Created a new partition on hard drive; boot screen still only shows original Macintosh HD and Recovery HD

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Created a new partition on hard drive; boot screen still only shows original Macintosh HD and Recovery HD

Hi, I have partitioned my 500GB hard drive into 2 separate parts through Disk Utility. One is my original Macintosh HD (Mac OS Extended (Journaled)) and the other is one I created as 150GB (MS-DOS (FAT)).

When I restart and hold the option key to access the boot screen, the only partitions shown are my Macintosh HD and Recovery HD. I do not see my new, third partition.

Why is this happening and how do I solve it?

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on Nov 19, 2012 8:02 PM

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Answer 1

Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

Nov 19, 2012 8:05 PM in response to siehorse

You don't have a bootable system on the partition. Without that it will not appear in the boot manager. What were you planning to put on this partition?

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Answer 2

siehorse Author

Level 1

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Nov 19, 2012 8:15 PM in response to Kappy

Hi Kappy, thanks for the response.

What does it mean to have a bootable system? How can I have a bootable system on this partition?

Through my university, I recieved Windows 7 as an .exe file. I understand that Boot Camp Assistant will not recognize the file. I am looking for a way to get Windows 7 onto my Macbook Pro through a partitioned HD using this download.

Things I am trying to avoid include having to purchase a Windows 7 installer disk because my university has already provided me with a legitemate file.

I have an empty CD-R and DVD-R and USB flash drive. Is it possible to use these items to help me get Win7?

I also have access to a computer running Windows. If I access the .exe file through this computer, is there anything I can do to make the file recognizable to Boot Camp?

Thanks again.

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Answer 3

Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

Nov 19, 2012 8:30 PM in response to siehorse

You can't run Windows through Boot Camp that way. That .exe file is actually an executable file for installing Win7 on a PC currently running an earlier version of Windows. As it is you cannot use on the Mac to install Win7. The school will need to supply you with what is essentially a copy of a Win7 bootable installer if you wish to use Boot Camp. Also, Boot Camp makes the Windows partition on your drive. If you use Boot Camp you must first remove the MSDOS partition you made and restore the disk to a single partition (except for the Recovery HD partition which should not be touched assuming you can see it.

As an alternative:

Windows on Intel Macs

There are presently several alternatives for running Windows on Intel Macs.

1. Install the Apple Boot Camp software. Purchase Windows

XP w/Service Pak2, Vista, or Windows 7. For Boot Camp

4.0 and above you can only use Windows 7 or later. Follow

instructions in the Boot Camp documentation on

installation of Boot Camp, creating Driver CD, and

installing Windows. Boot Camp enables you to boot the

computer into OS X or Windows.

2. Parallels Desktop for Mac and Windows XP, Vista Business,

Vista Ultimate, or Windows 7. Parallels is software

virtualization that enables running Windows concurrently

with OS X.

3. VM Fusionand Windows XP, Vista Business, Vista Ultimate,

or Windows 7. VM Fusion is software virtualization that

enables running Windows concurrently with OS X.

4. CrossOver which enables running many Windows

applications without having to install Windows. The

Windows applications can run concurrently with OS X.

5. VirtualBox is an Open Source freeware virtual machine such

as VM Fusion and Parallels that was developed by Solaris.

It is not as fully developed for the Mac as Parallels and VM

Fusion.

Note that VirtualBox, Parallels, and VM Fusion can also run other operating systems such as Linux, Unix, OS/2, Solaris, etc. There are performance differences between dual-boot systems and virtualization. The latter tend to be a little slower (not much) and do not provide the video performance of the dual-boot system. See MacTech.com's Virtualization Benchmarking for comparisons of Boot Camp, Parallels, and VM Fusion. Boot Camp is only available with Leopard or Snow Leopard. Except for Crossover and a couple of similar alternatives like DarWine you must have a valid installer disc for Windows.

You must also have an internal optical drive for installing Windows. Windows cannot be installed from an external optical drive.

To use virtualization to run Windows you need the school to provide you with the Windows installer as a .iso disc image on a properly formatted DVD that can be used by the VM software instead of a bootable disc.

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