Here’s how to install Windows 10 on your Apple Mac PCs/Notebooks

Tutorial for installing Windows 10 on PCs and Notebooks running on Mac OS X

Launched in 190 countries on July 29, Windows 10 is now officially available to Windows 7/8/8.1 PC and Laptop users around the world. The main aim of Windows 10 is convergence of the Windows operating system across multiple Microsoft product families—including PCs, smartphones, tablets, embedded systems, and Xbox One, as well as new products such as Surface Hub and Holo Lens.

The new Windows 10 operating system has introduced revisions to its user interface, that includes addition of a Start menu similar to Windows 7 but combining Windows 8’s live tiles, a virtual desktop system, a notifications sidebar and the ability to adjust user interface behaviors based on available input devices.

Windows 10 also provides integration with additional Microsoft services, including Microsoft’s highly appreciated digital personal assistant, Cortana and Xbox Live. Additionally, it has also introduced a new default web browser, Microsoft Edge, as well as integrated support for fingerprint and face recognition login, and new versions of DirectX And WDDM to improve the operating system’s graphics capabilities for game.

All these features and additions can be experienced by users of Windows 7 or 8/8.1 for free by upgrading their operating system to Windows 10 for a year.

However, if you think that Microsoft’s Windows 10 OS was only meant for Windows PCs and devices, then you are wrong.

Mac OS X users too can experience the latest operating system by running it on your Apple-branded device. Similar to a PC, there are two ways you can install Windows 10 on your Mac:

(1) Using virtualization software like Parallels 10 or

(2) through Boot Camp to install it on a partitioned part of your hard drive.

Apple Mac users can choose on of the options which suits them.

The advantage of using the first option of virtualization software like Parallels 10 would let you test Windows 10 without installing it directly on your device. However, the flip side is that without any extra layers of software in-between, the performance would not be as good as when the operating system is run directly on the Mac PC.

On the other hand, if you wish to experience the best performance, installing Windows 10 through Boot Camp is the way to go. The disadvantage of this method is that you have to configure of your Mac so that the operating system can be installed on its drive, something that is not required when using virtualization software.

This leaves us with a question as to which should one choose? You should follow the Boot Camp path, if you want to have a raw Windows 10 experience. But, on the other hand, if you wish to have Windows 10 on your Mac temporarily, then in that case it is suggested you should try Parallels 10.

As the Windows 10 will run more smoothly on Mac, let’s have a look at how we can install the operating system via Boot Camp. You can check whether the hardware on your Mac PC is compatible with the requirements of Windows 10 on Apple support page here.

However, one must note that a Windows 10 ISO file would be needed to install the software irrespective of the method you choose to install. Windows 10 is currently being rolled out only for Windows users who had earlier signed up for it. If you are a signed user, you can download the ISO file from Microsoft’s site that can be installed on a Mac.

Kindly visit Microsoft’s website here to download the requisite ISO file for your Apple Mac PC/Notebook

For users who have not signed up for Windows 10 will have to wait until August 31st if they want it on a Mac, that is when the retail version would be out.

Windows 10 installation through Boot Camp

• Before you start installing, make sure you have an at least 8GB of USB flash drive free and plug it into your Mac. Then, open Boot Camp, and click on continue.
• It will provide you with three options. For the first time users, leave all three options checked. A a bootable drive with Windows is about to be created on your computer. In order to use the keyboard, trackpad or mouse, download the drivers you need. Whether these drivers would work on your computer is not known, as these drivers were made for Windows 8.1.
• A warning message that the drive is about to be formatted will pop-up. Once you click on proceed, all the data on your computer would be lost. If you wish to retain your data, it would be advisable to create a back up of your data on an external drive and then start the installation process.
• If you are ok losing all your data on that disk drive, then click on proceed. Then, Boot Camp will copy Windows files over and create the bootable disk drive. Once done, it will pop-up a question as to how much of your computer’s hard drive you would want to dedicate to Windows. Be dragging the bar, you can set how much you want to allocate.
• Your computer will later create the partition, download the drivers, and turn the flash drive into a bootable disk. Your computer should reboot into Windows. If your computer reboots into OS X, then you need hit restart and hold the option key while the computer is coming back on, which may take a while.
• It will display three options, once it reboots: EFI Boot, Windows, and Mac. Select EFI Boot, and follow the pop-ups until you get to a screen with two options: one for a custom install and the second for an upgrade.
• Select custom, go to your partitioned drive and hit format. From there, Windows will take you through the initial setup screens.

Once done with the initial setup process, the new Windows wallpaper will display on your screen. All this would be possible, only if your drivers are working correctly. Once the Windows wallpaper appears on your Mac PC/Notebook you are now officially running on Windows 10.

Do comment on the tutorial and if you have found some easier ways to install Windows 10 on Mac OS X.