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Jun 20, 2006 I'm thrilled to learn that I can now dual-boot my new Intel-based Mac so that I can live in the warm fuzzy world of Mac OS X or flip over to the business world of Windows XP. I have a shiny new copy of WinXP from my IT people, an Intel-based Mac Mini, and lots of enthusiasm, but that's about it. How the heck do I actually install Windows XP on my Mac so I can work in either operating system? Jul 22, 2016 Apple now supports Windows 10 in Boot Camp. If you have Windows 7 or 8.1 installed on a Mac, you can take advantage of the free upgrade offer and get Windows 10.Just ensure you’ve updated your Apple software first. This site was started on January 22, 2006 with the sole purpose of promoting development of a solution to natively boot Windows XP on the Intel Mac. Now there are two native solutions (XOM and Boot Camp) and one Virtualization solution (Parallels). We're not going anywhere though! Dec 19, 2019 Scroll until you find the latest Boot Camp update for the Mac system you’re running. Click Download. Follow the on screen instructions to download and install the latest software update for Boot Camp. Reboot your Mac. Important: If you’re using Windows XP or Windows Vista, Boot Camp 4.0 does not support these versions of Windows. Nov 08, 2007 After creating a Windows partition in Boot Camp 2.0 in Mac OS X 10.5, reboot from the Windows XP installer CD. Format the Windows partition before continuing with the rest of the Windows XP setup process. Do not select 'Leave the current file system intact (no changes)' or 'Convert the partition to NTFS' or the installation may fail.
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Boot Camp Control Panel User Guide
You can set the default operating system to either macOS or Windows. The default operating system is the one you want to use when you turn on or restart your Mac.
Set the default operating system
- In Windows on your Mac, click in the right side of the taskbar, click the Boot Camp icon , then choose Boot Camp Control Panel.
- If a User Account Control dialog appears, click Yes.
- Select the startup disk that has the default operating system you want to use.
- If you want to start up using the default operating system now, click Restart. Otherwise, click OK.
You can’t change your startup volume to an external FireWire or USB drive while you’re using Windows.
To learn how to change the default operating system using macOS, see Get started with Boot Camp.
Restart in macOS
In Windows on your Mac, do one of the following:
- Restart using Startup Manager: Restart your Mac, then immediately press and hold the Option key. When the Startup Manager window appears, release the Option key, select your macOS startup disk, then press Return.If you’re using a portable Mac with an external keyboard, make sure you press and hold the Option key on the built-in keyboard.
- Restart using Boot Camp Control Panel: Click in the right side of the taskbar, click the Boot Camp icon , then choose Restart in macOS.This also sets the default operating system to macOS.
For more information about restarting in macOS, see the Apple Support article Switch between Windows and macOS.
See alsoGet started with Boot Camp Control Panel on MacTroubleshoot Boot Camp Control Panel problems on MacApple Support article: How to select a different startup disk
Windows on Mac Q&A - Updated February 20, 2011
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Which Intel Macs are capable of booting the 32-Bit and 64-Bit versions of Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7? Which are supported by Apple's Boot Camp?
Apple's Boot Camp software provided with Mac OS X 10.5 and Mac OS X 10.6.5 (and earlier) offers 32-bit support for Windows XP Service Pack 2 and later on all non-server Intel Macs with the exception of the 'Late 2010' MacBook Air models -- the MacBook Air'Core 2 Duo' 1.4 11' (Late 2010) and 'Core 2 Duo' 1.86 13' (Late 2010) -- which only formally support Windows 7. The version of Boot Camp provided with Mac OS X 10.6.6 and later no longer support Windows XP. Macs running MacOS X Server are not supported by Boot Camp at all. Apple does not provide support for the 64-bit version of Windows XP on any Macs at all either.
Officially, Apple supports Windows 7 -- at least the 32-bit version -- on all Intel-based Macs with the exception of the following:
Upon first releasing MacOS X 10.6 'Snow Leopard,' Apple originally formally supported the 64-bit versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7 on many Macs available at the time but retroactively dropped 'support' for the 64-bit version of Windows Vista and instead just noted that these Macs 'can use' the 64-bit version of Windows Vista.
Consequently, officially, Apple supports only the 64-bit version of Windows 7 just on the following Macs and these Macs likewise 'can use' the 64-bit version of Windows Vista:
However, based on reader reports via e-mail and social media, as well as hands-on observation, models officially unable to boot even the 32-bit version of Windows 7 via Boot Camp are capable of doing so with appropriate drivers. Furthermore, some Intel-based Macs that only are officially supported booting the 32-bit version of Windows 7 actually are capable of booting the 64-bit version of Windows 7, again, with proper drivers.
Additionally, regardless of official support from Apple, as shipped, some Intel-based Macs fall short of the required 1 GB memory minimum that Microsoft recommends for the 32-bit version of Windows 7. All Intel-based Macs meet Microsoft's minimum requirements for Windows XP as well as Windows Vista.
It can be challenging to sort out the official and unofficial 32-bit and 64-bit Windows Vista and Windows 7 capabilities for different Intel-based Macs, but EveryMac.com has endeavored to do so with the below. This chart is believed to be accurate, however, it should be considered subject to further revision. Should you have additional or contradictory information, particularly regarding unofficial capability based on your hands-on experience, please share.
Mac | Vista | 7 |
32* | 32* | |
32* | 32* | |
32* | 32* | |
32* | 32* | |
32* | 32* | |
32* | 32* | |
32** | 32** | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64† | 32/64† | |
32/64† | 32/64† | |
32/64† | 32/64† | |
32/64‡ | 32/64‡ | |
32/64‡ | 32/64‡ | |
32/64‡ | 32/64‡ | |
32/64‡ | 32/64‡ | |
32** | 32** | |
32** | 32** | |
32** | 32** | |
32** | 32** | |
32** | 32** | |
32** | 32** | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64† | 32/64† | |
32/64† | 32/64† | |
32** | 32** | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
None | 32/64 | |
None | 32/64 | |
32* | 32* | |
32* | 32* | |
32* | 32* | |
32* | 32* | |
32* | 32* | |
32* | 32* | |
32* | 32* | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64† | 32/64† | |
32/64† | 32/64† | |
32/64† | 32/64† | |
32/64† | 32/64† | |
32/64† | 32/64† | |
32/64† | 32/64† | |
32/64† | 32/64† | |
32/64† | 32/64† | |
32/64† | 32/64† | |
32/64† | 32/64† | |
32/64† | 32/64† | |
32/64† | 32/64† | |
32/64† | 32/64† | |
32/64† | 32/64† | |
32/64† | 32/64† | |
32/64† | 32/64† | |
32/64† | 32/64† | |
32/64† | 32/64† | |
32/64† | 32/64† | |
32** | 32** | |
32** | 32** | |
32** | 32** | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
32/64†† | 32/64†† | |
None | None | |
32/64† | 32/64† | |
None | None | |
32* | 32* | |
32/64† | 32/64† | |
32/64† | 32/64† | |
32/64† | 32/64† | |
32/64† | 32/64† | |
32/64† | 32/64† | |
32/64† | 32/64† | |
32/64† | 32/64† | |
None | None | |
None | None | |
None | None | |
None | None | |
None | None |
* Apple officially supports a maximum of the 32-bit version of Windows Vista on these models. However, if equipped with at least 1 GB of RAM, these models also meet the minimum requirements for Windows 7 and readers have reported successfully running the 32-bit version of the operating system with appropriate drivers.
** Apple officially supports the 32-bit version of Windows Vista and Windows 7 on these models. Microsoft also requires these models to be equipped with at least 1 GB of RAM, which some were not as originally shipped.
![Mac Mac](https://askdavetaylor.com/0-blog-pics/apple-bootcamp-burn-drivers.png)
† Apple originally officially supported both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7 on these models. However, the company retroactively modified documentation to note that these models 'can use' the 64-bit of Windows Vista, but only the 32-bit version is supported.
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†† Apple officially supports a maximum of the 32-bit version of Windows 7 on these models. However, these models also meet the minimum requirements for the 64-bit version of Windows 7 and readers have reported successfully running the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of both Vista and 7 with appropriate drivers.
‡ Apple does not officially support Windows on the 'Mid-2010' iMac models. However, these models meet the minimum requirements for the 64-bit version of Windows 7 and readers have reported successfully running the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7 with appropriate drivers. They are believed to run Windows Vista as well, although no one has reported bothering to do so.
Site sponsor Other World Computing sells a variety of solutions for running Windows on Intel-based Macs, including virtualization solutions from Parallels and VMWare as well as Apple's Boot Camp, which is provided with MacOS X 10.6 'Snow Leopard'.
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