Recommended Posts

Goal: On my MacBook Pro 13 (mid-2010), I want to run both OS X Lion with FileVault protection, and Windows 7 64-bit (Boot Camp) with BitLocker protection.

Dilemma: Limit of four primary partitions.

Story: I have this 13-inch MacBook Pro (mid-2010) which I rarely used. Several months ago I upgraded its hard drive to a Seagate Momentus XT 500GB, and just recently I loaded Windows 7 through Boot Camp. I was impressed with how well Windows 7 ran on the system, and I was even playing fairly recent games at high graphics quality. I decided that I wanted to secure the hard drive data in case I bring the laptop with me when I go on trips. "No problem", I thought. Both Windows 7 and OS X Lion have drive encryption features. I first attempted to enable BitLocker in Windows, and realized that the MacBook didn't have a TPM chip. No big deal though - I'll just enable BitLocker and use a USB drive for authentication. The next issue I ran into was that BitLocker required a separate boot partition, and with a Boot Camp install, Windows loads everything in one partition.

OS X Lion uses three partitions - an EFI partition, the OS X partition, and a recovery partition. "Hmm, I don't really need that recovery partition", I thought. So I removed the recovery partition, enabled BitLocker, and all was well on the Windows side. I was impressed that I didn't really notice any speed difference with BitLocker enabled.

Next step: Enable FileVault. Only problem: Apparently FileVault requires that OS X recovery partition. So now I have a dilemma. I can only encrypt one OS or the other since OS X uses three partitions if you use FileVault, and Windows 7 uses two partitions if you use BitLocker.

Theoretical workarounds: I wonder if I could somehow get Windows 7's two partitions inside of an extended partition. Windows 7 doesn't allow you to install it like this since a logical partition can't be marked as active. But perhaps I could image them into logical partitions, and maybe it could still boot since it's being selected from the OS X boot menu.

Another idea is to have the Windows 7 boot partition on a USB drive (since I need the USB drive for BitLocker anyways). But this does not look promising since I have a USB drive with WinPE on it, and it does not show up in the Apple boot menu.

Any suggestions on this would be appreciated. I know some might suggest using virtualization for Windows, but that's not a good solution if you intend to do some gaming in Windows. Some might suggest using TrueCrypt for the Windows partition. I tried that, but it apparently doesn't work with Boot Camp.

  On 07/05/2012 at 02:28, fbsduser said:

Doesn't Mac's come with the gpt partition table? You can just set the two windoze partitions as "mbr" primary partitions and the OSX ones (including the EFI partition) as gpt primary ones.

The problem here is that when you boot up through Boot Camp, the OS sees the drive as having an MBR partition table. So to Windows, the OS X partitions count as the first three, and you are left with one available.

It's starting to look like this project may be a failure. I tried gathering an image of the Windows boot partition, then recreating it as a logical partition. But that would not show up on the Apple boot menu.

  • 1 year later...
  On 07/05/2012 at 02:28, fbsduser said:

Doesn't Mac's come with the gpt partition table? You can just set the two windoze partitions as "mbr" primary partitions and the OSX ones (including the EFI partition) as gpt primary ones.

 

http://tumblr.tguum.kr/post/9709394290/enabling-bitlocker-with-osx-lions-filevault-activated

^^ the English is rough, and it is presented in a difficult way to understand besides.

 

It appears possibly this guy is manually editing the Hybrid MBR to effect the suggested fix (using GPT for Mac OS Filevault/boot and MBR for Windows Bitlocker/boot).

 

Can anyone read that post?

 

-Matt

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • That explains my recent issues with classic Outlook. I can see the FORMS2 folder has resolved the issue on my system.
    • Brave 1.79.126 by Razvan Serea Brave Browser is a lightning-fast, secure web browser that stands out from the competition with its focus on privacy, security, and speed. With features like HTTPS Everywhere and built-in tracker blocking, Brave keeps your online activities safe from prying eyes. Brave is one of the safest browsers on the market today. It blocks third-party data storage. It protects from browser fingerprinting. And it does all this by default. Speed - Brave is built on Chromium, the same technology that powers Google Chrome, and is optimized for speed, providing a fast and responsive browsing experience. Brave Browser also features Brave Rewards, a system that rewards users with Basic Attention Tokens (BAT) for viewing opt-in ads. This innovative system provides an alternative revenue model for content creators and a way to support the Brave community. Brave 1.79.126 changelog: Fixed crash when clicking on shields panel in certain cases. Fixed crash on navigation when a Google sign-in request has been triggered. (#46769) Fixed crash when Leo generates empty list when clicking on “Suggest questions” while using BYOM (Bring Your Own Model). (#46843) Fixed issue importing from Trezor wallet when Trezor Connect is outdated. (#46660) Upgraded Chromium to 137.0.7151.119. (#46911) Download: Brave Browser 64-bit | 1.2 MB (Freeware) Download: Brave Browser 32-bit View: Brave Homepage | Offline Installers | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • LeafView 3.6.5 by Razvan Serea LeafView is a fast, open-source image viewer built with Electron. It offers a sleek, minimal UI for fast and efficient image browsing. Supporting various formats, LeafView ensures a smooth viewing experience with essential features like zoom, rotation, and slideshow mode. Designed for simplicity and performance, it utilizes hardware acceleration for smooth rendering and supports touch gestures for seamless navigation. LeafView key features: Lightweight & Open-Source – Minimal resource usage with a clean, efficient design Electron-Based – Cross-platform compatibility with modern UI Multiple Image Format Support – Opens JPG, PNG, GIF, BMP, and more Smooth Rendering – Hardware acceleration for fast performance Essential Image Controls – Zoom, rotate, and slideshow mode Touch Gesture Support – Seamless navigation on compatible devices Minimal UI – Focused on simplicity and ease of use LeafView 3.6.5 changelog: Update electron to v36.5.0 Download: LeafView 3.6.5 | Portable | ~100.0 MB (Open Source) View: LeafView Website | Other operating systems | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • Which is why I continue to use Open Shell for my start menu. your best course of action is to install a third-party Start menu
  • Recent Achievements

    • First Post
      Fuzz_c earned a badge
      First Post
    • First Post
      TIGOSS earned a badge
      First Post
    • Week One Done
      slackerzz earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      vivetool earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Reacting Well
      pnajbar earned a badge
      Reacting Well
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      700
    2. 2
      ATLien_0
      280
    3. 3
      Michael Scrip
      208
    4. 4
      +FloatingFatMan
      196
    5. 5
      Steven P.
      130
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!