- Joined
- Apr 7, 2012
- Messages
- 189
- Reaction score
- 5
- Points
- 18
- Location
- Regina, Saskatchewan
I'm a 25 year pc user, but am planning to switch my primary computer to an iMac. I'm just trying to sort out all details ahead of time to make sure the transition is smooth.
I figure there must be a guide somewhere that outlines all the ways to setup the bootcamp partition, but I haven't been able to find quite what I'm looking for, yet. I would be getting the iMac with 256gb SSD for system drive and 2TB 7200rpm drive for data. Assuming that I need to dual boot to Windows for a couple of situations, I'm not sure how to partition the drives. I hate to use up a bunch of the SSD for a windows partition that doesn't get used that often or doesn't need the performance. Therefore, I guess these are my questions:
The main reason I'm seeing for needing Windows, is because I have a Canon high-speed document scanner that I can't live without. Unfortunately, Canon seldom makes OSX device drivers. It will be a real pain to have to re-boot to do my scanning, but it wouldn't be enough to keep me from switching to the iMac. However, I got to wondering if there are any other options. I've used VMware Workstation in Windows, and it allows me to basically allocate the USB ports to either the main OS or the virtual one. I'm assuming VMware Fusion on the Mac would have the same type of feature. So, would it be possible to setup a vm with Parallels or Fusion and allocate the USB scanner to that vm?
The way the scanner is set up, I put a stack of documents into the feeder, then hit the button on the scanner for what I want (color, b&w, 2 sided, etc.). It scans them all and creates PDF files in the pre-defined folder on the pc. Do you think it would be possible to install the necessary drivers/software on a vm and allocate the USB port so that it would still be able to auto-scan like this? If that could work, life would be wonderful and would basically remove my need to dual-boot.
I figure there must be a guide somewhere that outlines all the ways to setup the bootcamp partition, but I haven't been able to find quite what I'm looking for, yet. I would be getting the iMac with 256gb SSD for system drive and 2TB 7200rpm drive for data. Assuming that I need to dual boot to Windows for a couple of situations, I'm not sure how to partition the drives. I hate to use up a bunch of the SSD for a windows partition that doesn't get used that often or doesn't need the performance. Therefore, I guess these are my questions:
- Can I create the Windows partition on a different drive than the system (SSD) drive (i.e. on internal data drive or an external drive), keeping the full SSD available for OSX?
- If the answer to #1 is No, can the Windows partition be resized without reinstalling a complete OS? i.e. can I create a small partition on the SSD, but increase the size later, if Windows needs a bit more space?
The main reason I'm seeing for needing Windows, is because I have a Canon high-speed document scanner that I can't live without. Unfortunately, Canon seldom makes OSX device drivers. It will be a real pain to have to re-boot to do my scanning, but it wouldn't be enough to keep me from switching to the iMac. However, I got to wondering if there are any other options. I've used VMware Workstation in Windows, and it allows me to basically allocate the USB ports to either the main OS or the virtual one. I'm assuming VMware Fusion on the Mac would have the same type of feature. So, would it be possible to setup a vm with Parallels or Fusion and allocate the USB scanner to that vm?
The way the scanner is set up, I put a stack of documents into the feeder, then hit the button on the scanner for what I want (color, b&w, 2 sided, etc.). It scans them all and creates PDF files in the pre-defined folder on the pc. Do you think it would be possible to install the necessary drivers/software on a vm and allocate the USB port so that it would still be able to auto-scan like this? If that could work, life would be wonderful and would basically remove my need to dual-boot.
