Windows is one of the most popular desktop operating systems, and millions of users love it. There are numerous reasons why users choose to install Windows 7, particularly on Mac. Both Mac and Windows are the two major competitive companies. Henceforth it could be difficult to install Windows 7 on a Mac. And the major reason is technology barriers. We have discussed the methods. Thus, things will get much easier.
Ways Of Installing Windows 7 On Mac Pro
You can use bootable Windows USB, which will help you to install as well as repair Windows 7 on Mac. The bootable USB gives you three major benefits that are speed, convenience and portability. By making such an install, it will be easier for you to compare to the installation disc. It does not matter whether you are a tech person or not. The steps discussed below will help you out.
- Installing With Boot Camp
Boot camp might be your first choice for the installation of Windows, but it also has issues that might increase the errors or the issues. Thus picking other methods might work out. We have provided the steps of boot camp that you might go through.
- First, you need to check the updates and to do so, select the Apple icon from the top left screen, followed by selecting the software update option. Finally, install all available updates present there.
- Now download the Windows support software drivers. This will allow Windows 7 to communicate with the Mac hardware.
- Then go to the site and choose the Mac device. A table will arrive, and you need to find the models and the production date of the Mac. Select the number that matches Windows 7. After selecting the number, download the Windows support software and follow the instructions. This will help you to copy the .zip file contents onto your USB thumb drive.
- After that, open the boot camp assistant. To do so, just select the magnifying glass located at the top and then search for boot camp assistant.
- Choose the program to open it, and make sure you have a backup drive.
- Select the Continue option at the bottom right corner and click the Install option.
- Just follow the on-screen instructions in the Windows installer until the upgrade or custom installs.
- Choose the place where you want to install the windows.
- Followed by choosing the format and Okay option.
- Finally, follow the on-screen instructions and finish the steps. Finally, configure the windows. After successfully installing the Windows software, the Mac will automatically restart.
- Installing Without Boot Camp
We have discussed the steps with boot camp now let us also tell you the ways to install Windows 7 without boot camp for free. If you want to know how to install Windows 7 without boot camp, then you are in the right place.
Step 1
- First, you need to get an external hard drive. In case you do not have one, then you can look for Mac-compatible external hard drives. These hard drives work best, and choose an SSD that will be much thicker compared to the mechanical hard drive. Why choose this one? Because it has no moving parts.
- When you are trying to run Windows from an external drive on a Mac, speed is very important. We recommend Samsung T7 portable SSD for use. Before your Mac recognises it, you need to format the external drive. If you want, you can also use a second external hard drive or a pen drive to transfer all the boot camp support files.
Step 2
- You Need an External Keyboard & Mouse. The keyboard and the trackpad will not work on Mac as there will be no drive. If there is any USB connectable keyboard or mouse, unfortunately, it won’t work.
- After that, you need to download a Windows ISO. It is a Windows file that allows you to create a bootable drive to run the Windows.
- Then you need to download Etcher. It is a clever utility that allows you to mount and install a bootable version of the Windows ISO on the external drive. There are other utilities as well, but only Etcher works on Mac. It will also work on the latest version of MacOS as well.
Step 3
- Now you need to disable the T2 chip security. In this, you will start preparing your Mac. The T2 chip stops booting the Mac from an external drive. Thus it needs to be disabled to work smoothly. To access the Mac startup security settings, just hold the command +R key till you see the Apple logo.
- Go to the utilities in the recovery space, followed by the startup security utility from the menu bar. Then you must check the boxes. Select No Security under Authentication. Then under the secure boot, select allow booting from external media. Finally, close the security settings and go to the Apple logo to shut down the Mac.
- Download the boot camp that supports drivers to run Windows on Mac. The software cannot be downloaded from Apple or anywhere else. Thus you need to access a boot camp. After that, you don’t need a boot camp to download Windows on Mac.
Step 4
- A few steps are mentioned that will help to download the Windows support software. Open the boot camp, and then in the menu bar, go to the Action option followed by the Download Windows Support Software option. After that, drag and drop the support software of Windows onto an external drive.
- Then you need to create a Windows boot drive. For that, you need to open the etcher USB boot utility. Then look if the external hard drive is connected or not that you want to install. You need to select the Windows ISO image that you downloaded earlier, followed by selecting the external drives.
- The etcher will create bootable Windows drive on it. You will witness that the installation process takes around 10-15 minutes. Lastly, copy the boot camp support files onto the root of the external drive. After that, just close the Mac.
Step 5
- The last step is to boot Windows from the Eternal drive. And for this, you need to switch on your Mac and press the Option key after you witness the Apple logo. Then select the external drive with Windows from the boot. After connecting the keyboard and mouse, browse to the C drive in Windows and follow the Windows support folder.
- Then launch the boot camp setup program, and the driver for the keyboard and trackpad of Mac will automatically install. Finally, you launch the Windows on the external drive to see it on Mac without using boot camp. You might observe that Windows running a little slow due to the read-write speeds or the external drives.
Conclusion…
These are the ways you can download a Windows 7 on a MacBook. You can use both ways, either without boot camp or with boot camp. Boot camp is one of the popular ways to download though many are reporting a few faults in it.
