Boot Camp Assistant also provides the Windows drivers needed to use Apple hardware, including camera, audio, networking, keyboard, mouse, trackpad, and video. Without these drivers, Windows functions, but you can’t change video resolution, listen to audio, or connect to a network. While the keyboard and mouse or trackpad work, these only provide simple capabilities. With the Apple drivers that Boot Camp Assistant provides, you may discover that Windows and your Mac hardware are one of the best combinations for running Windows.
What Boot Camp Assistant Does
Boot Camp Assistant extends the virtualization environment to:
Partition your Mac’s internal drive without losing data. Provide the necessary drivers for Windows to recognize and use your Mac hardware. Provide a Windows control panel that lets you select the environment the Mac will boot into. (Your Mac has its own preference pane for selecting the boot environment.) Remove the Windows partition and restore that space for use by your Mac.
What You Need
To proceed, you must have:
Boot Camp Assistant 6.x. or later. macOS Sierra or later. 50 GB or more of free space on your hard drive or SSD. A keyboard and mouse or built-in keyboard and trackpad. A full install disc or ISO of Windows 10, Windows 8, or Windows 7. An MS-DOS (FAT) formatted flash drive. A Mac with an Intel processor.
Previous Versions of Boot Camp Assistant
If your Mac has an earlier version of Boot Camp Assistant or earlier versions of OS X than 10.5, review this detailed guide to using these early versions of Boot Camp Assistant.
Which Versions of Windows Are Supported
Since Boot Camp Assistant downloads and creates the Windows drivers needed to finish the Windows install, you need to know which version of Boot Camp Assistant works with which version of Windows.
Boot Camp Assistant 6.x: 64-bit Windows 10Boot Camp Assistant 5.x: 64-bit Windows 8 and 7Boot Camp Assistant 4.x: Windows 7
Your Mac uses a single version of Boot Camp Assistant, making it difficult to install other versions of Windows that aren’t directly supported by the version of Boot Camp Assistant your Mac has. To install alternate Windows versions, you need to manually download and create the Windows Support Drivers. Use the following links, depending on the version of Windows you want to use:
Boot Camp Support Software 4 (Windows 7) Boot Camp Support Software 5 (64-bit versions of Windows 7 and Windows 8)
Boot Camp Support Software 6 is the current version and can be downloaded through the Boot Camp Assistant app.
Back Up Before You Begin
Part of the process of installing Windows on your Mac involves repartitioning the Mac’s drive. While Boot Camp Assistant is designed to partition a drive without any data loss, there is always the possibility that something can go wrong. So, before going any further, back up your Mac’s drive. There are plenty of backup applications available. When the backup is finished, you can start working with Boot Camp Assistant.
Boot Camp Assistant’s Three Tasks
Boot Camp Assistant can perform three basic tasks to help you get Windows running on your Mac or uninstall it from your Mac. Depending on what you want to accomplish, you may not need to use all three tasks.
Create a Windows 10 install disk: Boot Camp Assistant can use a USB flash drive or an external USB drive to create an install disk from a Windows 10 ISO image file. There are various ways to acquire the ISO image file of Windows, but the easiest is to download the image file from Microsoft. Download the latest Windows support software from Apple: With this option, your Mac downloads the latest Windows 10 drivers and supporting software that allows Windows to work with your Mac’s hardware. The support software is copied to the USB flash drive you are using for the Windows 10 install disk. Install Windows 10: This option either creates a Windows partition on your Mac’s startup drive or removes a Windows partition if one is present. The name of this option changes if you have a Windows partition on your Mac to Remove Windows 10.
Your Mac automatically starts the Windows installation process after the appropriate partition is created. If you’re removing a Windows partition, this option deletes the Windows partition and merges the newly freed space with your existing Mac partition to create one larger space.
Select the Tasks
Place a check mark next to the tasks you want to perform. You can select more than one task, and the tasks are performed in the appropriate order. For example, if you select the following tasks:
Download the latest Windows support software from Apple. Install Windows 10.
Your Mac will first download and save the Windows support software and then create the necessary partition and start the Windows 10 install process.
Create the Windows Installer
Boot Camp Assistant 6 creates a Windows 10 installer disk. To perform this task, you must have a Windows 10 ISO image file. The ISO file can be stored on your Mac’s internal drives or an external drive. Boot Camp creates the Windows Installer drive for you. This process can take a while. When complete, Boot Camp Assistant asks for your administrator password so it can make changes to the destination drive. Supply your password and click OK.
Create the Windows Drivers
To get Windows working on your Mac, you need the latest version of the Apple Windows support software. Boot Camp Assistant downloads the Window drivers for your Mac’s hardware to ensure that everything will work at its best.
Save to a USB Flash Drive
The Windows Support folder, which includes the Windows drivers and a setup application, is now stored on the USB flash drive. Use this flash drive during the Windows install process. Keep the USB flash drive plugged in if you are installing Windows soon or eject the drive for later use.
Save to a CD or DVD
If you’re using Boot Camp Assistant 4.x, you can also opt to save the Windows support software to a blank CD or DVD. Boot Camp Assistant burns the information to the blank media for you. The process of downloading and saving the Windows support software is complete. Click the Quit button.
Create the Windows Partition
One of the primary functions of Boot Camp Assistant is to divide a Mac’s drive by adding a partition dedicated to Windows. The partitioning process allows you to select how much space will be taken from your existing Mac partition and assigned for use in the Windows partition. If your Mac uses several drives—as some iMacs, Mac minis, and Mac Pros do—you can select the drive to partition or choose to dedicate an entire drive to Windows.
Install Windows
The Windows 10 installer takes over to complete the installation of Windows 10. Follow the on-screen instructions provided by Microsoft. During the Windows 10 installation process, you are asked where to install Windows 10. You are shown an image depicting the drives on your Mac and how they are partitioned. You may see three or more partitions. Select the partition that has BOOTCAMP as part of its name. The partition’s name starts with the disk number and partition number and ends with the word BOOTCAMP. For example, “Disk 0 Partition 4: BOOTCAMP.” Eventually, the Windows install process completes, and your Mac reboots into Windows.
Install Windows Support Software
After the Windows 10 installer completes and your Mac reboots into the Windows environment, the Boot Camp Driver installer starts automatically. If it doesn’t start on its own, you can manually start the installer: Your Mac reboots to the Windows 10 environment.
Select the Default Operating System
The Boot Camp driver installs the Boot Camp Control Panel. It should be visible in the Windows 10 System Tray. If you don’t see it, click the upward-facing triangle in the system tray to display any hidden icons, including—possibly—the Boot Camp Control Panel. The macOS has a similar Startup Disk preference pane that you can use to set the default drive (OS). If you need to boot to another OS on a temporary basis, you can do so by holding down the Option key when you start your Mac and then selecting which drive (OS) to use.
