How to install Windows on Mac

• There are two ways how can install windows on external hard drive SSD/HDD for Mac, you can use Boot Camp or you can use a virtual machine . If you decide to use Boot Camp you can create a separate partition just for Windows 10, and you can boot your iMac directly into Windows 10.
• Using Boot Camp also has some benefits such as improved performance because it uses the full hardware power of your iMac .
• Do you want to be up to date with the latest news and tips about Windows 10? Then go straight to our Windows 10 category.
• It’s never late to learn some new things about everything connected to your software and devices. Our Tech Tutorials Hub is the perfect place to start that.

Windows 10 is here as a free upgrade for many PC users, but what if you’re a Mac user? If you are Mac user and you want to run Windows 10 on iMac, today we’re going to show you two ways how can you do that.
There are two ways how can you run Windows 10 on iMac, you can use Boot Camp or you can use a virtual machine. If you decide to use Boot Camp you can create separate partition just for Windows 10, and you can boot your iMac directly into Windows 10.

Using Boot Camp also has some benefits such as improved performance because it uses the full hardware power of your iMac.

Before we start, you should know that most Macs from late 2012 can run Windows 10, but make sure that your computer is on the list here. Our previous guide was referring to the preview version of Windows 10 and not the final one.

How can I install Windows 10 on iMac using Boot Camp?

Firstly you need to download the 64-bit version of Windows 10 Disc Image from here. Next, you’ll need a 16GB or more USB flash drive to add Windows 10 installer to it. Great thing is that Boot Camp is now updated and it supports Windows 10 on 64-bit iMacs, but make sure that you check for all available updates.

Also, make sure that you have at least 30GB of free space on your hard drive.

If you have Windows 10 ISO downloaded open the Boot Camp Assistant and check Create a Windows 10 install disk, and Install Windows 10. Connect your USB drive and select Windows 10 .iso file.

Now Boot Camp will transfer Windows 10 install to your USB along with some of its drivers. This process might take some time, so you’ll need to be patient.

This is crucial, you need to partition your hard drive since one partition will be used to run Windows 10, while others will run Mac OS. Like we said earlier 30GB or more should be enough for Windows 10. When you have this completed you can click Install and Windows 10 installation will start.

During the installation process, your Windows might restart a few times, and you might have to wait on We’re getting our apps ready screen for 10 on more minutes.

After all of this is finished your computer will reboot into Windows 10, but if it doesn’t you can hold Option / Alt key and choose which operating system you want to run Mac OS or Windows 10. Enter your product key and select Windows Boot Camp partition to install Windows on.

Follow the installation and you should boot into Windows 10 when you’re finished.

In the end, you need to locate Boot Camp drivers that are on your USB stick and install them.

How do I install Windows 10 on iMac using VirtualBox?

Another way of installing Windows 10 on your iMac is by using virtual machine. There are all sorts of solutions available, but we’ll show you how to install it using a freeware tool called VirtualBox.

Before we start make sure that you have downloaded VirtualBox and Windows 10 ISO.

1. Press the New button in the VirtualBox toolbar and name your virtual machine, for example, Windows 10, and in the Type field select Microsoft Windows. Then click Continue.
2. As you may know, virtual machine software runs with your OS, so it needs to borrow some of your computer’s resources.
3. Select the amount of memory that you want to assign to the virtual machine, for example, 2GB or more, and then click Continue.
4. Now, you’ll be asked to assign hard drive space to your virtual machine. The recommended amount of hard drive space is usually enough. Choose Create a virtual hard disk now and click Create. You’ll be asked what kind of drive you want to create, and VDI is usually the best option.
5. Next screen will ask you if you wish to dynamically assign memory when needed or do you wish to assign all of it right away. Usually the better option is to choose Dynamically allocated.
6. You have now created your virtual machine. Now just press Start to start it.
7. Next find your Windows 10 ISO file.
8. Follow the instructions and complete the installation.

That’s all, now you know how to install Windows 10 on iMac with both Boot Camp and using Virtual Box.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you install windows on a mac?

Yes, you can, and the best tool you can do that with is Boot Camp. You can also use a virtual machine like VirtualBox.

How to install windows 7 on mac?

Open Finder and go to Applications > Utilities and double click on Boot Camp Assistant. Next, set the partition size for Windows. After you create the partition, you will see the BOOTCAMP icon on your desktop. Next, insert your Windows 7 DVD and click on Start installation. When you are prompted, select the Bootcamp partition to install Windows.

What os x utility allows you to install and run windows on a mac computer?

The best way to running Windows on a Mac is by using the Boot Camp tool. However, you will not be able to run both systems at the same time. You will have to switch from one to another. If you want to run both of them at the same time you will have to use virtualization software like VirtualBox.

Install Windows on your newer Mac using Boot Camp

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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).

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.

Important: You can’t resize the partition later.

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.

Important: You can’t resize the partition later.

When this step is complete, the Windows installer starts.

Step 3: Install Windows

In the Windows installer, follow the onscreen instructions.

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

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.

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.

When the installation is complete, click Finish.

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

Question: Q: How to Resize BootCamp Partition without Deleting it on my Mac computer?

Is there any solution to resize my Mac BootCamp Partitions without deleting it and without facing the data loss problems.

Mac Operating System: macOS High Sierra

MacBook Air (2018 or later)

Posted on Dec 27, 2018 3:12 AM

Yes, it is absolutely possible to resize the bootcamp partition without deleting or removing it from your Mac computer. My answer will be applicable for MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac Mini etc. However, before I start let’s tell you something about it.

In Mac computers, Boot Camp is one of the helpful and dual boot feature which helps the user in creating a separate partition and further helps in running 2 different computer operating system on the same Mac machine. This below solution is mainly used to create Windows partition on a Mac drive, so that you can get the opportunity to run even Windows OS while using Mac for plenty of purposes.

At times, initially created Boot Camp partition needs more space, therefore in order to enlarge the size people often format their boot camp drive and recreate it with more space. This process is actually recommended by Mac as Disk Utility can resize an HFS+ (Mac OS) partitions, but not capable enough to revise the size of NTFS based partitions.

However, it is not always necessary to format the full hard drive for resizing the Mac bootcamp partition. Instead you can choose to take image of your Windows Boot Camp partition and then simply restore it. This will preserve all the settings untouched. Below, you will look at steps to enlarge the size of your Windows Boot Camp partition on a Mac based hard disk drive or volume.

Free Available Solution to Resize BootCamp Partition:-

(1) First of all, you need to take the complete data backup of your Windows partition (use a third party tool for image your backup partition) and save it to the desktop computer for further use.

(2) Now, remove the pre existing or old Windows partition and resize the current Mac hard drive partition easily.

(3) Here, after a successful Mac computer partition, create a new Windows partition in free space and set the format to MS-DOS (FAT).

(4) In this step, you need to resize the Mac-boot camp partition according to your requirement using the help of Mac disk-utility and give a new name to this partition.

(5) Further, restart your Mac computer for a new Windows partition and restore the complete Windows data backup partition image you created over newly created Windows partition. (You can try some 3rd party tool to do this task for you more easily and securely)

(6) Finally, run the Mac OS startup disk and check both the partitions properly.

Alternate Solution to Resize BootCamp Partition without Facing Data Loss Problems:-

Although, the above discussed solution is capable enough to enlarge a Mac user Boot camp space, but still there are chances of complete Boot camp drive data loss in case you are unable to restore the image you created and certain other issues while using your Mac computer. Therefore, it is highly recommended to use some safe and reliable application that directly provides you the option to resize your bootcamp partition without facing any kind of data loss errors. You can either using TechSoftwareLogic this Mac hard drive partition manager software or iPartition tool to Resize your BootCamp partition without facing the important data loss problems keeps your data safe and secure.