Can I have two instances of OSX on a Mac Pro on two separate hard drives?

Hi,

I'm looking into getting a Mac Pro (probably will wait until the new rev. is out in early 2010) but I had a question:

I'm looking to run two instances of OSX on two different hard drives. Is this easy to set up? I've run a dual boot using Bootcamp for OSX and Windows, but never for two instances of OSX.

The reason I need this is that one instance I will be using as an everyday hard drive, with all of my programs (Adobe CS, MS Office, iWork, iLife, etc.). This will be constantly updated with the newest OSX updates and revisions.

The other partition will be dedicated solely to Pro Tools, which recommends that you run it separately. They also are always behind in updating Pro Tools to the latest OSX support, so the second HD I would not update the OS until PT was updated to support the latest rev.

Since Apple charges a price premium on HDs, I will likely buy the MP with one HD, and install the second HD myself. Can I use the same OSX disc that came with my MP for the second HD or do I need to buy a second copy of OSX?

Thanks!

MBP 15.4" 2.33GHz, Mac OS X (10.6.2), iPhone 3GS Black 32GB

Posted on Dec 26, 2009 12:46 PM

17 replies

thanon

Level 1

79 points

Dec 29, 2009 3:49 AM in response to The hatter

The hatter wrote:
Graphic publishing houses are often not on bleeding and cutting edge, heck, sometimes they have been happy to stay with an OS (like OS 9 for Mac) beyond its true usefulness, as perceived by others.

Exactly.
I'm still using work-arounds for some of my hardware, due to lack of proper drivers, in 10.5.8 .

Before it's absolutely sure that my main components, printer, colour calibration, image capture, 3D software , etc. , are 100% compatible with Snow, and my workflow can be maintained with ease, I'll stay with Leopard .
Just like I stayed with the early '08 MP and MBP, it's better for my productivity than later models.

And I'm just a 1 man company with comparably modest investments in hardware and a rather simple workflow.

The hatter

Level 9

61,031 points

Dec 29, 2009 6:28 AM in response to thanon

So that means you can't buy one Mac Pro 2009/2010 for testing either, or to take up work load when needed.

I upgraded to 10.5.6 so I could use Nvidia 8800GT.
I bought Snow Leopard for Boot Camp 3.0 (boo hoo here there 😟

I built two PCs instead of a new 2009 Mac Pro to outfit and run Windows 7 though. CS4 still isn't really optimized for multi-core, hyper-threading, it still likes a single fast core cranked out, so no real benefit from today's hardware (or OS).

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Can I have two instances of OSX on a Mac Pro on two separate hard drives?