Installing Windows on an IMac: detailed instructions. Ways to install Windows on Mac Install windows 7 on Mac

After the presentation of the Windows operating system in its seventh and then tenth variations, many owners of Apple devices wished to install it on the iMac. The easiest way to accomplish this is to use the Boot Camp software. The application allows you to install a new operating system from "windows" as a second system.

Apple has also released drivers to quickly install new applications. They do not cause difficulties in handling and even beginners cope with the installation.

However, there are users who cannot perform this operation in any way. Something happens to them all the time - the keys do not function, there is no sound and other interference. In this article, we'll walk you through the basic steps to install Windows on your iMac. How to carry out the process as comfortably as possible - read below.

Before moving on to the main topic of the conversation, let's find out why one operating system is better than another. And in general, is it worth jumping from one solution to the second? See the differences and make the right decision for yourself.

Apple's design is unrivaled. And you can hardly argue with this statement. The company spends as much time and money on the design of the appearance as on the "stuffing" of the devices. The details are treated with due attention there. By the way, the "hardware" also looks neat, although no one can see it.

But Microsoft is not far behind either ... With the Surface Studio monoblock, there has been a revolution. It looks as cool as any computer from the Apple company. By the way, tablets and laptops of this company are very effective in terms of design. Besides, Windows devices are created by many manufacturers. Many products from this operating room look strange or have an outdated design, but good options can also be found.

1 Mac gadgets are more expensive. And much more. Even if another Windows laptop has similar functionality and capabilities, the price difference will be very significant. Windows aficionados have nicknamed this phenomenon the "apple" tax. An exception is anomalous variants. For example, there are the super expensive Surface Book or the touted products for gamers. The average solution will cost the buyer an average of $ 500. In comparison, the most budget laptop in the Air lineup costs at least $ 1,000. At the same time, it is quite a decent PC - the device can be bought for $ 300. Here the decision is for a specific user, or rather, his financial capabilities. 2 Windows gamers are much more comfortable for gamers. Game lovers will choose Windows, if only because it is easier to customize. Serious gamers are constantly dismantling - assembling their devices to replace video cards and processors, adding RAM. Of course, they will not be satisfied with the black boxes of the Mac. Even super cool MacBooks will become obsolete in a couple of years, and you simply won't be able to insert additional RAM into them. Many more toys are not installed on the Mac. This problem dates back to the 1990s and is still relevant today. When Jobs left Atari, he probably lost interest in games. But in vain! 3 Mac support is better (of course, if it is available in your region). If your device is out of order, you can always go to the Apple store near your home. A specialist will diagnose and repair it. Moreover, if the problem is minor, the repair will be completely free. But again, everything depends on the presence of such a point in your city. If she is absent, you will have to break your head or run. With the PC, everything is easier in this respect. Something lends itself to self-repair, others can be entrusted to a familiar programmer. And if that did not help, spare parts are available in any store. In major cities, there are official Microsoft stores with services. So the inhabitants of megalopolises are lucky in this respect. There are still few similar points, but the company is actively developing in this direction. 4 It is more difficult to catch a virus on a Mac. There are much fewer devices on this operating system (including due to their high price), so hackers are not so interested in creating spies and viruses for them. Although in recent years such "specialists" have been increasingly pressed, and they are becoming more attentive to narrower areas. Therefore, the "apple" company also does not sleep and takes measures to get ahead of the scammers. Every year, all new security systems are introduced into iOS gadgets. 5 Operating systems look completely different. This is immediately apparent. Windows 10 combined the comfort and friendliness of a 7 with a touchscreen send of an 8. And this venture was a success. You can jump between the tablet and desktop options. And the latter looks familiar - with the start element at the bottom. The tablet shows a list of software.

So, most likely, you have decided. Now let's take a look at the steps of installing Windows on the iMac.

Preparing to Install Windows 7 on your iMac

Of course, we are talking not only about the seven, but also about any other version of this operating system - Windows 10 and others. Installing Windows 7 or Windows 10 is a serious operation that requires setting up the device on which it will be installed.

And first, let's find out why the owner of an iOS device needs to install Windows 10. Especially considering that the developer deliberately left the "windows". There can be a lot of reasons, for example:

Not every program that is installed on a PC has an analogue for a Mac. A typical example is 1C: Enterprise.
If the "apple" gadget was just bought, you can get confused in its functions. Here, everything is completely differently arranged. And the second operating system will return the user to the familiar environment and will not let him get confused until he gets used to the Mac.

The operation will require the required distribution kit (a variant of the version that you decided to install). You also need a disk with iMac OS X. Checking free disk space is an obligatory stage of preliminary preparation. It must be at least 10 GB. Finally, the most important is Boot Camp.

Attention! PC installation is not possible for every model. So, nothing will come of the iMac 17 and 20 inches. These are legacy products from 2006. There shouldn't be any problems with more modern products. If your model is unknown, check the information on the Apple resource on the network.

Install Windows 10 on iMac

From the instructions below you will learn how to install Windows on an "apple" operating system. The installed PC is introduced into the iMac via Boot Camp - a set of software. This solution will be required when creating a partition for Windows and rebooting the installation system. The drivers will provide the functionality of the operating system and its interaction with the hardware component of the computer. It would be nice to perform an automatic "refresh" of the drivers.

Before installing, we update the operating system itself. To this end, on the Apple resource on the network, go to the updates section. In addition, we form a backup, so that in case of data loss, we can restore them.

Launch Boot Camp Assistant.
Click on the continuation item and select the volume of the hard disk for the "fresh" operating system. To do this, drag the partition between the names of the operating systems.
We carry out a breakdown into sections using the appropriate element. We are waiting for the operation to complete and emerge on the BootCamp table with the selected volume.
We insert the disc with the PC distribution kit and click on the beginning of the installation.
We are waiting for the completion of the reboot and select the previously specified disk for installation.
We click on the properties of the disk.
Let's proceed to formatting.
We observe the installation itself - at this step, the process will start. Here you will need to select a language and other options.

Note that after the appearance of the second operating system on the device, all sorts of problems often surface. And the most common one concerns sound. To fix the situation, you will need a disk with OS X. You need to put it in the drive and click on the item next in the pop-up window. Soft ask to accept the terms of the contracts, which is what you want to do. Upon completion of the installation, you need to click on the Finish button.

This should be followed by another reboot, after which you can rest assured that your iMac has two operating systems. Do not be lazy before the operation to seriously think and weigh all the advantages and disadvantages of such a solution. Rushing steps can lead to the loss of personal information and content. And in the worst case - to damage the "native" operating system. The objective arguments at the beginning of the article will help you make the right decision.

The article provides detailed instructions on how to install Windows 7 on a MacBook.

Everyone is accustomed to working with Windows and when buying a MacBook, it becomes necessary to install it for the usual work with documents.

Installing Windows 7 on Macbook Air Using Boot Camp

It doesn't take long to install Windows 7 on your Macbook Air. Installation requires a USB optical drive or 16GB USB drive. Before installing, check for software updates on your computer.

Turn on your MacBook and start Boot Camp.
Remove the checkbox from above where you want to create a disk. Check the box if the installation will be carried out from the image.
Use a USB stick to save drivers and other information. All information on the drive will be erased, so use an empty drive.
Split the disk into two equal parts for two operating systems.
Plug in your USB DVD drive and insert the Windows distribution into it.
Wait while Boot Camp downloads the latest software from the Internet and restarts your computer.
Install Windows, following the instructions, select the proposed settings.

Windows is installed in just over an hour. For those who do not know how to start Boot Camp: on the desktop at the top, click the magnifying glass. In the search box, write down the name of the application and click "Continue".

Create an image

If a disk is available to install the software, then you need to create an image of it.

Use an optical drive.
Using the Finder on your laptop, open Disk Utility.
In the window that opens, select the installation disk.
Enter the menu "File", "New Image" and then click "DVD Disc".
Under "DVD / CD Wizard" find "Image Format" and "Encryption". Check No.
Create a filename, enter a password and wait while a new image is created.
When finished, unplug the optical drive.
Use Finder to find the new image.
Rename the file name from .cdr to .iso.
When using removable storage devices, make sure they appear as removable devices in the Finder.
Connect the UbSB drive.
After creating the ISO image, proceed with the installation of the program.

Keyboard

After downloading the software, you can use the keyboard in several ways. Keys in different operating systems can perform different functions. Many keys on Windows laptops have counterparts on the Apple keyboard.

Windows formatting

To format, use the installer, after asking about the installation location, select the Boot Camp partition. Next, we start formatting by selecting "Disk Setup".

The new section can be renamed, formatted or deleted. After creating two sections, you will not be able to resize them. To resize it, you will have to delete the section and re-create the required section. To rename a partition, boot the operating system itself and rename the partition in it. Do not use other programs to resize the partition, this can lead to problems.

Be careful! Deleting a partition results in loss of files.

Boot Camp app

The app is divided into three sections:

choice of system to boot;
setting up the keyboard;
setting up the trackpad.

The first section will allow you to boot one of two operating systems. The second section allows you to control the functions of the F1 - F12 keys. In the third section, choose familiar gestures to work in any OC.

Windows startup

On a Macbook Air 11 or Macbook Pro, there is no operating system selection at boot, so to run on Windows 7, press Alt. A menu will appear in which select the desired system and download. If you do not press the Alt button when you turn on, then the download will start MacOS.

Removing Windows

To uninstall, just run Boot Camp in OS X and select "Delete". After deleting OS X will take up all the space. It will take less than a minute for a previously installed operating system to uninstall completely.

Software updates

Use the App Store to check for updates on your laptop. Select "Update" in the "Updates" section. In the application preferences, set the "Download recently appeared updates in the background" options. Then the updates will be carried out automatically. When the latest update has been installed, you can start installing Windows.

If you have an update disc, do the following:

Boot your MacBook on MacOS.
Connect the Windows update disc.
Unzip and transfer the files to a USB stick.
Restart your laptop and turn on your installed version of Windows.
Carry out the update using the installer.

Driver

Some users have a question: "What is a driver?" A driver is a program without which the connected device will not work with the computer. At least once in their life, everyone has installed a laptop driver to operate a scanner or printer. Usually the OS already has drivers for different devices, but sometimes updates are needed, so check for updates. For example, download the realtek driver from the Internet for free to make your audio systems work.

Apple does not provide technical support for installing or recovering Windows. You can get advice over the phone about the Boot Camp Special Assistant, how to install or restore it.

Installing Windows on Mac OS is possible and quite simple if you are prepared for this matter. In this article we will tell you how to install Windows on Mac OS - possible methods and options, as well as additional information and subtleties of the process.

MacOS users may need to use the Windows operating system for several reasons, ranging from the habit of using Microsoft's OS to the need to use special software that is intended only for working in Windows. In order not to buy a new device, but to take advantage of the excellent characteristics of the hardware and the use of the desired system, in macOS it is possible to use several systems on one device.

What should you do before installing another OS?

Find out about the compatibility of hardware and OS versions (compatibility with Windows 10 and compatibility with the 7th version of the system).
Check for macOS updates and utilities and update if found.

Boot Camp

You can install Windows 10 on Mac OS Sierra through the special BootCamp utility.

Utility Boot Camp Assistant- Software from Apple, which allows you to create an additional partition on the disk for installing an additional OS and further use.

Before installing, you must download the image of the desired Windows system. This can be done on the official Microsoft website.

Go to the download page of the Windows 10 image (or 7th version, but a key is required here).
Select the desired system and language, and then start downloading the image.

To start Boot Camp, open Programs - Utilities and choose Boot Camp Assistant.

In the Boot Camp window, you will need to select the amount of free space that will be allocated for Windows. When choosing, we recommend starting from your needs - whether you will play games and install "heavy" applications, or rarely use the system.

It is worth noting that if you allocate 100 GB of free space in Boot Camp, after installing the system, you will have about 75 Gb available.

Specify the path to the downloaded system image in the ISO disk image line. Click the "Install" button and the software will start downloading for further configuration.

After rebooting the device, the standard Windows installation process will begin. Using the "ten" as an example, let's look at the main points.

Initially, agree to the terms of the persons agreement.
Select the version and bitness of the OS.
At the stage of choosing a partition where files will be copied, you need to select a partition called BootCamp.

The process of copying files and preparing the main components of the system will begin.

At the end of all the reboots, you will be greeted by the system presetting window, where you will need to specify the Microsoft account to log in to the system, if there is none, create a local profile. You will also need to specify the privacy settings, which are recommended to be disabled - this will speed up the device a little and Microsoft will receive less of your data.
When finished, you will be greeted by the Windows desktop and a small BootCamp application window. You will need to allow the application to configure the system drivers so that the screen resolution becomes correct and all components, such as network connection, Bluetooth and others.

Installing Windows 7 on a Mac via BootCamp is done in the same way, the only difference is the welcome screen and the initial screen.
It is also worth knowing a few additional facts about Boot Camp if you want to know how to install Windows on a Mac using BootCamp:

Updating all device drivers necessary for correct operation is also performed through Boot Camp.
It is recommended that you initially download the required driver package from the Apple website.
The system will be fast and responsive, making the most of the device's resources. It is also unlikely that there will be problems with the drivers, since Apple is very important and attentive to this. But no one canceled bugs and problems on the part of "Windows", although on the 10th version, there are fewer and fewer problems (until the release of a major update).
It is not possible to use macOS and Windows at the same time, since the device can work and use resources with only one running system. And here virtualization tools come to the rescue, which will be discussed below.

Important! Occasionally, when installing Windows on Mac, the no Bootable device error may appear. To fix this problem, use the following tips:

Using a legal image (no pirated assemblies).
Try changing the boot priority on macOS and retry the installation.
Try using USB drives or ISO files when using Boot Camp.

Parallels Desktop

There are situations where you might need to install Windows 7 or 10 on a Mac without using BootCamp. For example, when you need to use both MacOS and Windows at the same time, but having 2 devices is too expensive and inconvenient. Virtualization tools will come to the rescue, one of which is Parallels Desktop for Mac.

Parallels Desktop is a software solution for creating a virtual machine and then installing Windows, Linux and other operating systems. Allows you to use a different operating system without rebooting the device and enjoy the functionality of different OS at the same time.

At the moment, the latest version of Parallels Desktop 14 is available at a price of 4,990 rubles.

The application has truly outstanding functionality:

Common desktop for Windows and MacOS.
Using Win-applications in the MacOS interface without the need to launch a virtual machine.
Backup, shared clipboard, Drag-n-Drop, a huge toolkit for working with a "window" OS, and much more.

Together with Parallels Desktop, you will learn how to quickly put Windows 10 on a Mac with a second system with just the click of a button. What do I need to do:

Download and install the trial version of Parallels Desktop from the official website.
And click Install to start

And at the end of all procedures, there will be a notification about the successful completion of the installation

The developers have made sure that the process is as simple and fast as possible for Mac users. We will also analyze how you can perform a clean installation of Windows 7 or 10 on Mac OS high sierra or later using Parallels, using the example of version 11:

Launch Parallels Desktop and choose Install.

Specify the path to the installation disk, USB stick or system image.

You can choose express installation of the system, which will require from you only the system key and a minimum of steps. Or you can uncheck the express installation and set up the process yourself.

You can choose not only the number of active cores, RAM or storage memory, but also video memory, system usage, boot priority and much more.

After that, the standard installation procedure will begin. You will need to select a language and select an installation location.

After that, Windows 7 will be successfully installed. You only need to give a name to the profile and PC, create a password (if required), enter the activation key, configure the time and parameters of the Internet connection.
The system is ready to use

The application is really very functional and we solve many problems at once. But if you do not have 5 thousand rubles to buy a license, we will show you another way how to install Windows 7.10 on Mac OS using VMware virtualization.

Oracle Virtualbox

VM VirtualBox is a virtualization tool from Oracle. A free app that lets you run Windows 7 or 10 without a separate installation on Mac or BootCamp. The functionality is not as rich as that of Parallels Desktop, but this solution is free and will allow you to use 2 systems at the same time. What is needed for this:

Download and install VM VirtualBox for OS X hosts from the official website.
Download the image of the desired system, for example "Ten"
Create a new virtual machine. Enter the name, type and version of the OS

Set the amount of RAM

Set the amount of storage for the virtual machine and specify the disk type as VDI (VirtualBox Disk Image)

After the virtual machine is created, click on the "Settings" settings.

In the "Storage" tab, specify the path to the loaded OS image, and then start the virtual machine.

The standard system installation procedure will begin. The order can be found in the paragraph about Boot Camp.

As you can see from this article, instead of Mac OS, it is quite easy to install Windows 7, 8 or 10, you just need to choose the option that is convenient for you. Using all the power of the device, but put up with only one active OS, or the full use of all the advantages of Windows and MacOS, but with insignificant performance losses.

Have a great day!

Apple computers are very productive and multifunctional, a lot of software has been developed for them. However, in some cases, it is required to install windows 7 on a mac, when the use of two PCs is impossible, and the necessary program running under the operating system from Microsoft has no analogues.

The best solution in this case is to use a program called Boot Camp. It is specially provided by the developers of imac air computers for creating partitions and installing the operating system from a USB flash drive.

Preparatory work

Installing an additional OS takes up a lot of hard disk space. This fact must be taken into account, since before the operation a separate section will be created for it. On average, 35-40 Gb of unallocated space is required for a logical drive.

Before starting the procedure such as installing windows on a mac, you need to prepare your macbook pro. To do this, you need to do the following:

It can also come in handy:

update OS from Apple (regardless of version, this can be done through the App Store in the "Updates" tab);
to create a backup, you need to use an application called Time Machine or other means;
download the image of the installation disk from the official Microsoft website or create it yourself;
write the image to a USB flash drive using the Boot Camp assistant.

Installation process

With everything you need ready, you can start installing on your imac air. To do this, you need a drive that does not contain the necessary information (it will be formatted when the installation image is written). To get started, you need to do the following:

Working with the installed OS

After finishing the installation of the Windows 7 distribution on the imac air, you can select the operating system you want to run. To do this, hold down the "Alt" button and select the desired one. It can also be changed in the startup priorities menu of computer devices by selecting the name of the partition with the required OS.

For Windows to work normally and install macbook pro driver support, you need to take one more step: when you first boot the operating system, start the USB flash drive created using the Boot Camp program.

The imac air driver installation should start automatically. But if this does not happen, you need to go to the USB flash drive and run the setup.exe file

In the past few years, laptops and Apple computers have become very popular (phones and tablet computers, of course, are no less popular, but now not about them). But having bought a computer or laptop from Apple, some people are faced with the fact that they absolutely do not know how to work on the new Mac OS operating system or they simply need Windows in addition to this operating system. And here many have a question- How to install Windows on a Mac computer / laptop? You will find out the answer to this question if you read the article.

The easiest and most affordable way to install Windows on a Mac is to use Boot Camp. Boot Camp is a special application from Apple for installing WindowsXP / Windows7 by dividing the hard disk into 2 partitions, one for each system. The transition from one system to another is possible only by restarting the computer.

In order to install Windows on your Mac, you will need:

1 MacBook Rro / MacBook Air / IMac with Mac OS installed;

2 USB media (flash drive (at least 4 Gb) or external hard drive) / DVD disk (transfer all information from USB media (flash drive or external hard drive), since in the future everything on the media will be deleted after formatting);

3 Disk with Windows7 operating system or its ISO image;

4 This article and about an hour of free time.

Attention!!! If you are going to install Windows using a USB flash drive on a Mac late 2013 and newer (they use all USB 3.0 ports) you will need to use a USB 3.0 flash drive. Otherwise, when installing Windows, your USB ports and wireless keyboard will not be active.

Turn on your Mac and install the latest updates. To do this, click on the apple (left, top corner) and select "Software Update".

After you have installed all the updates, proceed to the next step, start Boot Camp. To do this, click on search (the magnifying glass icon in the upper right corner) and enter there "Boot Camp", among the found click on "Boot Camp Assistant".

In the opened window Boot Camp Assistant, read, information and click "Proceed".

In the next window, you need to select the settings for installing Windows7, more precisely, how you will install.

Installing on Mac Windows7 using a disc

Installing on Mac Windows7 using a USB stick / external hard drive

If you have a DVD with Windows7 operating system, you must select the last two items, namely - Download the latest Windows Support Software from Apple(loads drivers for Windows7) and Install Windows7(allows you to determine the size of the volume where Windows7 will be installed and boot from DVD upon reboot).

Leave the default folder name WindowsSupport all drivers will be saved in it and select the medium on which all files will be saved (in this example, this is a USB flash drive).

Then enter your computer administrator credentials and click "Add Helper".

After that, the process of downloading drivers will be launched.

If you have an ISO image on your computer, in this case you must leave all the checkboxes. Particularly for MacBook Air, this method is very convenient, since it does not have a DVD drive and installation from a USB flash drive / USB hard disk would be more reasonable.

Button "Select" specify the path to the ISO image of Windows7.

Then a warning window will appear, stating that your disk / USB device will be formatted and all information will be deleted from it.

After that, the USB drive will be formatted and the installation files and drivers will be copied to it.

The next step is to specify the amount of disk space for Windows7, for this you just need to move the slider and determine the size of the partition for the Windows operating system and click "Install".

After that, the computer / laptop will reboot and the Windows7 installation process will begin at boot time (it is no different from installing on any other computer).

The only thing I would like to add is that when choosing a volume on which the operating system will be installed, be extremely careful not to delete the existing partitions. Just format your BOOTCAMP partition and run Windows7 setup.

After installing Windows7, go to the USB drive, in it you will see the folder WindowSupport(it contains drivers for Windows7), run the file setup.exe.

In the next window, read the License Agreement, accept it and click "Further".

After that, you will be prompted to additionally install Apple Software Update, you can leave a check mark and click "Install".

After that, the process of installing all the drivers will begin, it does not require your participation, just at the end a window will appear about the completion of the installation. Push the button "To complete".