Is it possible to clone my Macbook's OS SSD, and install it on a mSata SSD, to dual boot Win7 and OS

[georgemay1234]

I've really wanted to dual boot my windows PC for a while, and tried a couple times in the past with a friend, but i'd only had limited access to the mac we were using, which meant i couldn't take the time to do it properly and carefully.

I have my own Macbook now though (Mid '14), so I'm ready to take the time actually do it, and i think it's time i asked for a bit of help.

I've been reading about this for a while, but not so much recently. I am wondering, do Hackintosh installation methods vary depending on if it's a system with one hard-drive and 2 operating systems, or a system with 2 drives 2 OS's, etc.?

I have a 120GB mSata SSD in my PC, currently only really used for readyboost and occasionally as overflow storage. - Is it possible for me to use this in my PC as an internal clone of my Macbook? Would it be any different from creating a dual boot machine on one hard drive?

The only other query is that my Mac is 256GB, but my mSata is 120GB. Could I still create a 120GB version of my Macbook's OS, maybe with fewer applications/files that i don't need on both systems.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, and if i've missed any technical details needed for anyone to help, please let me know!

 

[bthall]

I've really wanted to dual boot my windows PC for a while, and tried a couple times in the past with a friend, but i'd only had limited access to the mac we were using, which meant i couldn't take the time to do it properly and carefully.

I have my own Macbook now though (Mid '14), so I'm ready to take the time actually do it, and i think it's time i asked for a bit of help.

I've been reading about this for a while, but not so much recently. I am wondering, do Hackintosh installation methods vary depending on if it's a system with one hard-drive and 2 operating systems, or a system with 2 drives 2 OS's, etc.?

I have a 120GB mSata SSD in my PC, currently only really used for readyboost and occasionally as overflow storage. - Is it possible for me to use this in my PC as an internal clone of my Macbook? Would it be any different from creating a dual boot machine on one hard drive?

The only other query is that my Mac is 256GB, but my mSata is 120GB. Could I still create a 120GB version of my Macbook's OS, maybe with fewer applications/files that i don't need on both systems.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, and if i've missed any technical details needed for anyone to help, please let me know!

You can use your mSATA SSD on your PC for OS X installation (provided the PC has OS X compatible hardware), however, just cloning your MacBook installation onto the SSD and putting it in your PC won't work. With compatible PC hardware, it IS possible to install OS X to the mSATA SSD on the PC (using methods described on this site), use MultiBeast to get everything working (network, wi-fi, audio, USB, etc) and then use OS X's Migration Assistant to move applications, settings, and other files from your Mac to the mSATA SSD. You will also have to install a bootloader on the SSD (Chimera/Chameleon or Clover UEFI) so that you can choose which OS to boot, and make sure that the SSD is the first drive in the UEFI/BIOS boot order.

Installation methods (procedures, actually) vary a little bit depending on whether you are dual booting from a single drive, or from separate drives. Separate drives for each OS are recommended, however I am dual booting Yosemite and Windows 8.1 Pro from the same SSD on my laptop. Upgrades can be a little trickier on a single disk system, though.

Search the forums to see if others have completed successful builds with your hardware (generally, it is easier to hackintosh a machine assembled from components listed on this site's buyer's guides than a pre-built name brand). There are also many guides on this site for installing OS X, installing bootloaders, dual booting with other OSs - you just need to search and do a lot of reading. There are a lot of really helpful people that moderate and/or contribute to this site, but no one really wants to hand-hold. Read (search) as much as you can, and if there is something you just don't understand, then by all means ask the question.

Good Luck,
-bth

 

[Going Bald]

I've really wanted to dual boot my windows PC for a while, and tried a couple times in the past with a friend, but i'd only had limited access to the mac we were using, which meant i couldn't take the time to do it properly and carefully.

I have my own Macbook now though (Mid '14), so I'm ready to take the time actually do it, and i think it's time i asked for a bit of help.

I've been reading about this for a while, but not so much recently. I am wondering, do Hackintosh installation methods vary depending on if it's a system with one hard-drive and 2 operating systems, or a system with 2 drives 2 OS's, etc.?

I have a 120GB mSata SSD in my PC, currently only really used for readyboost and occasionally as overflow storage. - Is it possible for me to use this in my PC as an internal clone of my Macbook? Would it be any different from creating a dual boot machine on one hard drive?

The only other query is that my Mac is 256GB, but my mSata is 120GB. Could I still create a 120GB version of my Macbook's OS, maybe with fewer applications/files that i don't need on both systems.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, and if i've missed any technical details needed for anyone to help, please let me know!

Yes, you can if the hardware in your PC is compatible and your BIOS settings are correct for booting OS X.
First, create a Clover test drive USB - see http://www.tonymacx86.com/alternate-bootloaders/127134-test-drive-how-create-clover-usb.html

Boot your MBP and launch disk utility. Select your main OS X drive in the left pane and click on partition.
Your current partition scheme will show in a box in the right pane under the Current box. It probably shows the entire drive as your current partition. Place your cursor at the lower right corner of the box under current, hold your left mouse button down and drag the corner up until the partition size shows less than the size of your SSD, click on apply. Now you can do a 1 for 1 clone to your SSD with CCC or SuperDuper.

When you have finished the clone process, go back to disk utility and stretch your partition back to the bottom of the box to include the entire drive so it is back the way it was.

You can now put the SSD in your PC and use the Clover test drive USB to boot to it.