NTFS-formatted Windows XP installed via Bootcamp 1.3

Hey guys,

I am interested in installing Windows XP via Bootcamp on my Macbook. However, I do not want to limit myself in partition size and security by formatting it FAT. This is why I would like to format Windows XP to NTFS.

We are all too familiar with the dilemma of NTFS on OS X 10.4. Thanks to useful utilities such as NTFS-3G and MacFuse, though, we are able to write in addition to read NTFS-formatted volumes on properly.

I believe that the latest version of Parallels (v.3) installs these utilities in the background providing more capability with the NTFS file system.

So here are my questions:

1) Above I assumed this but want to make sure:

Would installing the latest version of Parallels improve overall NTFS compatibility for the Macbook? Whether it is with a NTFS-formatted external USB 2.0 hard drive or Parallels recognizing the NTFS-formatted Windows XP volume.

2)

Installing Windows XP through Bootcamp and formatting it to NTFS, will I be able to use Windows XP to its full capacity (save, edit, delete files, etc) once I start it through Bootcamp?

I guess it could be assumed that I would install Parallels before installing Windows XP, trusting that these new NTFS drivers will provide the functionality I desire (though it may not matter in this instance).

As for "full capacity," I'm also referring to peripherals too, such as a USB 2.0 NTFS-formatted external hard drive. I would like to know if Windows XP would be able to pick up a device like this, and read and write to it properly.

3)

Given the same scenario as in question 2 (where Windows XP is installed via Bootcamp and NTFS-formatted), would I be able to use Parallels (latest version) to start up Windows XP and drag-and-drop files back and forth between Windows XP and Mac OS X?

4)

Asking question 3 brings to mind another similar, more general question:

Running NTFS-formatted Windows XP, are there any compatibility issues that Parallels would run into? Such as a particular Parallel feature not working properly.

 

Parallels works fine with NTFS-formatted drives, and has for several versions. The only disadvantage to formatting your drive as NTFS, rather than FAT, is that Mac OS won't be able to write to it (without the workarounds you mentioned in your post).

 

Hey Erich,

Is one of the workarounds you are referring to involves solely installing Parallels and nothing else? Essentially, will installing Parallels solve any NTFS problem that the MacBook may have without it?

 

I think FAT32 limits the disk size to 32 GB, too. I'm using WinXP, PD 3 and FAT32 on my MacBook and disk size is now 30 GB (on a 120 GB physical drive).

Phil

 

Hey w7ox,

You are right. The formatter that comes with Windows XP limits the partition to 32 gb. There are ways to get around this, but I am not interested in FAT at all. I just want to make sure that by going with NTFS, I won't lose anything in terms of functionality (as I mentioned in my questions above).

 

By workarounds I was referring to the Fuse and NTFS-3G stuff. Parallels works well with NTFS. I prefer to keep my Mac and Windows environments fairly walled off from one another, but I will at times copy files from the Mac's HFS+ partition to the VM's NTFS partition and vice versa (this is a drag-and-drop operation). I keep most of my files on the Mac's HFS+ partition so that it's available to both operating systems. I'm not running Fuse or anything else other than Parallels to allow NTFS access.

Does that help answer your question?

 

Hey Erich,

Just to make sure, you're running Windows through Parallel and able to drag and drop files. I'm guessing this drag and drop feature is not affected on whether the file system is FAT or NFTS. Now, did you install Windows with Bootcamp or Parallels?

 

OK, here goes. I installed Windows XP on an NTFS partition using Boot Camp. I then set up a VM in Parallels using this Boot Camp installation. When running XP via Parallels, I can drag and drop files to and from it and the host OS (OS X). In other words, using Parallels allows read/write access to the NTFS filesystem. With Parallels 3 (build 4128), the Windows XP C: drive shows up as a volume in the Mac OS Finder. This drive is readable and writable from the host OS. I'm not sure what the technical details are, but to answer your question (finally), it sounds like formatting your Windows partition as NTFS is the way to go.

 

lol Thanks! Yes, that finally answered my question.