[toyotaco01]

I'm not sure if this is the correct forum, but here we go...

In regards to using Boot Camp, I was thinking it would be very nice to partition about 1 GB or so of harddrive space that could be shared among the two OS's to be able to exchange files. It would seem valuable to be able to load XP to use a file (MS Publisher, lets say), save it (as a PDF) and then go back to OS X and continue working.

I'm thinking that this could be possible for a few reasons:

1. Both OS's would not be accessing/reading/writing/managing this shared space at the same time.
2. I'm sure that there is some file system format (FAT32?) that both XP and OS X can work with.

I'm very new to the Apple community and am still learning the ropes, but I think that this seems reasonable. Any insights?

[tacvbo83]

When installing XP with BootCamp it lets you choose FAT32 if using less than 32 gigs partitioned to XP. With that option you can transfer files from one OS to the other. Someone else will probably explain better.

[ghoti]

True, but even for smaller partitions, NTFS is preferable (faster, much better error-recovery, permissions and metadata). I think toyota's idea is a very good one, and FAT32 is the filesystem of choice for that task.

[alcimedes]

Best bet, (IMO) would be to create an NTFS XP partition, an HFS+ OSX partition and a 4GB FAT32 shared partition.

[Partial]

alcimedes speaks the truth, using fat32 for a file system with xp runs a whole lot slower than ntfs. Seriously!

[torifile]

How are you going to create 3 partitions (or more using bootcamp)? I don't think you can. Till you can, we need to stick with a FAT32 formatted windows drive or get an external.

[toyotaco01]

So OS X works nicely with FAT32? How long has this been true?

Thanks for all of the help!

[chucker]

Originally Posted by toyotaco01 So OS X works nicely with FAT32? How long has this been true? Thanks for all of the help!

For years. It's a little slow, but definitely usable. Mac OS has supported FAT since 7.1 Pro.

[Brad]

Mac OS X has always worked with FAT partitions, but didn't support some operations like reformatting them until 10.1, circa September 2001.

[chucker]

In addition, NTFS read support was added in 10.3 Panther, in October 2003.

[Luca]

Remember that BootCamp is a BETA of a feature that should become available with the next OS release. I wouldn't be surprised if Apple adds NTFS write compatibility in Leopard to allow the easy transfer of files between partitions. If they do that, maybe they'll also write an HFS+ driver for Windows XP. I also hope they provide more flexibility in how you can partition and stuff. Requiring you to partition a single drive seems a bit restrictive. It would be nice to allow you to have OS X on one hard drive and Windows on another.

[LudwigVan]

Originally Posted by Luca If they do that, maybe they'll [i.e. Apple] also write an HFS+ driver for Windows XP.

Isn't that the thing required for viruses to transmigrate from the Windows side of the hard drive to the Mac side? (Yeah, I've been reading that other thread.)

[chucker]

Originally Posted by Luca Remember that BootCamp is a BETA of a feature that should become available with the next OS release. I wouldn't be surprised if Apple adds NTFS write compatibility in Leopard to allow the easy transfer of files between partitions.

Unfortunately, unless Apple has licensed it, I don't see it happening. NTFS support is currently based on FreeBSD's work. Linux's implementation is a little further, but not much. There have been no breakthroughs in terms of open-source write support; only commercial solutions really completely and safely allow it. It's certainly not production-ready.

If they do that, maybe they'll also write an HFS+ driver for Windows XP.

That, of course, would be sweet (and very easy for Apple to do, duh ).

I also hope they provide more flexibility in how you can partition and stuff. Requiring you to partition a single drive seems a bit restrictive. It would be nice to allow you to have OS X on one hard drive and Windows on another.

Well, you don't technically need to use the Assistant. All you need to do is install the firmware update, insert the target OS's setup CD and transfer Apple's drivers afterwards, e.g. on a CD-R, or a USB stick.

[chucker]

Originally Posted by LudwigVan Isn't that the thing required for viruses to transmigrate from the Windows side of the hard drive to the Mac side? (Yeah, I've been reading that other thread.)

Well, technically, yes. If you can modify a Mac volume on Windows, so can any app, including a virus.

Remember, folks: backup early, backup often.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by chucker Remember, folks: backup early, backup often.

Kinda like voting in Chicago, right?

[chucker]

Originally Posted by Dave Kinda like voting in Chicago, right?

Eh?

I thought instead of elections, Chicago has Oprah.