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what partitioning scheme to use when installing vista?

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schmintan

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 1, 2007
181
0
Im going installing Vista Ultalmate in the next week or two. i want to know the best way to partition my drive. would this be good?

3 partitions, one for OS X, one for Vista, and one for universal storage between the two OS's

or 2 partitions, one for OSX and one for Vista.

What partitioning schemes ( FAT 32, NTFS etc) are best in this suituation?
i will want to be able to boot into windows ( using bootcamp i guess) or access it via parallels.
 
mad jew

mad jew

Moderator emeritus
Apr 3, 2004
32,191
9
Adelaide, Australia
If you're going to be using Vista a lot, then I'd go for the three partitions option. We're talking about the 120GB drive in your signature, right? :cool:
 
S

schmintan

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 1, 2007
181
0
yep, its the measley 120gb drive. i have read somewhere that if i install vista via bootcamp, i will have to install a seperate copy when installing parallels to be able to use parallels. Is this true? this sounds very silly
 
mad jew

mad jew

Moderator emeritus
Apr 3, 2004
32,191
9
Adelaide, Australia
I don't use an Intel Mac, but if Parallels is a virtual OS then I can't see how you could avoid having two copies. I don't think Parallels is smart enough to use the system you'll have installed on the separate partition, especially if it's not FAT32. Just out of interest, why do you want both?
 
S

schmintan

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 1, 2007
181
0
i like to have options! no, seriously, i want to have both as:

i want to have the bootable version for games and the like.

i want to be able to just jump into windows now and again when i have an app i need that is not on the apple, but still keep using OSX.

The reason i got the mac was to try a different OS. if i have to boot into windows everytime to use it, i will end up never using the OSX installed.
 
mad jew

mad jew

Moderator emeritus
Apr 3, 2004
32,191
9
Adelaide, Australia
Trust me, you'll use OSX. It's far better than Vista in many ways, even if it does take some getting used to. :)

By the way, I could be wrong about the Parallels + Boot Camp thing.
 
S

schmintan

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 1, 2007
181
0
better or not, im not getting into that religous arguement! but i need windows for my work software. I know if i have to boot out of windows and back into OSX, it simply wont happen. il boot into windows to do work stuff. set up all my music and the like on the windows installation, as i want to listen to music also while i work, and mac OSX will gather dust! oh well, that was a waste of money buying an apple!
 
mad jew

mad jew

Moderator emeritus
Apr 3, 2004
32,191
9
Adelaide, Australia
Well, if you keep your music library on the FAT32 third partition and use iTunes, you should be able to access it from either OS quite easily. When you load back into OSX, simply hold OPTION as you open iTunes and select the library from the FAT32 partition. Easy. :)
 
kastorff

kastorff

macrumors regular
Oct 7, 2006
132
20
The current version of Parallels allows one to use the Bootcamp partition as a source for the virtual machine running in OS X. So you no longer need to manage two installations to have both "native" and virtual Windows.
 
kastorff

kastorff

macrumors regular
Oct 7, 2006
132
20
When using the Bootcamp partition (NTFS), Parallels writes to it, just as Windows does natively. OS X isn't involved.

Coherence mode eliminates the visual clutter of the Parallels virtual machine, and makes the Windows apps look as if they are running in OS X, and not in a window in Windows in a Parallels window. It's visually impressive, if practically basically eye candy.
 
kastorff

kastorff

macrumors regular
Oct 7, 2006
132
20
mad jew said:
I don't run either. Are you on Vista, because this link implies Vista can only run in coherence mode from a guest account when Vista is installed on the separate Boot Camp partition.
Click to expand...
I guess you mean this?
Can I create a Parallels virtual machine with a Windows Vista operating system from a Boot Camp partition?
Parallels is currently compatible with Boot Camp partitions running Windows XP. Development is underway to support Vista partitions. However, you can run your licensed version of Windows Vista in Coherence mode, which enables you to run your guest operating system without having to manage two desktops.
Click to expand...
Even after reading this a few times, it doesn't make sense. If Coherence can function, Parallels is already running, and since Coherence is a more advanced mode of Parallels than its normal windowed mode, the conclusion that FAQ implies doesn't add up. I don't have Vista installed via Boot Camp, so I can't verify, one way or the other. My experience is with XP, Boot Camp, and Parallels.
 
kastorff

kastorff

macrumors regular
Oct 7, 2006
132
20
mad jew said:
I think the point is Coherence is less advanced. It only runs the apps, and nothing else. Is your XP partition FAT32?
Click to expand...
No, NTFS.

Coherence really doesn't run anything. It's just a display mode, like full screen, or windowed mode. And having used Parallels for months, it would have to be considered perhaps the most advanced of the three display modes. It still makes no sense the most advanced and complex mode would work, and two less advanced modes wouldn't. I'm gonna see if there's content on the Parallels forums that would shed some light on the Vista/Parallels combination. If a physical Vista partition accessed from Parallels can only run in one of the three Parallels modes, I suspect lots of folks will have commented on it. :)

Update: From the feedback on the Parallels forum, it would appear Vista will run natively from a Boot Camp partition. The versions of Vista licensed for use in a virtual machine will run under Parallels from a virtual drive (I can personally verify this). But Parallels will currently not work properly with an instance of Vista (in any mode) run from the Boot Camp partition, as it does with XP. There appear to be some people who have obtained limited success by trying to trick Parallels into thinking it's running XP from Boot Camp rather than Vista (install XP, then upgrade, keeping the settings in XP mode), but this has some issues.
 
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