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.
Here we show you how to install Windows on Mac for free using Boot Camp. Yes that’s right, it doesn’t cost you a cent to install Windows on your Mac in 2017 and it’s perfectly legal. Boot Camp is a Mac OS X utility that lets you run Windows on your Mac without relying on virtual machines or crippled emulators. Boot Camp supports Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 (with OS.
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.
How to Install Windows on Mac without Bootcamp - UUByte
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 your bootable USB drive for the Windows installation.
Step 4 : Launch Disk Utility app and go to the Partition tab. Add a drive by clicking on the + symbol and naming the drive. Select the MS-DOS (FAT) format and allocate enough space for the Windows installation.
Step 5: This step is very important. 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. When you see the drives listed, choose your USB drive. It might be called something else, such as EFIBoot.
Step 6: Choose the drive partition you created in Step 5 and hit Delete. Select the unallocated space after it is deleted and click on New to create the Windows 10 partition. When your computer boots from your USB stick, run this file: WindowsSupport/BootCamp/Setup.exe
Step 7 : You can now reboot and complete the Windows 10 installation process by following the on-screen instructions.
How to Install Windows on Mac without Bootcamp - Terminal
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
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/
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.
Step 5: Now partition your Mac's disk for Windows 10. To do this, follow Steps 5, 6 and 7 from Method 1.
Step 6: Boot your computer from the USB by holding down the Option (Alt) key while restarting your Mac. Run this file once it boots up: WindowsSupport/BootCamp/Setup.exe
Step 7: Reboot your Mac, and it should boot into Windows Setup. Follow the instructions to complete the installation of Windows 10 on your Mac.
Conclusion
If you are not comfortable using Terminal, Method 1 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 (Boot Camp Assistant) is a multi-boot creation utility that comes pre-installed with your Mac and allows you to easily install a Windows copy on a Mac. In other words, Boot Camp partitions the disk and lets you dual-boot your machine. Boot Camp is without a doubt a great way to welcome Windows into Apple's ecosystem. Boot Camp has its own issues.
Indeed, you may lose access to all your normal Mac apps while you are running Windows or some users are running into the 'Boot Camp installation failed' or 'There is no enough space on USB' error. To avoid such issues and errors, which could take some time to figure out a fix, you can use alternative solutions to install Windows on your Mac.
![Boot camp mac download Boot camp mac download](http://download.macsales.com/kb/Images/BeforeDriverInstall.png)
Boot Camp Alternative #1: Oracle VirtualBox (Free)
VirtualBox is one of the best Boot Camp Assistant alternatives out there. With VirtualBox, you can virtually install multiple operating systems without the need to buy any new hardware. In this case, it lets you run Windows 10 on your Mac and use it like it's running on real hardware.
Unlike Boot Camp, both macOS and Windows can be running at the same time. That means you can run Windows apps on your Mac right alongside your favorite Mac apps, eliminating the need to shut down Windows and boot back into macOS.
But VirtualBox has disadvantages too. Indeed, running two operating systems at once requires a lot of processor power and memory to maintain smooth performance. In reality, most modern Macs can handle Windows in a virtual machine. However, if you want to play some new graphics-intense games, it's a good idea to go for dual-booting with Boot Camp.
Step 1: Download VirtualBox Mac version from official website and also download a copy of Windows 10 ISO.
Step 2: Open VirtualBox on your Mac, then tap on New at the top left corner, select a name and operating system type from a popup and click on the Continue button.
Step 3: Tick the box next to Create a virtual hard disk now and click on Create.
Step 4: Select the VDI VirtualBox Disk image option and hit Continue. After that, select Fixed Size and choose Continue again. Use the slider to increase the file size for Windows 10 (Windows 10 requires a minimum 10 GB of free space).
Step 5: From the VirtualBox's main screen, choose Start to boot the new Windows 10 volume, then choose the Windows 10 ISO file you downloaded earlier, and click Start.
Step 6: Windows 10 will start to boot up and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup. Once you are done, Windows 10 will be running in VirtualBox.
Pros:
- 100% free of cost.
- Easy to set up .
- Create more than Windows guest OS .
Cons:
- Eat up additional computing resources.
- Slow down Mac performance.
- Activate Window is small in size.
- App running slow in Windows guest OS.
Boot Camp Alternative #2: CrossOver Mac ($499)
CrossOver is another great alternative to Boot Camp Assistant. Unlike VirtualBox and Boot Camp, CrossOver takes a different approach to running Windows on a Mac. Indeed, it translates Windows apps' APIs into a form that can be used on Linux and Mac operating system.
In reality, CrossOver is all about Windows apps, which eliminates the need for Windows license. However, one major drawback is CrossOver does not run all Windows apps or some app features may not work while using CrossOver.
Step 1: Head over to www.codeweavers.com, sign up for a free trial, and download CrossOver Mac dmg.
Step 2: Go to the Downloads folder and open the file you downloaded earlier. After that, Archive Utility will start decompressing the zip file.
![Mac Mac](/uploads/1/2/5/6/125619039/392326870.png)
Step 3 : Double-click the CrossOver app, then move it to the Applications folder. Then, click the Install a Windows Application button and insert the name of the app you wish to run.
Step 4: Click on the app you wish to run and click the Continue button. After that, select the installer source and hit the Choose Installer file button.
Step 5: Select where you want to store the file and select the file. Once you are done, click the Use this installer button and you will be taken back to the Installer Source screen.
Step 6: Hit the Continue button, then create a bottle from the Select Bottle tab and click Continue. After that, CrossOver will install all required software such as NET Framework or Microsoft Direct Runtime. From here, hit the Install button and wait until the installation is complete.
Step 7: Click Done, then click the CrossOver icon to reveal all the bottles you have installed. Just simply locate the bottle you created earlier and run the software.
Pros:
- Lightweight and consume less resource.
- Run Windows app on Mac directly .
- Easy to get started.
- No need to buy Windows license or download Windows ISO.
Cons:
- $499 for a single lifetime license .
- Certain Windows apps are not supported.
Boot Camp Alternative #3: UUByte ISO Editor ($29)
The third alternative we recomend in this post is UUByte ISO Editor, a cross-platform app that burn Windows ISO to USB easily. After burning, a bootable Windows USB is ready and you can use the USB to install a copy of Windows on Mac computers.
UUbyte is not just about installing Windows on a Mac as it has more features, including the ability to extract ISO files and edit them. Currently, it supports the latest macOS Mojave as well as Windows 10 March 2019 Update.
Step 1: First off, download UUbyte ISO Editor for your Mac and Windows 10 ISO.
Step 2 : Open Boot Camp Assistant app on Mac, then head over to Action and click on Download Windows Support Software.
Step 3 : Click Save from the dialog and select a location for the files. After that, launch the UUbyte ISO Editor and then click on Burn.
Step 4: Attach a USB flash drive to the Mac and select the Windows 10 ISO file. After that, click on Burn. Now, the program starts to write ISO file to USB as well as boot sector.
Step 5: Open Disk Utility tool and move to the Partition tab. After that, click the + symbol to create a new drive. Select MS-DOS (FAT) format for Windows 10 installation.
Step 6: Now simply disconnect the USB drive that contains Windows 10 ISO files and restart your Mac while holding down the Option key at once.
Step 7 : When your Mac boots from your USB drive, make sure you run this file: WindowsSupport/BootCamp/Setup.exe. Now, follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
Final Thought
There are a number of ways to run Windows or Windows app on Mac even without the help of Boot Camp Assistant, the built-in tool on Mac for creating dual boot. As you can see from the above content, Boot Camp alternative almost works the same way as Boot Camp or even better. Pick up the best one that works for you!