Mac vs Windows. Windows vs Mac. Why choose if you can get the best of both worlds by dual booting? Install Windows on Mac so you can jump back and forth from one operating system to another on the same computer.
By now, the practice is well-established and Windows can work on Mac well. In this article, we’ll have a deep look at installing Windows on Mac. Don’t worry, we’ll have your back the whole way through!
Boot Camp for Mac vs virtualization software
If you want to install Windows on your Mac, you have two options. You can either use Mac Boot Camp, a native feature of the macOS operating system, or you can use a third party virtualization program. Both methods have their own pros and cons, so let’s dive in.
But the page now only has an.exe to download that in turn downloads the correct.iso (I presume). Obviously there's not much I can do with an.exe on a Mac. There are only upgrade options from an existing Windows machine or possibilities to buy new computers on the page. Docker Desktop is an application for MacOS and Windows machines for the building and sharing of containerized applications and microservices. Docker Desktop delivers the speed, choice and security you need for designing and delivering containerized applications on your desktop.
Boot Camp is built into the operating system of all Macs. If you go to your Applications > Utilities folder, you’ll see the Boot Camp Assistant app. It makes the separate partition on your hard drive for installing and running Windows. Once Windows is installed in Boot Camp, every time you turn on your Mac, you will be asked to choose the operating system you want to run. This means that in order to switch from macOS to Windows, you need to reboot your computer.
Advantages
- built into your operating system
- easy to use — Boot Camp Assistant guides you through the installation process
- puts less strain on your Mac’s memory and processing power
- completely free (not Windows of course)
- easy to update
Disadvantages
- you need to reboot your computer to switch between the systems
- transferring data between operating systems isn’t easy
Virtualization programs are third-party applications that allow to install a separate operating system on one machine. They run like any other app on your Mac, so you can see the entire Windows desktop within a window on your computer.
Among the most popular virtualization programs are VirtualBox, Parallels, and VMware. Each one has its peculiarities, but we’ll try to sum up what they have in common.
Advantages
Adobe Illustrator runs on Windows 7 and 10, as well as macOS version 10.13 and up. Is there a better alternative? There are plenty of good, if not great, alternatives like Inkscape and Affinity, but none can quite compete with Adobe Illustrator for features. Adobe illustrator free download. Adobe Illustrator Mac free download - Adobe Illustrator CS6, Adobe Flash Player, Adobe Photoshop, and many more programs.
- you can run both operating systems at the same time
- easy file integration between systems
Disadvantages
- you need at least 8 GB of RAM for Mac to run smoothly
- virtualization apps are not cheap
- updates are not free
Depending on your specific needs, you can choose the option that works best for you. But we suggest using Boot Camp. It’s a free native feature of your operating system, running directly on your hardware. Therefore, it will be faster than any other method. And below, you’ll find all information on how to run Boot Camp on your Mac.
How to use Boot Camp: Preparing your Mac
1. Check the system requirements
Some versions of Windows require a certain processor and more hard drive space than the others. Therefore, you have to check the documentation that came with your copy of Windows to learn what you need.
You also need to make sure that your Mac is compatible with the version of Windows you want to install. For instance, Windows 10 is supported on these models:
- MacBook (2015 and later)
- MacBook Pro (2012 and later)
- MacBook Air (2012 and later)
- iMac (2012 and later)
- Mac Mini (2012 and later)
2. Clean up your hard drive
You need to have at least 55 GB of free disk space on your startup drive for installing Windows on a Mac. And if you don’t feel like spending the next several hours cleaning your Mac manually, you can use a powerful utility CleanMyMac X to find and remove all the junk from your startup disk.
CleanMyMac has everything to finish the 3-hour task of cleaning your hard drive in less than 5 minutes. It will scan every inch of your system and remove gigabytes of junk in two clicks. By the way, CleanMyMac finds about 75 GB of junk on average — more than enough for a smooth Windows installation.
Macromedia flash software. Here’s how to clean your Mac with CleanMyMac X:
- Download CleanMyMac here.
- Run the app and click Scan.
- Click Run.
That’s it! Gigabytes of junk are gone from your computer forever.
3. Back up your Mac
Finally, you should also perform a backup of your Mac in case something goes wrong. Although, it happens very rarely, it’s always better to back up your important data. There are a few methods of backing up your Mac, so choose the most convenient one for you.
You can make automatic backups with Time Machine — software that comes with your Mac. It backs up all data, so you can recover individual files or your entire system from your backups. You may also store files in iCloud and access them whenever you need. iCloud comes with 5 GB of free storage but you can upgrade it any time. If you have an external storage device, you can copy some files and folders on it.
Microsoft For Mac
We do recommend you to back up your Mac before installing Windows as it minimizes the chance of losing important data.
How to Install Windows with Boot Camp
Here’s how to install Boot Camp. The installation can be a little time consuming, but it is by no means difficult. Check out the details below.
Step 1: Get a Windows disk image
First of all, you need to get the Windows disk image (ISO file) from the Microsoft website. Here’s how to download it:
- Visit the Windows 10 disk image download website.
- Go to the Select edition menu and choose Windows 10.
- Click Confirm.
- Choose the language of installation and click Confirm.
- Click 64-bit Download and then click Save.
The ISO file now will be downloaded to your Mac.
Step 2: Open Boot Camp Assistant
Boot Camp Assistant guides you through installing Windows on your Mac. You just have to follow the onscreen instructions. To launch the Boot Camp Assistant, go to Applications > Utilities folder. Click continue and Boot Camp for Mac will automatically locate the ISO file on your system.
Step 3: Create a partition for Windows
When you are done with the Assistant, your Mac restarts to the Windows installer. When you are asked where you want to install Windows, choose the BOOTCAMP partition and click Format.
*Note that this step is only required if you’re using a flash drive or optical drive to install Windows. In other cases, the right partition will be selected and formatted for you automatically.
Step 4: Install Windows
To finish the installation, you have to follow the onscreen instructions. Take a long breath — the next 12 steps may seem like climbing Everest, but it’s much easier than you think. Here’s how to install Windows on a Mac:
How To Download Windows 10 On Macbook Air
- Choose your ISO file and click the Install button.
- Type your Password and click OK. You will see the Windows Setup screen.
- Select your language.
- Click Install Now.
- Type your product key if you have it. Otherwise, click 'I don’t have a product key'.
- Select Windows 10 Pro or Windows Home and then click Next.
- Click Drive 0 Partition X: BOOTCAMP.
- Click Next. Windows 10 will be installed.
- When the Setup screen appears, click either Use Express Settings or Customize Your Installation. We recommend you to choose the Customize button and disable most, if not all of the switches.
- Then you’ll be asked to create an account. Type a username. You can also add a password if you want.
- Click Next.
- Choose whether you want to use the Cortana personal assistant or not. You can disable it by clicking Not Now button.
Boot Camp Assistant Download Mac
Windows will boot fully so you can use it normally.
On the Welcome to Boot Camp Installer box, click Next and accept the terms in the license agreement. Then click Install to proceed. When the installer completes, click Finish to reboot your machine.
Step 5: Restart your Mac
By default, your Mac will still boot to macOS. To access Windows, you have to turn your Mac off and then turn it on while holding the Option (Alt) key. You will be asked from which drive you’d like to boot.
Note that while in Windows, the Mac’s Command key functions as the Windows key, while the Option key functions as the Alt key. If you have a Touch Bar, you’ll see a complete set of buttons, similar to the Control Strip in macOS.
How to remove Windows from your Mac
If for some reasons you don’t need Windows anymore, you can permanently remove it from your Mac. Follow these steps:
- Boot into macOS, launch Boot Camp Assistant and click Continue.
- Choose 'Remove Windows 7 or later version' or 'Remove Windows 10 or later version'.
- Click Restore when you see the Restore Disk to a Single Volume option.
The Boot Camp Assistant will automatically remove Windows from your Mac.
Warning: All data, including software and files, stored on the Windows partition will be deleted, so make the backup copies first.
That may seem like a lot of steps, but it doesn’t take all that long to install Windows on a Mac. Now you can enjoy two operating systems and switch between them right when you need. Cheers!
These might also interest you:
Your music, movies, TV shows, apps, and more. The best way to follow your favorite artists and friends — and discover the music they’re talking about, listening to, and downloading. iTunes is home to everything that entertains you.
Features:
Forget rifling through stacks of CDs or flipping through channels. iTunes puts your entire music and video collection a mere click away, giving you an all-access pass to thousands of hours of digital entertainment. Browse. Organize. Play. All from your Mac or PC.
View your library by artist, album, episode, year, rating — any way you want. Find what you’re looking for with a quick search that reveals results as you type.
Turn CDs into digital music by importing them to iTunes. Organize your entire collection with custom playlists.
Shuffle songs to mix up your groove. Listen to music from other computers on your network. Play video using onscreen controls.
iTunes can also be used to sync your content on your iPod, iPhone, and other Apple devices.
What's New:
Mobile Device Service
- Available for: Windows 7 and later
- Impact: A user may gain access to protected parts of the file system
- Description: The issue was addressed with improved permissions logic.
- CVE-2020-3861: Andrea Pierini (@decoder_it), Christian Danieli (@padovah4ck)
libxslt
- Available for: Windows 7 and later
- Impact: A remote attacker may be able to view sensitive information
- Description: A stack overflow was addressed with improved input validation.
- CVE-2019-13118: found by OSS-Fuzz
WebKit
- Available for: Windows 7 and later
- Impact: Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to universal cross site scripting
- Description: A logic issue was addressed with improved state management.
- CVE-2019-8658: akayn working with Trend Micro's Zero Day Initiative
WebKit
- Available for: Windows 7 and later
- Impact: Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to universal cross site scripting
- Description: A logic issue existed in the handling of document loads. This issue was addressed with improved state management.
- CVE-2019-8690: Sergei Glazunov of Google Project Zero
WebKit
- Available for: Windows 7 and later
- Impact: Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to arbitrary code execution
- Description: Multiple memory corruption issues were addressed with improved memory handling.
- CVE-2019-8644: G. Geshev working with Trend Micro's Zero Day Initiative
- CVE-2019-8666: Zongming Wang (王宗明) and Zhe Jin (金哲) from Chengdu Security Response Center of Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd.
- CVE-2019-8669: akayn working with Trend Micro's Zero Day Initiative
- CVE-2019-8671: Apple
- CVE-2019-8672: Samuel Groß of Google Project Zero
- CVE-2019-8673: Soyeon Park and Wen Xu of SSLab at Georgia Tech
- CVE-2019-8676: Soyeon Park and Wen Xu of SSLab at Georgia Tech
- CVE-2019-8677: Jihui Lu of Tencent KeenLab
- CVE-2019-8678: an anonymous researcher, Anthony Lai (@darkfloyd1014) of Knownsec, Ken Wong (@wwkenwong) of VXRL, Jeonghoon Shin (@singi21a) of Theori, Johnny Yu (@straight_blast) of VX Browser Exploitation Group, Chris Chan (@dr4g0nfl4me) of VX Browser Exploitation Group, Phil Mok (@shadyhamsters) of VX Browser Exploitation Group, Alan Ho (@alan_h0) of Knownsec, Byron Wai of VX Browser Exploitation
- CVE-2019-8679: Jihui Lu of Tencent KeenLab
- CVE-2019-8680: Jihui Lu of Tencent KeenLab
- CVE-2019-8681: G. Geshev working with Trend Micro Zero Day Initiative
- CVE-2019-8683: lokihardt of Google Project Zero
- CVE-2019-8684: lokihardt of Google Project Zero
- CVE-2019-8685: akayn, Dongzhuo Zhao working with ADLab of Venustech, Ken Wong (@wwkenwong) of VXRL, Anthony Lai (@darkfloyd1014) of VXRL, and Eric Lung (@Khlung1) of VXRL
- CVE-2019-8686: G. Geshev working with Trend Micro's Zero Day Initiative
- CVE-2019-8687: Apple
- CVE-2019-8688: Insu Yun of SSLab at Georgia Tech
- CVE-2019-8689: lokihardt of Google Project Zero
WebKit
- Available for: Windows 7 and later
- Impact: Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to universal cross site scripting
- Description: A logic issue existed in the handling of synchronous page loads. This issue was addressed with improved state management.
- CVE-2019-8649: Sergei Glazunov of Google Project Zero
Software similar to Apple iTunes for Windows 14
- 155 votesMultimedia player that supports a variety of different video codecs and formats.
- Freeware
- Windows
- 70 votesMillions of tracks, any time you like. Just search for it in Spotify, then play it. Just help yourself to whatever you want, whenever you want it.
- Freeware
- Windows/macOS/Android
- 758 votesVersatile media player which can cover various types of container format such as VCD, DVD, AVI, WMV among others. Windows 64-bit version also available here.
- Freeware
- Windows