Instant Linux, Win7x64, Mac OSX on Diff HDDs migrate & merge into Multi boot config on one SSD?

Instant Linux, Win7x64, Mac OSX on Diff HDDs migrate & merge into Multi boot config on one SSD?

I will hopefully get time to this kind of experiment after ages. I used to re-partiion and multi-boot Win 9x, Win 2000 Pro/ Server, Win XP, etc.

Have also hackintoshed an old Dell 9300. Unfortunately, due to circumstances I havent been able to play with it past the initial install. Such is life.

What I have:

Thinkpad X61T Tablet PC with 8GB DDR2 SDRAM Memory.

HDD 1: Win 7 x64 - Primary OS and Usage
HDD 2: Mac OSX (SL or Lion H#ckintosh) (Planned in next few weeks) - Experimental

Several .ISOs = Instant On Linux OSes which I am checking. Will pick one finally.

SSD 3: 256 GB SSD.

I know that its possible to Dual/ Triple / Multi-boot these OSes (Many tutorials/ How to links online). But, its been ages since I've had time to do such EXPERIMENTS.

What I'd like to do & could use some suggestions/ advise based on peoples experiences:

1) SSD: Partition/ Resize Partitions appropriately for Win 7, Mac OSX & Linux.


- Win 7 - Given that it will be my primary usage OS I will probabgly migrate it soonest to SSD.
- Mac OSX - I'll be playing with it on the HDD2 to see whether I want SL or Lion and other apps etc to see my usage. This will be a "late" migration.
- Linux: It can be sooner, but I'd like the ability to "replace" / "swap" between the Instant OSes in case I like One over another.

- What kind or Partition ORDER would you suggest?
- What kind of Parition Sizes should I keep for them? Especially Win vs Mac? Any suggestions?

- Assuming I keep less for Mac OSX now and later start liking it more, is there some easy way to REPARITION the partition sizes (I've done this many times for multiple Windows OSes using Partition Magic / Acronis / Paragon Partition tools)

- I also have the Mac OSX Disk/ Partition related tools - iPartition etc. I just havent played with them yet.

Any ADVISE/ SUGGESTIONS / Words of Wisdome on how I should go about with this would be great.

2) HDDs: I have several 2.5" HDDs (External and Internal) to play around with. Also, will be using them for SECONDARY STORAGE / Excessive large media/ data.

 

I've done a triple-boot on my MacBook before on one drive. It's not too bad, just needs a bit of planning and partitioning beforehand.

Mind you, these instructions are for an actual Mac, since I'm using an EFI bootloader. You could use Chimera/Chameleon/etc on your Hackintosh. I'm going to list my instructions for actual Mac hardware, since that's what I know. Modify them to your needs and leave some notes/feedback.

First, make three partitions. Mac, Windows, Linux, in that order. You're going to need a Mac partition for general maintenance, even if you plan on using Windows exclusively.

You'll also want to use rEFIt as your bootloader, so you'll need to install it on the Mac partition (again, for actual Mac HW. Use Chimera for Hackintosh, install on OS X partition).

Make the partitions whatever size you prefer, just leave at least 15-20 GB for Mac OS (could be SL or Lion), whatever for Win7, and whatever for Linux.

On my MacBook, I installed Mac OS first to its partition, then Windows to its partition, and then Linux to its partition. NOTE: When installing Linux, YOU MUST INSTALL THE GRUB BOOTLOADER TO THE LINUX PARTITION, NOT THE FIRST PARTITION (Mac OS). If you do this, the Windows entry in rEFIt and Chimera will boot Linux. rEFIt/Chimera chainload GRUB, which then boots Linux (Ubuntu, in my case).

Boot into Mac OS (holding option key or BIOS boot menu), install rEFIt/Chimera, and voila, you should see three entries for your three OSes.

 

I don't think that migrating your operating systems one at a time in the order you proposed will work. Installation order is important due to the limitations of the operating systems' installers and bootloader conflicts. I believe you have to install OS X first.

Also, it's much easier if you plan out your partitions and create them up front because there are restrictions on partition order, certain partitions need to be primary, and resizing can be a headache. Given a dual-boot configuration via Boot Camp, you can non-destructively resize partitions using gparted or CampTune, but I don't know how well these tools work in a triple-boot configuration.

I've got no experience with Hackintosh myself, but the procedure for triple-booting a Hackintosh described in this article is similar to how it's done on a Mac, only using Chameleon instead of rEFIt and with some extra fix-up steps at the end:
How To Triple Boot Your Hackintosh With Windows And Linux | Lifehacker Australia