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.
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.
Part 2: Make a Bootable Windows 10/8/7 USB Installer on Mac
I have a 2010 Macbook Pro with Snow Leopard (10.6.8) installed and couldn't get the right Boot Camp upgrade using any of the Apple download software from within the bootcamp Application. After installing this Update/Upgrade suddenly all of the required drivers appeared in the Windows 'Device manager' and everything started working perfectly. To install Windows 10 Drivers on Mac OS, First, download the Bootcamp software from the link above. Now, wait for some minutes, then the Windows will be installed on your Mac computer. Copy the Bootcamp software that you have to download on the first step of this article.
Method 2: Use UNetbootin to Install USB Driver on Mac. UNetbootin is a Windows 10 USB tool Mac that is completely free to use and can be used in a scenario wherein you have to make bootable USB Windows 10 on Mac system. For this, you need to keep a USB with the.iso file downloaded in it. Installing Windows on a Mac should be a piece of cake with Bootcamp, but that rarely is the case. In fact, I would personally say that Boot Camp Assistant is one of the worst apps that comes with OS X and unlike the rest, it doesn’t work seamlessly.
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
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 Assistant User Guide
You can use Boot Camp Assistant to install Windows 10 on your Intel-based Mac.
Newer Mac computers use a streamlined method to install Windows on your Mac. To find out whether your Mac uses this method, see the “Learn more” section in the Apple Support article Install Windows 10 on your Mac with Boot Camp Assistant. If your Mac is an older model that requires an external USB drive, follow the instructions in Install Windows on your older Mac using Boot Camp instead.
What you need
The keyboard and mouse or trackpad that came with your Mac. If they aren’t available, use a USB keyboard and mouse.
A full-installation, 64-bit version of Windows 10 on a disk image (ISO file) or other installation media.
You can download a Windows 10 Disc Image (ISO File) from Microsoft.
Sufficient free storage space on your startup drive. For information about the amount of free space needed, see the Apple Support Article Install Windows 10 on your Mac with Boot Camp Assistant.
Before you begin
Before you install Windows, make sure you back up important files.
You can use Time Machine or any other method to back up your files. For information about backing up files, see Back up your files with Time Machine and Ways to back up or protect your files.
Perform the installation
On your Mac, do the following steps in order.
Step 1: Check for software updates
Before you install Windows, install all macOS updates.
On your Mac, log in as an administrator, quit all open apps, then log out any other users.
Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Software Update, then install all available macOS updates.
If your Mac restarts after installing an update, open Software Update again to install any additional updates.
Step 2: Prepare your Mac for Windows
Boot Camp Assistant prepares your Mac by creating a new partition for Windows named BOOTCAMP and downloading the Boot Camp support software.
Important: If you’re using a Mac notebook computer, connect it to a power source before continuing.
Windows 10 Iso File For Mac Bootcamp Software
On your Mac, open Boot Camp Assistant , located in /Applications/Utilities.
At the Introduction screen, click Continue.
The system is checked for total available disk space. Older Time Machine snapshots and cached iCloud files are removed to make space for Boot Camp. This process may take a long time to complete (you can click the Stop button to skip this process).
If you have only one internal disk, choose the Windows ISO image, specify the partition size by dragging the divider between the macOS and Windows partitions, then click Install.
If you have multiple internal disks, follow the onscreen instructions to select and format the disk you want to install Windows on and to choose the Windows ISO image.
If you select your startup disk: You can create an additional partition for Windows. Specify the partition size by dragging the divider between the macOS and Windows partitions.
If you select an APFS-formatted disk: You can either create an additional partition on the disk for Windows, or erase the entire disk and create a partition for Windows. If you choose to create an additional partition, specify the partition size by dragging the divider between the macOS and Windows partitions.
If you select a non-APFS-formatted disk: You can erase the entire disk and create a partition for Windows.
If Boot Camp is already present on the disk you select, you also have the option to uninstall it.
Important: You can’t resize the partition later.
When this step is complete, the Windows installer starts.
Step 3: Install Windows
In the Windows installer, follow the onscreen instructions.
When the installation is finished, your Mac automatically restarts using Windows.
Follow the onscreen instructions to set up Windows.
Step 4: Install Boot Camp on Windows
Windows 10 Iso File For Mac Bootcamp Windows 7
After installing Windows, Boot Camp drivers that support your Mac hardware start installing.
Note: If the support software doesn’t install automatically, you need to install it manually. For instructions, see the Apple Support article If the Boot Camp installer doesn't open after using Boot Camp Assistant.
Windows 10 Iso File For Mac Bootcamp
In the Boot Camp installer in Windows, follow the onscreen instructions.
Important: Do not click the Cancel button in any of the installer dialogs.
If a message appears that says the software you’re installing has not passed Windows Logo testing, click Continue Anyway.
You don’t need to respond to installer dialogs that appear only briefly during installation, but if a dialog asks you to install device software, click Install.
If nothing appears to be happening, there may be a hidden window that you must respond to. Look behind open windows.
When the installation is complete, click Finish.
After your Mac restarts, follow the instructions for any other installers that appear.
Windows 10 Iso File For Mac Bootcamp