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Running Sierra and Mojave from different partitions

I have some software that I want to keep running that isn't certified to run on macOS above Sierra. If I create a partition for Sierra and update my main partition to Mojave, will I be able to access all of my files from both partitions? Or will the Sierra OS be limited to the files that are in its partition?


Thanks!

Posted on Oct 29, 2018 12:52 PM

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Would that give me full access to all files on the system, when running inside the VM?

Yes. There's even a mode where you can run the VM in an integrated fashion with the native macOS.

And when running in a VM, would there be a performance penalty?

Yes, but I found with using Parallels that penalty has been insignificant ... but it will depend on your system specs. In my case, I am running that latest release (v14) of Parallels on my 2014 Mac mini. My mini is equipped with 16 GB of RAM and an i7 processor. As such, I have VMs of every version of OS X and macOS since OS X Lion. I do so to support folks here at the ASC with questions related to the version that they are running ... as well as, for beta testing with upcoming releases.

Posted on Oct 30, 2018 9:08 AM

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Oct 30, 2018 9:08 AM in response to mh_holmes

Would that give me full access to all files on the system, when running inside the VM?

Yes. There's even a mode where you can run the VM in an integrated fashion with the native macOS.

And when running in a VM, would there be a performance penalty?

Yes, but I found with using Parallels that penalty has been insignificant ... but it will depend on your system specs. In my case, I am running that latest release (v14) of Parallels on my 2014 Mac mini. My mini is equipped with 16 GB of RAM and an i7 processor. As such, I have VMs of every version of OS X and macOS since OS X Lion. I do so to support folks here at the ASC with questions related to the version that they are running ... as well as, for beta testing with upcoming releases.

Oct 29, 2018 7:45 PM in response to mh_holmes

I have my main drive partitioned for 7 OS's and have Parallels. Parallels doesn't completely integrate well outside its own little world. I have had it hammer Flash and Hard Drives due to they way it "Interprets" a network or connected drive.


I have 3 other drives in my machine, 5 in cases and another 9 that I have a universal adapter that I use to hook them up with that I store all my files on them and have no problems accessing anything, except the Library folder in the newer OS's. I also have all my apps on a separate drive and run them from there in whatever OS. I've been doing it since the late 90's and it's become a way of life of me. And if you have your operating system on a separate drive and it hammers, which it will do, all your files are safe and sound. And recovery is a heck of a lot simpler. My backups are on their own drive also. So they are nice and safe and easy to get to.

Running Sierra and Mojave from different partitions

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