Beyond the natural rivalry between the two platforms, the truth is that a Mac with OS X can receive and use Windows as an operating system without major issues, courtesy of the Boot Camp tool. With the arrival of Windows 10, many users have wondered about its compatibility with Boot Camp, but Cupertino has done its homework, and the new Windows is now part of official support. Here’s how to install it.
From light jokes and sarcasm to visceral hatred, the competition between Apple and Microsoft stirs up all kinds of feelings of varying intensity. However, that doesn’t change the fact that both giants have known how to work together in certain respects. A good example is the integration of Bing as the main search engine on iOS and OS X Yosemite, a clear demonstration that some hatreds are stronger than others. And then there’s the Boot Camp tool. In simple terms, Boot Camp allows the official installation of Windows on Apple hardware, and with each new version, Cupertino has extended its support. On August 13, Boot Camp build 6.0 added Windows 10, but only in 64-bit editions and with OS X Yosemite preinstalled. How is the installation performed? The process is relatively simple, although it requires several steps.
- Check that your Mac can actually receive Windows 10 x64. In essence, all computers Mid or Late 2012 or later that use Yosemite are compatible, but Apple has made the exact list available to the public to avoid confusion (image below).
- Perform a general update on your Mac. This involves receiving updates for OS X, system firmware, and Boot Camp Assistant. Then open Disk Utility, either via Utilities or using Spotlight.
- Create a Windows 10 ISO image. Boot Camp cannot directly work with DVDs or USB drives, so we must obtain an ISO image with the original files. Go to Disk Utility, choose the drive (whether a DVD or USB drive containing the installation files), click New Image, specify the destination where it will be saved, and change the image extension from .cdr to .iso.
- Open Boot Camp Assistant and select all the options it presents: Create a Windows 8 or later installation disk, check for any driver updates in Windows, and start the formal installation process.
- After pressing "Continue," the assistant asks for the location of the previously created ISO image and a USB drive or memory card with 16 GB or more of space that has a "removable" profile. This last detail is critical: if the drive is not recognized by the Mac as removable, it cannot be used to install Windows 10 via Boot Camp.
- Once the Boot Camp Assistant finishes its work (and you’ve confirmed any other parameters it may request during the process), the Mac will restart, leading to the Windows installer. When the installer asks where to install the operating system, choose the BOOTCAMP partition and click "Format." Finish the installation by following the rest of the steps.
Apple recommends a minimum partition of 30 GB for the Windows 10 installation to go smoothly. At the same time, if you already have Windows 7 SP1 or Windows 8.1 under Boot Camp on OS X Yosemite, you can take advantage of the free upgrade, but this requires installing all available updates for OS X, rebooting your Mac into Windows, running Apple Software Update for Windows so that all drivers and programs are up to date, launching the Windows 10 installer from within Windows, and finally running Apple Software Update again. Remember: All of this will only work with 64-bit editions of Windows 10. Boot Camp dropped 32-bit support approximately two years ago. Good luck!
