Installing Windows 7 on Mac

Once upon a time, not so long ago, there was a Mac and there was a PC. Both had a line of loyal followers. A Mac OS X could not run on the Windows PC and Windows OS could not go along with a Mac. However, this is now history, installing Windows 7 on Mac is possible today. Call it blasphemy, if you like. Nevertheless, if you want the best of both the worlds then you can try installing Windows 7 on Mac. In addition, there is better news that serves as an icing on the cake. You can keep your Mac OS X, even if you choose to install Windows 7. Without wasting any time, let us get into the details of how to install Windows 7 on Mac.

How to Install Windows 7 on Mac

You need a Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard along with Boot Camp 3.1. If you do not have Boot Camp 3.1 go to the Apple menu and select Software Update. Get the latest version for installing Windows 7. If you have already installed Windows 7 on Mac, you do not need Boot Camp; instead you need to carry out upgrade install. But, if this is your first time, boot camp will help you create a partition for Windows as well as start the Windows installer. When you are installing Windows 7 on Mac, make sure you have created a Windows 7 backup of all your data on the computer.

Log into an administrator account and quit any open application. Log out other users on the desktop computer. Go to Software Update and upgrade the Mac OS X operating system, Boot ROM as well as other software and firmware. Go to Utilities folder in the Applications folder and open the Boot Camp Assistant. It will help you walk through the entire process with the help of prompts. If you are installing Windows Vista or Windows 7, you need to select the NTFS format. Boot Camp will help you select the size of your Windows partition and create partition of the internal disc without erasing data.

Now, insert your installation disc and click on Start Installation in Boot Camp. You will find your computer starting from the Windows installation disc. You need to follow the instructions prompted and select custom installation. Do not delete any partition or create a new partition. Select only "Disk 0 Partition 3 BOOTCAMP" when installing. Then select 'drive options (advanced)' and click 'Format' and OK. Once done, click Next and the Windows partition will be formatted using NTFS file system.

After the Windows software is installed on Mac, your computer will restart automatically. It will use Windows to start up and you will need to configure Windows using Windows setup. However, this does not complete your installing process. You need to install the Boot Camp drivers for Windows. Eject the installation disc for Windows 7 and insert the Mac OS X disc. You will be prompted with instructions that you need to follow. Your computer will restart and you need to follow the instructions of Found New Hardware Wizard and update the software drivers. Once Windows and Boot Camp drivers are installed, you can start using Windows 7. When your computer starts, you can select either Mac OS X or Windows 7 OS.

Long gone are the days when you could not use Windows on a Mac. It is possible today, so try it. No, it is not a scandalous issue to use Windows on Mac. Enjoy having both Windows and Mac and get the best out of both.