If we buy a Mac we will have to get used to using programs designed for its operating system, namely Mac OS X. Many programs are similar or completely identical to those that can be used on Windows, but some management or highly specific programs may not have a Mac version, forcing us to use another laptop or PC with Windows.
Fortunately, we can avoid this by learning to take advantage of Boot Camp, which allows you to combine Mac OS X with a copy of Windows 10.
In this guide we will provide you with all the steps to follow in order to install Windows 10 on Mac using the features offered by Boot Camp .
The requirements to run Windows 10 are rather restrictive in this case: to avoid bad surprises we will also provide you with the minimum requirements and Apple Mac devices compatible with the procedure, so as not to make mistakes and not to ruin the original installation of the system.
READ ALSO -> Windows vs Mac comparison: which is the best system "> Download Windows 10.
We click on Download now the tool to get the MediaCreationTool tool, useful for downloading the Windows ISO and for installing it on a USB stick.
Once the tool has started, we wait a few seconds for it to load, then we click Accept, we wait a few more seconds, then we click Create installation media (USB Flash Drive, DVD or ISO file) for another PC .
In the next screen we choose the 64-bit language and architecture, click Next and choose how to create the support based on the type of Mac we have:
- If we have old Macs with USB 2.0 support, we insert a USB stick into a free port and select the item USB flash drive .
- If we have the new Macs described in the minimum requirements, we save the system image by clicking on ISO file .
In the first case we will be asked to choose the USB stick to be used (all the data inside will be deleted), so that it can be used as a removable boot medium; in the second case instead it will make us choose where to save the ISO image file, so that we can move it later on Mac (in this case the USB stick will only serve as a container to move the ISO file).
To learn more about the topic, please read our dedicated guide -> Download Windows 10 Free with valid activation you can .
3) Install Windows with Boot Camp
After finishing the download of Windows 10, it's time to install it on our Mac.
First we open the Boot Camp Assistant program, present in the Utility folder, inside the Applications folder.
Click on Continue and select, when prompted, the Windows ISO image previously placed in a system folder.
If we have an old version of the Mac, we may have requested to insert the USB stick prepared as a boot device directly from the Windows tool.
Now all we have to do is carefully follow all the instructions on the screen to complete the first phase of the procedure.
At the end the Mac will restart and we will be shown the classic screen for installing Windows, as if we were on a new PC.
If you are using a USB flash drive to install Windows, you will be asked where we want to install Windows; in this case we select the BOOTCAMP partition, then we click on Format .
On newer Macs, however, the correct partition is automatically selected and formatted, so we can continue without problems by providing the data required for the user and for the Windows license.
Now all we have to do is wait for the end of the process and the restart of the Mac in "Windows mode".
4) Support software for Windows
After the installation and the welcome screen, the Mac in Windows mode should ask us to immediately install the support software for the Microsoft system, necessary to better support the Mac hardware.
If the installation procedure does not start automatically when you start the Windows system for the first time, we can force the startup by going to File Explorer, clicking on OSXRESERVED, going to the BootCamp folder and clicking on the executable Setup.exe .
After the installation we will be able to switch from one system to another without problems and get full support for the Mac hardware.
5) How to switch from one system to another
After completing the installation procedure with Boot Camp, we can return to Mac OS via the Boot Camp icon in the taskbar in Windows, with which to select the macOS volume and restart the Mac.
To switch from Mac OS to Windows, we use the Startup Disk preferences panel to select the Boot Camp volume and immediately restart the Mac.
If we want to choose between Mac OS and Windows already when the computer starts, simply hold down the Option key (or Option ) after restarting the Mac.
6) Conclusions
Following all the steps seen in the guide, we can use Windows 10 together with Mac OS X directly on the Mac, without necessarily having to use a PC dedicated to Windows programs.
Obviously the best performances are obtained with the native system, but Windows 10 does not look bad at all on modern Macs.
If we are looking for a method to try Mac OS X on Windows, we suggest you read our dedicated guide available below.
READ ALSO -> How to install Mac OS on Virtualbox (on Windows PC)
