A few questions about Bootcamp

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Hello all, I am new here and I have just recently gotten a mac, and I have been learning all I can about anything with macs. So anyway I just found bootcamp and I think it is awesome. So I have gathered a few questions that I want to ask.

1) I just started bootcamp, and I made a partition. Can I modify this partition in any way? (Add space, remove space, etc...)

2) So you create a partition. And how does that allow you to install window? Does that partition turn into "windows" space?

3) Can I have any number of partitions? Until I run out of space?

4) Is there any way to quick switch in-between the two OS's?

5) Does the computer already recognize the internet or will I have to reconfigure that?

6) Can adding windows onto your computer harm your computer? In other words, can the installation go wrong at all and do something bad?

I guess that is it for now, but I am sure I will have more questions. Thanks for your help :D

Edit: more questions

7) What other ways can you install windows or other OS's on your computer?
 
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alright, i may be able to answer some of those.
2)if you run through bootcamp from beginning to end, it will have you install windows, and that will be "windows space", however, if you stop the installer half way through, it will give you an empty partition to do with what you want. (install linux, file storage, ...etc)

3) i know you can have more than 2, but i'm not sure if there is a limit with hardware restrictions, i'm not sure though.

4) yes. via third party software that must be purchased separately (parallels, vmware) i do believe there is a freeware option, but i'm not sure about that, hopefully someone who knows more will come along)

5) if you mean if windows will recognize it, it you have a basic internet connection, than it should be ready to go from the install, but that depends on your internet.

6) i do believe that windows, under no circumstance, can do anything to your mac partition.

sorry about #1 i really have no clue, but i hope this helps. i do have vista bootcamped on my computer, so i have done this one before ;) :p
 
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1) I just started bootcamp, and I made a partition. Can I modify this partition in any way? (Add space, remove space, etc...)

Dunno about that one.

2) So you create a partition. And how does that allow you to install window? Does that partition turn into "windows" space?

You've divided your hard drive into two. One bit has OS X, the other one is blank for you to install something else to.

3) Can I have any number of partitions? Until I run out of space?

You can, but I don't see why you would want to.

4) Is there any way to quick switch in-between the two OS's?

Restart. Otherwise you might want to check out VMWare Fusion or Parallels.

5) Does the computer already recognize the internet or will I have to reconfigure that?

If you boot in Windows it's like having a new computer.

6) Can adding windows onto your computer harm your computer? In other words, can the installation go wrong at all and do something bad?

The Windows side of things could go wrong, but that Mac side should be ok if it does.

Seriously, get the trial of Fusion and try that out, might suit your needs a bit better than partitioning and installing Windows if you want to be able to switch quickly or use both at the same time.
 
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crazychristian
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Ok thank you, a lot of my questions have been cleared up thanks to you. Just a few more follow ups:

1) What other ways can I install windows and other OS's on my mac?

2) Can I remove the partition?
 
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1. VMWare Fusion and Parallels

2. I think you can with Disk Utility.
 
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You remove a Boot Camp partition through the Boot Camp Assistant - it's one-click and if you try to remove it via Disk Utility you can mess things up.

The windows partition is susceptible to viruses, malware, etc., so you definitely want to install an antivirus and be sure you have an appropriate firewall in place. But the cool thing is, the Mac OSX partition is safe from whatever infects the Windows partition.

I also recommend checking out the trial versions of Fusion and Parallels - they are free trials and are actually easier to run and use (as they allow you to run Windows programs side by side on your OSX desktop, with cut/paste and all kinds of other cool things) than Boot Camp. Boot Camp is the way to go if you need Windows to run natively (e.g., gaming and certain other high-intensity uses). For business productivity applications, surfing, watching YouTube, music, etc., Fusion and Parallels work great and are very fast.

Cheers
 
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crazychristian
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I was going to use the partition to install windows and play some games. Unfortunately I can't find the installation disc's or CD codes so i don't think it will work.

So I am now going to try and install Ubuntu... I think.
 

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