How big should your Windows partition be when you first set up Apple's Boot Camp software for running Windows on a Mac? The answer depends primarily on how much Windows software you intend to install, because this partition must hold all your Windows programs. If you already know what software you'll be using, consult the system requirements for each application and add up how much space they need; add at least 1.5GB for Windows itself. Also consider how much space you'll want for documents you save in Windows (including media, such as photos and music files), and include that in your total as well.
Unfortunately, once you make your choice, you're stuck with it; you can't currently resize your Windows partition after the fact. And, unlike the disk images Parallels Desktop normally uses, this partition cannot grow automatically--not even if you use it as the source volume for Parallels. So make the partition a bit larger than you think you'll need, to give yourself some breathing room, but not so large that you no longer have enough space for your Mac OS X files! (If you're still unsure, I suggest 10 to 15GB; with the default setting of 5GB, you may not have enough space for common tasks such as burning CDs, but 32GB is more than most casual Windows users will need.)
Be aware that although you may be able to access your Windows files while running Mac OS X, the reverse is not true; Boot Camp does not let you access files on your Mac partition while running Windows. (Some work-arounds exist, though; see the book Take Control of Running Windows on a Mac for details.)
Unfortunately, once you make your choice, you're stuck with it; you can't currently resize your Windows partition after the fact. And, unlike the disk images Parallels Desktop normally uses, this partition cannot grow automatically--not even if you use it as the source volume for Parallels. So make the partition a bit larger than you think you'll need, to give yourself some breathing room, but not so large that you no longer have enough space for your Mac OS X files! (If you're still unsure, I suggest 10 to 15GB; with the default setting of 5GB, you may not have enough space for common tasks such as burning CDs, but 32GB is more than most casual Windows users will need.)
Be aware that although you may be able to access your Windows files while running Mac OS X, the reverse is not true; Boot Camp does not let you access files on your Mac partition while running Windows. (Some work-arounds exist, though; see the book Take Control of Running Windows on a Mac for details.)
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