When the Windows installer completes, your Mac loads Windows 10, followed by the Boot Camp Assistant. Click Next Install, and the Boot Camp Assistant begins downloading and installing the. Once you have a copy of Windows 10 in your possession, it’s time to pick a method for installation. There are two main ways to do this: creating a partition on your Mac with the built-in Boot Camp program or using a third-party virtual machine that creates a tiny version of the Windows OS on top of the normal Mac system.
- Macbook Pro Drivers Windows 10
- How To Install Windows 10 On Mac
- Windows 10 For Macbook Air
- Install Windows 10 On Macbook Pro 2015
Sometimes the lines between macOS and Windows 10 seem like a war zone of proponents from either side arguing about graphics, user interface, and program availability. But what if you just want the best of both worlds?
As many of us know, it’s the little things that make us wish we could switch back and forth between the two operating systems. Whether it’s that one program you need for work or your favorite video game that isn’t cross-platform compatible, it’s high time you find a way to be able to continue using your gorgeous MacBook Pro without making sacrifices around the edges.
Can I run Windows 10 on My MacBook Pro?
The short answer to this question is yes, you certainly can.
The longer version? To do so, you’re going to need to spend a fair amount of time setting this up and deciding which method of doing so is most effective for you.
Also, no option is going to be seamless – you will probably lose some performance power due to the way built-in optimization software works.
Is Windows 10 free for Mac?
Unfortunately, if you want to run Windows 10 on your Mac, you’ll need to purchase a license from Microsoft.
If you’ve used a PC in the past, you may not be familiar with this since Windows tends to come preinstalled. But in the same way, as if you were building your computer from the ground up or if you were updating an extremely outdated laptop, you’ll need to buy a copy of Windows 10.
This can be done electronically from the Microsoft Store here, where you’ll receive a product key and download, or you can choose to receive a copy via physical USB. Windows 10 Home starts at about $120, and the Pro version costs about $200. However, both are still cheaper than trying to buy an entirely new computer just to run a few of your favorite things.
Running Windows 10 on MacBook Pro
Once you have a copy of Windows 10 in your possession, it’s time to pick a method for installation. There are two main ways to do this: creating a partition on your Mac with the built-in Boot Camp program or using a third-party virtual machine that creates a tiny version of the Windows OS on top of the normal Mac system. We’ll guide you through both of these.
Method 1: Boot Camp
Bootcamp is preinstalled on your Mac, but most people use their MacBook without ever realizing it’s there. To find it, simply search in Spotlight for “Bootcamp”, and it should come up right away.
When you use BootCamp, your Mac’s hard drive will be split into two sections- one running Windows, and one running macOS. These means that they operate in completely separate spheres and cannot interact with each other. Additionally, the size of the partition you create cannot be changed unless you perform a fresh install to reset it.
Pros:
- Already built into Mac, so it’s the safest and easiest option to run Windows.
- You’ll experience the least performance loss.
- It will feel like you’re running a completely new computer.
Cons:
- Not that convenient because your MacBook must be rebooted to switch between Windows 10 and macOS.
- Partition size is semi-permanent, and cannot be resized without some considerable effort to re-install and repartition.
- Transferring files between the two systems is like transferring between two totally separate computers- you’ll need to share them by flash drive (see the best usb-c drive for MacBook Pro), email, or some other method that isn’t just drag-and-drop.
Using BootCamp
To use BootCamp, you’ll need to follow a few basic steps:
- Obtain a copy of Windows 10 (as previously mentioned)
- Make sure your entire MacBook is up to date by checking for any software updates
- Open BootCamp from Spotlight
- Partition your hard drive
- Install Windows & Windows Drivers
- Choose which OS to run and get started!
For a more detailed version of this overview, you’ll want to check out PCMag’s BootCamp walkthrough or head for the official Apple Guide.
Method 2: Virtual Machines
If the idea of rebooting your computer to switch OS doesn’t appeal to you, a virtual machine is always an option. These are ideal in situations where you only need one program or don’t plan on doing many taxing operations on Windows.
In a virtual machine, Windows 10 runs inside an application so it’s like having another computer, but confined inside a single window on your screen. This means you can work in both Mac and Windows at the same time but may suffer a bit from performance issues.
Pros:
- It’s much more convenient than rebooting your computer to use Windows.
- You can change the size of the partition whenever you want.
- You can use files between operating systems easily.
Cons:
- You’ll need to buy a software license for your virtualization machine in addition to a copy of Windows.
- You may notice some drop in performance than if you dual-boot.
When it comes to virtual machines, you have a few options, each with their own benefits and drawbacks.
The most well-known programs are Parallels Desktop for Mac and VMWare Fusion, which provide almost identical functionality with a few minor differences (such as display resolution or Quick Look support) that won’t make or break your decision. They are priced at the same level for a single computer license and similar setup options. Fusion tends to outperform Parallels, but Parallels is a bit more user-friendly.
A third, lesser-known option is VirtualBox. This software is free, but it doesn’t come with the bells and whistles of its competitors. It doesn’t have the same optimization power or even offers a similar variety of setup options, and it tends to be on the techier side, making it difficult to use if you aren’t invested in learning how (you may be interested in this book: An Ultimate Guide Book on Virtualization with VirtualBox). But if you just need to try out virtualization, it’s a great place to start.
Using a Virtual Machine
To use a virtual machine, you’ll need to go through a similar amount of setup as Bootcamp, but the process varies more depending on which software you’ve chosen.
- Obtain a copy of Windows 10 (as mentioned above)
- Also, purchase a license for the software you have chosen
- Create a virtual machine. This process varies by program, but it’s the first thing you need to do before attempting to run any programs
- Install Windows to the Virtual Machine
If you’ve chosen to use Parallels, this guide includes images and should be sufficient to get through the installation process. For VMWare Fusion, their support page includes both a video and text-based tutorial for installation. Those who opt for VirtualBox can follow LifeHacker’s guide to setup since this program’s installation includes a plethora of personalization options you may not be sure what to do with.
Final Words
Running Windows on a MacBook Pro means you get to have your cake and eat it too. It’s a great compromise between systems that let you do the work you need to while sticking with the operating system you know best. While you may see some performance loss and it won’t be quite the same as having a computer completely dedicated to Windows, you do have a variety of options to work with what you’ve got.
How do you use Windows 10 on your Mac? Tell us about your experience by leaving a comment below.
Quick Guide to Install Windows 10 on GPT:
- 1. Connect a Windows 10 USB to your PC and boot the PC.
- 2. Boot the system into the BIOS (for example, using F2 or the Delete key)
- 3. Locate the Boot Options Menu.
- 4. Set Launch CSM to Enabled.
- 5. Set Boot Device Control to UEFI Only.
- 6. Set Boot from Storage Devices to UEFI driver first.
- 7. Save your changes and restart the system.
- 8. Reboot the system and install Windows 10 on GPT.
Are you looking for an efficient way to install Windows 10 on GPT disk without any issues? Check out the quick navigation, and follow tutorials below in each part, you'll successfully install Windows 10 on GPT partition on your own:
Workable Solutions | Step-by-step Troubleshooting |
---|---|
Part 1. Prepare GPT Disk for Windows Installation | Confirm computer supports UEFI boot mode > Prepare GPT disk ready for Windows 10 installation..Full steps |
Part 2. Install Windows 10 on GPT Disk | Step 1. Connect Windows installation USB to PC and reboot it into BIOS; Step 2. Set PC boot from USB and install Windows 10 on GPT..Full steps |
Part 3. Protect GPT Partition Data | Create a regular backup of vital data > Execute operation carefully > Clean up virus..Full steps |
Can I Install Windows 10 on GPT Partition?
Don't worry if you are having the following problems while trying to install Windows 10 on a GPT disk:
Case 1 - Your computer reports that it can't install Windows 10 on GPT partition with the error message 'Windows cannot be installed on this disk. The selected disk is of the GPT partition style'.
Case 2- 'I have upgraded from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10, and now I wish to do a clean install. Then I burnt Windows 10 to a disk. When I was trying to do it, I get a problem with an error message 'Windows cannot be installed on this disk. The selected disk is of the GPT partition style.' Is there any way to fix the issue and install Windows 10 on GPT partition with success?'
The reason why you get this error is that your PC is booted in UEFI mode, but your hard drive is not configured for UEFI mode. On the following, we'll cover the complete process for you to follow and install Windows 10 on GPT disk without losing any data. No error message like 'Windows cannot be installed' error will be prompted.
Let's get started to install Windows 10 on your computer now.
Part 1. Prepare GPT Disk for Windows Installation
Applies to: Prepare GPT disk for Windows 10 installation.
To obtain a successful Windows 10 installation process, here are two things that you need to get them done in advance:
#1. Confirm Computer Supports UEFI Boot Mode
Note that if the motherboard of your computer doesn't support UEFI, it only supports BIOS. It won't allow you to install Windows 10 on a GPT partition.
Therefore, you should first check out and confirm if your computer supports UEFI boot mode:
- Boot the PC and press the key (Esc, F2, F8, F12, Del, or another key) to enter the firmware or boot menu.
- On the boot menu, check if the computer supports UEFI boot mode.
If the motherboard only supports Legacy BIOS boot mode, we are sorry that you have to stop here. As your computer doesn't support UEFI boot mode, you can't install Windows 10 on GPT disk which requires UEFI boot mode.
Can you download microsoft office on a macbook pro. If you see the UEFI boot option in BIOS as shown below, exit BIOS. And you can continue with the following steps.
Also read:Fix UEFI Boot Errors in Windows 10/8/7
#2. Prepare GPT Disk for Windows 10 Installation
It's vitally important that you make the target disk ready before installing Windows 10 to a GPT partition. Here are the tips that you can follow to make the disk ready:
As the way to set a disk ready varies, we suggest you follow the right way to configure your disk based on your own needs.
# For a New Disk - Initialize to GPT
1. Install the new disk to your computer. You may refer to How to Install a New HDD/SSD for help.
2. Configure and initialize your disk to GPT
If you are an experienced user, you can directly open Disk Management and initialize the disk to GPT.
If you have 0 experience in disk management, we suggest you download reliable partition manager software - EaseUS Partition Master and follow the steps here to initialize your new disk to GPT:
Step 1: Download the software
Download EaseUS Partition Master. Connect the hard drive or SSD to PC.
Step 2: Initialize your HDD/SSD
Right-click the target HDD or SSD and select 'Initialize to MBR' or 'Initialize to GPT' accordingly.
Fig 1. Initialize to MBR:
Fig 2. Initialize to GPT:
Step 3: Apply the operation
A pending operation of initializing disk to MBR or GPT disk will be added. Execute the operation and click 'Apply'.
# For an Old Disk - Convert Disk to GPT, Backup Data
1. Convert Disk to GPT
If your disk is with the MBR partition style, you need to convert it to GPT disk. And EaseUS Partition Master can directly convert MBR disk to GPT disk without data loss.
Step 1. Download and launch EaseUS Partition Master on your Windows computer.
Step 2. Right-click the MBR disk that you want to convert and choose 'Convert to GPT'.
Step 3. After that, find and click the 'Execute 1 Operation' button on the toolbar and choose 'Apply' to start the conversion. You need to restart your device to enable this change.
2. Backup Vital Data
If you have vital data saved on the old drive, we suggest you back up the data to another disk or an external hard drive first.
3. Format GPT Partition
It's suggested that you format the used target GPT partition (with at least 20GB capacity) in advance so as to install Windows 10 on it.
If you don't format the GPT partition, all files on the partition will be reserved, which will take huge space on your system C drive. It's obviously not a smart choice.
After that, you can now move to Part 2 on this page and start installing Windows 10 on the GPT disk.
Part 2. How to Install Windows 10 on GPT Partition
Applies to: Guide you install Windows 10 on GPT disk partition.
Things could be easier if you already have Windows 7 or 8.1 installed, you can directly upgrade to Windows 10.
But if you are looking for a to installing or reinstall a fresh version of Windows 10 on a GPT partition, you are in the right place. Follow the steps below to learn how to install Windows 10 on a GPT partition:
Step 1. Create a Windows 10 installation media on an empty USB (min 8GB).
- Tip
- You need to prepare:
- ①. An empty USB (8GB min)
- ②. Download Windows 10 ISO file
- ③. Get a Windows product key (activate after the installation) before you start the steps.
Step 2. Connect the Windows 10 installation USB to your PC and boot the system into BIOS.
Restart PC and press the Esc, F2, F8, F12, Del, or another key to enter the BIOS boot menu.
Step 3. Locate the boot options menu and enable the UEFI mode.
- Set Launch CSM to Enabled. If CSM is set to Disabled, you can skip to Step 4 below
- Set Boot Device Control to UEFI Only
- Set Boot from Storage Devices to UEFI driver first
Step 4. Set the USB UEFI OS Boot option is at the top of the Boot Priority List.
Step 5. Save your changes and restart the system to start installing Windows 10 on the GPT disk.
1. Choose which media to use - USB flash drive.
2. Click 'Install Now', then set the language and other preferences.
3. Skip entering a product key and select 'Install Windows only'.
Select to install Windows 10 to the GPT partition, wait for the process to complete.
4. Your computer may restart several times during this process. And the installation may take several minutes, about half an hour or more, just wait patiently.
Step 6. When you complete the installation, reboot the PC and enter BIOS.
Set the computer to boot from the new GPT disk with Windows 10. Save the changes and restart the PC.
Step 7. Confirm that Windows 10 is installed on a GPT partition.
After Windows 10 finally boots up, you can now check up if Windows 10 is installed on your GPT disk partition by following tips here:
- Boot into Windows > Open 'Disk Management'.
- You see three partitions including the EFI System Partition.
- Right-click the disk > select 'Properties > 'Volumes'. Here you can confirm the Partition style:
Step 7. Activate Windows 10 with Product Key
After the Windows installed, you'll be asked to activate it with your product key.
Go to Settings > Update & Security > Activation > Enter a product key to enjoy full features of Windows 10 on your PC:
Macbook Pro Drivers Windows 10
After this, you can enjoy all the full features in Windows 10 on your computer. It will make your life and work easy and enjoyable.
Part 3. How to Protect Your GPT Partition Data (Extra Tips)
If you have data on your GPT partition, this part would do you a great favor. Here's a list of tips that you can follow to protect your data efficiently:
- 1. Create a regular backup of vital data
If you often make changes to your disk data, it's important that you create a regular backup of vital data on your GPT disk partition.
To ease your burden, you can try free back up software - EaseUS Todo Backup Free to create a full back up your data every day by creating an automatic backup plan.
How To Install Windows 10 On Mac
Refer to: Schedule Backup Software for Automatic Backup
- 2. Delete files, format drive partitions, wipe a disk with awareness
It's essential that you should always be careful with operations that will remove data and files on your computer. For example, you need to make sure that you don't delete wrong files, format a false storage device, or wipe a wrong hard drive or partition.
- 3. Run antivirus software to clean up virus, malware regularly
As we know that viruses or malware infection may cause unexpected data loss issues on your storage devices, like GPT disk partition. We suggest you always install reliable antivirus software to scan and clean up your computer and devices regularly.
Conclusion
On this page, we included the whole process to guide you to install Windows 10 on a GPT disk partition. To complete the whole process, you need to execute the following operations:
- #1. Prepare GPT Disk
- #2. Download Windows 10 ISO and Create Windows Installation Media to USB
- #3. Configure PC Boot Mode to UEFI, and Boot from USB
- #4. Start and Finish Installing Windows 10 on the GPT Disk Partition
- #5. Reboot PC and Set Windows to Boot from New GPT Partition
- #6. Activate Windows 10
During the process, If you are faced with 'The selected disk is the GPT partition style' error, you can refer to Part 1 to convert the disk to GPT with the help of reliable partition manager software and continue installing Windows 10.
By the way, to avoid data loss, it is also of great importance to create a regular backup of your GPT partition data.
People Also Ask
If you have more questions about Windows installation, check out the questions and answers as listed below:
1. Can you install Windows 10 on GPT?
Normally, as long as your computer motherboard and bootloader support UEFI boot mode, you can directly install Windows 10 on GPT.
If the setup program says that you cannot install Windows 10 on the disk because the disk is in GPT format, it is because you have UEFI disabled. The solution is to enter BIOS (by pressing a key during startup, either F1 or F10-F12 depending on your computer model), find the option to enable UEFI.
Then you can continue installing Windows 10 on the GPT disk.
2. Should I install Windows 10 on MBR or GPT?
To use MBR to GPT to install Windows 10 is highly depended on your disk capacity and the motherboard on your computer:
- 2TB or smaller Disk: Use it as MBR to install Windows 10.
- Disk larger than 2TB: Use it as GPT to install Windows 10.
- BIOS only supports Legacy boot mode: Install Windows 10 on MBR.
- BIOS supports UEFI boot mode, and disk is larger than 2TB: Install Windows 10 on GPT.
Windows 10 For Macbook Air
Also read:MBR VS GPT
3. How many partitions are created when you install Windows 10 on a GPTdisk?
- On a brand new GPT: Windows will automatically generate two partitions on your disk - a boot partition, and a system C drive partition.
- On a used GPT disk: Windows will be installed on a selected partition. No further partitions will be generated.
Install Windows 10 On Macbook Pro 2015
If you want to manually create more partitions, you can manage GPT partitions on your own. In short, GPT disk support to create up to 128 partitions.