What you need to install Windows 10 on Mac
- MacBook introduced in 2015 or later
- MacBook Air introduced in 2012 or later
- MacBook Pro introduced in 2012 or later
- Mac mini introduced in 2012 or later
- Use Bootcamp to install Windows on your Mac. Requires a legal copy of Windows. Also the fastest, but you can't run Mac Applications at the same time; Install a Virtual Machine, such as Parallels or VirtualBox. Performance will suffer. Use Wine to run Windows Applications. Performance will suffer; The Answer to your Question.
- Do I recommend running Windows 10 on a MacBook Pro from 2011? It's a tough call. I should mention that although it's an 8 year old machine, I do have the 2.8 GHz Intel i7 processor and 16GB of RAM. Considering how slick the performance under High Sierra was, I had expected something at least similar if not better under Windows 10.
Great information. New install of Boot Camp Windows 10 on a mid-2012 Macbook Pro Retina. Everything went smoothly, except for missing Bluetooth support. Device Manager is now happy again, and all Bluetooth devices as well. Prefer VirtualBox? Check it out: Download Windows 10 Disc Image (ISO File): https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/wi.
- iMac introduced in 2012 or later1
- iMac Pro (all models)
- Mac Pro introduced in 2013 or later
The latest macOS updates, which can include updates to Boot Camp Assistant. You will use Boot Camp Assistant to install Windows 10.
64GB or more free storage space on your Mac startup disk:
- Your Mac can have as little as 64GB of free storage space, but at least 128GB of free storage space provides the best experience. Automatic Windows updates require that much space or more.
- If you have an iMac Pro or Mac Pro with 128GB of memory (RAM) or more, your startup disk needs at least as much free storage space as your Mac has memory.2
An external USB flash drive with a storage capacity of 16GB or more, unless you're using a Mac that doesn't need a flash drive to install Windows.
A 64-bit version of Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro on a disk image (ISO) or other installation media. If installing Windows on your Mac for the first time, this must be a full version of Windows, not an upgrade.
- If your copy of Windows came on a USB flash drive, or you have a Windows product key and no installation disc, download a Windows 10 disk image from Microsoft.
- If your copy of Windows came on a DVD, you might need to create a disk image of that DVD.
How to install Windows 10 on Mac
To install Windows, use Boot Camp Assistant, which is included with your Mac.
1. Use Boot Camp Assistant to create a Windows partition
Open Boot Camp Assistant, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder. Then 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.
- When Boot Camp Assistant asks you to set the size of the Windows partition, remember the minimum storage-space requirements in the previous section. Set a partition size that meets your needs, because you can't change its size later.
2. Format the Windows (BOOTCAMP) partition
When Boot Camp Assistant finishes, your Mac restarts to the Windows installer. If the installer asks where to install Windows, select the BOOTCAMP partition and click Format. In most cases, the installer selects and formats the BOOTCAMP partition automatically.
3. Install Windows
Unplug any external devices that aren't necessary during installation. Then click Next and follow the onscreen instructions to begin installing Windows.
4. Use the Boot Camp installer in Windows
After Windows installation completes, your Mac starts up in Windows and opens a 'Welcome to the Boot Camp installer' window. Follow the onscreen instructions to install Boot Camp and Windows support software (drivers). You will be asked to restart when done.
- If the Boot Camp installer never opens, open the Boot Camp installer manually and use it to complete Boot Camp installation.
- If you have an external display connected to a Thunderbolt 3 port on your Mac, the display will be blank (black, gray, or blue) for up to 2 minutes during installation.
How to switch between Windows and macOS
Restart, then press and hold the Option (or Alt) ⌥ key during startup to switch between Windows and macOS.
Learn more
If you have one of these Mac models using OS X El Capitan 10.11 or later, you don't need a USB flash drive to install Windows:
- MacBook introduced in 2015 or later
- MacBook Air introduced in 2017 or later3
- MacBook Pro introduced in 2015 or later3
- iMac introduced in 2015 or later
- iMac Pro (all models)
- Mac Pro introduced in late 2013
To remove Windows from your Mac, use Boot Camp Assistant, not any other utility.
For more information about using Windows on your Mac, open Boot Camp Assistant and click the Open Boot Camp Help button.
1. If you're using an iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014) or iMac (27-inch, Late 2013) or iMac (27-inch, Late 2012) with a 3TB hard drive and macOS Mojave or later, learn about an alert you might see during installation.
2. For example, if your Mac has 128GB of memory, its startup disk must have at least 128GB of storage space available for Windows. To see how much memory your Mac has, choose Apple menu > About This Mac. To see how much storage space is available, click the Storage tab in the same window.
3. These Mac models were offered with 128GB hard drives as an option. Apple recommends 256GB or larger hard drives so that you can create a Boot Camp partition of at least 128GB.
Running Windows On Macbook Pro Retina
This worked for me; it might not work for you. Remember I'm just same random guy on the internet so I take no responsibility for anything that happens to your machine. Okay?
The Problem
As yet (5th Aug 2015) there's no official support from Apple for Windows 10 running through Boot Camp. So, when I upgraded from Windows 8.1 to 10, I was expecting there to be a couple of issues. One of these was a lack of Bluetooth. Also getting the fn key working.
Apple studio setup. But, it turns out to be easy to fix.
Get the Driver
The driver for Windows 8.1 works with 10, so you just need to grab that.
Go to https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204048 and find your machine in the list. You want to look for the zip file download of the Boot Camp Assistant software.
For me, it was this one:
Download that file (it's pretty big – 882Mb for my one) and unzip that once done.
Install the Driver
Macintosh software free download. Inside the unpacked folder, go into the BootCamp folder and then into the $WinPEDriver$ folder under that.
The driver needs to be installed via device manager so just confirm that the AppleBluetoothBroadcom64 folder is there for now.
Install Windows On Macbook Pro
In Windows, open up device manager (the easiest way to do this is just hit the Windows key and type ‘device manager' – it'll be the first result).
Expand other devices and you should see an unknown device.
Right click it and select Update driver software.
Chose the second option on the pop up to browse your computer for the driver software.
Macbook Pro Windows 10
Browse to the $WinPEDriver$ from your downloads and select that. Make sure Include subfolders is checked and then click Next and Windows will install the Bluetooth driver for your Mac Book.
