How to Install Windows on Mac using Boot Camp Assistant
If you have a MacBook and you want to use Windows 10 or any other version, here is a simple method that will let you install Windows on Mac using Boot Camp Assistant. This is a free method, and the best part is you do not need any third-party software on your MacBook since Boot Camp is a free utility on OS X. There can be any reason to install Windows on MacBook, but you can always try out this tutorial to get it done.
What is Boot Camp Assistant?
In simple words, Boot Camp Assistant helps you install Windows on your MacBook without having expert knowledge.
This is a free utility which is available for Mac only. This tool is built and is managed by Apple. This tool can install Microsoft Windows without dividing the hard disk.
In other words, you do not need to make partitions in your SSD to install a secondary operating system.
The best part is you can use your machine as a dual boot computer. That implies you will have a choice to choose between Windows and Mac while starting the machine.
What can you do with Boot Camp Assistant?
As per the official statement, you can install Microsoft Windows using Boot Camp Assistant. This is possible to install Windows XP and later version.
However, the officials have not said anything about other OS installation. Being said that, there is a doubt, whether you can install Linux on MacBook or not.
Difference between VirtualBox or Virtual Machine and Boot Camp
There is a lot of difference between virtual machine and Boot Camp. The primary difference is Boot Camp assists you create a dual boot machine whereas virtual machine tools let you install another operating system virtually.
This is far easy to uninstall a virtual machine and you can install any operating system with a virtual machine software.
On the other hand, Boot Camp allows only Microsoft Windows to be installed. Being a user, you will find more other differences in speed, usability, ease of access. Being more specific,
Boot Camp offers a better performance than a virtual machine. Another important thing is you always need to start the OS X to use the virtual machine whereas you can directly boot into Windows if you use Boot Camp Assistant.
What are the limitations of install Windows using Boot Camp?
There is no limitation of using Windows using Boot Camp. However, if you have switched from dedicated Windows computer to MacBook, you might face trouble while connecting your Ethernet connection. You must have a Wi-Fi to get internet on MacBook.
On the other hand, you can do everything on Windows like a standard Windows PC. The best part is you can get far better user experience on MacBook than a same priced Windows laptop.
The best thing is you can install all the Windows software and games those are not available for OS X.
Apart from that, you need to adopt the MacBook keyboard and touchpad for Windows after installing that. This might take a day or two, but after that, you will experience a much smoother experience.
What do you need to install Windows on Mac using Boot Camp Assistant
You need a MacBook (obviously) with Boot Camp Assistant installed on it. All the supported devices are mentioned below.
Supported devices:
You can find Boot Camp on MacBook Pro Mid 2009 or later version, MacBook Air Early 2008 or later version, iMac Early 2006 or later version, Mac Mini Mid 2006 or later version. However, it depends on the machine whether you can install a Windows version or not. Also, you should check out this page to know more about your Boot Camp version, MacBook version and supported Windows architecture.
Second, you need Windows ISO file. You can get it on Microsoft website. If you have a DVD of Microsoft Windows, you can create ISO from that as well.
In case, you are about to use Windows for the very first time; you should know that you need a product key to activate Microsoft Windows. Without that, you cannot use it for a longer time, and most of the functionalities would be blocked as well.
How to install Windows on Mac using Boot Camp Assistant
This is very easy and not much time consuming as well. If you have the supported device and the Windows ISO, you can go ahead to follow the following steps to install Windows on MacBook using Boot Camp.
At first, open the Boot Camp Assistant. You can search for it or go to Utilities to find the same. After following the screen option, you can see a window like this-
Here you need to select the Microsoft Windows ISO, disk size, etc. This is recommended to provide at least 30 GB of free space for Windows. After choosing these, click the Install button.
Meanwhile, you should use the power cord when Windows is installing since the entire disk might be corrupted if anything happens due to the power outage.
Talking about the installation time, it might take a couple of minutes. At this moment, Boot Camp installs the required driver, tools, etc. for installing Windows.
After a couple of minutes, your MacBook will restart automatically and show you the Windows installation screen. Here, you need to follow the screen option to select everything and do a proper installation.
The most crucial step is Where do you want to install Windows. If you have got this window, you have to select BOOTCAMP partition.
DO NOT select any other partition. Otherwise, your entire machine will be corrupted.
During installation, you can select Wi-Fi network, keyboard layout, region, and so on. After getting into the Windows desktop, you can find a Boot Camp installer. This is recommended to install that so that you can set up keyboard, track pad etc. Also, it helps users to get various drivers.
What to do after installing Windows on Mac using Boot Camp Assistant
After installing Windows with Boot Camp Assistant, you need to check the touch pad and keyboard settings because they act differently than OS X.
Keyboard and touch pad settings
Apple has included a Boot Camp tool in the Windows system tray. You can right-click on it and select Boot Camp Control Panel option. Therefore, switch to Keyboard tab to set up keyboard and Track pad tab to set up the touch pad. In the Keyboard tab, you can find the option to use all function keys as standard function keys. On the other hand, you can change keyboard back light time as well.
In the Track pad tab, you can find some options to enable One Finger
- Tap to Click
- Dragging
- Drag Lock
- Secondary Click
And Two Fingers Secondary Tap.
For your information, the Command key of your MacBook will work like the Windows key and you need to use the Control key to cut-copy-paste instead of Command key like you did on OS X.
How to switch between Windows and Mac
This is probably the most straightforward task as of now. Since Apple has included the Boot Camp tool in the System Tray, you can utilise that to make the switch between Windows and Mac. Therefore, right-click on the Boot Camp button and select Restart in OS X to switch from Windows to Mac.
You do not need to do anything else to switch from Mac to Windows. By default, the Boot Camp app sets Windows as default operating system. That means, if you tap the power button on your MacBook, you can boot into Windows directly.
Set default OS after installation
If you do not want Windows to be your default operating system, here is what you can do. You can change the default OS from OS X. For that, open the System Preferences app on your OS X, and click on Startup Disk. After that, you might need to click the Lock button and enter your password.
Therefore, you can just click on the OS name that you want to set as default.
Could not locate the OS X boot volume error while switching
If you have got an error message called Could not locate the OS X boot volume after clicking the Restart in OS X button, here is how to switch between Windows and Mac. For your information, this error occurs if you have made any mistake while installing Windows or any system file is corrupted, or any driver is not installed correctly by the Boot Camp.
To get OS X, restart your machine and hold down the Options/Alt key on your keyboard. Do not release this switch unless you have reached the window where a partition called Macintosh HD is visible.
If you have a window like above, use the arrow and Return keys to select Macintosh HD volume.
After that, you can boot into OS X.
How to uninstall Windows from Boot Camp Assistant
If you have finished your jobs on Windows or you want to remove Windows from Boot Camp for any reason, here are the steps you need to follow. You do not have to use any third-party software for that. However, to get started, switch to OS X, at first. After that, open Boot Camp Assistant form the Utilities or you can also search for the same by clicking Cmd + Space button. After opening, you can find a window like this-
Click the Continue button to go further. After that, you should find a Restore button on your screen. Click the button to go ahead. Right after that, an automated process will start and remove all the files related to Windows. If you have got a message like this-
That means the Windows is already uninstalled or removed from your MacBook.