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Methods to install Windows OS on Mac. How to install Windows on Mac? Step-by-step instruction

I think that probably everyone has already heard about the new Windows 7 operating system, which seems to be fast, optimized, not buggy, and in general everything is super (compared to Windows Vista, of course). :P And it's possible that some people might want to install Windows on their Mac. For this you will need Boot Camp!

But first, let's try to understand why a Mac owner, who deliberately abandoned everything that connected him with the world of Windows, needs to use it again? There can be many options. For example, not all software that exists for Windows has its counterpart for Mac - the 1C:Enterprise accounting package and the engineering package with the CAD prefix. In addition, many who have recently joined the Makovods are frightened by the prospect of immediately plunging headlong into a new environment - they want to have a “safe haven” at hand, to which they can return if something happens. :lol: Simply put, there can be many reasons to have 2 operating systems on one computer, it all depends on the individual user.

So, what we will need:

  1. An Intel-based Mac running Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard or higher.
  2. Update the OS (Apple -> Software Update).
  3. Disc with Windows 7 and native DVD with Mac OS X.
  4. 10 GB of free hard disk space.
  5. Back up your system using Time Machine because the installation process will change the disk layout, and doing so in the event of a random failure could result in the loss of some or all of your files.

So, once all the above is done, you can start the process of installing Windows 7 on Mac.

First you need to close all “unnecessary” programs, even those that run in the background. Then you need to open Boot Camp (Programs -> Utilities -> Boot Camp Assistant).

Click Continue. Then we need to decide on the size of the hard drive that we will allocate for Windows 7. The minimum is 5 GB, but I recommend choosing at least 20 GB, because this will make the system work more stable and we will have more space for installing Windows programs. To increase the volume, you need to drag the partition between Mac OS X and Window:

After deciding on the disk size, click on the “Partition” button. Disk partitioning usually proceeds quickly, but partitioning errors may occur at this stage. This process will end with a new 20 GB “BOOTCAMP” disk appearing on your desktop, unless you select another one.

After this, the Mac will restart and the installation of Windows 7 will continue. You will be asked to select one of the partitions to install Windows on it; select the one that we created earlier and whose name contains BOOTCAMP.

:!: Attention! If you start installing to any other partition, this can lead to serious consequences and possibly even make your Mac unusable!

We check again that the correct section is selected, i.e. marked BOOTCAMP, and click Format. Here a window will pop up like: “The section may contain important data...”, OK.

And then the installation of Windows 7 will begin, the process is boring and not very exciting. You can watch TV for now. :wink: After the installation process is completed and the Mac is rebooted, remove the Windows 7 DVD. Then the Mac will automatically reboot again and the installation will continue. Here you will be prompted to select a language and other settings.

Once the installation is complete, the Mac will reboot again and Windows 7 will boot safely. But the low resolution is immediately noticeable, this is because the normal video driver is not installed. This can be fixed by updating Windows.

Downloading and installation can take a long time, it all depends on the speed of your Internet connection. After downloading the updates, Windows 7 will ask you to restart your Mac again. Of course, we're not used to rebooting it so often, but what can you do, it's Windows. :lol

After rebooting Windows 7, the monitor display will improve significantly and will be similar to a modern OS. Now we need to deal with the sound - it’s not there right now. But no need to worry, just insert your Mac OS X installation disc into the drive. Here Boot Camp will start again, click Next:

Next, accept the terms of the license agreement and click Next. Then check the box and click Install, the installation of all necessary drivers will begin. We complete the installation by clicking on the Finish button.

You will laugh, but Windows will once again offer to restart your Mac. :D Let's let him do this one last time, after first removing the Mac OS X disk from the drive. Click OK.

Now that’s all for sure! :wink: Windows 7 has been successfully installed on your favorite Mac. To boot into Windows, when you turn on the computer, you need to press the “Option” button and select Windows:

P.S. Before you perform any “unnatural” actions on your Mac, think ten times whether you need all this.


MacBook is a laptop released by Apple running Mac OS. The problem is that a lot of software was developed for Windows, but the same content cannot be installed on Mac. The only solution is to install Windows on MacBook.

Preparing and installing Bootcamp

The Bootcamp utility will help you install Windows on a MacBook; it loads the OS onto a separate partition of the hard drive. So, before installing a second OS, you need to remember that it takes up a considerable amount of space. Check the availability of free space - you will need about 30 GB.

To start installing the OS, you need to check the Bootcamp program for updates, to do this you need to:

  1. The application has a support site, go in and see if there are any updates.
  2. Or you can update the utility yourself, open the Apple menu and go to the “Update...” section.
  3. After the update is completed, you need to make a backup copy.

Installing Windows on MacBook

When downloading the program, you need to select the location where Windows will be saved on the MacBook air. All open applications must be closed before running the utility.

When everything is ready, let's start:

  1. Go to the Mac menu and open “Programs,” then “Utilities...” and open “Boot camp Assistant.” Click “Continue”.

  1. Select the “Download the latest software” checkbox and “Install Windows”.
  2. A window will appear asking you to make a copy of the software on DVD, CD, or save to an external drive. We choose what we need.
  3. Upload the drivers to the USB flash drive, and then select the disk size for the software to be installed.

Once all data has been copied, the laptop will automatically restart. To make the download manager appear, hold down the Alt key. The disk menu will appear, mark the section with the name of the OS. After which the operating system will start and the interface will be configured.

We customize the system for ourselves, it all starts with choosing the interface language, and after the preparatory configuration stage, click “Next”. You must follow the instructions and everything will work out, the main thing to remember is that you cannot interrupt or shut down the laptop.

Windows 10 on MacBook via Bootcamp using a USB flash drive

Windows 10 on a MacBook pro can be booted from either a disk or a USB drive. To install from a USB flash drive, you will first have to make a bootable USB flash drive. As stated above, we check the utility for updates and save everything that is needed.

  1. We insert the drive into USB. Go to "Disk Utility".
  2. Click on the flash drive on the left side and replace “Current” with “Partition 1” in the table.
  3. Set the format to MS-DOS (FAT) and click “Options”.
  4. In the window that appears, go to “Main boot…” and confirm the actions by clicking on “Ok” and “Apply”.
  5. Open the “Disk Partition” and clear space for the OS.
  6. Go to the “Boot Camp Assistant” tab.
  7. Check the boxes for the proposed actions and click “Continue”.
  8. Copy files from the system. If a yellow triangle is displayed, it means the OS is asking you to enter a code, enter it.
  9. We select the disk for installation, after which the system will restart itself; during the restart, hold down the Alt key and open the parameters window. After setting them up, the application is ready for use.

This utility allows you to boot Windows without restarting the computer.

How to use the program:

  1. Open the File menu in the utility, then click New.
  2. A window will appear, click on the “Install Windows or another OS...” shortcut.
  3. We indicate the source of data installation. We do it ourselves, dragging the folder to the desired location, or the application will do it on its own.
  4. Click “Continue”, after which we write the OS password.
  5. A table will appear, in it we select how to use the OS.
  6. Click on the folder where the program and its name will be located.
  7. Click “Continue”, after which the operating system will be installed. When finished, restart the laptop.

MacBook air Windows 10 using VirtualBox

This program will help you work with two operating systems at once. Installing another OS using it is quite simple. We go to the developers’ website, download and install the utility, then right-click on the application shortcut and select “Create”. Next you need:

  1. A table will appear in which we select the required OS.
  2. We choose the size of the memory we have, preferably at least 1024MB.
  3. Next, check the box next to “Create a new virtual disk.”
  4. Select the file type “VDI (VirtualBox Disc Image)”.
  5. Click on “Fixed virtual disk” and designate the volume.
  6. The system icon will appear in the menu on the left. Click “Run” and the “Windows Settings Options” window will open. After setting all the OS parameters you can use it.

It happens that there is a problem with sound or watching video after installing the OS, but there is a solution - you need to download all the drivers, they were previously saved on a flash drive or disk. Reboot the program and now everything works.

If you still have questions on the topic “How to install Windows on a MacBook?”, you can ask them in the comments


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This post was written not for the sake of holivar, but simply to share experience. I’ll answer the main part of the questions right away:
- Why is this necessary?
- It's just necessary!
- There is MacOS, why is there Windows on a Mac?
- Everyone chooses for themselves what is more convenient for them to work with! I like Apple hardware, but I'm used to working in Windows!
- Are there virtual machines?
- They work slowly!
- There is a Bootcamp!?
- There is little space on the Air, and Windows alone takes up about 30-40GB, with all the software!
Answered all the questions?! If you are still wondering how to do this, then welcome to the post...

If you have an external CD drive, this post may not be for you, here I will tell you how to install Windows on a MacBook Air without a drive.
In order to pull this all off, we need:

  • 2 USB flash drives (one for Windows 7 (from 4GB), the other for drivers (from 1GB))
  • 1 PC - with Windows 7
  • Internet
  • and of course the brand new Macbook Air 2010 Late

Stage 1. Preparing a bootable flash drive with Windows 7

First, let's prepare the flash drive and make it bootable. To do this, we need a PC with Windows 7 and a Windows disk (preferably x64, since the laptop supports x64).

Now we have a USB flash drive formatted in FAT32, which is active, i.e. may become bootable.
In order to install the bootloader, you need to do this in CMD:

  1. F: (my CD-ROM is designated by the letter F:, yours may be different)
  2. cd\boot\
  3. bootsect /nt60 E: (where E: is the name of the flash drive)
All! Now our flash drive is bootable with the Windows 7 boot loader installed, all that remains is to copy all the files from the Windows 7 CD to this flash drive, this can be done with Explorer, or in any other way convenient for you.

Step 3. Make Macbook See USB Flash with Windows

All my attempts to get the Macbook to see the bootable flash drive failed, so I had to use Google.
It turns out I'm not the only one who needs pure Windows/Linux on a Macbook, and there is a program for this rEFIt.
Download it from the official website: . I installed the latest version 0.14. It is installed as standard, like any application in MacOS.
After installation, you need to restart your computer 2 times. On the second reboot, you need to hold down the right-option and a similar menu will appear (USB Flash with Windows should be in the MacBook):


You will have a MacOS icon and a Windows icon by default. We need to select Windows.
After launching the installer, entering the key, select “full installation”.
A list of partitions on which the SSD is allocated will be displayed:


I will delete all sections! And we create new ones, when creating Windows will offer, or rather order, to create a 100MB system partition.
I divided the disk into 100MB(), 40GB (system), and the rest.
Once everything is installed, the computer will reboot and Windows will start, at the beginning, it will probably hang on a white screen for a long time, and look for the MacOS partition, this will be cured after installing the driver, and the Bootcamp application in Windows, to quickly find the desired partition, hold down the left option and selects the Windows drive.
After the installation is complete, install the drivers from the second flash drive and reboot. After the reboot, go to Bootcamp, select the drive to boot Windows and click Reboot Now. ALL! Now you won't see the white Macbook startup screen for about a minute.

A little about how it all works

After working for 2 days on a brand new MacBook, I appreciated all the advantages of an SSD. Windows loads for 10-15 seconds (from pressing the power button until all the icons in the system are loaded)
Word opens in 1 second
Photoshop CS5 - the first time in 4 seconds, if you turn it off and on again for 2 seconds (most likely due to ReadyBoost, and all sorts of new features in Windows 7)
The application response time is instantaneous.
And all this with a combination of Core2Duo, DDR3, Multi-touchpad, 1440x900...
In a word, I am very pleased! And it doesn’t matter what Windows or MacOS costs, because the MacBook Air 2010 Late is an excellent piece of hardware!
Happy New Year and good gifts to everyone!

After Windows developers presented the seventh and then the eighth version of their operating system, some iMac owners wanted to install it on their computer. The best option for this is to use the Boot Camp program, which allows you to install the OS from “windows” as a second system. In addition, Apple has released drivers that make installing new versions quite simple and without any problems, even for beginners. However, there are users who still encounter difficulties with this process, for example, there are interruptions in the sound, not all function keys are supported, etc. Let's try to figure out how to make the installation of Windows and everything on the iMac as painless as possible .

Where to begin?

First, let's determine why the owner of an Apple device needs a second operating system, especially since the developers deliberately moved away from everything related to “windows.” There can be a huge number of reasons, for example:

  • Not all programs that exist on Windows have their counterpart on iMac. Among them we can note the quite popular and irreplaceable “1C:Enterprise”.
  • If you recently purchased an iMac, you may be intimidated at first by the fact that everything is brand new. In this case, the second operating system will help you periodically return to a familiar environment.

So, what do we need? First, the distribution of Windows 7 or 8, depending on which version you decide to install. Secondly, a disk with iMac OS X. In addition, it is advisable to have at least 10 GB of free space on your hard drive. And practically the most necessary thing is Boot Camp. It should be noted right away that installing Windows OS will not work on every model. Thus, the operation will not work on iMac 17 and 20 inches released at the beginning and end of 2006.

There should be no problems with later models.

Tip: if you don't know your model, it's quite easy to fix. Just go to the official Apple website and indicate the serial number of the device.

Installing Windows 7 and 8 on iMac

Boot Camp provides programs and drivers that will help you install a second operating system on your iMac. You will need it when creating a partition for Windows and rebooting the installation system. Software drivers will subsequently ensure that the OS works with your computer's hardware. It won't be amiss Also, make a system backup (you can use Time Machine for this). This is necessary so that if problems arise or an accidental failure, you do not lose the necessary data.

Next, the actual installation of Windows 8 on the iMac begins. To do this, you need to launch Boot Camp Assistant. After that, click Continue and select the hard drive size for the new system. To do this, you can simply drag the partition between the operating system names. The next step is the Split into sections button. After the operation is completed, a BootCamp disk of the size you selected will appear on the desktop.

Now insert the installation disk with the Windows 7 or 8 distribution, and go to Start installation. And you can also do the installation yourself and already from it. After the system reboots, the user will be prompted to select a partition for installation. Of course, we need to set the one we recently created. After that, click Disk Properties (Advanced). Here we follow the Format link. Next, the installation itself begins. During this process, you will need to set the settings, select the language, and more.

It should be noted that after you get a second operating system, problems with sound may arise. To eliminate them, we will need a disk with OS X. Insert it into the drive and in the Boot Camp window that appears, click Next. The program will then ask you to agree to the terms of the license agreement, which you must do. Once all necessary drivers have been installed, click Finish.

After another reboot, you can be sure that your iMac now has two operating systems. It should be noted that before you start installation, weigh the pros and cons. After all, if you act carelessly, you can not only lose the data on the device, but also damage your native system.

Installing Windows 7 on Mac is necessary in rare cases. Apple computers have quite decent functionality, however, you need to get used to it. Of course, if you started your journey as an experienced user with top platforms with Microsoft logos, then you will definitely have problems with Macs. Let's begin with Mac OS is a completely different operating system, which differs in many ways from the usual Windows. In addition, modern Macs have built-in programs for workstations, for example, a pumped-up analogue of “1C: Accounting” or a package of engineering tools with the CAD prefix in the name. A certain category of users liked this functionality, which is why computers with Apple logos are in the black.

MAC BOOK and its “Relatives” are also attractive with their design. Laptops of this family generally have a slightly different keyboard layout, an excellent display with a very decent resolution, a durable body... In general, there are dozens of advantages that justify the high cost of these devices.

Thus, many users, when buying a Mac, suffer for a long time, trying to get used to a different operating system. And it doesn’t matter at all how the Windows fan bought this machine, the main question is how to tame the original product from Apple. And the easiest way out of this situation is installing Windows 7 on MAC.

What should you have on hand?

In order to gain new skills in working with both platforms, we need to get a MacBook or another PC from Apple, a disk or flash drive with Windows 7, 10 GB of free GB on the hard drive, and we will also need the Time Machine program to backup data. Installing Windows 7 on a MAC will involve changing partitions on the hard drive, and this can damage or even delete all your pictures, music, and favorite movies. And the last tip, if your PC is equipped with USB version 3.0 ports, then you will have to use a flash drive of a similar version. Otherwise, most of the ports may fail altogether, and the wireless keyboard will also show no signs of life.

As for the hardware capabilities of the experimental MacBook, attention should be paid to the processor, which is installed under the metal case. Most modern computers from Apple are equipped with a standard line of processors - Intel. These same systems are ideally adapted to work with Windows 7. More detailed information about everything related to the minimum system requirements can be obtained in the description section of the operating system that you are about to download or have already downloaded.

Immediately before starting the installation, I recommend checking whether the Mac will support 32-bit or 64-bit Windows. The capacity of the future Windows may conflict with the capabilities of the MAC. More information on this topic can be found in the description of the Boot Camp program.

Lastly, after you have successfully completed today's lesson, you will need to configure drivers for the peripherals. By the way, if the system cannot independently find “firewood” for Bluetooth or a camera for video chat, then do not rush to despair. Such software can be found independently, and on various resources where the names of operating systems from Microsoft or Apple appear.

System update and next steps.

To search for updates for your MAC, you will need to click on the icon in the upper right corner, and then select “Software Update”. In this way, we will prepare the ground necessary for installing Windows. You can use standard utilities to backup your files, and you can transfer them to the built-in HDD, as well as a solid-state drive.

Installing Windows 7 on a MAC should not conflict with the system you are using. The Boot Camp program was released specifically to solve this problem. First of all, you need to download and then install this program. Immediately after this procedure, we are required to close all background applications that can take up computer resources, and then launch Boot Camp.

Immediately after launch, the application will ask us to select the amount of hard drive that needs to be allocated to Windows. Remember that for full-fledged work you should choose at least 20 GB. As we remember, Windows 7 itself requires a lot of memory, in addition, you will need additional space to install additional software, as well as drivers for the new system. This particular installation stage is presented just above - by dragging the partition from MAC OS to the Windows panel, we distribute memory between two operating systems. By the way, here you can split your hard drive into additional partitions by clicking on “Partition”. Next, you need to insert a USB flash drive or disk with Windows 7, then click “Start Installation”.

The main installation stage.

Installation of Windows 7 on Mac will continue immediately after reboot. If you don’t know how to install Windows 7 correctly, I recommend reading

By the way, in the future, the computer will reboot on its own. As soon as the system gives you the following window, select the partition to install the OS. The main thing is to select the section opposite which the inscription BOOT CAMP will be visible. And don't forget to format this section.

The hardest part ends here. True, it will take about 40 minutes to complete. Installing Windows 7 on MAC looks very boring, so don't waste time and do more important things. And if you don’t have such plans, then you can go to the nearest stall for beer in order to modestly “wash” another victory over insensitive hardware.

After about a couple of reboots, you will see a new settings window where you need to select a language, set the date and time, and also understand network procedures. In general, standard procedures await you.

Once the installation of Windows 7 on MAC is complete, do not forget to update the drivers for the video chip to get the picture in full resolution. You should do the same with all drivers. By the way, you can use the native disk with software for MAC OS. At the same time, Boot CAMP will start working again.

It may happen that the new system will not boot, giving a “screen of death”, and in the most unexpected place - immediately after turning on the power. Most often, such a problem occurs due to incompatibility of video adapters. Laptops with GeForce 7300 GT video cards and higher versions. To solve this problem You will need to update your graphics card firmware. You can familiarize yourself with such instructions in more detail on any third-party resources, as well as on forums.

After the next reboot, you can praise yourself and open a beer. You got a full-fledged 7 under the hood of the Mac, enjoy using it! Now you can switch between two operating systems, and also begin to master Mac OS, unless, of course, you have already lost such a desire.

Below, you can watch a video that shows in detail the installation of Windows 7 on a Mac. Good luck!