Boot Camp

Hi I have a MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2.53GHz, Intel Core 2 Duo, with Memory 4 GB, OS X Yosemite Version 10.10.3, have a boot camp partition with Window 7.

I decide to increase the window partition, I know that I have to delete the old partition and create a new one with the new size, to restore windows with only boot camp image and a repair disk from window, how about formatting the new partition , is it safe to use Disk utility to slide MAC partition to a new size, then use third party app to increase boot camp size,please help what is the best and secure method to apply, without side effect or losing data, on both Mac and Windows.

MacBook Pro

Posted on May 19, 2015 10:30 PM

44 replies

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Jun 13, 2015 2:24 PM in response to faridfromchicago

No worries. Get a fresh copy of Windows running and we can work on the restore.

Jul 14, 2015 4:22 PM in response to Loner T

Have successfully installed Windows, everything works fine, now about the restore, how?

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Jul 14, 2015 5:20 PM in response to faridfromchicago

Can you restore your Windows image to the larger partition and test boot ability?

Once you have it restored, please see http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/using-gparted-to-resize-your-window s-vista-partition/ .

This method will also work for W7 and W8.

Jul 15, 2015 7:22 PM in response to Loner T

do I use the Windows repair disk to restore the image?

after restoring, do I have to use the method in How to geek, or can I use Widows Disk Management? or this is a final procedure after How to geek?

[For example, if your current Windows installation is 40GB, and you create a Windows System Image, this will contain information that the partition size is 40GB. If you remove this partition using BCA, and create a new Windows installation as 60GB, and restore the old 40GB image, Windows will show the partition to be 60GB but your C: will still be 40GB. You will need to resize the 40GB to use the entire 60GB using Windows Disk Management.]

By the way I increased the size to 100 GB, it gave me 93.1 GB, after installing Windows, and few update from Microsoft, I got 65.3 GB free space, the image is about 60 GB, which will leave me with about 5 GB.

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Jul 15, 2015 7:36 PM in response to faridfromchicago

faridfromchicago wrote:

do I use the Windows repair disk to restore the image?

Yes.

after restoring, do I have to use the method in How to geek, or can I use Widows Disk Management? or this is a final procedure after How to geek?

By the way I increased the size to 100 GB, it gave me 93.1 GB, after installing Windows, and few update from Microsoft, I got 65.3 GB free space, the image is about 60 GB, which will leave me with about 5 GB.

No. The 60Gb image will overwrite what you currently have. You will end up with the original 60Gb + 40Gb which needs to be extended. The image is not restored in to free space, it overwrites what you currently have. The goal of installing Windows was to create a larger partition (100GB), verify that it works and it is ready for a restore from a backup image.

The HowToGeek article is much simpler than using Disk Management and manipulating MBRs and repairing windows several times. Since you have the original 60Gb image this process is repeatable. The GParted UI is clear and intuitive.

Jul 23, 2015 7:47 PM in response to Loner T

Hi Before restoring, I thought I should download the Gparted from HowtoGeek article, and burn it to CD, but felt I was lost, lots of wording, and I can’t find exactly where to download, I got a USB flash and a CD ready; when I click on the download it take me to another page that also full of wording.

Live CD/USB/PXE/HD

GParted Live is a small bootable GNU/Linux distribution for x86 based computers.

It enables you to use all the features of the latest versions of the GParted application.

GParted Live can be installed on CD, USB, PXE server, and Hard Disk then run on an x86 machine.

CAUTION: Creating a whole disk or partition image backup is recommended before you resize or move a partition. Some free software (GPL) disk and partition image tools are available:

Clonezilla, doClone, FSArchiver, G4L, g4u, Partimage, Partclone.

Installation Instructions

To install GParted Live on CD, download (I tried this) .iso file and burn it as an image to a CD.

For other installations, please refer to the following documents:

GParted Live on USB (I tried this)

GParted Live on PXE server

GParted Live on Hard Disk

Create your own custom GParted Live from scratch

Usage Instructions

See the GParted Live Manual for instructions on how to use the Live image.

See the GParted Manual for instructions on how to use the application for partitioning tasks.

See the documentation page for copies of the GParted Manual in other languages.

Jul 23, 2015 7:58 PM in response to faridfromchicago

By the way am I going to use Gparted with Windows or Mac?

Jul 23, 2015 8:01 PM in response to Loner T

By the way am I going to use Gparted with Windows or Mac?

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Jul 24, 2015 8:43 AM in response to faridfromchicago

I use a bootable Linux Live CD (Knoppix CD for example) and then run GParted.

Jul 24, 2015 10:42 PM in response to Loner T

I went back to the GNOME Partition Editor site and look around few time and I found this

GParted Live CD/USB/HD/PXE Bootable Image

Stable Releases

Download gparted-live-0.22.0-2-i586.iso I download it and burn it to CD

Stable directory (.iso/.zip)

(for i586, i686-pae and amd64 architectures) Release notes Changelog Checksums

Testing Releases

Testing directory (.iso/.zip)

(for i586, i686-pae and amd64 architectures) Release notes Changelog Checksums

By the way I restored the image on the new partition and it boot OK., but still retain the old capacity

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Jul 25, 2015 7:41 AM in response to faridfromchicago

faridfromchicago wrote:

By the way I restored the image on the new partition and it boot OK., but still retain the old capacity

This is a good sign. Please download http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html and burn it to a CD and boot from it. The CD has GParted.

Jul 26, 2015 12:21 AM in response to Loner T

I went to the above site, and press Download, it took me to another page, that say:

Download KNOPPIX via BitTorrent

http://torrent.unix-ag.uni-kl.de/

Download KNOPPIX from Mirrors

from the list, trying anyone take me to the agreement page that say:

Since you are about to download KNOPPIX free of charge (and without support), please accept the following agreement.

THIS IS EXPERIMENTAL SOFTWARE. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. KNOPPER.NET CAN NOT BE HELD LIABLE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES FOR DAMAGE TO HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE, LOST DATA, OR OTHER DIRECT OR INDIRECT DAMAGE RESULTING FROM THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE. IN SOME COUNTRIES THE CRYPTOGRAPHIC SOFTWARE AND OTHER COMPONENTS ON THE CD ARE GOVERNED BY EXPORT REGULATIONS OR SOFTWARE PATENTS, WHICH MAY FORBID DISTRIBUTION OR DOWNLOAD. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR OWN COMPLIANCE WITH ALL APPLICABLE LAWS. IF YOU PLAN TO COMMERCIALLY USE OR DISTRIBUTE (AND SELL) THE SOFTWARE, YOU HAVE TO ACQUIRE THE NECESSARY LICENSES AND PERMISSIONS FROM ALL SOFTWARE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS OF NON-FREE SOFTWARE COMPONENTS, OR REMOVE THESE COMPONENTS BEFORE DISTRIBUTING THE SOFTWARE.

on the GNOME Partition Editor site I found the following add:

Stable Releases

Download gparted-live-0.22.0-2-i586.iso, I will download it and burn it to CD

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Jul 26, 2015 5:38 AM in response to faridfromchicago

The advantage with the Knoppix Live CD is that it contains the full Linux OS on a CD that will allow other utilities. You can still use the standalone GParted iso as well.

This is a standard disclaimer on most GPL software and most OpenSource software.

Jul 28, 2015 11:11 PM in response to Loner T

I started the computer using the standalone GParted, following the instruction on the The HowToGeek article, until I reached the line: reboot your computer, but I didn't see the screenshot of the error, instead I got a message that say: missing operating system, and as per the article it say, Insert your Windows Vista installation dvd and make sure you boot off it.

The installation dvd didn't boot or start the computer, so I tried the repair disk, same thing did not boot or start the computer.

what could be the reason, could it be the Gparted system? does that mean I won't be able to install Window?

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