hnzw_rui Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 I've read a couple of guides, including the one for quad booting in the Wiki. The quad boot article was for XP, Vista, OS X and Linux. From what I understand, the only reason it was possible is because Linux doesn't need to be installed on a primary partition, hence, the primary partitions were reserved for XP, Vista and OS X, while the Linux OS and swap partitions were placed in the extended partition. I just want to know, is it possible to do a quad boot of Windows XP/Vista/7 + OS X? Also, in what order should the operating systems be installed? If not the above, how about Windows XP/7 + OS X + Kubuntu? Hardware: Intel D945GCLF2 (Atom 330) Kingston ValueRAM 2GB DDR2 800 Seagate Momentus 5400.5 320GB An optical drive will be connected to the build during the installation, but will be removed once everything's installed. The system will be used mostly for playing around with. I've been using Windows for years but I'm a total n00b when it comes to Mac. I've dabbled with Linux (Kubuntu) every now and then but so far, I always went back to Windows XP. Vista I'm not so enamoured with. I read an article regarding installing Leopard on this Atom board and was intrigued since it seemed like a very inexpensive way to preview OS X. Thanks for all the help in advance. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/148600-multi-booting-windows-xpvista7-os-x/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrskitch Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 I'm not a total expert here, but I've been through the ropes a couple of times so lets see if this makes sense to you: First, obviously, is make sure your mobo is supported. I'm sure there is a thread somewhere here based on your exact mobo, which was the case even for me. Thats the biggest thing with OS X. Secondly, How set are you on installing XP? Here is the reason: If you do a RETAIL Leopard install from a bootcd (which is the best imo), then you pretty much have to do a GUID partition table on your hard disk. When you do that, XP will not install on that disk anywhere. Vista wont either, BUT Windows 7 now supports GUID discs so it solves that problem. If you are using multiple hard drives, then dont worry so much about this. Other than that you can do a MBR partition table, say from a XP install, and then do a "hacked" OS X to install like iDeneb or Atkios. Lastly, order! If you want to do a Retail OSX install, then install it first, then Windows 7, then Ubuntu or whatever Linux OS you want. If you can't live without Windows XP, then get the previously mentioned distro's of OS X and take a look at some other forums on procedure. Sorry this was so winded! Alot to know, just make sure you have a plan. A quad-boot is quite a task! Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/148600-multi-booting-windows-xpvista7-os-x/#findComment-1052325 Share on other sites More sharing options...
hnzw_rui Posted January 23, 2009 Author Share Posted January 23, 2009 First, obviously, is make sure your mobo is supported. I'm sure there is a thread somewhere here based on your exact mobo, which was the case even for me. Thats the biggest thing with OS X. It's supposedly supported. From what I read, it seems to be a favorite for low power inexpensive Hackintosh builds with most things running oob. I never would have considered installing OS X if I hadn't come across a blog post of someone already running OS X on the thing. I didn't buy this board for the express purpose of running OS X but since I've been considering purchasing an iMac, I thought why not kill two birds with one stone? Installing OS X would give me a better feel for the operating system than spending an hour or two at the local Apple store and it should be a fun learning experience. Secondly, How set are you on installing XP? Here is the reason: If you do a RETAIL Leopard install from a bootcd (which is the best imo), then you pretty much have to do a GUID partition table on your hard disk. When you do that, XP will not install on that disk anywhere. Vista wont either, BUT Windows 7 now supports GUID discs so it solves that problem. If you are using multiple hard drives, then dont worry so much about this. Other than that you can do a MBR partition table, say from a XP install, and then do a "hacked" OS X to install like iDeneb or Atkios. XP will be the primary OS, so yeah, I'm pretty set on installing it. Leopard will be installed mostly for testing purposes and general playing around. Of course, that could change when I get used to OS X and find it to be a much better OS than XP. Lastly, order! If you want to do a Retail OSX install, then install it first, then Windows 7, then Ubuntu or whatever Linux OS you want. If you can't live without Windows XP, then get the previously mentioned distro's of OS X and take a look at some other forums on procedure. I think I'll follow one of the guides for my particular board. It makes use of Kalyway 10.5.2. Sorry this was so winded! Alot to know, just make sure you have a plan. A quad-boot is quite a task! No problems. It's actually much appreciated since you were able to explain or at least give an overview of a bunch of things. Thank you for taking the time to reply. I realize the set-up I'm aiming for is quite an undertaking that's why I'm trying to accumulate as much info now before I get down and dirty with the system. I would have installed an extra hard drive so one drive could use MBR and the other GPT (with boot record on GPT, I assume). Alas, I'm using a very cramped mini-itx case which makes this impossible. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/148600-multi-booting-windows-xpvista7-os-x/#findComment-1052403 Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrskitch Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Perfect, If you do use another Distro then you'll likely be able to use XP. I hear Kalyway is a good distro to use. Good luck on your build! And keep Windows 7 in mind, it is the best version of Windows I've ever dealt with. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/148600-multi-booting-windows-xpvista7-os-x/#findComment-1054472 Share on other sites More sharing options...
hnzw_rui Posted January 24, 2009 Author Share Posted January 24, 2009 Perfect, If you do use another Distro then you'll likely be able to use XP. I hear Kalyway is a good distro to use. Good luck on your build! And keep Windows 7 in mind, it is the best version of Windows I've ever dealt with. Thanks. Already tried installing OSx86 last night just to test and be ready for any installation gotchas not documented in the guides. After three attempts, I think I've got the procedure down pat, including video and audio (don't really care much for line-in). The build's been working pretty well so far. In fact, it's where I'm posting from right now. I'll attempt installing Windows XP and 7 Beta next. If that doesn't work, I can always reformat. The build was actually for me to play with Windows 7 Beta *dodges flying objects* so I'll be sure to install it. again for all the help! Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/148600-multi-booting-windows-xpvista7-os-x/#findComment-1054687 Share on other sites More sharing options...
hnzw_rui Posted January 26, 2009 Author Share Posted January 26, 2009 Okay, so I haven't proceeded on the multi-boot yet as i'm rethinking the OS installation order. I currently have OS X installed on the machine, but I don't know if the bootloader for Windows would recognize the OS X partition. If I do a complete reformat and install the operating systems in the following order: 1. Windows XP Professional 2. Windows Vista Ultimate 3. Windows 7 Beta 4. Kalyway 10.5.2 Will I be able to select which operating system I want to boot into using the Darwin bootloader? I would've used EasyBCD but apparently, there are some issues with Windows 7. Or maybe Grub, but how would I use that without installing Linux? Thanks! Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/148600-multi-booting-windows-xpvista7-os-x/#findComment-1056256 Share on other sites More sharing options...
insomnimac Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Id suggest multiple disks. I have 2 disks like this: 69GB - MBR - winxpsp3 80GB - GUID - OSX/WINDOWS7 Winxpsp3 doesn't run well when your computer is opimised for OSX. It probably wont even boot off AHCI disks. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/148600-multi-booting-windows-xpvista7-os-x/#findComment-1056677 Share on other sites More sharing options...
hnzw_rui Posted January 26, 2009 Author Share Posted January 26, 2009 I would have installed an extra hard drive so one drive could use MBR and the other GPT (with boot record on GPT, I assume). Alas, I'm using a very cramped mini-itx case which makes this impossible. Id suggest multiple disks. I have 2 disks like this: 69GB - MBR - winxpsp3 80GB - GUID - OSX/WINDOWS7 Winxpsp3 doesn't run well when your computer is opimised for OSX. It probably wont even boot off AHCI disks. I've already explained why I can't use multiple disks. Also, I'm not sure if OSX changes any settings or something, but Windows XP can boot from AHCI disks. SATA/RAID drivers either need to be installed prior to installing XP (F6) or slipstreamed into the XP install disc, but it can be done. If I do a complete reformat and install the operating systems in the following order:1. Windows XP Professional 2. Windows Vista Ultimate 3. Windows 7 Beta 4. Kalyway 10.5.2 Will I be able to select which operating system I want to boot into using the Darwin bootloader? Anyone know the answer to this question? Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/148600-multi-booting-windows-xpvista7-os-x/#findComment-1056728 Share on other sites More sharing options...
jizzle Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 Darwin bootloader should work juz fine if u don't let vista and win7 install their bootloader even if u have installed the vista bootloader it could be easily fixed. Use the Wiki quad boot instructions on how to prevent vista from installing the bootloader. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/148600-multi-booting-windows-xpvista7-os-x/#findComment-1057613 Share on other sites More sharing options...
hnzw_rui Posted January 27, 2009 Author Share Posted January 27, 2009 Ok. Thanks for the info. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/148600-multi-booting-windows-xpvista7-os-x/#findComment-1057625 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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