Bootcamp has long been the default way to run Windows on a Mac. We’ve covered it before, and you can use the MacOS tool to partition your Mac’s hard drive to install Windows in its own space. There are also tools like Parallels, which lets you install Windows in a virtual machine on top of MacOS.
However, I recently purchased a new MacBook Pro 2019, and I wondered if it would be possible to install Windows 10 on it, without using Bootcamp. I wanted to specifically do this to keep my MacOS and Windows stuff separate, and also preserve all of the 128GB of disk space on my base model MacBook for MacOS. Download iphoto for mac free full version.
After doing some research from multiple YouTube videos and guides on Google, I found out how. Please be aware, though, that my piece isn’t meant to be a guide, it’s a personal look at how I got Windows running on my MacBook, without using Bootcamp. Apple still recommends Bootcamp as the best method for installing Windows 10 on a Mac.
- Turn on your Mac. Be sure to hold the option key during boot up and select Windows instead of Macintosh HD. Verify you are able to login to Windows 10 by clicking the center of the screen and typing your password under your username.
- Download Windows 10 Disc Image (ISO File). USB or external drive for the download. A blank USB flash drive with at least 5 GB of space or blank DVD (and DVD burner) if you want to create media. We recommend using a blank USB or blank DVD, because any content on it will be deleted.
Let Windows 10 download and install everything. This will take a while, but it’s an important step. If you want to load MacOS by default and switch to Windows later, restart your Mac. In order to Create Bootable USB for Mac on Windows 10 with DiskMaker X 6, first, you have to install macOS High Sierra or lower version of mac on VirtualBox or VMware on Windows 10. Once you installed macOS 10.13 High Sierra follows the below steps and create a Bootable USB for mac on Windows 10.
And, just like with using Bootcamp or Parallels on MacOS, I want to mention that I still needed to buy a valid, unused Windows 10 license key to legally and properly activate Windows. Finally, I want to mention that while my method works, you’ll be following at your own risk if you decide to use my experience for inspiration. We can’t be held liable for damages to your computer.
Step 1: Gather the materials
Before getting started, there were a couple of things I needed. First off, I purchased an external SSD which I knew would be fast enough to handle Windows. I also had another USB drive handy so I could transfer the Bootcamp support files off my Mac and into Windows during install.
I also needed an external keyboard and mouse. Once the MacBook initially boots into Windows, the mouse and keyboard the MacBook don’t work for the out of the box set up due to the lack of drivers. Of course, I also needed to have an existing Windows 10 PC with an internet connection and a valid Windows 10 install. This is because I had to download a Windows ISO and the Bootcamp support tools, as well as the WintoUSB support tool.
Step 2: Download the Windows 10 ISO and WintoUSB
To begin my process, I headed to my Windows 10 PC and downloaded the Windows 10 ISO using the media creation tool. The download is free, but a Windows 10 license is required to activate Windows once it successfully booted on my MacBook.
While Windows 10 was downloading, I also downloaded WintoUSB. This is a free tool that lets me install Windows 10 to an external SSD drive. The software bypasses the measure from Microsoft which disallows installing Windows 10 on external drives. The free version only allows for the installation of Windows 10 Home, but a $25 upgrade will let you install Windows 10 Pro if wanted.
Step 3: Disable the security features of the Apple T2 Chip in the MacBook
Next, I had to turn on my MacBook and disable the security features of the Apple T2 chip. It’s a bit like the features built into the BIOS of modern Windows PCs, as the Apple T2 chip is set so that a MacBook will only boot trusted operating systems from Apple.
By default, the T2 Chip also disables the ability to boot from an external drive, so I had to turn this off this to boot Windows externally. Disabling this had no side effect on my MacOS installation. TouchID and other areas of MacOS still work just fine.
To disable the security features in the T2 chip, I turned on my MacBook. Once on, I held down the Command and R keys until I saw the Apple Logo. The MacBook then booted into a recovery space. I then choose Utilities > Startup Security Utility from the menu bar.
After authentication, under Secure Boot, I then clicked No Security. And, under external boot, I choose to allow booting from external media. When done, I clicked the X to close the window. I ended by going to the Apple menu and shutting down my Mac as usual
Step 4: Download the Bootcamp Support drivers
Next up, I had to go back to my MacBook. I logged in as usual and searched for Bootcamp in Spotlight. When it was open, I clicked the menu bar at the top and choose Action, followed by Download Windows Support Software. To continue, I saved it to my desktop. When finished, I plugged a separate USB drive into my MacBook and copied the folder and files I just downloaded.
Step 5: Use WintoUSB & then copy the Bootcamp Files to the Drive
Next, back to my Windows 10 PC, I installed WintoUSB and then plugged in the SSD. To get started with this process, I had to click where it says Image File. I then navigated to where I saved the Windows 10 ISO file, and choose it.
I then had to click Windows 10 Home and choose Next. After that, I clicked Next and chose my SSD from the drop-down menu. I also had chosen GPT for UEFI where it says Selected device needs to be formatted. To continue, I choose Legacy under Installation mode and click Next. Win to USB then created a bootable version of Windows. It took about 10-15 minutes to complete.
When the process was finished, I copied the BootCamp Support files I had downloaded earlier off the USB and onto the root of the SSD with the new Windows install. This was important for the next step.
Step 6: Boot your Macbook from the newly created SSD or USB and then install the drivers
To end the process, I had to boot my MacBook from the external SSD. With the security features of the T2 chip disabled, I did this by holding down the Option Key when I saw the Apple logo. I then choose the external SSD as the boot drive. It was labeled UEFI.
As Windows didn’t have the drivers for my MacBook yet, I had to plug in a keyboard and mouse into my MacBook via one of the USB-C ports. I also used a USB-C hub and plugged my Macbook into an ethernet cable, because I wanted to sign in with a Microsoft account on the setup.
I set up Windows as usual, and once I was on the desktop, I opened up the File Explorer, and clicked the C drive and opened the folder that says Windows Support. I then launched the Bootcamp set up program to install all the proper drivers for my MacBook.
This final part took a while and caused the Bootcamp installer to freeze, but I used Task Manager to kill the Bootcamp process and then rebooted the MacBook and tried again. It eventually worked and I got a working version of Windows running externally on my MacBook!
Why did I do this? And what are the benefits?
![Download Windows 10 Usb On Mac Download Windows 10 Usb On Mac](/uploads/1/1/8/3/118354933/675273748.jpg)
So, the question remains, why did I do this to begin with? Well, as I said before, my MacBook Pro only has 128GB of storage. I am using my MacBook for video editing, so storage is at a premium. I didn’t want to run Windows in Bootcamp or in Parallels and take away valuable storage space from my MacBook. By running it externally from an SSD, I freed up that space, and I was able to keep Windows separate from MacOS. This is one advantage to my method.
I also opted for a 500GB SSD, so I was able to gain more storage space that my MacBook has for Windows to begin with. And, since I mainly use Windows on a daily basis, I had the same storage space for Windows that I do on my usual Windows machine, the Surface Laptop 3. I actually am using my MacBook as my main machine now, too, for this same reason.
Of course, there are some caveats. Windows 10 works fine on a MacBook when running externally. The battery life and overall system performance of the MacBook are the same as it would be if Windows was running on an internal drive. That’s about 6 hours of battery and good performance for multitasking in Edge.
However, the read and write speeds in Windows are not nearly as fast as it would be if it was running on the MacBook’s internal SSD. This is due to the limitation of the external SSD itself, which only hits around 550MB/S read and write speeds.
Still, though, this is a nifty little trick that I am glad I pondered upon. Some people might want to try my method to turn a MacBook into a full-blown Windows machine.
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Tags: Apple | MacBook | MacBook Pro | Microsoft | Windows 10
The last release of Mac OS doesn't have the option to create a bootable USB from Bootcamp like previous versions, and it is a problem because that require uses other tools.
I am updating this post today Dec 12, 2018. The reason is that I was only using UNetbootin to create the bootable USB, I will leave guide as a second method since it still working, and I will explain to you how you can create the bootable Windows USB without extra software.
The first step for both methods requires to format your USB device to NTFS, this is the default filesystem, alternative you can use ExFAT but the installation could fail.
Format USB to ExFAT (Under your own risk)
Tumblr download mac. In order to boot from the USB, you need to format the USB to ExFAT, you can do it using Disk Utility (it comes with MacOS).
This step is the same for both methods. You need to show all the devices in Disk Utility' before to start the process. Black ops zombies mac free download.
Select your USB device in the list (not the partition), right click and then click on the Erase option:
In the next screen make sure you select these two options:
- Format: ExFAT
- Scheme: Master Boot Record
Click the
Erase
button.If for some reason it fails, probably is because MacOS still using the USB, just repeat the steps, but if you see a screen similar to above screen is because the operation is successful.
Format USB with the terminal
You also can format the USB from the terminal, but you have to take care to use the correct device because, if you use the wrong name you will lose everything.
With this command you can list the device on MacOS:
This is an example, my USB is the disk2:
This command is to format the USB, the last parameter is the the USB:
Copy Windows files to USB - Method 1
This process is very easy doesn't require to install other software, and they are just a few steps:
Open Windows ISO
Just double click on the ISO image, MacOS mount the image automatically.
Copy files
Now you only need to copy the files and paste them to the USB.
Command + A
Select all files.Command + C
Copy files.- Go to your USB
Command + V
paste the files.
This process could fail if you are using a USB with FAT32 because the file
install.win
is over 4GB, if this is the case try to open the terminal and copy paste the files from there (no always works. Try to follow the instructions to format the USB in ExFAT, NTFS works for some BIOS).Download Windows To Mac
This is the command to copy the files from the ISO to the USB:
And that is all, now you can try boot from the USB.
UNetbootin - Method 2
I will show you how you can use UNetbootin to create a bootable USB, it can be used no only for Mac but for Windows and Linux distributions too.
UNetbootin is free software and it is also available for Windows and Linux.
Check the path name of your USB Disk.
Always in Disk Utility, select the new partition that we created in the previous step, and click on the information button, it will give you the information about the new partition.
You also can use the terminal and the command
diskutil
to see the list of drives:Download UNetbootin:
- Download the
dmg
directly from the Website.
And copy theapp
to the/Application
folder. - I prefer to use homebrew to install applications, you can check this article for more information: Installing Applications on Mac with Homebrew:
Makes the USB booteable
Download Mac Os Windows 10
Open UNetbootin and you only need select 3 options:
- Diskimage and ISO
- Now we need open the ISO Windows image that is on our computer.
- Select your USB device on UNetbootin.
- Click on the OK, button and wait to the process end it will take a time.
Download Windows 10 On Mac Without Usb
NOTES:
- I tested other tools like
dd
andEtcher
but they are not working because Windows requires extra steps, for the moment this is the only easy tool that I know that works if you are on Windows try Rufus. - Some users reported that UNetbootin is not working, if after to format the USB drive and change the block size is not working for you try another Drive with enough space.