Install Windows On Mac Using Usb

Install Windows 10 On Mac Using Usb
Install Windows On Mac With Usb Without Bootcamp
Install Windows On Mac With Flash Drive
Install Windows On Mac From Usb
Install Windows 10 On Mac From Usb
Install Windows On Mac With Bootcamp Usb
Install Windows 7 On Mac Using Usb

Bootcamp (Boot Camp Assistant) is essentially Apple's way of welcoming Microsoft into its walled garden in a roundabout way. In other words, it allows you to install Windows on a Mac computer by partitioning the disk and letting you dual-boot a laptop or desktop. You will need to specify the amount of disk space for Windows installation, as well as get all the drivers required to run Windows on your Mac OS X or macOS computer. Once installed, it will be exactly the same as working in Windows. A lot of users prefer this over switching between Mac and PC, so you can imagine why Boot Camp Assistant has been so popular for so many years.

When you install Microsoft Windows on your Mac, Boot Camp Assistant automatically opens the Boot Camp installer, which installs the latest Windows support software (drivers). If that doesn't happen, or you experience any of the following issues while using Windows on your Mac, follow the steps in this article. When Mac boots from the bootable Windows 10 USB, wait about 30 seconds and Windows installation wizard appears. At this time, the window is much small because graphics driver are not installed yet. Now, you have to follow the screen prompt to choose language, region and most importantly the partition to install Windows OS files.

Part 1: Problems with Bootcamp Assistant on Mac

That being said, there are a lot of problems in using Bootcamp Assistant on latest macOS such as Mojave or High Serria. One of the errors is the 'Boot Camp installation failed' error. Apple suggests that you move to macOS Mojave and try installing Windows 10 again, but the issue doesn't always go away. Another common error is when trying to copy the Windows installation files. In still other cases, you'll notice that several Mac features don't work when running Windows, such as Apple Software Update stopping, no audio from built-in speakers, mic or webcam not recognized by Windows and so on.

To avoid such errors and issues, which can often take quite a lot of your time to figure out and fix, you can use alternative solutions to install Windows on a Mac from USB. Though you will still need to use Boot Camp Assistant for part of the process, but you're not likely to come across major installation errors when doing this. You can also use Terminal in Mac to help you install Windows. The next two sections describe these methods in detail.

Install Windows 10 On Mac Using Usb

Part 2: Make a Bootable Windows 10/8/7 USB Installer on Mac

Boot Camp Assistant is the official recommendation for creating bootable Windows USB. In case it does not work, we will suggest two alternative software in this section. Both are working fine on latest macOS and we tested three USB drives without running into any issue.

Method 1: Create Windows Bootable USB Using ISO Editor (without Bootcamp)

UUByte ISO Editor can work as a great alternative to Bootcamp for installing Windows OS on Mac. You can easily fetch all the required drivers using Bootcamp, but the installation process for putting Windows on your Mac is different from how Bootcamp does it. UUbyte is one of the most robust Windows 10 bootable USB creator for Mac that you'll ever find. It can do a lot more than just create bootable media, such as creating ISO files, editing them, copying from disc to ISO and so on. For this process, you will need to use the Burn module, which is explained below:

Step 1: Get the Windows 10 ISO from Microsoft's website and install the Mac version of UUbytes ISO Editor.

Step 2: Launch Boot Camp Assistant, go to Action and click on Download Windows Support Software. When the dialog appears, click Save and specify a location for the files.

Step 3: Open the UUbytes program and click on the module that says Burn. Insert a USB flash drive and burn ISO to USB drive. Select the ISO image and click on Burn. This will create a bootable USB drive for the Windows installation.

UUByte is the best alternative to BootCamp for creating bootable Windows USB installer. It is simple to use and has less errors.

Method 2: Create Windows Bootable USB Using Terminal App (without Bootcamp)

This method uses Terminal application to create the bootable media for Windows 10. You will still need Boot Camp Assistant for the support software, but if you're comfortable with command line work, you try this approach. You will first need to download the Windows 10 ISO file. You will also need to use Boot Camp Assistant to get the support files, for which you can follow Step 3 from Method 1.

Step 1: Launch an instance of Terminal. Type the following command and then Enter to list out your drives:

diskutil list external

Step 2: Scroll down the name of the USB drive listed in Terminal. You will be using this in the next command. For now, let's call it disk2. The next step is to format your USB drive for Windows 10. Use the following command, then hit Enter:

diskutil eraseDisk ExFat 'WINDOWS10' MBR disk2

Step 3: You will be able to see a mounted disk called Windows 10. Mount the downloaded Windows 10 ISO file by double-clicking it in Finder. The name will be CCCOMA_X64FRE_EN-US_DV9. You can also run the following command:

cp -rp /Volumes/CCCOMA_X64FRE_EN-US_DV9/* /Volumes/WINDOWS10/

Step 4: Unfortunately, there's no progress bar to indicate that the bootable media is being created. However, after a sufficient amount of time has passed, the USB drive will contain bootable media for a Windows 10 installation.

Part 3: Create a New Partition for Windows OS on Mac

Windows OS can be only installed on a FAT/ExFAT or NTFS partition. You have to create a new partition on Mac for storing Windows OS files as the default partition on Mac is HFS+ or APFS. This can be done with the help of built-in Disk Utility app. However, this is a highly risky task. Please backup your important data to iCloud or external drive with Time Machine.

To create a new partition for Windows OS, please open Disk Utility app on your Mac. Click the internal disk name on the left sidebar. Now, click the Partition tab on top menu. From the pop-up window, type a name for this new partition and select ExFAT for Windows 10 and MS-DOS (FAT) for Windows 7 from Format drop-down menu. At the end, set a size for the new partition. Finally, click Apply button to take this into effect.

Part 4: Boot Mac from Windows Installation USB

Mac will boot from internal hard drive or SSD in default. To install Windows OS on Mac without Boot Camp, you should let your Mac booting from USB drive to start the installation process. However, this is an easy task.

Make sure you disconnect all USB devices except a wired keyboard and the USB drive containing the Windows ISO files. Now restart your computer and hold down the Option (Alt) key at the same time. Wait for about 10 seconds, Apple logo shows up and you will be presented with several boot options. Pick up the drive you have set in Part 2. If you did not do that, the default name is EFI Boot.

Part 5: Start Installing Windows 10/8/7 on Mac without Bootcamp

Install Windows On Mac With Usb Without Bootcamp

When Mac boots from the bootable Windows 10 USB, wait about 30 seconds and Windows installation wizard appears. At this time, the window is much small because graphics driver are not installed yet. Now, you have to follow the screen prompt to choose language, region and most importantly the partition to install Windows OS files.

Part 6: Download and Install Windows Support Software (Drivers)

The Windows ISO image file only has the basic drivers for running Windows OS. Some of the hardware on Mac won't work in Windows, suchas Apple Mouse, trackpad or speaker. You have to install addition drivers to use Windows seamlessly as it is on a PC. To do this, you should download and install Windows Support Software with the help of Boot Camp Assistant.

As usual, launch Boot Camp Assistant app on your Mac and click Action tab on menu bar, where you can see an option named Download Windows Support Software. Now, choose your Windows Installer USB as the target location to store the driver files. It will take 5-10 minutes for the downloading task.

Now, boot your Mac into Windows partition. You will see a pop-up from Boot Camp installer. Just follow the prompt to install Windows Support Software. If it does not appear, then plug the USB drive and navigate to USB drive in File Explorer; then go to WindowsSupport -> BootCamp, and click setup.exe to start installing Windows drivers for this Mac.

Part 7: How to Switch Between Windows and macOS

Now, you have everything set up properly for both Windows and macOS. You may be wondering how can you switch OS between Windows and macOS? The trick is a bit different depending on which OS you are currentlt in.

If you are in macOS now and want to restart into Windows, then reboot your Mac and hold Option key untill you see the Startup Manager, where you can choose a booting device like we mentioned in Part 4, something like this:

You can also do this in Startup Disk from System Preferences. Choose th Windows partition and click Restart... button to boot Mac into Windows OS.

If you are in Windows OS and want to switch to Mac, click the Up Carat icon and select Restart in macOS. If this option does not show up, then reboot Windows as normal and press Option key to bring up Startup Manager and pick up Macintosh HD this time.

Conclusion

It is absolutely not an easy journey for installing Windows on Mac without BootCamp. Fortunately, we have put everything together to help you complete this task smoothly. The key part is how to partition the Mac internal drive and create bootable Windows USB. If you are not comfortable using Terminal, UUByte ISO Editor is the recommended way to install Windows on a Mac without Boot Camp Assistant. It's reliable, quick and doesn't require any special technical knowledge.

Boot Camp requires a Mac with an Intel processor.

Your Apple mouse, trackpad, or keyboard isn't working in Windows.
Force Touch isn't designed to work in Windows.
You don't hear audio from the built-in speakers of your Mac in Windows.
The built-in microphone or camera of your Mac isn't recognized in Windows.
One or more screen resolutions are unavailable for your display in Windows.
You can't adjust the brightness of your built-in display in Windows.
You have issues with Bluetooth or Wi-Fi in Windows.
You get an alert that Apple Software Update has stopped working.
You get a message that your PC has a driver or service that isn't ready for this version of Windows.
Your Mac starts up to a black or blue screen after you install Windows.

If your Mac has an AMD video card and is having graphics issues in Windows, you might need to update your AMD graphics drivers instead.

Install the latest macOS updates

Before proceeding, install the latest macOS updates, which can include updates to Boot Camp.

Format a USB flash drive

To install the latest Windows support software, you need a 16GB or larger USB flash drive formatted as MS-DOS (FAT).

Start your Mac from macOS.
Plug the USB flash drive into your Mac.
Open Disk Utility, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
Choose View > Show All Devices from the menu bar.
From the sidebar in Disk Utility, select your USB flash drive. (Select the drive name, not the volume name beneath it.)
Click the Erase button or tab.
Choose MS-DOS (FAT) as the format and Master Boot Record as the scheme.
Click Erase to format the drive. When done, quit Disk Utility.

Install Windows On Mac With Flash Drive

Download the Windows support software

After preparing your USB flash drive, complete these steps:

Install Windows On Mac From Usb

Make sure that your Mac is connected to the Internet.
Open Boot Camp Assistant, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
From the menu bar at the top of your screen, choose Action > Download Windows Support Software, then choose your USB flash drive as the save destination. When the download completes, quit Boot Camp Assistant.

Learn what to do if you can't download or save the Windows support software.

Install the Windows support software

Install Windows 10 On Mac From Usb

After downloading the Windows support software to your flash drive, follow these steps to install the software. (If you're attempting to resolve issues with a Bluetooth mouse or keyboard, it might be easier to use a USB mouse or keyboard until these steps are complete.)

Install Windows On Mac With Bootcamp Usb

Make sure that the USB flash drive is plugged into your Mac.
Start up your Mac in Windows.
From File Explorer, open the USB flash drive, then open Setup or setup.exe, which is in the WindowsSupport folder or BootCamp folder. When you're asked to allow Boot Camp to make changes to your device, click Yes.
Click Repair to begin installation. If you get an alert that the software hasn't passed Windows Logo testing, click Continue Anyway.
After installation completes, click Finish, then click Yes when you're asked to restart your Mac.

Learn more

If you can't download or save the Windows support software:

If the assistant says that the Windows support software could not be saved to the selected drive, or that the USB flash drive can't be used, make sure that your USB flash drive has a storage capacity of at least 16GB and is formatted correctly.
If the assistant doesn't see your USB flash drive, click Go Back and make sure that the drive is connected directly to the USB port on your Mac—not to a display, hub, or keyboard. Disconnect and reconnect the drive, then click Continue.
If the assistant says that it can't download the software because of a network problem, make sure that your Mac is connected to the Internet.
Make sure that your Mac meets the system requirements to install Windows using Boot Camp.

Install Windows 7 On Mac Using Usb

If a Mac feature still doesn't work after updating the Windows support software, search for your symptom on the Apple support website or Microsoft support website. Some features of your Mac aren't designed to work in Windows.