Install Windows 10 on your Mac with Boot Camp Assistant

With Boot Camp, you can install Microsoft Windows 10 on your Mac, then switch between macOS and Windows when restarting your Mac.

What you need to install Windows 10 on Mac

• MacBook introduced in 2015 or later
• MacBook Air introduced in 2012 or later
• MacBook Pro introduced in 2012 or later
• Mac mini introduced in 2012 or later

• iMac introduced in 2012 or later 1
• iMac Pro (all models)
• Mac Pro introduced in 2013 or later

The latest macOS updates, which can include updates to Boot Camp Assistant. You will use Boot Camp Assistant to install Windows 10.

64GB or more free storage space on your Mac startup disk:

• Your Mac can have as little as 64GB of free storage space, but at least 128GB of free storage space provides the best experience. Automatic Windows updates require that much space or more.
• If you have an iMac Pro or Mac Pro with 128GB of memory (RAM) or more, your startup disk needs at least as much free storage space as your Mac has memory. 2

An external USB flash drive with a storage capacity of 16GB or more, unless you’re using a Mac that doesn’t need a flash drive to install Windows.

A 64-bit version of Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro on a disk image (ISO) or other installation media. If installing Windows on your Mac for the first time, this must be a full version of Windows, not an upgrade.

• If your copy of Windows came on a USB flash drive, or you have a Windows product key and no installation disc, download a Windows 10 disk image from Microsoft.
• If your copy of Windows came on a DVD, you might need to create a disk image of that DVD.

How to install Windows 10 on Mac

To install Windows, use Boot Camp Assistant, which is included with your Mac.

1. Check your Secure Boot setting

Learn how to check your Secure Boot setting. The default Secure Boot setting is Full Security. If you changed it to No Security, change it back to Full Security before installing Windows. After installing Windows, you can use any Secure Boot setting without affecting your ability to start up from Windows.

2. Use Boot Camp Assistant to create a Windows partition

Open Boot Camp Assistant, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder. Follow the onscreen instructions.

• If you’re asked to insert a USB drive, plug your USB flash drive into your Mac. Boot Camp Assistant will use it to create a bootable USB drive for Windows installation.
• When Boot Camp Assistant asks you to set the size of the Windows partition, remember the minimum storage-space requirements in the previous section. Set a partition size that meets your needs, because you can’t change its size later.

3. Format the Windows (BOOTCAMP) partition

When Boot Camp Assistant finishes, your Mac restarts to the Windows installer. If the installer asks where to install Windows, select the BOOTCAMP partition and click Format. In most cases, the installer selects and formats the BOOTCAMP partition automatically.

4. Install Windows

Unplug any external devices that aren’t necessary during installation. Then click Next and follow the onscreen instructions to begin installing Windows.

5. Use the Boot Camp installer in Windows

After Windows installation completes, your Mac starts up in Windows and opens a ”Welcome to the Boot Camp installer” window. Follow the onscreen instructions to install Boot Camp and Windows support software (drivers). You will be asked to restart when done.

• If the Boot Camp installer never opens, open the Boot Camp installer manually and use it to complete Boot Camp installation.
• If you have an external display connected to a Thunderbolt 3 port on your Mac, the display will be blank (black, gray, or blue) for up to 2 minutes during installation.

How to switch between Windows and macOS

Restart, then press and hold the Option (or Alt) ⌥ key during startup to switch between Windows and macOS.

Learn more

If you have one of these Intel-based Mac models using OS X El Capitan or later, you don’t need a USB flash drive to install Windows:

• MacBook introduced in 2015 or later
• MacBook Air introduced in 2017 or later 3
• MacBook Pro introduced in 2015 or later 3

• iMac introduced in 2015 or later
• iMac Pro (all models)
• Mac Pro introduced in late 2013 or later

For more information about using Windows on your Mac, open Boot Camp Assistant and click the Open Boot Camp Help button.

1. If you’re using an iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014) or iMac (27-inch, Late 2013) or iMac (27-inch, Late 2012) with a 3TB hard drive and macOS Mojave or later, learn about an alert you might see during installation.

2. For example, if your Mac has 128GB of memory, its startup disk must have at least 128GB of storage space available for Windows. To see how much memory your Mac has, choose Apple menu  > About This Mac. To see how much storage space is available, click the Storage tab in the same window.

3. These Mac models were offered with 128GB hard drives as an option. Apple recommends 256GB or larger hard drives so that you can create a Boot Camp partition of at least 128GB.

Information about products not manufactured by Apple, or independent websites not controlled or tested by Apple, is provided without recommendation or endorsement. Apple assumes no responsibility with regard to the selection, performance, or use of third-party websites or products. Apple makes no representations regarding third-party website accuracy or reliability. Contact the vendor for additional information.

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.

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3 Ways to Run Windows on Your Mac

Wondering how to get Windows on your Mac? Here’s how to run Windows using Boot Camp, virtualization, and Windows To Go.

Looking to run Windows on your Mac? There are a few different ways you can do it, each with its own pros and cons.

The best solution depends on what you want to use Windows for. Do you want to play video games? Need to use a specific Windows-based app? Or do you want a portable Windows system you can boot from any Mac?

We’ve explained all the ways you can run Windows on Mac below. Take a look to find out which method is best for you.

1. Dual Boot macOS and Windows Using Boot Camp

Boot Camp is a built-in Mac utility you can use to install Windows. It partitions your hard drive into two sections, with Windows on one side and macOS on the other.

We call this a dual boot system, because you can boot into either macOS or Windows. But you can’t use both operating systems at once, which means you need to reboot your Mac whenever you want to switch.

The upside is you get great performance on both operating systems because it only needs to run one at a time. In some cases, a Mac running Windows through Boot Camp is faster than a dedicated Windows computer.

A dual-boot system is the best option in some cases. For example, if you want to play computer games, edit videos, render graphics, or perform any other resource-intensive tasks.

How to Get Windows on Your Mac Using Boot Camp

With a Mac and an internet connection, you already have everything you need to install and run Windows using Boot Camp. Although, if your Mac came out before 2015, you also need to create a USB Boot Camp installer.

Before getting started, make sure you have at least 64GB free on your startup disk. You need this much space for the Windows operating system and any content you want to use with it.

When you’re ready, download the latest version of Windows as an ISO disk image from Microsoft’s Download Windows 10 page.

Next, open Boot Camp Assistant. You’ll find it inside Utilities in the Applications folder on your Mac, but it’s faster to search with Spotlight (Cmd + Space) to open it. Follow the on-screen prompts to partition your hard drive, download Windows support drivers, and install your dual boot system.

When the Boot Camp installation finishes, restart your Mac and hold Option while it powers up. It should give you the choice to boot into macOS or Windows.

2. Run Windows in a Virtual Machine on Your Mac

A virtual machine (VM) runs Windows inside macOS. There’s no need to partition your hard drive and no need to reboot your Mac whenever you want to switch operating systems.

Using a VM means both Windows and macOS are running on your Mac at the same time, so the performance isn’t as good as a dual boot system. However, the added convenience of using Windows apps alongside macOS apps is usually enough to make up for that loss.

You’ve got a few different VM options if you want to install Windows on your Mac:

Parallels and VMware Fusion are premium services that make it easy to install and run Windows with a bunch of Mac-friendly features. VirtualBox is more complicated to set up and has fewer features, but it’s free.

How to Install a Windows Virtual Machine on Your Mac

Setting up VirtualBox takes a little bit of time and effort, but you can use our comprehensive VirtualBox guide to walk you through it.

Otherwise, Parallels and VMware Fusion are quick and easy to set up. Parallels is generally considered the best option for running Windows on a Mac, but both apps offer a range of attractive features. Take a look at our overview of Parallels to see what you get.

Buy a license or download a free trial for the software of your choice. Then follow the on-screen instructions to install and set up your Windows VM.

3. Run Windows To Go From an External Drive Using WinToUSB

Windows To Go is a feature that lets you install a Windows system on an external hard drive, which you can then boot into from any Mac. The immediate benefits are that it doesn’t take up any space on your internal hard drive and it offers a huge amount of portability.

Using Windows To Go is similar to a dual boot system, except Windows runs from an entirely different drive instead of a separate partition. That means you still need to reboot your Mac whenever you want to switch operating systems.

Unfortunately, Windows To Go systems are limited by the data transfer and read/write speed of your external drive and the port they’re connected to. They also take a bit of setting up.

Ideally, you should use a USB 3.0 drive with a write speed of at least 50MB/s. You also need to make sure you connect it to a USB 3.0 port on your Mac for the fastest connection.

How to Install Windows To Go for Mac on an External Drive

While Microsoft deprecated the official Windows To Go feature in 2019, you can still use an equivalent setup thanks to third-party software. Nowadays, the easiest way to install Windows To Go on your external drive is with WinToUSB.

This free app is Windows-based, so you need to use a Windows computer or a VM to temporarily install it on your Mac. If you don’t have a Windows machine handy, we suggest you use the free trial of Parallels or VMware Fusion for this.

You also need to download support files from Boot Camp to ensure your Mac hardware works with Windows. Open Boot Camp Assistant in macOS and select Action > Download Windows Support Software from the menu bar.

When the support files finish downloading, copy and paste them into your VM.

Now connect your external drive and open Disk Utility on your Mac. Erase and reformat the drive as macOS Extended (Journaled) with a GUID Partition Map scheme. Once that’s done, eject and reconnect it to your VM.

In your VM, download the Windows ISO disk image and install WinToUSB.

Right-click the Start button to open Disk Management and select your external drive. Here, right-click the primary partition of the drive and click Delete volume, then right-click again and create a New simple volume. Set the file system to NFTS.

Open WinToUSB and select your external drive as the destination for Windows. Choose your boot and system partitions and select Legacy mode for the installation.

After WinToUSB installs Windows on your external drive, use File Explorer to copy across the Windows Support folder from Boot Camp Assistant.

Finally, restart your Mac and hold Option while it powers on to boot Windows To Go from your external drive. Open the Windows Support folder and go to Boot Camp > Setup.

This installs the necessary drivers for Windows to work with your Mac.

Use Windows Apps on Mac Without Installing Windows

Dual boot systems, virtual machines, and a Windows To Go setup are the best ways to run Windows on your Mac. But these are all a lot of work if you only need to use a single Windows app.

If this is the case for you, take a look at compatibility layers, like Wine or Crossover, instead. They let you run Windows apps from your Mac without installing the entire operating system.

Need to clear disk space on your Windows computer? Here are the Windows files and folders that can be safely deleted to free up disk space.

Dan writes tutorials and troubleshooting guides to help people make the most of their technology. Before becoming a writer, he earned a BSc in Sound Technology, supervised repairs at an Apple Store, and even taught English in China.

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