Questions about installing onto hard drive.

[Ellis]

So I managed to get Snow Leopard working under VMware, and it works pretty well, but it would be good to have it installed on a separate partition alongside Windows 7. I've got a few questions:

 

1. How easy would it be to install 10.6 on a separate partition and dual boot it alongside Windows?

2. What is the chance that I would be able to get internet (wireless) and audio working? I would need them both to make it worth while.

3. Would I have to keep a boot DVD in the drive the entire time, or would it boot normally (straight off the hard drive) once installed?

4. Would USB work?

5. Would the performance be good, and would it work with all of my components?

 

Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 @ 2.66GHz (supports SSE3)

MSI P31 Neo (MS-7392)

4 GB DDR2 RAM

Nvidia GeForce 8800GT 512MB

Single 500GB SATA HDD

SATA DVD burner

PS/2 keyboard and USB mouse connected to PS/2 using adaptor

EDIT: Using the Realtek RTL8187 Wi-Fi adaptor.

 

Basically, I would hope to get it up and running so that I could switch on the PC, select OS X, and boot up into it, with internet and audio working properly. Obviously, I know this will not be as simple as just putting in a disc and clicking install.

 

Thanks in advance

[srs5694]

So I managed to get Snow Leopard working under VMware, and it works pretty well, but it would be good to have it installed on a separate partition alongside Windows 7. I've got a few questions:

 

1. How easy would it be to install 10.6 on a separate partition and dual boot it alongside Windows?

 

That depends on your definition of "easy." There are numerous install guides out there, so have a look at a couple to judge the difficulty. One complication is that side-by-side installation with Windows will require jumping through some extra hoops, since OS X (particularly 10.6) doesn't like to install to MBR partitions, and Windows won't boot from MBR unless the computer has EFI rather than BIOS. Solutions include using a modified installer program, using a "hybrid MBR," or installing to one disk and then copying the installation over.

 

2. What is the chance that I would be able to get internet (wireless) and audio working? I would need them both to make it worth while.

 

Very high, although as you didn't specify your audio hardware, that's uncertain. Also the RTL8187b you mention has drivers from Realtek, but AFAIK they work only in 32-bit mode, so you might not be able to boot into 64-bit mode. (I got these drivers working fine on a laptop, but the laptop proceeded to self-destruct shortly thereafter. )

 

3. Would I have to keep a boot DVD in the drive the entire time, or would it boot normally (straight off the hard drive) once installed?

 

OSx86 installations generally include a boot loader that enables you to select which OS to boot when you power on, so there's no need to keep a DVD in the drive.

 

4. Would USB work?

 

Probably. USB problems occasionally crop up, but my impression is that they're usually fairly easy to resolve.

 

5. Would the performance be good, and would it work with all of my components?

 

For most operations, performance depends more on hardware than on the OS. The main exceptions are if drivers are buggy or poorly written and if you're relying on functions that are dependent on the drivers. For instance, video performance might or might not be up to snuff. In my experience, this is an area that's rife with problems in OSx86. I'm not familiar with the nVidia GeForce 8800GT you've got, so I can't comment on it specifically. If you're lucky, it'll work right out of the box. If not, it'll probably seem on the surface to work but it'll give you no obvious way to change video modes and performance will be poor. You may be unable to play DVDs, for instance. If this happens, fiddling with the video drivers may or may not help. Nobody can give you honest guarantees on this (except possibly in the negative, if your card is known not to work); you'll just have to try it.

[Ellis]

Thanks for that. With various gathered information, it seems like the best way to go about it is this:

 

Shrink the current partition in Windows

Create a new one and format it

Boot into a bootloader

Insert the OS X retail disc (which I don't have)

Install OS X

Somehow install a bootloader which allows me to choose the OS when I switch on my PC.

 

EDIT: Would it be possible to use the £21 ($29) upgrade disc of OS X or would I have to buy an expensive version?

[srs5694]

That's the basic procedure, yes. Tools such as Empire EFI both enable you to boot the retail installer and provide post-installation drivers and utilities, including the boot loader that you'll install on your hard disk, so that part of it isn't a great challenge.

[Ellis]

I found a program called "EFIStudio" on my virtual OS X which includes an option to install drivers for my graphics card. Basically, I have worked out that I will be able to install Wi-Fi drivers, I'm pretty certain about audio, as far as I can tell USB should work, so I should be able to use a USB drive to put the drivers on and install them in OS X. The only thing I'm not sure about is the MBR hard drive type etc. What would you recommend I do? I know that I had to use a certain hard drive format to get OS X to install in VMware.

[srs5694]

The only thing I'm not sure about is the MBR hard drive type etc. What would you recommend I do? I know that I had to use a certain hard drive format to get OS X to install in VMware.

 

There are two types of hard disk partitioning in common or semi-common use on x86/x86-64 systems: Master Boot Record (MBR) and GUID Partition Table (GPT). Windows refuses to boot from anything but MBR on BIOS-based computers, which is most generic computers today, although Windows can boot from GPT disks on systems that use an EFI rather than a BIOS. Windows Vista and later (and some earlier versions of Windows, depending on platform) can read GPT disks just fine; it only has problems booting from them. A stock OS X installation refuses to install to anything but a GPT disk, although if you transfer an installation to an MBR disk, it will boot from there. There are also hacked installers that enable more direct installation to MBR disks, although I know relatively little about them.

 

There are four basic options for installing OS X to a computer that already has Windows. In order of preference, they are:

 

1. Get another disk and install OS X to it using GPT, leaving Windows on its MBR-based disk. This is often the solution that produces the fewest headaches, but it's impractical on laptops and will cost you money even on a desktop system, unless you happen to already have the disks.
   
2. Temporarily install OS X to a spare disk (even a USB flash drive) using EFI and then transfer that installation to your main MBR disk.
   
3. Use a modified installer, as mentioned.
   
4. Convert your MBR disk into a hybrid MBR configuration. This is a setup that stores both MBR and GPT data structures on the disk, so both Windows and OS X can be happy with it. This approach can be easier than #2, but the trouble is that hybrid MBRs are flaky and dangerous.
   

 

Options #3 and #4 both require extra tools, above and beyond the normal ones for installing OSx86.

[Ellis]

I think what will probably be a much easier option is just to simply purchase a new hard drive. It would mean spending a bit of cash, but they're not too expensive. I might do this, but I need to buy a new guitar first