installing windows. ive never had a problem.

 

[iamjuju]

1. You will be able to install Windows in UEFI mode instead of legacy mode.
2. A single-disk issue will not take out two operating systems
3. You will have your systems work as they were designed (MacOS apps may or may not be happy with data on ExFAT partition)
4. You will avoid inevitable clutter on your data disk
5. You will avoid a setup with at least one (split stock SSD) of not two (split data drive) weak links.

Ok i see this sounds like trouble ..

I was searching for all the reformat available and it seems like APFS is the best choice for apple and ExFat for Windows..

I don’t know if I was clear with my original idea so i will try to be more detailed :

Split my 500gb ssd :

For Big Sur : Around 400gb , for OS data and everything else

For Windows : around the minimal size so I can put Windows OS only


THEN Split my external 2tb HDD storage in 2 parts

For Big Sur : 1.5tb APFS . I will put ONLY all music library data on it

For Windows : 0.5gb ExFat . Will put everything in it , gaming use only.

 

[hwojtek]

500 GB for Windows gaming - will fit 8-10 decent games and I personally feel my SATA loads Fallout4 levels way too slow, I can't really imagine any gaming performance on USB3 platter drive.

Storing music on an external (even USB3 platter) disk is however absolutely OK. Small files, accessed every 4-6 minutes, that's not a problem. I have a backup of my library on an external disk I take with me traveling and the speed is not an issue.

It's splitting two disks exactly what I call "creating weak links". One wrong move on a partition table and your both partitions are gone.

Also, to run Monterey on this computer you will need to resort to OpenCore (unless you want to stick with Big Sur), so it makes the UEFI approach to Windows (even Windows 11) even more obvious.

 

[iamjuju]

500 GB for Windows gaming - will fit 8-10 decent games and I personally feel my SATA loads Fallout4 levels way too slow, I can't really imagine any gaming performance on USB3 platter drive.

Storing music on an external (even USB3 platter) disk is however absolutely OK. Small files, accessed every 4-6 minutes, that's not a problem. I have a backup of my library on an external disk I take with me traveling and the speed is not an issue.

It's splitting two disks exactly what I call "creating weak links". One wrong move on a partition table and your both partitions are gone.

Also, to run Monterey on this computer you will need to resort to OpenCore (unless you want to stick with Big Sur), so it makes the UEFI approach to Windows (even Windows 11) even more obvious.

My gaming uses will not be for massive games. I do play Brawlhalla, Minecraft , Team Fortress 2 , Sea of Thieves and league of legends and that’s it lol . My previous 27" 2011 iMac died from GPU heating issue so i am scare of doing triple A gaming no matter what , even if I have a 4gb r9 m295x.

About splitting drives… Since I’ve already bought my external HDD, I think you just have to say good luck to me haha

Also my 2014 iMac don’t have Monterey , the last available is big sur. But talking about UEFI , I have no idea of what it is , and what makes it different from Legacy.

Also thank you very much for all the previous explaining sir , you help me so much . I am no pro information or anything, but I’ve managed to gain so much confident with such clear explanation on macrumors

 

[madeirabhoy]

Ok i see this sounds like trouble ..

I was searching for all the reformat available and it seems like APFS is the best choice for apple and ExFat for Windows..

I don’t know if I was clear with my original idea so i will try to be more detailed :

Split my 500gb ssd :

For Big Sur : Around 400gb , for OS data and everything else

For Windows : around the minimal size so I can put Windows OS only


THEN Split my external 2tb HDD storage in 2 parts

For Big Sur : 1.5tb APFS . I will put ONLY all music library data on it

For Windows : 0.5gb ExFat . Will put everything in it , gaming use only.

what might help a little, without any extra expense, is if you make enough space in windows to have at least your one most intensive game on the SSD.

 

[iamjuju]

500 GB for Windows gaming - will fit 8-10 decent games and I personally feel my SATA loads Fallout4 levels way too slow, I can't really imagine any gaming performance on USB3 platter drive.

Storing music on an external (even USB3 platter) disk is however absolutely OK. Small files, accessed every 4-6 minutes, that's not a problem. I have a backup of my library on an external disk I take with me traveling and the speed is not an issue.

It's splitting two disks exactly what I call "creating weak links". One wrong move on a partition table and your both partitions are gone.

Also, to run Monterey on this computer you will need to resort to OpenCore (unless you want to stick with Big Sur), so it makes the UEFI approach to Windows (even Windows 11) even more obvious.

I listened to your advice and bought a 1tb SSD external. I will keep the 2tb HDD for backups of my work.

I will also split the SSD in two part , 800-850gb for the Mac OS , and 150-200gb for the windows