Boot Camp 5.1 includes several Mac drivers so that Windows will recognize your trackpad, Thunderbolt, USB 3.0, the iSight (or FaceTime) camera, the Eject key on the Mac keyboard, networking, audio, graphics, and so on. A Boot Camp Control Panel for Windows and an Apple Boot Camp system-tray item will be added.
There are multiple ways to switch between Mac and Windows on your Apple Computer. You can go from Windows to Mac, Mac to Windows, or switch with restarting your computer. Click one of the headings below to jump to that portion of the answer. Windows to Mac; Mac to Windows; Switch with Restart.
By AppleInsider Staff Monday, February 05, 2018, 03:09 pm PT (06:09 pm ET)
Choosing between a Windows computer and a Mac can be a tough decision. Some users think they'll be giving up features or apps they enjoyed on Windows when making the switch to Mac. Luckily, you can have the best of both worlds by running Windows on a Mac using Apple's Boot Camp.
Mar 24, 2020 From the notification area on the right side of the Windows taskbar, click to show hidden icons. Click the Boot Camp icon. From the menu shown, choose Restart in macOS. If you haven't installed the latest Boot Camp updates, you might get the message ”Could not locate the OS X boot volume.' Apr 15, 2020 Are you considering about making the leap from a Windows PC to the Mac? Have you already switched from PC to Mac however, are feeling just a little misplaced and confused – perhaps you might be questioning how to get round within the new setup or how to find replacements in your favourite apps and options?
Why would you want to run Windows on an Apple machine in the first place? First of all, there's quite a large number of programs and apps that only work on Windows, especially professional software. If you're a gamer, you can't go without Windows as the selection of games on macOS is extremely limited. So why not just buy a Windows computer? Well Apple computers are known for their reliability and they hold their value very well compared to PCs. Some people still buy used Apple laptops that are a few years old, something almost unheard of for Windows laptops.
Mac owners can use Apple's built-in Boot Camp Assistant to install Windows for free. The first-party assistant makes installation easy, but be forewarned that you will need to restart your Mac whenever you want to access the Windows provision. Another option is Parallels Desktop, a third-party service that allows you to switch back and forth between macOS and Windows without having to reboot, but that product requires an annual subscription.
Before we begin installing Windows using Boot Camp, make sure you're on an Intel-based Mac, have at least 55GB of free disk space on your startup drive, and have backed up all of your data. The first thing we need is a Windows disc image file, or ISO. Use Google to search and find the 'Download Windows 10 ISO' file page on Microsoft's website. Once there, select 'Windows 10,' and hit 'Confirm.' Choose your language and select '64 bit' unless you're running an older Mac that only supports 32 bit programs.
If you're not sure, click the Apple logo at the upper-left hand corner of your Mac's home screen and select 'About this Mac.' If it says 'Core Duo' in the processor section, then your Mac is 32-bit. If you're running OS X El Capitan 10.11 or later on a Mac, Windows installation is going to be a breeze since those models use the computer's internal drive to temporarily store Windows installation files. If not, you'll need to insert a blank 16GB or larger USB flash drive or external SSD to complete the installation. Once your ISO file is done downloading, open Spotlight Search or Launchpad and search for 'Boot Camp Assistant.'
Click continue, then click choose and select your newly downloaded ISO file. Next, Boot Camp will ask you to adjust the size of your Windows partition. You should make it larger if you plan on downloading and playing games or using professional software.
If you're on an older Mac operating system, you'll see some options to create an install disk and download the latest Windows support software. Make sure all of them are checked, then click continue. Now choose your ISO image file, and the destination disk, which is your USB Flash drive. Then click continue, choose the partition size for Windows 10, and click install. If the installation is successful, the system will ask for your Mac's password. Make sure to save any important documents or files, as your Mac will instantly restart into Windows once you enter your password. After the reboot, you'll be greeted with the windows setup menu. If your mouse isn't working, click a couple of times and the mouse pointer should show up.
Click Next, then enter your Windows 10 activation key if you have it. If you don't have one yet, click 'I don't have a product key.' In that case, choose which version of Windows 10 you want to install. We chose Windows 10 Home. Accept the terms and click next on the next page to begin the installation. When it's finished, Windows will automatically restart and bring you through the rest of the installation. Once at the Windows desktop, the boot camp installation program will show up. This will install all the necessary drivers for Windows to run properly. Your system will restart one more time and then Windows is ready for use! To get back to macOS, find boot camp at the bottom right hand corner of the screen, right click on it? And click 'Restart in MacOS'
If you get an error message, don't worry. Just restart your system while holding down the option key to choose which operating system to start up in. To get back to Windows from macOS, you can either use the restart while holding the option key method, or you can use Spotlight search to open the Startup Disk settings. Click the lock and authenticate to unlock the settings, then click on Bootcamp, and click restart. If you want to completely remove the Boot Camp partition, open Boot Camp Assistant again and click Restore. Just remember that this operation will delete all data and contents on the Windows partition.
Feature
By Malcolm Owen Sunday, February 05, 2017, 02:54 am PT (05:54 am ET)
Long-term Windows users looking to dip their toe into the Mac ecosystem for the first time typically stick to applications they are familiar with on PC, but there is a wealth of other software that can do the job for the more ambitious switcher.
Productivity
Existing users of Microsoft's Office suite of tools will immediately feel comfortable with the Office 365 subscription, as the apps offer almost identical functionality to the Windows versions. Many people who use the suite frequently may not want to move away from it, but for those who do, there are options. The first alternative is in fact already installed on the Mac by Apple itself: iWork. Apple's own collection of apps cover the core areas Office is typically used for, with Pages, Numbers and Keynote standing in for Word, Excel, and Powerpoint, respectively. At face value, Pages is a powerful word processor that seasoned Word users will quickly understand and can immediately start working within. Once a piece is crafted, Pages shows off its true value by incorporating the text into dozens of fantastic templates that makes an article or letter stand out. While many are wary of working in spreadsheets in the first place —Excel is simply a mass of black and white digits —Numbers goes to great lengths to change that image. The selection of templates are colorful and easy to understand, making them far less intimidating to start using, while the overall interface makes starting from even the basic pages simpler than most would expect. Add in the ability to collaborate with others, cross-platform compatibility with PCs via iWork for iCloud, and iOS apps, and iWork becomes serious competition. Almost everyone who has sat in an office has had to endure a Powerpoint presentation, inevitably poorly produced with too many transitions and little in the way of visual appeal. Keynote, on the other hand, helps users create appealing and more professional presentations, again with easy to use themes and transitions between slides.
Add in the ability to collaborate with others, cross-platform compatibility with PCs via iWork for iCloud, and the same tools being available as iOS apps, and iWork becomes serious competition. If the switcher would rather have something that resembles Microsoft's suite more in terms of appearance. , another way to go could be through OpenOffice and LibreOffice, the latter being a fork of the former open-source project. There is little difference between the two releases, as both are similar in terms of what they offer to users, including tools for word processing, spreadsheets, and databases, and while the OpenDocument Format is favored, they have no issue opening Office files. These two are less of a recommendation based on their ability to be used on the Mac, and more one of overall ubiquity. The two projects are available to download for Mac, Windows, and for Linux, allowing for the exact same working environment to exist on multiple platforms. It also helps that OpenOffice and LibreOffice are free tools, unlike Office.
Image Editing
Adobe Creative Cloud could easily be considered the Microsoft Office for art, design, and video. Just like Office, Adobe makes its suite of apps available for the Mac, so there isn't anything to worry creative professionals making the switch. Even so, there are still a few Mac alternatives to individual components for those wanting to go further afield.
Photographers can make use of the included Photos app to make changes to their photographs, with basic cropping of shots and automated adjustments available for those wanting to perform quick improvements to shots. For more experienced editors, Photos can dial up the number of potential options considerably, providing a lot of flexibility in getting the perfect image. Outside of editing, Photos is a great cataloging tool for images, with collections of great photos in shareable Memories, People for facial recognition of subjects, and Places to show where images are taken. Owners of iPhones and iPads can also see their entire image collection across multiple devices in the app, powered by iCloud Photo Library, with edits synchronizing across devices and easy sharing of image groups with others on social media.
Pixelmator
For design work or more involving editing jobs, one of the best-known replacements for Photoshop is the slick-looking Pixelmator. The interface is as finely polished as anyone would expect from a macOS app, making it a great example of what developers on the platform are capable of producing, and an advertisement for Mac in its own right. Users needing simple edits or tweaks to an image are easily handled with a welcoming and easy to use interface, including a fantastic effects browser that shows what the option actually does to an image before the user applies it to their work. Those wanting to perform more advanced work are also covered, with Pixelmator easily able to handle the vast majority of tasks Photoshop can perform on an image. Where Pixelmator excels in is the price, costing just $29.99 compared to repeatedly paying Adobe a Creative Cloud subscription. There are two other alternatives to suggest, which also happen to work off the same core code base. The GNU Image Manipulation Project (GIMP)is a powerful image editing tool that works on both Mac and PC, with the free open source software providing a similar feature set as Photoshop and Pixelmator, albeit with slightly less polish than the paid software packages. The low cost does affect its usability, as unlike the paid apps, GIMP does suffer from having a steep learning curve making it harder for new users to do advanced edits. The GIMPshop project may be the answer for some, as it redesigns the interface of GIMP to make it more familiar to Photoshop users, relocating features and settings to where they would be in Adobe's software, in turn making it easier to pick up.
Video Editing
On the PC, the dominant force for video editing is Adobe Premiere, along with After Effects, as part of the Creative Cloud. Adobe's grip on the editing market extends to Mac as well. It's popular software, and difficult to beat, but other options are still available.
Many will have already heard of iMovie as a basic video editor, and considering it's preinstalled and effectively free, it's one of the immediately-available editing tools for switchers to try out. Unlike the underwhelming Windows Movie Maker many PC users will have toyed around with, iMovie is a polished product that is fairly simple to use, but is still capable of producing a decent video. For anyone wanting to put together a vacation video or something similar, it is as simple as importing a few clips, putting them into an order, and adding a few filters or special effects. There are also a number of soundtracks and title sequences that could be added to a project, and even a feature to quickly create a mock Hollywood-style trailer. If the switcher also happens to have an iOS device, they will also be able to benefit from being able to quickly make edits on the iOS version of the app, before transferring the video to the Mac for more fine tuning.
While iMovie probably covers most standard switcher's needs, more professional users may want to consider paying for Final Cut Pro X. Where iMovie works to be as easy to use by anyone, Final Cut Pro X instead focuses on providing a vast amount of editing options, giving more ways to alter the audio, add transitions, and to change the image.
Bootcamp Switch From Windows To Mac
On the more advanced side, Final Cut Pro X adds in multi-camera editing, multi-channel audio, color grading, and support for industry standard formats including XAVC, AVCHD, and Redcode RAW. Media is also handled in a better fashion, with automatic analysis of source material performed in the background, range-based keywords for locating clips, intelligent search of libraries for tags, and easy access to items held within the user's Photos and iTunes libraries.
How To Switch Bootcamp From Windows To Mac
Offering a vast amount of flexibility, Final Cut Pro X can be used to create polished content on a par with Premiere, making it a great choice for those working on YouTube videos or larger projects. Not only is it a serious contender to Adobe's video-editing throne, but the $299.99 price tag attached to it could certainly convince some video editors to move away from Adobe's subscription. For students and educators, Apple just this week announced a new Pro Apps Bundle for Education that packs in Final Cut Pro X, Logic Pro X, Motion 5, Compressor 4, and MainStage 3 for only $199.99.
When you can't take it with you...
While most essential app categories have their Mac equivalents, there are some rare instances where an alternative isn't available, or the user doesn't want to pay again for something they already have the license for in Windows. In the event that someone switching doesn't want to move away from the Windows version at all, there's a few workarounds.
Boot Camp is a feature that allows a user to install Windows onto a Mac. By following the instructions of the Boot Camp assistant, a user can have a separate partition with Windows running in a short while, so long as they have the Windows installation media and a spare license available. While free, this option does mean that users have to effectively exit macOS in order to get into Windows, and vice versa. Parallels Desktop is a paid alternative that allows Windows to run on a Mac, but in a different way. This time, Windows runs on top of macOS within a window, allowing for software running within Windows to be used alongside Mac apps. The downside is that it costs $80 to do this, on top of a Windows license.
Go From Windows To Mac Bootcamp
If the PC is still going to be available to use, consider remotely connecting to it from the Mac. Chrome Remote Desktop is relatively simple to set up, and allows for remote control of a Windows desktop from within a window on the Mac. Other solutions are also available, such as LogMeIn and VNC, but considering it is free and easy to use, Chrome Remote Desktop may be the best route in many cases.