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Can I create a windows 7 partition on a 1TB thunderbolt drive to use with my Macbook Pro?

I have a new Retina Display Macbook Pro with a 250gb SSD Drive that is quickly running out of space. My work recently gave me a new project to do some programming that can only be done in a Windows environment. With the price of Thunderbolt drives coming down I was wondering if I could build and boot to a Windows 7 partition on the Thunderbolt Drive and use that when I need to run Windows applications. Also what would the speeds be like? Would I be able to run apps like Photoshop and Illustrator? Also if that works would I be capable of creating a partition for my kids to install their games on?

MacBook Pro with Retina display, iOS 6.0.1

Posted on Nov 6, 2012 4:29 PM

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4 replies

Nov 6, 2012 4:40 PM in response to Redgoat

Redgoat,


(1) USB 3.0/2.0 Drive will boot a windows 7 installation, (hold down option when you boot)


* I am not yet awake if thunderbolt drives will be detected by the macbook pro for booting purposes. I cannot see why not


(2) if you are concerned about speeds you can purchase a SSD USB 3.0 drive but a standard hard drive is quite reasonable with a USB 3.0 connection


and lastly MacBook Pro Retina are mean gaming notebooks 🙂 and bootcamp is the best way to do windows gaming on it.

Can I create a windows 7 partition on a 1TB thunderbolt drive to use with my Macbook Pro?

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