Run Windows 8.1 Pro on a SDXC card via VMware Fusion

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Sonicje Author

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Run Windows 8.1 Pro on a SDXC card via VMware Fusion

Hi everyone,

I'm kinda new to the whole Mac story.

Have been using iPhone and iPad from day one, but never could get myself to go off Windows.

Well, a few weeks ago I bought myself a 13.3" MBP (Mid 2014 - 11.1 model).

It's the retina one with a 256GB SSD in it.

Now my question is...

I have a license from work for VMware Fusion 7, and I need some programs to run on Windows.

But I don't wan't to partition my drive and run it via bootcamp, I want to keep my Mac clean.

Does anyone have experience or know if I can run this on a SDXC card?

I would use a 128GB SDXC card with 60MB/s write and 80MB/s read.

Can I stick this SD into the slot, install Windows 8.1 Pro via Fusion on this card and let it run on a decent level?

Thanks in advance,

And with best regards,

Sonicje

Posted on Mar 30, 2015 5:50 AM

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Answer 1

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FatMac-MacPro

Level 5

5,083 points

Mar 30, 2015 9:18 AM in response to Sonicje

A virtual machine, such as Windows 8.1 can be run from an external drive with Fusion installed on the internal. However, since you have USB 3.0 on your Mac, and with 256GB USB 3.0 Flash drives going for under $100, you'd be better off installing the VM on that since it will run much faster.

At the same time, a VM created in Fusion may be for a 100GB c: drive, but if only 15GB is actually used, the VM won't be much bigger than that, so you may have sufficient room on your internal SSD and that will be even faster.

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Answer 2

Sonicje Author

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Mar 30, 2015 9:48 AM in response to FatMac-MacPro

Thank you for the fast responds.

I took a look into it and you are right.

The read/write speed is much higher and cheaper.

But, like I said, I'm nog willing to share my drive with Windows.

So I'm going to buy a 64GB USB stick (less than 60 euro) and going to install it on that source.

With 64GB I've some extra space for the futher if I need to work with more Windows only programs.

Thanks again for the advice!

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