Is it possible to set up he following combination of partitions; how?
- two OS X partitions, each bootable (one for the main system, another for testing new OS X releases)
- a Bootcamp bootable partition for Windows 7
- data partition shared between OS X and Windows?
I don't need access to either of OS X boot partitions from Windows. And vice versa: don't need to access Windows boot partition from OS X.
I use MacBook Pro 13" 2010, Windows 7 64-bit, OS X Mountain Lion.
Best Answer
It should be possible to partition the HDD like that but not in a default setup with Boot Camp and Windows 8/8.1 is recommended:
The hybrid MBR/GPT necessary for Boot Camp Assistant to install/boot Windows doesn't allow more than 4 partitions:
So a different approach is necessary:
Skip the hybrid MBR and use a pure GPT setup. Alternatively a multistage boot loader setup with rEFInd may also be possible.
Here is an obviously working setup for Windows 8 (source):
Check the comments there before proceeding.
Windows 7 may work as well with this guide. Here is an opposing point of view which claims that it is impossible to install Windows 7 in native UEFI-mode.
Warning: These steps require you to completely erase your hard drive! Make sure you have all the materials and have backed up all of your data before proceeding.
Materials:
Procedure:
If step 8.2. fails you have to partition the unallocated space manually after step 9 in Terminal.app with
to get the partition table, and
to add partitions.
You have to format the volumes afterwards with Disk Utility.