Install Windows 7 On A Mac Using Boot Camp Assistant

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If you own Intel-based Macs, you can run OS X and Windows on one machine. In fact, it’s been possible to run Windows on a Mac for some time — with agonizing limitations. Near-extinct Mac models were loaded with Virtual PC emulation software could do Windows, too, but the program was painfully slow. Even if you find an old copy of the software, it won’t work with any current Macs.

Boot Camp software from Apple shook up the computing public upon its apocalyptic arrival in April 2006. Boot Camp graduated from beta, or near-finished, status with the arrival of Leopard. Boot Camp Assistant software is stored in the Utilities folder inside the Applications folder.

  1. Aug 15, 2018 How to install Windows on your Mac using Boot Camp After following this guide, you'll be able to dual-boot your Mac into Windows. Open Boot Camp Assistant, then click Continue.
  2. Install Windows on your newer Mac using Boot Camp. Newer Mac computers use a streamlined method to install Windows on your Mac. To find out whether your Mac uses this method, see the Apple Support article Install Windows 10 on your Mac with Boot Camp Assistant.If your Mac is an older model, follow the instructions in Install Windows on your older Mac using Boot Camp instead.

Dec 10, 2019  1. Use Boot Camp Assistant to create a Windows partition. Open Boot Camp Assistant and 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.

Boot Camp itself is free. You have to supply your own single-disc or downloadable full-install version of Windows; an upgrade disc won’t cut it.

It’s also important to note that you can use a 64-bit version of Windows, Windows 7 (Home Premium, Professional, or Ultimate), Windows 8, or Windows 8.1. Consult Apple support to see which Mac models are compatible with which versions of Windows. In its current incarnation, Boot Camp isn’t compatible with 32-bit versions of Windows.

Other requirements follow:

  • An Intel Mac with OS X version 10.6 or later

  • At least 2GB of RAM and 20GB of available space on the Mac’s storage drive that you want to donate to Windows

  • A blank CD or USB storage device that you’ll use for Windows software drivers

If you don’t run into snags, the entire installation should take about an hour.

Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 are optimized for a touchscreen environment, though you can use it with a standard mouse and keyboard. For now, Macs don’t support touchscreen computing.

To install Windows 8 via Boot Camp, you still must have a legitimate Windows 8 license from Microsoft and a Win8 installation disc, assuming that you have an optical drive. If you don’t have an optical drive, you may be able to create a Windows installer from an ISO file downloaded from Microsoft on a USB flash drive that’s 8GB or larger.

Because snags are possible, back up all your important information on the Mac’s startup disk.

Install Windows 7 On A Mac Using Boot Camp Assistant App

Basic training

Following are the basic steps to get through Boot Camp:

Windows

  1. Run Boot Camp Assistant (in the Utilities folder inside the Applications folder) to make sure that you have the latest firmware on your computer and to install any support software from Apple that you might need.

    You’ll find any updates at Apple support. If you’re using a portable computer, make sure to connect the power adapter. You will also be given the option to create a Windows 7 (or later version) install disk for which you’ll need a USB flash drive and an ISO image downloaded from Apple.

  2. Follow the prompts in Boot Camp Assistant to create a partition for Windows.

    You’re essentially carving out an area of your hard drive for the Windows operating system,. This partition must be at least 30GB and can swell to the total free disk space on hand minus 30GB. If you don’t plan on doing much in Windows, keep the partition small.

    Drag the divider to set the partitions for both OS X and Windows, or click Divide Equally to make equal partitions. You can’t resize a Windows partition after creating it, though you can replace it with a larger Windows partition.

    If you have a Mac Pro with more than one internal hard drive, you can select which drive to partition. If any of this makes you nervous, know that you can remove the Windows partition later and go back to a single-partition Mac.

  3. Insert the Windows CD or a USB flash drive with the Windows ISO file and then click Start Installation.

    If you exited Boot Camp Assistant before installing Windows, open it again, choose Start the Windows Installer, and click Continue.

  4. When you’re asked to choose the Windows partition, select the partition that says BOOTCAMP.

    You may have to scroll down to see it.

    Don’t erase any partitions that you see or create a new partition here. Failure to heed this warning could wipe out your entire Mac OS X startup disk.

  5. (Optional) If you see a listing for Drive Options, click it; otherwise, proceed to Step 6.

  6. Reformat the partition by using the Windows installer: Click Format.

    You’re using the reliable and secure NTFS file system, but you won’t be able to save files to Windows from Mac OS X, at least not without a techie workaround.

  7. Follow the onscreen instructions to finish installing Windows.

    Boot Camp 5.1 includes several Mac drivers so that Windows will recognize your trackpad, Thunderbolt, USB 3.0, the iSight (or FaceTime) camera, the Eject key on the Mac keyboard, networking, audio, graphics, and so on.

    A Boot Camp Control Panel for Windows and an Apple Boot Camp system-tray item will be added.

As with any new Windows computer, Microsoft requires that you activate your Windows software within 30 days.

Switching operating systems

You can go back and forth between OS X and Windows on your Mac, but you can’t run both operating systems simultaneously under Boot Camp. Instead, you have to boot one operating system or the other — thus, the name Boot Camp.

Install Windows 7 On A Mac Using Boot Camp Assistant Update

Restart your Mac, and hold down the Option key until icons for each operating system appear onscreen. Highlight Windows or Macintosh HD, and click the arrow to launch the operating system of choice for this session.

If you want OS X or Windows to boot every time, choose app → System Preferences, click Startup Disk, and choose the OS you want to launch by default.

You can perform the same function in Windows by clicking the Boot Camp system-tray icon and selecting the Boot Camp Control Panel. Click either the Macintosh HD or Windows icon, depending on your startup preference.

When you install Microsoft Windows on your Mac, Boot Camp Assistant automatically opens the Boot Camp installer, which installs the latest Windows support software (drivers). If that doesn't happen, or you experience any of the following issues while using Windows on your Mac, follow the steps in this article.

  • Your Apple mouse, trackpad, or keyboard isn't working in Windows.
    Force Touch isn't designed to work in Windows.
  • You don't hear audio from the built-in speakers of your Mac in Windows.
  • The built-in microphone or camera of your Mac isn't recognized in Windows.
  • One or more screen resolutions are unavailable for your display in Windows.
  • You can't adjust the brightness of your built-in display in Windows.
  • You have issues with Bluetooth or Wi-Fi in Windows.
  • You get an alert that Apple Software Update has stopped working.
  • You get a message that your PC has a driver or service that isn't ready for this version of Windows.
  • Your Mac starts up to a black or blue screen after you install Windows.

If your Mac has an AMD video card and is having graphics issues in Windows, you might need to update your AMD graphics drivers instead.

Install the latest macOS updates

Before proceeding, install the latest macOS updates, which can include updates to Boot Camp.

Install Windows 7 On A Mac Using Boot Camp Assistant Windows 10

Format a USB flash drive

Install Windows 7 On A Mac Using Boot Camp Assistant Download

To install the latest Windows support software, you need a 16GB or larger USB flash drive formatted as MS-DOS (FAT).

  1. Start your Mac from macOS.
  2. Plug the USB flash drive into your Mac.
  3. Open Disk Utility, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
  4. Choose View > Show All Devices from the menu bar.
  5. From the sidebar in Disk Utility, select your USB flash drive. (Select the drive name, not the volume name beneath it.)
  6. Click the Erase button or tab.
  7. Choose MS-DOS (FAT) as the format and Master Boot Record as the scheme.
  8. Click Erase to format the drive. When done, quit Disk Utility.

Download the Windows support software

After preparing your USB flash drive, complete these steps:

  1. Make sure that your Mac is connected to the Internet.
  2. Open Boot Camp Assistant, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
  3. From the menu bar at the top of your screen, choose Action > Download Windows Support Software, then choose your USB flash drive as the save destination. When the download completes, quit Boot Camp Assistant.

Learn what to do if you can't download or save the Windows support software.

Install the Windows support software

After downloading the Windows support software to your flash drive, follow these steps to install the software. (If you're attempting to resolve issues with a Bluetooth mouse or keyboard, it might be easier to use a USB mouse or keyboard until these steps are complete.)

  1. Make sure that the USB flash drive is plugged into your Mac.
  2. Start up your Mac in Windows.
  3. From File Explorer, open the USB flash drive, then open Setup or setup.exe, which is in the WindowsSupport folder or BootCamp folder. When you're asked to allow Boot Camp to make changes to your device, click Yes.
  4. Click Repair to begin installation. If you get an alert that the software hasn't passed Windows Logo testing, click Continue Anyway.
  5. After installation completes, click Finish, then click Yes when you're asked to restart your Mac.

Learn more

If you can't download or save the Windows support software:

Install Windows 7 On Mac Without Boot Camp Assistant

  • If the assistant says that the Windows support software could not be saved to the selected drive, or that the USB flash drive can't be used, make sure that your USB flash drive has a storage capacity of at least 16GB and is formatted correctly.
  • If the assistant doesn't see your USB flash drive, click Go Back and make sure that the drive is connected directly to the USB port on your Mac—not to a display, hub, or keyboard. Disconnect and reconnect the drive, then click Continue.
  • If the assistant says that it can't download the software because of a network problem, make sure that your Mac is connected to the Internet.
  • Make sure that your Mac meets the system requirements to install Windows using Boot Camp.

If a Mac feature still doesn't work after updating the Windows support software, search for your symptom on the Apple support website or Microsoft support website. Some features of your Mac aren't designed to work in Windows.