How can I set up Boot Camp/Windows with 2 SSDs?

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How can I set up Boot Camp/Windows with 2 SSDs?

I've got a late 2011 Macbook Pro running Yosemite. I have boot camp running Windows 7 on my HDD but decided I would like to change some things up. I am going to remove the optical drive and put in a 256 gb SSD in it's place and also upgrade the 500 gb HDD to a 512 gb SSD. I am hoping to have the 512 gb SSD in the primary drive spot running OS X and the 256 gb SSD in the optical bay running Windows 7. I'm hoping to just be able to copy over the OS X partition on my current HDD to one SSD and the Windows 7 partition to the other SSD. Would this work? Also, if my 256 gb SSD in the optical bay only has Windows 7 loaded on it would my computer be able to boot up Windows 7 without problems or is there more to this than I anticipate?

MacBook Pro (13-inch Late 2011), OS X Yosemite (10.10.2)

Posted on Feb 27, 2015 2:25 PM

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Answer 1

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Loner T

Level 9

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Feb 27, 2015 2:33 PM in response to Sotuni

On your Mac model, you cannot install Windows without the Optical drive in place. BCA will not allow that.

1. Install the 256G in the main bay and install Windows.

2. Remove 256G and Optical drive.

3. Install 256G in Optibay. Install 512G in main Bay.

4. Restore the 512G from the internal 500G HDD with the HDD in an external enclosure and Disk Utility.

Anytime you want to re-install Windows, put the OD back and the designated Windows drive in main bay.

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Answer 2

Sotuni Author

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Feb 27, 2015 2:42 PM in response to Loner T

Thank you for the quick response.

I have a DVD for installing Windows so I'll be able to follow your outlined procedure. If I have already activated Windows on my previous drive will I need to get another license to install Windows or can I use my previous activation code to get it to work on the new SSD? I may need to contact Microsoft about this but hoping you might know.

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Answer 3

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Feb 27, 2015 2:46 PM in response to Sotuni

Windows uses hardware changes and is a bit fussy. You do not need another license, but you will need to re-activate it. You can do it online.

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Answer 4

Sotuni Author

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Mar 4, 2015 11:38 AM in response to Sotuni

Here is the update from my situation. I'm posting it here in hopes of helping people who may be looking to do something similar to what I did. I followed Loner T's instructions and it worked perfectly.

I was worried about installing Windows 7 on it's own hard drive and running it on mac hardware but everything worked out. After I initially installed Windows 7, I did notice that there were some problems with the screen being zoomed in and it failed to recognize stuff like my wireless hardware so I couldn't connect to any wifi signals. I rebooted into OS X and simply used the Boot Camp Assistant to download the latest Windows support software from Apple and put that on a thumb drive. I booted into Windows where it was still acting funny and ran the support software installer. After a few minutes it rebooted and everything was working exactly like it should and it recognized all the right hardware for wifi and everything!

For anyone looking at doing what I did with my MBP, please don't waste time trying to boot up Windows from an external drive. I have seen lots of stuff online about people struggling to get Windows to boot up from a USB drive or external optical drive and it makes the situation way more complicated. Just follow Loner T's process above and it will work.

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