3 partitions, 3 operating systems?

alexander wilsonalexander wilson
Posted:
in macOS edited January 2014
I'm relatively new to Macs (a year now) and have never done partitions before that weren't done through a DOS prompt or program. I remember hearing about OS X needing to be on the 1st partition or it won't work or something. If I want to install 3 partitions, one for OS 9, one for OS 10.1, and one for OS 10.2, will the OS X version that is NOT on the first partition still work?



So it's 10.2 on the first and largest partition, 10.1 on the next partition, and 9 on the last partition.



Also, how large will the partition for each of the older OSes need? Can I get by with just 1 gig for OS 9 and 2 gigs for OS 10.2? My apps folders don't take up too much space (maybe 300MB in OS 9 which'll stay about that size, and about a gig currently in the OS 10.1 apps folder--but most of that will be on the 10.2 partition).



I plan on doing this on 2 computers-- one has a 20gig hard drive and the other has a 40 gig.



I appreciate your advice. Thanks in advance.



Alex.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 7
    ghost_user_nameghost_user_name Posts: 22,667member
    First of all, Mac OS X does *not* need to be on the first partition if you have a fairly recent computer. I think that rule applies only to Beige G3s and the first-generation iMacs.



    Second, you really don't need all those partitions. Mac OS X and Mac OS 9 can happily reside on the same partition with no trouble at all. So, my next question is why on earth would you want to keep both 10.1 and 10.2 on the same computer? Are you a software developer who needs to check software for backwards compatibility? That's about the only reason I can think of for keeping 10.1.



    [ 08-23-2002: Message edited by: Brad ]</p>
  • Reply 2 of 7
    bigcbigc Posts: 1,224member
    I agree, Why would you want 3 Bootable OSes?
  • Reply 3 of 7
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    I keep 2 around. MacOS 9 on one, (teeny tiny little 2GB partition... barely know it's there) and MacOS X on the other.



    Could I have them on the same one? Yup. Why don't I? Because I've had two drives go bad in the past five years, and four corrupted partitions. I *could* carry an emergency boot CD around with me, but this works too.



    Actually, I'm prepped for a triad boot myself... I have 9.2.2 on one partition, X Server 10.1.5 on another (the default) and a third ready to play with 10.2 when it gets here, and to migrate to 10.2 Server when I get the chance.



    That's on the 12GB boot drive... the other 240GB are for user data.
  • Reply 4 of 7
    fobiefobie Posts: 216member
    You don't have to worry about it unless you have a old computer, just like Brad said.
  • Reply 5 of 7
    alexander wilsonalexander wilson Posts: 86member
    Why keep around OS 10.1? Quicktime 5 Pro, for starters. Yes, I do some development and I do want to test things in 10.1. But more I have a lot of software that I use on a regular basis, some are not the current version (though are OS X native) and I don't want to run the risk that I can't use them anymore--and I can't afford to upgrade all versions of all my software right now.



    I would keep one computer 10.1 and have the other 10.2, but one computer is my wife's and she'll have it with her (so I won't have access to it probably when I need it).



    Thanks for your input.



    Alex.
  • Reply 6 of 7
    rogue27rogue27 Posts: 607member
    You can get by with 1GB on the OS 9 partition, but I'd strongly recomment making the 10.2 partition bigger or you'll probably end up needing to change it later anyway, since would imagine that it is what you would be using most of the time eventually.



    Why partition your wife's comptuer 3 ways? Wouldn't it be easier for her to just have one partition?
  • Reply 7 of 7
    iq78iq78 Posts: 256member
    Okay, I (my wife) has an old iMac/333Mhz revb (I believe).



    I installed an 85Gig drive in it and also broke it into 3 partitions, only to find that the partition that I wanted OSX.1 on wouldn't go because it wasn't within the first 8gigs of the drive.



    This really bummed me out because of how I wanted things organized...



    60Gigs -&gt; MP3's and Photos



    15Gigs-&gt; OSX/OS9/



    10Gigs-&gt; Users (I can then format a partition and install a new OS without effecting all my user data)



    650MB-&gt; Downloads (I do this to force me to burn a CD when the partition is full)



    Well, of course the 15Gigs wasn't the first 8Gigs and I got screwed.



    Does anybody know if OSX.2 will allow this even on old computers such as the iMac333?



    Thanks



    [ 08-23-2002: Message edited by: IQ78 ]</p>
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