How To Install Windows On A Mac - Macworld UK

How to run Windows on a Mac via Boot Camp · Step 1: Open Boot Camp Assistant. · Step 2: Download driver software · Step 3: Partition your drive. OpenMenu Search Apple AppleNews AppleReviews Mac MacReviews MacBookReviews MacNews MacHowTo MacSoftwareReviews iPad iPadReviews iPadNews iPadHowTo iPhone iPhoneReviews iPhoneNews iPhoneHowTo AppleTV AppleTVReviews AppleTVNews AppleTVHowTo AppleWatch AppleWatchReviews AppleWatchNews AppleWatchHowTo News Apple Mac Software iPad iPhone Reviews Accessories AppleWatch AppleTV Audio iMac iPad iPhone MacBooks Macmini MacPro Software HowTo Mac Software iPad iPhone Deals More Accessories Audio Software Newsletters Magazine Search fb tw am yt rss HotTopics MacStudio iPhoneSE3 StudioDisplay iPadAir5 BestMacVPNs BestMacAntivirus EverythingyouneedtoknowabouthowtogetwindowsonMacincludingdifferencesbetweenusingBootCamp,VMwareandParallels. By CliffJoseph,Contributor |05Jul21 Contents > WhichMacscanrunWindows? > HowmuchspacedoesWindowsneed? > What'sbestBootCamporvirtualisation? > Windows365 > HowtogetWindowsforMac > HowtorunWindowsonaMacviaBootCamp > HowtorunWindowsinaVirtualMachine > Hardwaresettings > Softwaresettings > CanIrunmacOSonaWindowsPC? PriortothelaunchoftheM1MacsinNovember2020oneofthebenefitsofusingaMacwasthatyouhadthechoiceofeitherrunningmacOSonitsown,orinstallingWindowsforthoseoccasionswhenyouneedtorunWindows-onlyappsandgames. It'sstillpossibletorunWindowsonaMac,butrightnowthiswillonlyreallyworkonaMacwithanIntelprocessor.IntheoryyoucanrunWindowsonaMacwithApple'sM1Chip,butthisisonlytheARMversionofWindows,whichisn'treadilyavailable,andmanyWindowsprogramsdon'trunonit. InthisarticleweexplainhowtoinstallWindowsonaMac.Thereareanumberofwaystodoso:youcanuseApple'sdual-bootingBootCampAssistant,youcanusethird-partyvirtualisationsoftwareoryoucanrunWindowsappsviaanemulator. Wealsodiscusstheprosandconsofeachapproachinthisarticle. ThereisanewversionofWindowscoming-Windows11-read:Windows11vsmacOSandwhatAppleshouldcopy. WhichMacscanrunWindows? ThisdependsontheversionofWindowsyou'retryingtoinstall,ifyouwanttorunWindows10anyMacwithanIntelprocessorsincelate2012shouldsupportit. Here'sthelistofcompatibledevices: MacBook introducedin2015orlater MacBookAir introducedin2012orlater MacBookPro introducedin2012orlater Macmini introducedin2012orlater iMac introducedin2012orlater iMacPro(allmodels) MacPro introducedin2013orlater  IfyouhaveanM1MacyoucanruntheARMversionofWindowsviaParallelsDesktop16.5,however,gettingacopyofWindowsforARMisn'tsimple,andtherearecompatibilityissueswithWindowsprogramsnotrunninginthatversionofWindows.Moreinformationhere:NewParallelsDesktopbringsWindowstoM1Macs.Youmayalsoliketoread:WillWindowsrunonAppleSilicon. Becauseit'ssuchearlydaysfortheARMversionofWindowsrunningonM1Macswewon'tgointodetailabouthowtogetitrunningonaMac,butwewillpointyoutoParallelswhohavesomeinformationdetailingtheprocess. AsforWindows11:runningWindows11ontheMacmaynotbepossiblewhetheryouhaveanIntelorM1Mac.ThisisbecauseinordertorunWindows11thecomputerneedsasecuritymodulecalledTPM-whichMacsdonothave.WeexplaineverythinginWillWindows11runonMac? HowmuchspacedoesWindowsneed? YourMacwillalsoneedtohaveatleast64GBofdiskspacefreeifyouaretoinstallWindowsinaBootCamppartition.However,becauseWindowsrequires128GB(onceyouinstallalltheaccompanyingprograms)Appleactuallysuggeststhatyoucreatea128GBpartition. What'sbestBootCamporvirtualisation? TherearetwomainmethodsifyouneedtoinstallWindowsonyourMac,andtheoptionyouchoosewillgenerallydependonthetypeofsoftwareyouneedtorun. Thefirst,providedbyAppleitselfwiththeBootCampAssistantthatisinstalledonallIntelMacs,iscalled'dual-booting',asitgivesyoutheabilitytostartup(or'boot')yourMacusingeitherWindowsormacOS. TheBootCampAssistantcansplityourMac'sharddrive(orsolidstatedrive)intotwosections,called'partitions'.ItleavesmacOSononepartition,theninstallsWindowsonthesecondpartition.YousimplychoosewhichoperatingsystemyouwanttorunbypressingtheAlt/OptionkeyonyourkeyboardwhenyoubootyourMac. InstallingWindowsonaBootCamppartitionwiththismethodeffectivelyturnsyourMacintoaWindowsPC,anddevotesallofyourMac'sprocessorpowerandmemory-anditsgraphicscardifithasone-torunningWindowsalone. That'sthebestoptionifyouwanttoplayWindowsgames,orrunhigh-endgraphicsanddesignsoftwarethatneedsallthepoweritcanget. TheonlydisadvantageofBootCampisthatyouloseaccesstoallyournormalMacappswhileyou'rerunningWindows,whichmeansyouhavetoshutdownWindowsandbootbackintomacOSifyouwanttouseMacappssuchasAppleMailorPhotos. Thisiswheretheotheroption,knownasvirtualisation,cancomeinhandy.InsteadofsplittingyourharddriveintoseparatepartitionsformacOSandWindows,youuseavirtualisationprogramsuchasParallelsDesktoporVMwareFusiontocreatea'virtualmachine'thatrunswithinmacOSitself.FormoreoptionsseebestvirtualmachinesoftwareforMac. Thevirtualmachine(VM)issimplyanappthatrunsontheMacjustlikeanyotherMacapp.However,thevirtualmachinemimicstheworkingsofaPC,allowingyoutoinstallWindowsonthevirtualmachine,andtheninstallanyWindowsappsthatyouneedtorunaswell. Thisisdefinitelythemostconvenientoption,asitmeansthatyoucanrunyourWindowsappsontheMacdesktoprightalongsideallyournormalMacapps,sothere'snoneedtodual-bootbackandforthbetweenthemacOSandWindowsasyoudowhenrunningBootCamp. Butvirtualisationhasdisadvantagestoo.RunningWindowswithinavirtualmachinemeansthatyou'reeffectivelyrunningtwooperatingsystemsatthesametime,soyou'regoingtoneedplentyofprocessorpowerandmemorytogetdecentperformancewhenrunningyourWindowsapps. Evenso,mostrecent(Intel)MacscanstillprovidegoodperformancewhenrunningWindowsinavirtualmachine,andit'sonly3Dgamesandhigh-endgraphicsappsthatneedtheextrapoweryoucangetfromdual-bootingwithBootCamp. Thenewalternative:Windows365 Microsofthaslaunchedanewservice-Windows365-thatallowsbusinessuserstoaccesscloud-basedPCsrunningWindowsandWindowssoftwarefromanywhere.Itmeansyougetafull-fledgedWindows10computerinthecloud.Butthisisn'tlimitedtoWindowsmachines-itcanalsorunonaMac,iPadoriPhone.Morehere:HowWindows365isbringingWindowstoMac,iPadandiPhone. AllWindows10andWindows11deviceswillbecompatible,asyouwouldexpect.ButthegoodnewsisthataWindows365sessionwillalsobeabletobestreamedtohardwarerunningmacOS,iPadOS,LinuxandAndroid. Windows365issimilartovirtualisationandremoteaccesssoftware,butit'sworthnotingthatonedisadvantageofMicrosoft'scloudsolutionisthatthemonthlyfeeisquitehigh(startingat£20.50/$24peruser,permonth,fora1CPU,2GBRAM,64GBstorageCloudPC-detailsofpricinghere),andifyouwantmorememoryandstoragespaceitcostsevenmore.You'llalsoneedagoodinternetconnection,sinceeveryinputmustalsobetransmittedviatheweb. HowtogetWindowsforMac IfyouwanttorunWindows10onyourMacyoucandownloaditasa'diskimage'file-sometimesalsocalledan'ISOfile'-fromMicrosoft'swebsite. YoucandownloadISOfilesforWindows7andWindows8.1aswell.However,theseversionsofWindowswereoriginallysoldondisk,soifyoustillhavetheoriginaldiskthenit'sprobablyquickertocreatetheISOfileusingtheinstallerprogramonthedisk.Thisisactuallyquitestraightforward,andApplecoversthisoptiononitswebsitetoo. NowyouhaveWindowsinstallfilesyoujustneedtogetBootCamporyourVirtualisationsoftwareupandrunningsoyoucaninstallit. IfyouwanttogetWindowsforfreeorfindawaytorunWindowsforfreeonyourMacread:HowtorunWindows10onaMacforfree. HowtorunWindowsonaMacviaBootCamp OneofthebestthingsaboutrunningWindowsviaBootCampisthatAppleprovidesBootCampAssistantasafreeappthathelpsyoutoinstallWindowsonyourMac. You'llfindtheAssistantlocatedintheUtilitiesfolderwithinthemainApplicationsfolderonyourMac-butbeforeyouruntheAssistantthereareafewthingsthatyouwillneedtorunWindowsinBootCamp. Whatyouneed Applerecommendsthatyouhaveaminimumof64GBoffreestorageavailableonyourMac'sinternalharddrive(orsolid-statedrive)forinstallingWindows.Actually128GBisrecommended! Youmayalsoneedamemorystickwithatleast16GBofstoragefortheadditional'driver'softwarethatWindowsneedsinordertocontrolcomponentssuchasyourMac'smonitorandcamera,aswellasyourMackeyboardandmouse(which,ofcourse,aredifferentfromconventionalWindowsmiceandkeyboards).SomeMacswillbeabletodownloadthesenecessarydriversthough. You'llneedafullypaid-forcopyofWindows,alongwiththelicencenumber.RecentMacmodelsandanyMacrunningCatalinawillonlyworkwithWindows10,althougholdermodelsmayalsoworkwithWindows7,orWindows8.1.YoucancheckwhichversionsofWindowsyourMaccanrunonApple'swebsite. Theinstallationprocesswillvary,dependingonwhichversionofWindowsyou'reusing. Onceyou'vecompletedthosepreparationsyou'llbereadytorunBootCampAssistantandinstallWindowsonyourMac.Here'swhattodo. Step1:OpenBootCampAssistant. WhenyourunBootCampAssistantforthefirsttime,itwillpromptyouwithanumberofoptions.ThefirstoptionistoselecttheISOimageyouwanttouse.ClicktheChoosebuttonthennavigatetotheoneyouhavecreatedordownloaded.ThiswillcopyyourWindowsISOfileontotheUSBmemorysticksothatyoucaninstallWindows. Step2:Downloaddriversoftware NextBootCampAssistantmaytellyouthatitwilldownloadthedriversoftwareforWindowsontotheUSBmemorystickaswell.However,itwillonlydownloadthedriversforWindows8.1andWindows10,soifyouwanttoinstallWindows7-whichisstillusedbymillionsofpeoplearoundtheworld,butisnolongersupportedbyMicrosoft-thenyou'llhavetoheadbacktothecompatibilitytablesonApple'swebsiteinordertolocatethedriversoftwarethatyouneedforyourMac,thenfollowtheinstructionstocopythedriversontoyourUSBmemorystick. Step3:Partitionyourdrive ToallocateroomforWindows,BootCampwillneedtosplityourMac'sharddriveintotwoseparatesections,knownas'partitions'.ThisisshownatthebottomofthepanewiththenormalmacOSontheleftandtheproposedWindowsoneontheright.  Bydefault,BootCampAssistantofferstocreateasmallWindowspartitionthatisonly40GBinsize,butyoucanusetheslidercontrol(thedotbetweenthepartitions)toadjustthesizeofthetwopartitionsasrequired.  IfyourMachasmorethanoneinternalharddriveorSSD,it'spossibletodevoteoneofthosedrivesexclusivelytoWindows. However,BootCampdoesn'tplaywellwithexternaldrivesconnectedviaUSBorThunderbolt,soit'sbesttouseyournormalinternaldrivewhereverpossible.AndifyouhaveanexternaldriveconnectedtoyourMacforTimeMachinebackupsthenit'sagoodideatoremoveitasBootCampcangetabitconfusedifitdetectsanexternaldriveduringinstallation. Whenyou'redone,clicktheInstallbuttonatthebottomofthewindowtostarttheprocess. Step5:InstallWindows Onceyou'vepartitionedyourMacdrive,BootCampwillshutdownyourMacandlaunchtheWindowsinstallerprogramfromtheUSBmemorystick.YoucanjustfollowthepromptstoinstallWindows.AssoonasWindowsstartsupyouwillalsobepromptedtoinstalltheadditionalBootCampdriversfromthememorystickaswell. Step6:RunWindows Oncethat'sdoneyoucansimply'dual-boot'betweenthemacOSandWindowsbypressingAlt(akaOption)onyourkeyboardwhenyouturntheMacon.You'llseethetwopartitionswiththemacOSandWindowsdisplayedonscreenastheMacstartsup,andyoucansimplyselectwhicheveroperatingsystemyouneed. HowtorunWindowsinaVirtualMachine VirtualisationprogrammessuchasParallelsDesktopandVMwareFusionprovideaningeniousandflexiblealternativetothedual-bootapproachofBootCamp. InsteadofsplittingyourMac'sharddriveintoseparatepartitions,andtheninstallingWindowsontotheBootCamppartition,theseprogramscreateavirtualmachine-orVM-whichissimplyanappthatrunsontheMacandactslikeaPC. YoucantheninstallWindowsintheVM,alongwithwhateverWindowsappsandsoftwarethatyouneedtorun.TheVMcanrunalongsideotherMacapps,suchasSafariorAppleMail,sothere'snoneedtoswitchbackandforthbetweenthetwooperatingsystems,asyouareforcedtodowithBootCamp. YoumayneedtobuyacopyoftheVMsoftware,aswellasprovidingyourowncopyofWindows.Parallelsstartsat£69.99/$79.99,VMwareisfreeforpersonaluse,butwillcostfrom$149otherwise. Thereisalsoafreevirtualisationprogram,calledVirtualBox,butit'sfairlycomplexanddifficulttouse,sowe'llfocusfirstonusingParallelsandVMwaretoinstallWindows.WedohaveaseparatearticlediscussinghowtouseVirtualBoxthough,ifyoufeelreadyforthechallenge. Wehaveaseparatein-depthguidetotheBestvirtualmachinesoftwareforMac. RunWindowsonaMacwithParallels ParallelsDesktop(version16attimeofwriting-readourParallelsDesktop16review)costs£69.99/$79.99andhasamorecolourfulgraphicalinterfacethanVMwareFusion,butthetwoprogramstakethesamebasicapproach.TheyprovideseveraloptionsforcreatinganewVMonyourMac,usinganinstallerdisk,orISOfile. It'salsopossibletoconnectanexistingWindowsPCtoyourMacandcreateaVMontheMacthatisanexactcopyofthePC,completewithWindowsandalltheWindowsappsthatyouneed.And,ifyou'realreadyusingBootCamp,youcanevencreateaVMthatduplicatesyourBootCamppartition-whichisahandyoptionforquicklycheckingafewfiles,orrunningappsthatdon'tneedtopperformance,withouthavingtoshuttheMacdownandbootintoWindows. Onceyou'vedecidedhowyouwanttoinstallWindows,bothprogramsallowyoutoadjustanumberofimportantsettings. RunWindowsonaMacwithVMwareFusion VMwareFusion(nowinversion12-readourVMwareFusion12review)isalittlemorecomplicated,asitdisplaysawindowwithalotofsettingsthatmightseemabitdauntingtofirsttimeusers.Parallelsmakesthingsabiteasierforbeginners,byprovidinganumberofpredefinedoptionsthataresuitableforproductivitysoftwaresuchasMicrosoftOffice,orrunningheavy-duty3Dgames,ordesignsoftware. VMwarehasvariouslicensingoptions.Thebasicversion-Fusion12Player-isfreeforpersonaluse(detailshere).ThecommercialpriceofFusion12Playeris$149,whileFusion12Prois$199,oritisan$79upgradefrompreviousversions. Hardwaresettings BothVMwareFusionandParallelsallowyoutochangethehardwareconfigurationofyourVMsifyouneedto,justasthoughyouwerechoosingthephysicalhardwareforarealMacorPC. IfyourMachasamulti-coreprocessorthenyoucandevotemultiplecorestoyourVMinordertoimproveperformance.Youcanalsoallocateextramemoryanddiskspace,andevenincreasetheamountofvideomemorythatyourVMcanuseforhandling3Dgraphicsingamesandothergraphicssoftware. OtheroptionsprovidedbybothParallelsandVMwareincludetheabilitytoconnectexternaldevices,suchasaharddriveorevenBluetoothspeakerstoyourWindowsVM.YoucanalsodeterminehowyourVMinteractswiththemacOSonyourMac,perhapssharingspecificfoldersandfilesthatyouneedforaworkproject,orsharingyourmusicorphotolibraries. Softwaresettings AkeyaspectofhowyourVMrunsonyourMacisthewayitappearswhenit'srunningontheMacdesktop. Bydefault,bothParallelsandVMwareruntheirVMsinawindow-soyougetakindof'Windowswindow'thatdisplaystheWindowsdesktopfloatinginitsownwindowontopoftheMacdesktop.However,it'salsopossibletoexpandtheWindowsdesktopsothatitfillstheentirescreen,makingyourMaclookjustlikeanormalPC(whilststillallowingyoutoswitchintoMacappsbyusingCommand-Tab). ButabetteroptionformanypeopleistheabilitytohidetheWindowsdesktopaltogether,sothatindividualWindowsappsappearallontheirownontheMacdesktop,justlikeordinaryMacapps. Thenumberofdifferentoptionsavailableherecanbeabitintimidating,butthegreatthingaboutvirtualisationtechnologyisthatyoucan'treallybreakaVM.YoucansavedifferentversionsofyourVM-justlikesavingdifferentversionsofadocumentinMicrosoftWord.Thatallowsyoutoexperimentwithdifferentsettingstoseewhichoptionsworkbestforyou,andthensimplyrevertbacktoapreviousversionoftheVMwheneveryouwant. CanIrunmacOSonaWindowsPC? Whatabouttheoppositescenario?IsitpossibletorunmacOSonaPC? Inaword:no.ItisoneofthoseironiesthatalthoughMicrosoftisfamedforitsaggressivecommercialpractices,Appleisresponsibleforthisparticularimpasse.AlthoughyoucanrunWindowsonanyX86computer,ApplemakesitsownmacOSsoftwareavailableonlyonMacsoftware. Overtlythereasoningislaudable:macOSisdesignedtorunonApple'sownhardware,andtheexperiencewouldn'tbeasgoodonanyoldcomputer.ThisisonereasonwhyyouwillneverrunanunderpoweredMac. ButitisalsofairtosaythatApplecreatessoftwareinordertosellhardware.TheexcellenceofmacOSisakillerappwhenitcomestosellingMacs,anditdoesn'twanttoshare.Soifyouwanttoexperiencethebestofallworlds,youneedtorunWindowsonyourMac. Thatsaid,youcouldreadhowtocreateaHackintoshandtry. Tags: Mac,Software Note:Wemayearnacommissionwhenyoubuythroughlinksonoursite,atnoextracosttoyou.Thisdoesn'taffectoureditorialindependence.Learnmore. Getbreakingnews,thelatestreviewsandsoon-to-sell-outdeals FollowMacworldUKonGoogleNews Author:CliffJoseph,Contributor CliffisaformerEditorofMacUsermagazineandhasmorethan20yearsexperienceofthecomputerandtechnologyindustries. RecentstoriesbyCliffJoseph: BestMOBAgamesforMac BestMacActionGames GameslikeTheSims-SimulationgamesforMac Share Tweet Send  Hi.IsawthisonMacworldUKandthoughtyoushouldseeittoo. FollowMacworldonTwitter FollowMacworldonFacebook Copyright©2022IDGCommunications,Inc.AllRightsReserved