The 5 Best Ways to Run Windows on Your Mac

Find out which option best fits you

While macOS is made to run using Mac hardware, it is not the only operating system that can run on a Mac computer.

Plenty of other operating systems, including Window and Linux, will work on a Mac device. That makes the Mac among the most versatile computers you can buy. Here’s what we’d use to install Windows on a Mac.

Boot Camp

Supports Windows 7, 8.1, and 10

Windows runs natively on Mac hardware for best performance

Requires a full Windows license for the initial install.

Cannot run Windows and Mac OS concurrently.

Perhaps the best-known option for running Windows on a Mac is Boot Camp. Included free with your Mac, Boot Camp allows you to install Windows and then choose between Mac and Windows on startup.

Because Boot Camp runs Windows directly on your Mac’s hardware (there is no virtualization or emulation to be performed) Windows can run at the best possible speed your Mac is able to deliver.

Installing Windows on your Mac is no more difficult than installing Windows on a PC. Apple even provides the Boot Camp Assistant to partition the startup drive to make room for Windows as well as to install all the drivers Windows needs for special Apple hardware.

Virtualization

Run both macOS and a guest OS side-by-side.

Not limited to Windows; a large number of guest operating systems are supported.

Performance tuning and customization needed to achieve the best performance.

May impact the performance of your Mac.

Virtualization allows several operating systems to run on computer hardware at the same time. Virtualization abstracts the hardware layer, making it look like each operating system has its own processor, RAM, graphics, and storage.

Virtualization on the Mac makes use of a software layer called a hypervisor to emulate all of the underlying hardware. As a result, the guest operating system running on the virtual machine does not run as fast as in Boot Camp. But unlike Boot Camp, both the Mac operating system and the guest operating system run at the same time.

There are three primary virtualization apps for Mac:

• Parallels: The first to bring virtualization to the Mac. Parallels supports a wide range of guest OS, including Windows, Linux, and Mac.
• VMWare Fusion: Fusion is the Mac virtualization app offered by VMWare — a leader in virtualization tech. Fusion supports the installation of many different operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and macOS.
• VirtualBox: Oracle supports an open source virtualization app known as VirtualBox. This free virtualization app runs on multiple computer systems, including Mac. Like the other virtualization apps, VirtualBox can be used to run many different operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and macOS.

Installing the virtualization apps is similar to any other Mac app. Guest OS may be more involved with some customization required to obtain the best performance. All three apps have lively forums and support services to help with tuning the performance.

How to run Windows programs on Mac for free

Both Windows PC and Mac have certain captivating features that make users hard to choose between two. If you have been a Window user for a long time switching to Mac is never easy. Although Mac may take the edge when it comes to aesthetics, Windows is way ahead in the way it handles software & games. If you are a die-hard fan of Windows machine but have switched to Mac, you may have to face few inconveniences occasionally. Mac doesn’t support to run Windows exclusive apps, but if you have programs on Mac that are compatible only with Windows, you may have to find a possible way to run Windows programs on your Mac.

Fortunately, there are some solutions that allow you to run programs that support only Windows. Thanks to the options like Remote Access, Wine Bottler, Boot Camp, and Virtual machines – they allow you to run Windows-only apps and software on Mac for free.

Run Windows Programs on Mac

The following solutions will help you run Windows exclusive PC games and software on Mac:

1. Remote Access
2. Wine Bottler
3. Boot Camp
4. Virtual Machines.

In this article, we overview the different ways to run Windows software on Mac.

1. Remote Access

If you have both Mac and Windows machine, you can make use of remote desktop to access files, software and other apps on Windows PC from your Mac. There are many free tools like TeamViewer and Remote desktop for Mac that would allow you to access Windows machine from your Mac. Additionally, if you are Chrome user, you can access Windows PC having Chrome from your Mac’s Chrome using Chrome Remote Desktop. These remote access tools allow you to easily set up remote access to your Windows PC. To use this, all you need to do is configure the remote desktop on both your machines and sign-in to your accounts to connect both the PCs whenever you desire.

2. Wine

Wine is helpful if you have a small number of Windows programs to run on Mac. It is a free tool that allows you to run small programs easily on a Mac with a single click. It doesn’t require any installation. Wine is an open-source program, and it doesn’t require any Window license to run Windows apps on the different operating system. To use this tool simply download .exe files and open it with Wine tool to run the programs directly on Mac. The tool rewrites the code to allow applications to run on different operating systems. Hence it may not work for all the software. The tool is not ideal for some Windows software, but it is useful if as some apps may crash, but it does work perfectly well for few applications. Wine is mostly used with third-party tools like Wine Bottler or Wineskin to build a convenience interface. Get this tool here.

3. Boot Camp

If your work requires you to switch between Mac and Windows, Apple’s Boot Camp comes in handy. Boot Camp allows you to install Windows on your Mac machine. This is similar to dual-booting Linux on Windows machine. Apple’s Boot Camp lets you run Windows and Mac side by side on a single machine. Boot Camp partitions your hard drive so that you can install Windows and reboot it whenever needed. Boot Camp doesn’t allow you to run both the Windows and Mac programs simultaneously. You need to restart your current program in order to reboot the other. That is why Boot Camp is ideal for running Windows PC games or other software as the Windows can utilize the entire machine resources. However, it doesn’t allow you to run Windows and Mac OS applications side by side simultaneously.

4. Virtual Machine

Unlike Bootcamp, Virtual machine allows you to run both Windows programs and Mac programs side by side at the same time without rebooting your machine. It is one of the popular ways to run windows program on Mac, and it enables to install Windows OS on your Mac desktop. To run Windows as a Virtual OS, you will need a Windows license to install Windows on a Virtual machine. Window users who already have a product key can install the Windows installation media for free and use it in a Virtual machine program. Mac offers Parallels, Virtual Box, and VMware Fusion as virtual machine programs. One downside of Virtual Machine is that it consumes a lot of resources to keep the VM running without difficulty.

ТОП-3 способа запуска программ Windows в MacOS

Если вам необходимо запустить на Макбуке программу Windows, то придется воспользоваться сторонним софтом. Самым популярным решением станет бесплатный эмулятор Wine. Он отличается высокой производительностью, благодаря которой программы не «тормозят». Минусами эмулятора Windows для mac OS является то, что он не дружит с некоторыми приложениями.

Как пользоваться эмулятором Wine на macOS?

• Чтобы эмулятор работал на ПК с системой macOS, нужно предварительно скачать и установить утилиту XQuartz. В последних версиях macOS открытый программный код вмонтирован в оболочку системы. Его можно найти по адресу: Applications/Utilities/Xquartz.app.

• После ее установки компьютер необходимо перезагрузить.
• Далее скачайте сам эмулятор . Wine скачать на mac можно с официального сайта.

• Дождитесь завершения установки. После чего софт можно найти в следующей директории: /Users/ваша_учетная_запись/.wine. Она будет скрыта, поэтому воспользуйтесь гайдом, как находить скрытые папки.

• Для запуска Windows нужно ввести команду «wine program.exe» либо запустить установочный файл скрытой папки в предыдущем пункте.

Достоинства и недостатки Wine

Плюсы эмуляторов для Windows:

• Не нужно лицензионное ПО.
• Данный способ значительно экономит ресурсы системы.

• Сложная настройка. Перед использованием любого софта, его предварительно нужно настроить. Особенно это сложно делать с играми.
• Совместимость. Некоторые «тяжелые» приложения, забирающие много ресурсов системы, могут некорректно работать или не работать вовсе.

Виртуальные машины

На выходе получается полноценная оперативная система, только располагается она на «виртуальном» железе. Получается, что внутри одной ОС создается другая, которая при запуске забирает часть ее оперативной памяти.

На данный момент существует несколько таких виртуальных машин. Они бывают платные и бесплатные. По большей части они ничем не различаются между собой. Разве что, в бесплатных функционал ограничен. Но в то же время, при полном образе можно легко запустить на mac программу для Windows.

• Установка дополнительной ОС со съемного носителя или образа загрузочного диска.
• Указание количества ресурсов, которые может использовать дополнительная ОС.
• Установка и пользование приложениями.

Какие бывают виртуальные машины — топ лучших

• Parallels Desktop – самая популярная платная программа. Благодаря ей создается гибрид систем. Любые приложения запускаются сразу, вне зависимости от того, к какой системе они принадлежат.

Достоинства и недостатки виртуальных машин

• Возможность работать с двумя системами одновременно.
• Легко получить доступ к файлам.

• Потеря производительности из-за одновременной работы двух систем.
• Некоторые приложение (чаще игры) не работают.

Что такое Boot Camp?

Это программа, позволяющая устанавливать «окна» на Макбук. Система займет отдельное место на жестком диске и будет работать независимо от «яблочной».

Для этого вам потребуется:

• 50 Гб свободного места во внутренней памяти.
• Загрузочный диск с Windows.

Достоинства и недостатки Boot Camp

• Такой метод не ресурсоемкий, потому что одновременно пользоваться можно только одной ОС.
• Все приложения и игры беспроблемно устанавливаются и работают.

• Чтобы переключаться между ОС, нужно каждый раз перезапускать компьютер.
• Не будет доступа к файлам разных систем.

Что выбрать: эмулятор Wine, виртуальные машины, Boot Camp?

Если вы не можете определиться, каким способом воспользоваться, то следующие рекомендации для вас:

• Boot Camp нужен, в первую очередь, для тех, кто будет пользоваться играми.
• Виртуальная машина нужна тогда, когда необходимо пользоваться одновременно двумя ОС.
• Эмулятор подходит для простых задач и нечастого применения.

Заключение

Нет таких людей, которые не имели бы дело с ОС Windows. Со временем некоторые пользователи «окон» переходят на «яблочную» систему. Но у них остаются на «окнах» программы, не имеющие аналогов на Mac, и без которых не получается обходиться.

Для такой проблемы есть несколько решений: запуск программ Windows в MacOS с помощью эмулятора Wine, виртуальных машин или Boot Camp. Каждое имеет свои особенности и недостатки, и только вы определите, что вам больше всего подойдет.

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6 Best Ways To Run Windows On Mac In 2021 (inc. M1 Macs)

Nowadays it has never been easier to run Windows on a Mac so we’ve looked at the best ways to do so in 2021 including on M1 Macs.

Installing Windows 10 on your Mac is useful for many reasons from running Windows only software to playing PC only games.

It’s also much cheaper and more convenient than buying a separate PC or laptop just to use Windows on.

However, there’s no doubt that some ways of installing Windows 10 on a Mac are much easier, reliable and effective than others.

We’ve taken a closer look at the different options available so you can decide which one is best for you.

Are There Any Risks Installing Windows on Mac?

Because installing Windows on a Mac involves separating it into either a virtual environment or a separate partition on your hard drive, there are absolutely no risks installing Windows on your Mac.

Running Windows on a Mac effectively isolates the rest of your Mac from any potential problems with viruses, malware or adware.

If the Windows installation were to get a virus or corrupted in some way, it wouldn’t damage macOS. You can simply delete the installation and reinstall it.

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With this in mind, here then are the best ways to install Windows on a Mac of 2021 in order of ranking.

1. Virtual Machine (Best For Beginners)

A virtual machine (also known as a virtual environment or virtualization software) allows you to run Windows “virtually” within macOS.

By far the two best virtual machines for Mac users are Parallels and VMWare Fusion.

There’s also VirtualBox which is free and open source but much harder to setup and use.

Although VMWare has improved a lot, we still think Parallels is the best way to run Windows on your Mac in 2021 for its ease of installation, speed, and the way it conveniently allows you to switch between macOS and Windows instantly.

You can even install Windows on a Mac for free with Parallels as you only need to purchase a Windows 10 activation key nowadays if you want to customize it.

Or if you already have Windows 10 installed on a PC, you can use the same 25 figure activation key during the Windows installation process in Parallels to get another fully activated copy for free on your Mac.

Virtual Machines are by far the most convenient Windows on Mac solution for most users because they allow you to use your Mac as normal but switch to a a Windows application at any time when you need it.

You have full access to the rest of your Mac apps while enjoying the convenience of having the Windows available too.

Parallels has got this off to a tee nowadays with Coherence Mode blurring the line between macOS and Windows so that you can work in both with almost no separation between the two.

Apple’s latest generation of Silicon Macs use a different ARM M1 chip and Parallels is the currently the only way to run Windows on Apple silicon M1 Macs.

The main rival to Parallels is VMWare Fusion which has now released a free version for non-commercial use but we’ve found that nothing comes close to Parallels in terms of ease of setup, use and support.

Parallels costs $79.99 for a home license or $99.99 for a Pro License suitable for developers, testers and power users.

For a limited time you can also get 50% off Parallels with an educational discount for students and teachers.

If you want to learn more, check out our full Parallels Desktop review.

Pros:

• Very easy to install Windows
• Runs Windows and macOS simultaneously
• Excellent for gaming
• Fast startup and shutdown time
• Optimized for macOS Mojave, Catalina, Big Sur and Windows 10
• Now supports DirectX and Metal
• Runs Windows on M1 Macs

Cons:

• Updates aren’t free
• Requires a separate license for each Mac you want to install it on
• Subscription pricing model
• Not yet officially compatible with Apple Silicon M1 chip Macs
• Can’t accelerate graphics card for gaming as well as Boot Camp

2. Apple Boot Camp (Best For Gamers)

By far the most popular alternative to installing Windows with a virtualization software is by using Apple Boot Camp.

Using Boot Camp to run Windows and install Windows only games is especially popular with gamers because Boot Camp leverages more power from your graphics card as it doesn’t have to run a virtual machine like Parallels does.

This makes playing games like Valheim on a Mac much smoother and less choppy as there are far fewer dropped frames.

Boot Camp is a free tool in macOS which allows you to install Windows on a partition on your Mac hard drive so you can choose whether to boot your Mac in either Windows or macOS.

The advantage of this is that it dedicates all of your Mac’s resources to an application which may require a lot of RAM or processing power such as CAD software, graphic design apps or games.

Because Boot Camp only allows your Mac to boot in either Windows or macOS (rather than running both at the same time as with a virtual environment) your Mac can devote all of its resources to the high demands of games and other power hungry applications.

The other big advantage of Boot Camp is that it’s free in macOS – just search for “Boot Camp” using Spotlight on your Mac and you’ll see it.

The disadvantage of installing Windows with Boot Camp is that you’re restricted to using either Windows or macOS at one time – you can’t switch between the two instantly like with virtualization software.

Finally, be aware that Apple has confirmed that Boot Camp will not work with Apple Silicon M1 Macs which is the new chipset and ARM processors that powers new Macs from late 2020 onwards.

If you are thinking of buying a new Mac in 2021, Boot Camp is definitely not an option if you want to install Windows on it.

If you’re also interested in other ways to play Windows games on a Mac, you may also be interested in GeForce Now For Mac which is a gaming platform by NVIDIA which allows Mac users to play Windows only games in the Cloud.