Answers...

to commonly asked questions.

Can't escape time machine

User wants to create a bootcamp partition.

1) how much HD space does she need?
with the newest versions of both VMware and Parallels, you can expand the virtual hard drive image after setup but overall, I'd start with about 8 to 10 gigs of dedicated space to the virtual OS then increase later if she needs more.  However if she's using bootcamp then you'll only be able to make that choice from the very beginning.  I would then suggest about 20-30 gigs dedicated to Bootcamp.  

2) will you need to wipe the drive? I will make sure that she backs up everything before you go to work.
The drive does not need to be erased.  Since around 10.4, we've had the ability as users to partition drives without losing data.  However, with two partitions that contain two completely different file architectures, it would be best to set it then leave it.  
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