kludgedean Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 Just wondering if anyone is successfully dual-booting Win7 and Snow Leopard on the same HDD yet? Been looking around a few days, and it seems as though the only way it's really happened is with the "OSInstall.mpkg" method from within Leopard. Although this 'works' it's riddled with permission issues as said in previous posts. I can (successfully) nail an OSX10.6.1 installation on my board with a BootCD... Except OSX10.6 wants a GUID partition table, and Win7 can't make a new partition, and errors all the time, and needs an MBR Partition table (which normally wouldn't work on OSX) So, ideally, I'm guessing that you need an MBR partition table, a modified OSInstall.mpkg(?) and install Windows 7 first so that's happy, and then OSX10.6, and then Chameleon RC3 as this handles MBR and GUID partition tables fine. Will be doing some experiments again today 1/ Restoring the DMG to an 8GB USB stick, then doing the OSInstall.mpkg mod, Install Win 7, and then install OSX10.6 using the USB Stick normally 2/ As above, except going into the terminal and executing the OSInstall.mpkg from there Will let you know how it goes, or if there's a working way 'out there', i'd appreciate not battling for a few hours Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/187747-anyone-successfully-dual-booting-106-win-7/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede420 Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 use BootThink! Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/187747-anyone-successfully-dual-booting-106-win-7/#findComment-1273969 Share on other sites More sharing options...
kludgedean Posted September 20, 2009 Author Share Posted September 20, 2009 Tried Boot Think, i didn't like it as the main bootloader, (Compared to Chameleon RC3) It failed to do my DSDT properly, and ignored my extras even though i shifted everything round to where it needed it. ( /Darwin/*) Although I'd still have to HAVE installed OSX10.6 and win7, that doesn't solve that problem sadly Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/187747-anyone-successfully-dual-booting-106-win-7/#findComment-1273973 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyzco Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 Chameleon seems to boot it fine Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/187747-anyone-successfully-dual-booting-106-win-7/#findComment-1274099 Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede420 Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 Tried Boot Think, i didn't like it as the main bootloader, (Compared to Chameleon RC3) It failed to do my DSDT properly, and ignored my extras even though i shifted everything round to where it needed it. ( /Darwin/*) Although I'd still have to HAVE installed OSX10.6 and win7, that doesn't solve that problem sadly Boots everything fine here (windows 7,ubuntu,snow leopard), it can even boot the retail DVD. You must have done something wrong. BootThink Rocks! Chameleon is also god but in my opinion BootThink is better. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/187747-anyone-successfully-dual-booting-106-win-7/#findComment-1274271 Share on other sites More sharing options...
agentm Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 Same here, Win x64 and Snow x64 on my Laptop, booting fine using Boot Thing. DSDT is workin fine Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/187747-anyone-successfully-dual-booting-106-win-7/#findComment-1274281 Share on other sites More sharing options...
kludgedean Posted September 20, 2009 Author Share Posted September 20, 2009 I'm more worried about the actual installation that a boot manager, that's what i'm asking about HOW did you install Win 7 x64 and Snow leopard on the SAME drive? Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/187747-anyone-successfully-dual-booting-106-win-7/#findComment-1274327 Share on other sites More sharing options...
agentm Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 I'm more worried about the actual installation that a boot manager, that's what i'm asking about HOW did you install Win 7 x64 and Snow leopard on the SAME drive? My way on (Win)Laptop: and first try 1) I installed my Retail Snow using a pendrive on GPT Partition. Reboot. Put in Paragon CD. 2) Then I made a Image using paragon hard disk manager (for Windows) Boot cd, and copied it to a safe place.(eg USB Hard Disk) 3) Again I boot with my Boot Pendrive, and delete Snow, then I create same new MBR Partitions: on my 500 GB HD, Partitions are: 1: 10 GB (boot, MAC Ext),for boot manager 2: 75 GB (Win7, fat), containing Win7x64 - reformated to NTFS during Win Setup 3: 100 GB (Prog, fat, containing Win Programs - reformated later to NTFS 4: 100 GB (Mac Ext), MacSnow 5: 100 GB (Mac Ext), MacData 6: 115 GB (Daten fat), containing WinData - reformated later to NTFS. Now I setup Win7x64. After that, the return Paragon Boot CD: Restore the Snow Image to MacSnow Partition. Now: the return of the Pendrive:Put it to USB and Boot Snow. Install latest Boot Think to First Partition. (10 GB, boot) Put in your needs..Kexts, Smbios, DSDT.. Its easy Remove USB Pendrive. Reboot. Win7 comes up. Now the last: In Win7 I installed latest Beta Easybcd. Reboot. Now I have the Win Bootmanger, with Win7 and Snow. (Use EasyBCD to rename, if you want) If you choose Win7, Win7 is booting If you choose Mac, BootThink comes up and offer Win7 and Mac. If you choose Mac, Mac is booting Sorry if I made some Typos, english is NOT my main Language Good luck Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/187747-anyone-successfully-dual-booting-106-win-7/#findComment-1274391 Share on other sites More sharing options...
four_seven Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 I don't know what the rules/opinions are to linking towards other forums, but I've just installed both using the following method - MyDellMini . My advice is to use the OSInstall.mpkg as usual, and only take the advice on partitioning with vista/win7 from the above link. But yes, it installs fine. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/187747-anyone-successfully-dual-booting-106-win-7/#findComment-1274653 Share on other sites More sharing options...
kludgedean Posted September 21, 2009 Author Share Posted September 21, 2009 @agentm: Cheers for that little guide, Your english is just fine! I appreciate your time, and knowledge of English =] @four_seven: Thanks for that link, will attempt to get a guide written up once I finally master this! The "GPT" from what i've read is the biggest clue as both MacOSX and Win7 can natively boot into GPT, whereas MacOSX wants GUID, and win7 wants MBR or GPT (doesn't recognise GUID at all!) Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/187747-anyone-successfully-dual-booting-106-win-7/#findComment-1274885 Share on other sites More sharing options...
srs5694 Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 The "GPT" from what i've read is the biggest clue as both MacOSX and Win7 can natively boot into GPT, whereas MacOSX wants GUID, and win7 wants MBR or GPT (doesn't recognise GUID at all!) I'm afraid you're mistaken. GPT = "GUID Partition Table." GUID = "Globally Unique Identifier." (The links are to the relevant Wikipedia articles.) In the context of disk partitioning systems, "GPT" and "GUID" are synonymous, unless you're referring to a specific GUID field on a GPT disk (there are several). Mac people often use "GUID" where most others use "GPT," perhaps because Disk Utility uses the full name ("GUID Partition Table"). "Real" Intel-based Macs use GPT exclusively for their native disks, although Macs can read MBR disks just fine, and my understanding is that they can even boot from MBR if you go to the effort of moving your installation. Some functions, such as partition resizing, work only on GPT disks. Hackintoshes can be created using either GPT or MBR. Some people prefer one system or the other, and there are certain configurations in which one or the other is preferable. For instance, when multi-booting with a GPT-unaware OS, MBR will usually be simpler to set up; but GPT may be preferable if you're booting Mac OS only, or multi-booting Mac OS and another GPT-capable OS (such as Linux). Reports are that Snow Leopard refuses to install directly to MBR unless some of the install DVD's configuration files are altered. The situation with Windows is complex. On systems that use a legacy BIOS as firmware, no version of Windows can boot from a GPT disk, at least not without jumping through flaming hoops on a tightrope. Recent versions of Windows (Vista and 7, as well as some earlier versions depending on platform) can handle non-boot GPT disks, but they can't boot from them. OTOH, if your system has EFI firmware rather than or in addition to a BIOS, recent versions of Windows can install to and boot from a GPT disk. Check Microsoft's GPT FAQ for more version-specific details. For most people, the bottom line is that Windows must boot from an MBR disk. Complicating matters is the existence of a "hybrid MBR" configuration. This is a GPT disk that also contains an MBR that can hold up to three partitions. Typically, the MBR side's three partitions point to three of the GPT partitions. The point of doing this is to enable Windows to boot from a GPT disk -- because of the way each OS does its partition detection, Windows sees the disk as being MBR-only and Mac OS sees it as having a GPT. This is useful for some multi-boot configurations, but it's also very risky. GPT-unaware utilities could easily trash the disk. For instance, some MBR boot loaders will overwrite the main GPT data structures. There's also the risk of the MBR and GPT partition definitions going out of sync. See my page on hybrid MBRs for more details. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/187747-anyone-successfully-dual-booting-106-win-7/#findComment-1275298 Share on other sites More sharing options...
kludgedean Posted September 22, 2009 Author Share Posted September 22, 2009 Thanks for the lengthy reply!. Ideally I'd like to have both Win7 and Snow Leopard (and thinking another Snow Leopard or just Leopard for a backup, or anything that needs the boot partition to be 'offline'). The hybrid setup sounds all well and good, but guessed it'd be risky, as some partitioning toold report 'errors' when there aren't any! I've only found 2 backup programs that handle MacOSX partitions correctly! One freeware, One commercial =/ Freeware: Clonezilla Commercial: Paragon Hard Disk Manager Looks like i'm edging closer to have 2, or 3 OS's on an SSD, but i'm still working on mechanical HDDs for obvious reasons! Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/187747-anyone-successfully-dual-booting-106-win-7/#findComment-1276441 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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