However, with the release of Boot Camp 5.0 for Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion in version 10.8.3, only 64-bit versions of Windows 7 and Windows 8 are officially supported. Boot Camp 6.0 added support for Windows 10. Boot Camp 6.1, available on macOS 10.12 Sierra and later, will only accept new installations of Windows 7 and later; this requirement. Install Windows 10 on an external HDD or SSD with Boot Camp on Catalina (10.15) or Big Sur (11.1) UPDATE 01/2021.

An existing computer with Windows, Linux, or Mac: This is the computer where you will download and set up Hackintosh Catalina. The computer can run either Windows, Linux, or macOS; any operating system will work. A Hackintosh-compatible computer with an empty hard drive: This is the computer where you will install Hackintosh Catalina. The only way to play 32 bit games or run 32 bit apps on macOS Catalina, Big Sur or M1 Macs is to install a virtual environment. On Intel Macs you can then run an older 32 bit compatible version of macOS such as macOS Mojave or run Windows on your Mac (if the app or game you want to play also works on Windows of course). On Intel-powered Mac computers it is simple to install Windows. Just follow our Installation Assistant and click “Install Windows.” On Apple M1 chip-powered Mac computers you can install Windows 10 on ARM Insider Preview by watching the following video or by following the instructions in this article. For Mac users who also need to use a PC at work, home or just with specific applications, there is a solution. Using Boot Camp Assistant, you can install Windows 7 on your Intel-based Mac computer in its own partition. You’ll have a dual-boot system with your Mac OS on one partition and Windows on another. Why we should create a Windows 10 bootable USB on Mac? Having a bootable Windows USB makes it very easy to install or conduct repairs on Windows based computers. It gives you a portable installation drive that you can carry with you wherever you go, and all you need is a USB flash drive with adequate storage, and the appropriate Windows ISO file.

Boot Camp Assistant User Guide

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You can use Boot Camp Assistant to install Windows 10 on your Intel-based Mac.

You need an external USB drive to install Windows on older Mac computers. To find out whether you have a Mac that requires an external USB drive, see the “Learn more” section in the Apple Support article Install Windows 10 on your Mac with Boot Camp Assistant. If your Mac is a newer model that doesn’t require a USB drive, follow the instructions in Install Windows on your newer Mac using Boot Camp instead.

What you need

  • The keyboard and mouse or trackpad that came with your Mac. (If they aren’t available, use a USB keyboard and mouse.)

  • A blank 16 GB or larger external USB 2 flash drive, formatted as MS-DOS (FAT).

    To format an external USB drive as MS-DOS (FAT), use Disk Utility, located in /Applications/Utilities. In Disk Utility, choose View > Show All Devices, select the USB drive in the sidebar, then click Erase in the toolbar. In the dialog, enter a name for the drive, choose MS-DOS (FAT) from the Format pop-up menu, choose Master Boot Record from the Scheme pop-up menu, then click Erase.

  • A full-installation, 64-bit version of Windows 10 on a disk image (ISO file) or other installation media.

    You can download a Windows 10 Disc Image (ISO File) from Microsoft.

  • Sufficient free storage space on your startup drive. For information about the amount of free space needed, see the Apple Support Article Install Windows 10 on your Mac with Boot Camp Assistant.

Before you begin

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Before you install Windows, make sure you back up important files.

You can use Time Machine or any other method to back up your files. For information about backing up files, see Back up your files with Time Machine and Ways to back up or protect your files.

Perform the installation

Do the following steps in order.

Step 1: Check for software updates

Before you install Windows, install all macOS updates.

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  1. On your Mac, log in as an administrator, quit all open apps, then log out any other users.

  2. Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Software Update, then install all available updates.

    If your Mac restarts after installing an update, open Software Update again to install any additional updates.

Step 2: Prepare your Mac for Windows

Boot Camp Assistant prepares your Mac by creating a new partition for Windows named BOOTCAMP and downloading the Boot Camp support software.

Important: If you’re using a Mac notebook computer, connect it to a power source before continuing.

  1. Connect an external USB drive or insert a flash drive into the USB port on your Mac; keep it connected or inserted while you install Windows and the Windows support software.

  2. On your Mac, open Boot Camp Assistant , located in /Applications/Utilities.

  3. At the introduction screen, click Continue.

    The system is checked for total available disk space. Older Time Machine snapshots and cached iCloud files are removed to make space for Boot Camp. This process may take a long time to complete (you can click the Stop button to skip this process).

  4. At the Select Tasks step, select all the tasks, then click Continue.

  5. At the Create Bootable USB Drive for Windows Installation step, choose the Windows ISO image and the USB drive, then click Continue.

    The Windows files are copied to the USB drive. This process may take a long time to complete (you can click the Stop button to interrupt this process).

  6. At the Create a Partition for Windows step, specify a partition size by dragging the divider between the macOS and Windows partitions. If you have multiple internal hard drives, you can select a different hard drive from the one running macOS and create a single partition on that drive to use solely for Windows.

  7. Click Install.

When this step is complete, the Windows installer starts.

Step 3: Install Windows

  1. In the Windows installer, follow the onscreen instructions.

  2. When you’re asked where to install Windows, select the BOOTCAMP partition (you may need to scroll through the list of partitions to see it), then click Next.

    WARNING: Do not create or delete a partition, or select any other partition. Doing so may delete the entire contents of your macOS partition.

  3. Continue following the onscreen instructions to finish installing Windows.

    After you install the Windows software, your Mac automatically restarts using Windows.

  4. Follow the onscreen instructions to set up Windows.

Step 4: Install Boot Camp on Windows

After installing Windows, Boot Camp drivers that support your Mac hardware start installing.

Note: If the support software doesn’t install automatically, you need to install it manually. For instructions, see the Apple Support article If the Boot Camp installer doesn't open after using Boot Camp Assistant.

  1. In the Boot Camp installer in Windows, follow the onscreen instructions.

    Important: Do not click the Cancel button in any of the installer dialogs.

    If a message appears that says the software you’re installing has not passed Windows Logo testing, click Continue Anyway.

    You don’t need to respond to installer dialogs that appear only briefly during installation, but if a dialog asks you to install device software, click Install.

    If nothing appears to be happening, there may be a hidden window that you must respond to. Look behind open windows.

  2. When the installation is complete, click Finish, then click Yes to restart your Mac.

  3. After your Mac restarts, follow the instructions for any other installers that appear.

See alsoGet started with Boot Camp on MacTroubleshoot Boot Camp Assistant problems on MacApple Support website: Boot Camp Support

Boot Camp Assistant User Guide

You can use Boot Camp Assistant to install Windows 10 on your Intel-based Mac.

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Newer Mac computers use a streamlined method to install Windows on your Mac. To find out whether your Mac uses this method, see the “Learn more” section in the Apple Support article Install Windows 10 on your Mac with Boot Camp Assistant. If your Mac is an older model that requires an external USB drive, follow the instructions in Install Windows on your older Mac using Boot Camp instead.

What you need

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  • The keyboard and mouse or trackpad that came with your Mac. If they aren’t available, use a USB keyboard and mouse.

  • A full-installation, 64-bit version of Windows 10 on a disk image (ISO file) or other installation media.

    You can download a Windows 10 Disc Image (ISO File) from Microsoft.

  • Sufficient free storage space on your startup drive. For information about the amount of free space needed, see the Apple Support Article Install Windows 10 on your Mac with Boot Camp Assistant.

Before you begin

Before you install Windows, make sure you back up important files.

You can use Time Machine or any other method to back up your files. For information about backing up files, see Back up your files with Time Machine and Ways to back up or protect your files.

Perform the installation

On your Mac, do the following steps in order.

Step 1: Check for software updates

Before you install Windows, install all macOS updates.

  1. On your Mac, log in as an administrator, quit all open apps, then log out any other users.

  2. Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Software Update, then install all available macOS updates.

    If your Mac restarts after installing an update, open Software Update again to install any additional updates.

Step 2: Prepare your Mac for Windows

Boot Camp Assistant prepares your Mac by creating a new partition for Windows named BOOTCAMP and downloading the Boot Camp support software.

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Important: If you’re using a Mac notebook computer, connect it to a power source before continuing.

  1. On your Mac, open Boot Camp Assistant , located in /Applications/Utilities.

  2. At the Introduction screen, click Continue.

    The system is checked for total available disk space. Older Time Machine snapshots and cached iCloud files are removed to make space for Boot Camp. This process may take a long time to complete (you can click the Stop button to skip this process).

  3. If you have only one internal disk, choose the Windows ISO image, specify the partition size by dragging the divider between the macOS and Windows partitions, then click Install.

  4. If you have multiple internal disks, follow the onscreen instructions to select and format the disk you want to install Windows on and to choose the Windows ISO image.

    • If you select your startup disk: You can create an additional partition for Windows. Specify the partition size by dragging the divider between the macOS and Windows partitions.

    • If you select an APFS-formatted disk: You can either create an additional partition on the disk for Windows, or erase the entire disk and create a partition for Windows. If you choose to create an additional partition, specify the partition size by dragging the divider between the macOS and Windows partitions.

    • If you select a non-APFS-formatted disk: You can erase the entire disk and create a partition for Windows.

    If Boot Camp is already present on the disk you select, you also have the option to uninstall it.

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When this step is complete, the Windows installer starts.

Step 3: Install Windows

  1. In the Windows installer, follow the onscreen instructions.

    When the installation is finished, your Mac automatically restarts using Windows.

  2. Follow the onscreen instructions to set up Windows.

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Step 4: Install Boot Camp on Windows

After installing Windows, Boot Camp drivers that support your Mac hardware start installing.

Note: If the support software doesn’t install automatically, you need to install it manually. For instructions, see the Apple Support article If the Boot Camp installer doesn't open after using Boot Camp Assistant.

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  1. In the Boot Camp installer in Windows, follow the onscreen instructions.

    Important: Do not click the Cancel button in any of the installer dialogs.

    If a message appears that says the software you’re installing has not passed Windows Logo testing, click Continue Anyway.

    You don’t need to respond to installer dialogs that appear only briefly during installation, but if a dialog asks you to install device software, click Install.

    If nothing appears to be happening, there may be a hidden window that you must respond to. Look behind open windows.

  2. When the installation is complete, click Finish.

  3. After your Mac restarts, follow the instructions for any other installers that appear.

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See alsoGet started with Boot Camp on MacTroubleshoot Boot Camp Assistant problems on MacApple Support article: How to use Pro Display XDR with Boot CampApple Support website: Boot Camp Support

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One of the best things about using a Mac is that you can have it all. Apple doesn’t make macOS available to other platforms, but Windows (and Linux, for that matter) is available as a download. With Boot Camp Assistant on Mac, you can load Windows onto your macOS machine and enjoy both platforms seamlessly. When it comes to apps and games, sometimes Windows is the only way to go!

Why install Windows on Mac

Many who choose to buy a Mac do so because they’re just not Windows fans. But, some apps just don’t run on macOS – or may be better on Windows. So you’ll definitely need to know how to install Windows on Mac.

It opens up a new realm of PC gaming, too. The games selection on macOS is limited; even with Apple Arcade, native PC gaming is still best on Windows.

Many professional apps are only available to Windows devices. This is especially true now that Apple has ended support for 32-bit apps. Many developers with Windows and macOS versions simply abandoned the macOS platform to focus on their Windows apps.

Luckily, most modern Macs can run Windows just fine. As you’ll see, even older Macs are very capable of running the latest version of Windows via Boot Camp.

How to Boot Camp a Mac: System requirements

Apple’s guidance on Windows 10 via Boot Camp is a bit fuzzy. Officially, it says these three devices support Windows 10 on Mac:

  • iMac (2012 model or later)

  • iMac Pro (any model)

  • Mac Pro (2013 or later)

You should also be running the latest version of macOS. Boot Camp comes pre-loaded on macOS, but if you don’t have it, download the Boot Camp Support Software here.

You can have as little as 64GB free storage space on your machine, though Apple says 128GB provides the best experience. To find out how much free storage space you have available on your Mac, select > About This Mac from the menu bar. In the popup window, simply select “Storage” to see how much space you have available.

How to prepare your Mac for Windows install

The reason 128GB of free space is recommended is Boot Camp for Mac (or Mac Boot Camp, whatever you prefer) essentially divides your hard drive in two: one for Mac, one for Windows. Automatic Windows Updates require 64GB storage, so 128GB gives your Mac plenty of storage to operate.

Apple’s list of machines officially available for Boot Camp all came with 128GB storage as a standard. Again, any Mac with as little as 64GB free space will work, but performance will suffer once you start getting below 128GB.

Install

Boot Camp on Mac will not provide more room for Windows than Mac. Simply put, Boot Camp divides your storage space in two equal parts; if you have 100GB free space on your machine, it will not afford more than 50GB to Windows, which we know is inadequate. It will not allow 64GB for Windows, and 36GB for Mac. Boot Camp automatically affords very little space for Windows, which you can change.

You will need a USB flash drive with at least 16GB free space to install Windows 10 for Mac using Apple’s Boot Camp. The exception here would be the following machines machines running macOS El Capitan (10.11) or later, which don’t require a USB drive:

  • iMac (2015 or later)

  • iMac Pro

  • Mac Pro

How to use Boot Camp to install the Windows 10 ISO

An ISO file is a disk image; there’s nothing fancy about it, it’s simply the archived version of any platform, like Windows. When you download the Windows 10 ISO file, you’re simply downloading the latest version of Windows!

Before you start, be sure your USB drive is plugged into your Mac. Then, take the following steps:

  1. Head to the Microsoft Windows 10 ISO downloads page

  2. Select which version of Windows 10 you want from the drop-down menu (Windows 10 is likely the only option, here).

  3. Click Confirm

  4. From the dropdown menu, select the language you’d like for your version of Windows 10 for Mac.

  5. Click Confirm

  6. Select 64-bit Download

  7. In the popup, select your USB drive from the “Where” drop-down menu

  8. Click Save

How to Install Windows 10 on Mac with Boot Camp

Once you’ve downloaded the Windows 10 ISO onto your USB drive, make sure you backup your Mac using Time Machine, or a method of your choosing. Then, follow these steps:

  1. On your Mac, go to Finder > Applications > Utilities > Boot Camp Assistant.

  2. Click Continue.

  3. If the system doesn’t automatically find your ISO image on your attached USB drive, select “Choose” to find its location.

  4. A slider may appear, showing Boot Camp is allowing 48GB for Windows. This is Apple’s default setting. Again, Windows 10 requires at least 64GB, and 128GB is preferred. If you see the slider, drag it to allow Windows as much room as is necessary to operate comfortably.

  5. Click Install.

  6. Type your Mac’s password.

  7. Click OK.

Your Mac will restart. Instead of the normal macOS booting operation, you’ll instead see a Windows loading screen. You are essentially starting fresh, here. Now, perform these steps:

  1. Choose your language for Windows 10 on Boot Camp

  2. Click Install Now.

  3. Click Next.

  4. Select Custom: Install Windows Only

  5. Click Drive 0 Partition X: BOOTCAMP

  6. Click Next.

Windows is now being installed. Your Mac will restart a few times during this process. The first option you’re given is to use “express settings,” or custom. Express settings are fine; you can change settings later if you like.

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It will also ask you to enter a username and password for this Windows 10 partition, just as you have to log-in to your Mac using macOS. After you’ve done so, click Next. Windows 10 will now boot on your Mac.

How to install Boot Camp on your Windows 10 partition

The first time you open Windows 10 on your Mac, a window will automatically appear for installing the Boot Camp download onto your Windows 10 partition. This is a critical step; it downloads drivers and software necessary to maximize your Windows 10 experience on Mac, and allows for seamless switching between the two platforms.

When you see the Boot Camp popup, take the following steps:

  1. Click Install.

  2. Accept the terms and conditions.

  3. Click Install.

  4. Click Finish once the installation has completed.

How to return to macOS from a Windows 10 Partition

There are two ways to go about this. The first is to select the “show hidden icons” option on the Windows 10 taskbar at the bottom of the screen. It will give you the option to “restart in macOS.” Clicking this will automatically reboot your computer into the Mac environment you’re comfortable with.

That’s a one-way street, though. A better practice to get into is simply restarting your Mac, and holding down the Option key during installation. A boot menu will appear, giving you the option to boot into macOS or Windows. This method is a touch longer, but is better if you need to navigate between the two operating systems often.

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Do you really need Windows 10 for Mac?

Before heading down the Boot Camp Windows 10 for Mac route, think about whether or not you really need it. If you were using Microsoft Paint, to do things like annotate images, Capto is a great alternative for Mac. It has a simple, easy-to-use interface that allows you to do things like add thought bubbles and text to images. You can also perform many of Microsoft Paint’s more popular functions like drawing or paint-filling a selection.

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Capto has the added benefit of being a robust screen recorder for Mac, as well as a lightweight video editor. Unless you’re really deep into Microsoft Paint’s feature-set, we think Capto will suit your needs just fine.

If Microsoft Publisher is your thing, try Swift Publisher for Mac instead. It has over 500 templates with 2,000 clipart images to choose from, and over 700 layouts for business cards and labels. You can even use it to make barcodes for your small business! Swift Publisher is also Mac-native, and adheres to design guidelines that are more suitable to users familiar with the Mac environment.

If you just need a lightweight IDE for coding, you don’t need to install Windows 10 on Boot Camp to get Notepad++. Instead, give CodeRunner for Mac a try! It has code completion for most languages, and is extensible. You can even add languages you don’t see listed. CodeRunner is also highly customizable; if you don’t want it to automatically do things like add closing brackets, you can tell it not to! It also has documentation for most popular coding languages right in the app.

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Best of all, Capto, Swift Publisher, and CodeRunner are all available free using Setapp’s 7-day trial, where you can give all of Setapp’s included apps for Mac a try. It’s a lot easier than booting Windows 10 on a Mac!

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