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Mac Bootcamp Setup Recommendations?


Gregg Markus

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Recently purchased the new Macbook Pro 16 and switched to a UA Apollo Thunderbolt 3 interface. I've worked in Logic for some time, but still consider Cakewalk to be my home. I still have a windows desktop PC running CbB.

I know some of you are running Windows via Bootcamp, and am curious if there's a useful procedure write up that you might share?

Some questions:

- Partition? File system? I assume I still need to create a Windows partition. Is there a file system that will be recognized by both Windows and MAC? Or is NTFS on the Windows side my only choice? I understand Mac can read form NTFS, but not write to it. Does this mean I could copy audio files recorded in CbB over to the Mac partition to be worked in Logic? Or vice versa?

- Could I install Windows onto an external SSD? Is Thunderbolt 3 fast enough to handle OS and/or write files while tracking?

 

Apologies for the noob questions. I've been recording in mac and windows for decades. Somehow this is the first time I've ever considered using one machine for both environments.

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I'll provide info for the lower half of your questions:

  • For zero cost, the ExFAT file system is read/write compatible for macOS and Win10.  This is appropriate for data-only drives. I use that format for my RAID 'media' drive that is native to the 2010 Mac Pro that runs HiSierra and Win10.  However, I also use (small cost, big benefit, highly-recommended) Paragon Software 'NTFS for Mac' and its palindrome product 'APFS for Windows'.  I have used the NTFS for Mac for many years, and it has been perfect.  I also have the HFS for Windows but haven't upgraded to anything that demands APFS yet.
  • My machine isn't Bootcamp, but instead is a 'native' Win10 installation. This uses a separate physical SSD for boot. I recommend you do the same for your Mac, although I haven't thought through the process for your machine.  I've done a separate external Win10 boot drive for a friend's 2017 iMac without incident, so you should be optimistic about success.  NTFS for the Windows boot drive is the only choice, much like APFS is the only choice for a macOS Catalina boot drive. 
  • Thunderbolt-3 is plenty fast for anything you intend to do with data.  Tbolt-3's throughput for data drives maxes out at about 2700MBytes/sec.  That's near the top of what a PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe drive can deliver. 
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14 hours ago, MediaGary said:

My machine isn't Bootcamp, but instead is a 'native' Win10 installation. This uses a separate physical SSD for boot. I recommend you do the same for your Mac, although I haven't thought through the process for your machine.  I've done a separate external Win10 boot drive for a friend's 2017 iMac without incident, so you should be optimistic about success.  NTFS for the Windows boot drive is the only choice, much like APFS is the only choice for a macOS Catalina boot drive. 

this ^^^^ the fewer emulations and wrappers involved the better (fwiw, i just wiped macos and installed win7 last time i did this, as i have no use for macos)

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Thanks guys - this is immensely helpful. I do like the idea of having a separate physical/external drive for this. Seems easier to setup. Though I think I still need Bootcamp in order to load a Windows OS.

I'm not a big fan of mac, personally. But Thunderbolt for windows leaves much to be desired - and - everyone in my circle uses Logic.    I've been using an old macbook to export audio files for use in CbB.   

I was heartbroken when Cake abandoned the mac project, for a brief moment I thought  I might be able to convert some Logic users. Sure, a DAW is a DAW is a DAW, but  Logic just feels like a toy to me. So I won't be giving up CbB anytime soon. And who knows, maybe someday our Bandlab overlords will resurrect the mac option :) .

 

 

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  • 9 months later...

Rehashing an old thread here, because I procrastinated....    and now I'm running into an issue installing Windows on an external drive.

Most procedures I've seen involve installing Windows on a virtual machine on the internal harddrive. Then using an app like WINtoUSB to transfer from the virtual realm to the physical external hard drive. Simple enough, right?

I'm running into a problem with Fusion's VMWare. VM does not 'see' my external SSD (which is mounted in a Thunderbolt 3 enclosure). And therefore, I cannot load Windows externally. I don't know if this is a limitation of VMWare or Bootcamp.

Do any of you guys use an external SSD in a Thunderbolt enclosure? If so, which virtual environment did you utilize? Or is there something in the OS setup & sharing that I'm missing here?

 

Considering how much of a push Apple made for TB3, it's a bit frustrating at the lack of instructions for such a venture.

 

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