Boot Camp is software distributed by Apple Inc. that allows you to install Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 Home or Professional, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 on Intel Macintosh computers.
The Boot Camp utility guides the user step by step through safely repartitioning a hard drive (including resizing an existing HFS+ (Mac OS X file system) partition, if necessary) and creating a CD image with drivers for the Microsoft Windows NT operating system. In addition to device drivers, the CD includes a Windows Control Panel applet for initial system setup.
Boot Camp is not a virtualization utility that would allow Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X to run at the same time. The computer must be restarted in order to use a particular operating system. To select an operating system, immediately after turning on the computer, hold down the Option (Alt) key for a while. This will display a list of available boot options allowing the user to select the required operating system.
Boot Camp requires a firmware update on early Intel-Macs to the latest version, which includes a bootloader and BIOS emulation module, to allow EFI to work with "regular" (non-Mac OS) operating systems.
To install Microsoft Windows, the Boot camp utility offers to separate part of the main disk space for the needs of Microsoft Windows.
At the same time, it is proposed to format the new disk partition under Fat32 (if it is up to 32 GB) or under NTFS, if more. In the future, the NTFS partition under Mac OS is read-only, and the main partition of the Mac OS system under Microsoft Windows is not visible at all. Now there are third-party solutions for organizing full access, in addition, Apple, starting with version 10.6, added a driver to its operating system for accessing a Mac OS X disk from under Microsoft Windows in read mode.
It's worth noting that Apple doesn't officially sell copies of Microsoft Windows in its stores. Boot Camp is included with Mac OS X v10.5 (Leopard). For version 10.4, a beta version of Boot Camp was available, which has already expired.
Boot Camp errors
The program tries to resize the partition from which the system and the program itself are started. Often, for various reasons, errors occur (system hang, Kernel Panic error, etc.). There is nothing wrong with that. Despite the absence of such instructions on the official website of the program, an additional section can be added without using this program.
- First of all, you should eliminate the errors that occur as a result of incorrect termination of the program.
- After booting from the Mac OS X Leopard installation disk, you should launch the Disk Utility program, mark the main (system) drive and execute Repair disk.
- Adding a section.
- In the "Partition" tab, click the "+" icon (adding a partition).
Specifying the format MS-DOS (FAT32), set the size and name. We check the data, and then start the procedure for changing partitions. Mac OS X Leopard can change partitions without losing data (“on the fly”), but important data should be backed up.
After completing these procedures in the normal mode, you should launch BootCamp Assistant and install Microsoft Windows on Macintosh.
Microsoft Windows drivers included with Boot Camp 3.2 and higher
Apple Bluetooth
Apple Keyboard Support
Apple Remote Driver
Apple Trackpad
Atheros 802.11 Wireless
ATI Graphics
Boot Camp control panel for Microsoft Windows
Boot Camp System Task Notification item (System Tray)
Broadcom Wireless
Intel Chipset Software
Intel Integrated Graphics
iSight Camera
Marvel Yukon Ethernet
NVIDIA Graphics
Cirrus Logic Audio
Realtek Audio
SigmaTel Audio
Startup Disk control panel for Microsoft Windows
Computers of the well-known Apple company are very multifunctional and have a wide selection of specially designed software. But sometimes it happens that a Mac or iMac user wants to install the Windows operating system that is already so familiar to him. Sometimes OS Windows may be needed to install some programs so that you can play your favorite games, and there is no suitable alternative for Mac.
You can install the OS yourself. This can be done in several ways, for example, through a utility or using a flash drive. Let's take an example of applications from Apple called Bootcamp, Parallels Desktop and Virtual Box.
Preparing and Installing Bootcamp
This option allows you to install an additional OS on Mac and iMac in a separately created partition on your hard drive. Choose which system you can boot into during power-on. The advantage of this utility is that by installing the program through it, all the resources of your PC will be available to Windows, this will allow you to use the performance of your Mac to the maximum. The computer will easily pull the most modern games and perform complex tasks.
Before installing an additional OS, keep in mind that it will take up a lot of space on your hard drive. Make sure it has the required gigabytes. On average, you may need about 30 Gb.
Before you start installing the operating system on your iMac or Mac, check and prepare the Boot camp program. First, make sure it has all Apple updates installed. To do this, you need to do the following:
During the launch of the utility, you will have the opportunity to select the location where OS Windows will be installed. Before starting the software, close all open applications and programs.
After the utility and flash drives for copying information are ready, you can proceed to the first steps:
Once all files have been copied, the iMac will automatically restart. Next, to display the boot manager, press and hold the Alt key. On the Mac, the disk menu will open, mark the partition with the name of the operating system. This will be followed by starting the OS and setting the parameters.
To install Windows 8, you need to proceed in exactly the same way. Only in the window Choice of actions» you should check the boxes next to the items « Download latest software" And " Create a disc to install Windows 7 or newer».
Installing Windows on a Mac, or rather, setting up the program, begins with choosing a language. Choose the right language right away, otherwise you will have to do all the steps again. Having selected all the parameters in this window, click the button Next, which is located in the lower right corner.
To install the Windows operating system on a Mac, carefully follow all the instructions. During the process, do not restart or turn off your computer. You cannot interrupt the procedure in any way.
After your iMac reboots a second time, you can begin installing the necessary drivers. To do this, download them back from the USB flash drive, install and run the installation program.
Installing Windows via Bootcamp using a flash drive
Installation can be carried out either using the operating system disk or via a USB drive. To download a program from a USB flash drive to a Mac, you must first download it. If we are talking about Windows 8, then the version of this system must be in iso format.
This installation option on Mac and iMac is no different from the previous one. Before starting, you should also check bootcamp for updates and save all the necessary data. The following instruction will help you complete the task:
But it happens that when the installation media is a USB flash drive, the utility requires you to insert a disk with the program and refuses to continue the steps of downloading the software on the iMac. In this case, you can download the Daemon Tools Lite iMac driver. With it, we mount the Windows iso image, it will serve as a virtual drive and then Bootcamp will complete the installation process of our OS without any problems.
Installing Windows on Mac and iMac via Parallels Desktop
In addition to Boot Camp, there are several other options for installing an additional operating system. For example, you can use the program Parallels Desktop, which is a Windows installation virtual machine. You will be able to run Windows programs without restarting your PC.
You can install by following the instructions below:
A feature of Parallels Desktop is the program's high performance. You can download a free trial version or buy Parallels Desktop software from the link below:
Installing Windows with VirtualBox
VirtualBox is one of the popular virtualization programs. With its help, two operating systems will easily work on your PC at once. Installing an additional OS through VirtualBox is quite simple.
To get started, enter the VirtualBox query into the search system, go to the official website and download the program. When the installation is complete, click on the program icon and select "Create". After that, you can start installing Windows.
Sometimes it happens that after installing an additional operating system, iMac has problems with sound or video playback. To solve this problem, you need to install on the Mac all the drivers that were previously saved to an additional storage device (disk or USB flash drive).
After all the steps taken, the installation of Windows on a Mac is completely over. Restart the program and everything will definitely work.
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With Apple's Boot Camp, you can boot your Mac natively into Microsoft Windows without running two operating systems at the same time. This is very useful for programs that do not run in Parallels virtual machines or VMWare Fusion.
Preparing to install Boot Camp
First you need to make sure that all updates from Apple are installed:
- Go to the Boot Camp support page to see if there are updates for your model. Download and install if necessary;
- From the Apple menu, open Software Update and install all system updates;
- Be sure to create a backup!
Launching Boot Camp Assistant (for X 10.6 or later)
- Close all open applications, then in Finder under Programs/Utilities launch Boot Camp Assistant;
- Click the Next button to start the installation;
- If necessary, select "Download the latest Windows support software from Apple" ;
- If required, enter an administrator password to start downloading the software. After the download is complete, save the files to your hard drive or USB.
Hard disk partition
Once the software has finished downloading, the Assistant will prompt you to create a Windows partition on your hard drive. You will need to specify how much free space will be allocated to this section. Installing Windows 7 on a Mac requires at least 16 GB of free space.
Installing Windows on a Mac
- Insert your Windows installation disc;
- Click the "Start Installation" button. The computer will restart and start installing Windows;
- Follow the instructions in the Windows Setup Wizard;
- On the screen asking "Where do you want to install Windows?" select the BOOTCAMP section;
- Then select Disk Options (advanced) and format the disk. Better not to touch other settings.
Installing Windows Drivers
Once Windows is installed, it is necessary to install the drivers that were downloaded earlier in order for all hardware to work correctly in Windows, including sound, display, and wireless network adapters.
- Remove the Windows installation disc;
- Insert the flash drive or disk on which the Windows drivers were previously written;
- Browse the contents and double-click the setup.exe file in the Boot Camp folder to install the drivers. Then follow the instructions on the screen to complete the installation. Do not cancel the installation!
- After installation is complete, restart your computer.
Selecting an operating system to run
You now have both Windows and Mac OS X installed on your Mac, and you can choose which operating system to use when you boot up. Simply hold down the Option key as you turn on your computer or restart it to bring up the selection menu.
So, you are finally ready to get started with Boot Camp. Here's what you need to do to start Boot Camp Assistant and create a new partition for installing Windows:
1. If you have a Mac laptop, plug it into an electrical outlet.
2. Enter the administrator password.
3. From the Finder menu, select Applications From Utilities. You can press Shift + Command + U. The Utilities folder will appear on the screen.
4. Double-click the Boot Camp Assistant icon. After that, the program will start and the "Introduction" window will appear.
5. Click the Continue icon. The Windows Support Software Download dialog will appear on the screen. It is used to specify how Boot Camp should access device drivers and other utility programs required for Mac hardware to work properly with Windows.
6. Select the desired option:
- Download Windows support files for Mac. This option is suitable if you don't have the original installation DVD or flash drive: it allows you to save the support files to an internal or external drive.
- Using the Mac OS X installation disc that came with your computer. This option is preferred if you have an installation DVD or flash drive.
7. Click the Continue icon. If you choose to download the Windows support software, the Boot Camp Assistant starts downloading. If you have not downloaded such a program, the Create a Partition for Windows dialog box will appear on the screen, so skip to step 10.
- Copy the desired programs to CD or DVD. This option should be selected if you want to use an external CD for further work.
- Save a copy to an external drive. Your files will be copied to an external hard drive or USB flash drive.
8. Insert or attach a disk (external drive), and then click the Continue icon.
9. Save the supporting files. When Boot Assistant has finished copying the files, it will display the Create a Partition for Windows* dialog box.
- CD or DVD. Click "Create Disc" (Burn).
- External drive. Select the drive you want from the list, and then click Save.
10. Click and drag the dot separating the two partitions until the Windows partition is the size you want. You can also use the Divide Equally option to make both partitions the same size.
11. Click "Partition Disk" (Partition). Mac OS X partitions the hard drive (which can take a long time depending on the size of the drive).
The download dialog for the latest Windows support software lets you choose how Boot Camp accesses drivers and other programs on your Mac
