The total storage space required for all your applications is listed in the top right corner. Open your boot disk, select the Applications folder and choose File > Get Info. So, let’s estimate the OS at 25 GB, to be safe. Most Mac operating systems take 20 GB or less to store. Though we use the term “dual-boot,” in point of fact you are only limited by the amount of free space on your boot disk.īefore we create a new partition, we need to figure out how big it needs to be. NOTE: Actually, you can create any number of different boot disks, to run whatever software you want. Because all of my media and projects are stored on an external drive, dual-booting allows me to select which version of Final Cut Pro X I want to use for an edit. However, for me, a big benefit of creating a dual-boot system is that I can have two different Mac OS X systems, with two different versions of Final Cut Pro X, installed. NOTE: While dual-boot systems allow you to choose which operating system you will run, you can’t switch between operating systems without restarting your computer.

The most common reason to do this is to have both Mac OS X and Windows available on the same system. While accurate for earlier operating systems, here’s a more recent version that also includes a note on APFS.ĭual-boot systems are a way of configuring the boot drive so that you have the option to start-up your computer (“boot”) into different operating systems. NOTE: This article was first published in 2013.

Mac os dual boot windows 10