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TICKET ARCHIVE -> New User, who wants to split hard drive

kam123 - Jun 12, 2008 - 6:54 am

Hi there,

I am new to Macs and very used to Microsoft office package with Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Access. In fact, I use these packages daily.

Now I have bought a Mac and love all of the features, but miss the very useful features of the Microsoft programmes listed above. Therefore I have decided to split my hard drive.

At the moment, my Macbook Pro has files on it that I use - using Adobe packages. What do I need to do to prepare my Mac ready for the hard drive to be split?

Will all of the files and programmes be removed from my Mac?

Should I save all of my files on an external hard drive? If so, do you recommend one compatible for a Mac?

Where can I find the clearest instructions of how to split the hard drive?

It has OSX Leopard installed.

I look forward to your reply.

Thanks,
Kylie

earthsaver - Jun 12, 2008 - 6:37 pm

It sounds like you're wanting to split your hard disk so you can install Windows on one side. If you use Apple Boot Camp (built into Leopard), or Parallels or VM Fusion, there's no need to prepare your Mac in any way you suggest. Each of these utilities will handle the partitioning and installation of Windows without the need to manually erase the disk. You just need to supply a copy of Windows.

Other than Access, though, what features of Microsoft Office are you missing in the Mac version of Office?

- Ben

kam123 - Jun 13, 2008 - 4:58 am

Hi Ben,

Thanks for your reply. I use Word, Excel and Access as core programmes.

Do you have any suggestions for buying an external hard drive to store pictures etc?

Thanks,
Kylie

earthsaver - Jun 13, 2008 - 9:04 am

I recommend buying from Other World Computing.