lemonbear Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Hi, I've got a hard drive with two partitions. One has XP and the other has Windows 7, I'm about to delete the Windows 7 partition and install Snow Leopard on it. Does anyone know if I'll have any boot problems after Snow Leopard is installed? Will OSX overwrite the original boot record? I'm just afraid I might corrupt the MBR and lose my XP partition. What should I be expecting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grinch Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Are you doing a Vanilla installation, or using a custom distro (such as <snip> or <snip>)? If you are doing a Vanilla installation, as far as I know, it will not overwrite your MBR. If you are doing a Custom Distro installation, it'll likely install Chameleon 2 (overwrites MBR) which will auto-detect and add Windows XP to its list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun N. Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Dual booting them is doable, however very complicated. It is easier to install them on separate hard drives. You wont lose your XP partition just for losing your MBR, just boot from an XP disc and fix the MBR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Observer Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 I tried it with 1 Hard Drive and found it near to imposable to do. I ended up getting a Second Hard Drive, and was the best way to do so. You will have less problems and if you wish to get rid off OSX86, you can just format the Hard Drive and boot into your windows. If you do it with one Hard Drive, you will need to fix the boot loader after deleting the OSX86 partition. I FULLY recommend you get a Second Hard Drive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grinch Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Maybe I am just lucky. Never had a problem dual-booting OS X and Windows. Not something you need to be a genius to know how to do. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun N. Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Also, Have you had OSX on your PC before? Do you know if everything is going to work after install? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaViD_BRaNDoN Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Hope you guys don't mind me piggybacking this thread but here are some (almost similar) questions on dual-booting Windows & OS X: - Will OS X work properly with all hardware in my Sony notebook (Intel Core 2 Duo, Intel GM45 Chipset, Intel GMA 4500MHD, Atheros Wi-Fi, Realtek HDA)? - What's the best/elegant way to dual-boot (pre-loaded) Windows 7 and OS X? 2nd hard drive option seems a bit out of reach for a notebook as there's no empty hard drive slot. That said, any issues installing/booting using portable USB hard drive? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaViD_BRaNDoN Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 And... - Given the choice, which is better (performance, stability, elegance) in dual-booting: getting a MacBook Pro + dual-boot OS X/Windows, or a Sony notebook + dual boot Windows/OS X? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Observer Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Hope you guys don't mind me piggybacking this thread but here are some (almost similar) questions on dual-booting Windows & OS X: - Will OS X work properly with all hardware in my Sony notebook (Intel Core 2 Duo, Intel GM45 Chipset, Intel GMA 4500MHD, Atheros Wi-Fi, Realtek HDA)? - What's the best/elegant way to dual-boot (pre-loaded) Windows 7 and OS X? 2nd hard drive option seems a bit out of reach for a notebook as there's no empty hard drive slot. That said, any issues installing/booting using portable USB hard drive? BAN! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grinch Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Hope you guys don't mind me piggybacking this thread but here are some (almost similar) questions on dual-booting Windows & OS X: - Will OS X work properly with all hardware in my Sony notebook (Intel Core 2 Duo, Intel GM45 Chipset, Intel GMA 4500MHD, Atheros Wi-Fi, Realtek HDA)? - What's the best/elegant way to dual-boot (pre-loaded) Windows 7 and OS X? 2nd hard drive option seems a bit out of reach for a notebook as there's no empty hard drive slot. That said, any issues installing/booting using portable USB hard drive? You'd need more information, but based on those parts you listed, yes. With the correct kexts (drivers), they all should work perfectly. One note though, the Intel 4500MHD does NOT get QE/CI (2d/3d acceleration) on OS X. So you'd not be able to play games, use DVD Player.app, other things as well. And... - Given the choice, which is better (performance, stability, elegance) in dual-booting: getting a MacBook Pro + dual-boot OS X/Windows, or a Sony notebook + dual boot Windows/OS X? MacBook Pro would be better and easier. BAN! You are joking, yes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Observer Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Maybe I am just lucky. Never had a problem dual-booting OS X and Windows. Not something you need to be a genius to know how to do. ;) Nice, to see it does work for some people, what was the way you got it working, i have read that you need to do this #1 Install Windows #2 Install OSX86 Snow Leopard #3 Fix your boot loader ( with windows install disk) #4 boot into windows, use a program like EASYBCD to edit your boot loader and add in SnowLeoaprd Drive! Would be interested on how you did this! You'd need more information, but based on those parts you listed, yes. With the correct kexts (drivers), they all should work perfectly. One note though, the Intel 4500MHD does NOT get QE/CI (2d/3d acceleration) on OS X. So you'd not be able to play games, use DVD Player.app, other things as well. MacBook Pro would be better and easier. You are joking, yes? NO not joking, people who hijack threads should be banned!! Start your own thread, and learn from it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grinch Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Nice, to see it does work for some people, what was the way you got it working, i have read that you need to do this #1 Install Windows #2 Install OSX86 Snow Leopard #3 Fix your boot loader ( with windows install disk) #4 boot into windows, use a program like EASYBCD to edit your boot loader and add in SnowLeoaprd Drive! Would be interested on how you did this! Actually, since I couldn't get a way to boot my Snow Leopard DVD+DL, I did this. GUID Formatted drive for the record. 1. Install Snow Leopard 2. Install Chameleon 2 3. Install Windows 4. Use Legacy Empire EFI to boot into Snow again. 5. Reinstall Chameleon 2 Done. If you know a good way to boot a Snow Leopard DVD+DL (retail image on it), I'd like to know. Empire EFI and 123Boot kernel panic when loading the DVD. NO not joking, people who hijack threads should be banned!! Start your own thread, and learn from it! Sorry, I mistook what the ban comment was for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Observer Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Actually, since I couldn't get a way to boot my Snow Leopard DVD+DL, I did this. GUID Formatted drive for the record. 1. Install Snow Leopard 2. Install Chameleon 2 3. Install Windows 4. Use Legacy Empire EFI to boot into Snow again. 5. Reinstall Chameleon 2 Done. Nice... If you know a good way to boot a Snow Leopard DVD+DL (retail image on it), I'd like to know. Empire EFI and 123Boot kernel panic when loading the DVD. Na i have read alot of people have this issue, i install with a USBkey install, that i made from my 10.5.8 install. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemonbear Posted February 4, 2010 Author Share Posted February 4, 2010 Hey guys, Thanks for all the replies! Yeah I tried installing it on the other partition and it wouldn't work because I had to format it and partition as a GUID Table. I wasn't so keen on that because it would wipe my XP partition also. I've decided to go and get another hard drive and install it on there. There's a workaround for it to install on to MBR partitions but it's kinda complex for me. Plus, I've never done a OSX installation before. Thanks for the replies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grinch Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Hey guys, Thanks for all the replies! Yeah I tried installing it on the other partition and it wouldn't work because I had to format it and partition as a GUID Table. I wasn't so keen on that because it would wipe my XP partition also. I've decided to go and get another hard drive and install it on there. There's a workaround for it to install on to MBR partitions but it's kinda complex for me. Plus, I've never done a OSX installation before. Thanks for the replies. Most Custom Distros support MBR Partitions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemonbear Posted February 4, 2010 Author Share Posted February 4, 2010 Most Custom Distros support MBR Partitions. Mmm yeah but I was going for a Vanilla install with something called 'Kakewalk', however my next plan of approach is to maybe 1) Partition with Disk Utility via MacOSX install 2) Install XP all on one disk. Can't be bothered going out to get a 2nd HDD as of this moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grinch Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Mmm yeah but I was going for a Vanilla install with something called 'Kakewalk', however my next plan of approach is to maybe 1) Partition with Disk Utility via MacOSX install 2) Install XP all on one disk. Can't be bothered going out to get a 2nd HDD as of this moment. Let us know how it turns out. Willing to help you if you run into any problems. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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