Sierra, Mavericks and Windows - What is possible?

[StacieBee]

My MacBook Pro has two partitions – one running MacOS Sierra 10.12.5 and the second running Mavericks 10.9.5 (for purposes of keeping commercially licensed software that is now only available as monthly/annually-paid subscriptions). I do not have any virtual systems.

I would like to install Fusion, and potentially Windows via Bootcamp, and achieve a 3-partition system which all three of these scenarios are possible:

1. Startup disk is Sierra (partition 1) and through Fusion I can run Mavericks (partition 2) and/or Windows (partition 3) as needed
2. Startup disk is Mavericks (partition 2), running legacy apps natively
3. Startup disk is a Bootcamp-based Windows drive (partition 3)

While a dual-Sierra/Mavericks system is my only requirement, the option to have Windows as well is a big plus.  Before making any build changes that potentially “break” my current setup by running a trial, can anyone help to answer a couple of questions?  At this point, I am not looking for technical setup instructions – just “yes” or “no” to the possibilities so that I can eliminate either Fusion or Parallels from consideration (assuming their capabilities differ regarding my specific needs) before altering the drive(s).

• Can I use Fusion to run my existing Mavericks drive within Sierra or will I have to reinstall the OS and legacy applications through Fusion?
• Assuming a setup in which Mavericks can be run through Fusion in Sierra, can I run Mavericks natively by rebooting to it as my Startup Disk if/when needed? Whether I can use my existing drive or would have to reinstall through Fusion, I would still like the option to run natively, as I suspect heavy tasks may be cumbersome and/or problematic to run virtually.
• If I add a Bootcamp-built Windows partition, can it also be run through Fusion in Sierra (or do I have to choose one or the other)?

Thanks in advance for reading through all of this.  I appreciate any insight.

- Stacie

[ColoradoMarmot]

I'm not sure that using boot camp with a 3-partition is supported.  If you don't need boot camp specifically, using a standalone VM is a much easier option.

You cannot virtualize an OSX partition.

[Mikero]

Hm, you can't do it how you're describing (like was previously said, we can't virtualize an existing macOS/OS X installation), but you could do the following:

- Run Bootcamp with Windows only (or just install Windows as a 'normal' VM)

- Sierra as the Host (no change)

- Mavericks as a VM, data transferred using Migration Assistant.

You could create the Mavericks VM with Fusion on another system and use the Apple Migration Assistant to transfer the user and apps from your existing 10.9. (Note: You'd need Bridged networking for the VM to see the other machine on the same network).

Once the VM is created on the other system, just copy it over to the 'main' one.