I am trying to set up Windows 7 using Boot Camp on a MacBook Air 11' 2011 model. The problem is that Boot Camp Assistant continually failed to complete 'downloading' all the drivers required for me to make a CD/DVD that I need to install the missing drivers in Windows 7. Is there a direct download link to download an ISO of these drivers so that I can just burn a CD/DVD myself without using the Boot Camp Assistant? I have read somewhere that this driver CD must match EXACTLY your MacBook model or else it would not help. Is this true? Can someone please help?
Mar 15, 2013 - With release of OS X 10.8.3, the latest update for Mountain Lion, Apple. Their copy of OS X -- by downloading Boot Camp Support Software 5, you'll. So should you wish to install XP, Vista or a 32-bit version of Windows 7,.
What about just the files then? I noticed from Apple's support pages that previous Boot Camp versions (like 3.2) were posted online which you can just download from a browser instead of using the Assistant. Is there a support page where I could download the latest version, specific to my MacBook air hardware configuration? I am unsure if the screenshot will be helpful.
I simply got a brief message saying that server could not be contacted to finish downloading the drivers. I hit the back button to return to the previous screen and can then try again, but the download never finishes. Rebooting the laptop did not help. What about just the files then? I noticed from Apple's support pages that previous Boot Camp versions (like 3.2) were posted online which you can just download from a browser instead of using the Assistant. Is there a support page where I could download the latest version, specific to my MacBook air hardware configuration?
I am unsure if the screenshot will be helpful. I simply got a brief message saying that server could not be contacted to finish downloading the drivers. I hit the back button to return to the previous screen and can then try again, but the download never finishes.
Rebooting the laptop did not help. Click to expand.Sorry dunno about just the files I have not looked for that stuff directly from apple.
I go into bootcamp assistant and it gives me 3 basic options. One is to create a win 7 install disk. Second one is to download the latest windows support software from apple. Third choice ( for me because bootcamp already setup ) is to remove windows 7.
If I select the 2nd option ( download the latest window support software ) then it gives me 2 choices a) burn to cd/dvd and b) save a copy to an external drive. Do you get both of those options or what do you see exactly? Are you connected to the internet when doing this and can you get a separate internet screen connected to apple.com while doing this? On my machine I always have both a wireless connection and a wired ethernet connection active. Having just 'one' open should work but depending on machine some people are reporting some wifi issues with Lion ( opinions vary some people think all recent versions of os x have wifi issues periodically ).
Another option is using the caffeine application to keep your computer active while the download is proceeding. If you are anywhere near an apple store you could perhaps take your machine in and do this at the genius bar?
Although I'd known for a while that one can install Windows on an Intel-powered Mac, I didn't think I had much reason to try it. But then I sat down and actually read the directions for using the Mac utility named Boot Camp, and quickly realized that installing Windows 8 would not only be easy, it would also be an answer to my problems with my underpowered, small-screened netbook. My Mac Mini has plenty of power, and it's attached to a nice widescreen monitor that should show off Windows 8 perfectly.
Oh, and I'd finally be able to get apps from the Windows Store! So I decided to give it a try. Here's how I did it. And learned several new things along the way.
What You Need in Order to Install Windows 8 on a Mac There are several ways one can install Windows 8 on a Mac. It can be done using commercial software called Parallels, for example. But you don't need to buy any third-party software to do it. Boot Camp is built right into OS X, and it will allow you to set up your Mac to dual boot OS X with any other operating system you want.
You will need the 64-bit full version of Windows 8 for this endeavor. The 32-bit version and upgrade versions of Windows 8 won't work.
You'll also need at least 30 GB of free space on the hard drive, and an 8GB USB drive to store the Mac/Windows drivers on. As with any other project of this nature, the very first thing you want to do before you do anything else is make sure that OS X and all your apps are up to date. Click on the Apple menu in the upper left corner and choose Software Update. What you do next depends on the form of your Windows 8. If you have an installation disc, you do not need to check the first selection - 'Create a Windows 7 or later version install disk'. That's to be used if your Windows installation disc came to you in the form of a disk image (ISO). Since I had Windows 8 on a DVD, I un-checked that.
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The second and third choices are necessary for all Boot Camp Windows installations. As you might guess, Macs don't come with Windows drivers installed, so you will need to download those to make your hardware work properly with Windows 8 (the second choice) and then, of course, you will want to install Windows (the third choice). At the next screen you'll choose where to store the necessary Windows drivers that you chose to download on the previous screen. I've chosen my USB stick.
Once the driver download starts, you can sit back and relax for a while.:). Once you've downloaded and saved the necessary drivers, you'll be asked to partition your hard drive. While 30GB is the minimum recommended, you can assign more space if you prefer. Make sure you leave enough space for your Mac to operate properly and store its files.
Just drag and drop the divider to choose your drive size. I set up my Boot Camp partition (which is labeled as Windows) to be 40GB. As you can see, there is even a button to click if you want to assign equal space to OS X and Windows. Once the partition is created, you'll be asked to reboot your Mac.
Make sure that your Windows 8 installation disk is inserted properly in your optical drive (or a USB slot if your software is on a USB stick). Sometimes, Macs don't 'Just work.' My USB connections cause problems! When I began the Windows 8 installation I quickly found that the Mac has an annoying quirk that complicated this otherwise simple procedure for me. When it reboots, if you are using a USB device (either an external DVD drive or a USB stick) to install Windows from, you may get a black screen. If this happens, the official instructions say to hold down the power key until your Mac shuts off, and then disconnect all USB devices except your installation device, mouse, and keyboard.
Then press the power key again, and hold down the Option key (which is the Alt key if you're using a PC keyboard) until you see a screen from which you can choose which device to boot from. Choose your Windows installation device and you're good to go. Or that's how it works on paper.
In practice, if you have a portable DVD drive that gets all its power from the computer by plugging into two USB ports, the Mac will see it as two devices and balk. So I took my Windows 8 installation disk and used the OEM version of Nero that came with my DVD drive to create a disc image from it. (Sorry no screenshot of this; I was somewhat frazzled at the time.) Then I made a bootable USB stick using a small free utility called.
I'd suggest using a 16GB USB stick for this, just to be sure you've got enough space. Once THAT was all done, I was finally ready to start the installation process. Fortunately, there were no more hiccups! I rebooted the Mac, and with only one extra USB device detected, everything went as it was supposed to. How to Install Windows 8 on a Mac After your Mac reboots, you'll be asked where you want to install Windows. Choose the disk partition called BOOTCAMP.
This partition needs to be in NTFS format, so choose 'Drive Options (advanced)' and from there choose Format. The Windows 8 installer will take care of formatting it properly for installation.
From here you'll have to put up with photos from my phone. Yes, I know I need to buy a real camera.:). Finally, you will be rewarded. Mandatory Post Installation Steps The first thing you should do after Windows 8 installs is to insert the USB drive you created at the beginning (the one that contains all the Apple specific drivers). If the setup doesn't start automatically, use File Explorer to view the files on the USB stick and run Setup. From there, the process is automatic.
You will need to restart your computer when it's finished. Once you've restarted, go to Windows Update, and install all the necessary updates. Here's our tutorial for that:. Once you're finished with the updates, you've got a fully functional Windows 8 on your Mac!
How to Switch Between Windows 8 or Mac OS X Your Mac can now boot into either OS X or Windows 8. To switch from one to the other, if you're starting from OS X, go to the Apple menu and choose Restart.
Click the drive labeled Windows, and you're good to go. Conclusions Although installing Windows 8 on my Mac Mini running OS X Mountain Lion wasn't quite as quick and easy as the official instructions made it appear it would be, it was still not difficult to do. And I suspect most people will not run into the stumbling blocks that I did, because statistics say that the vast majority of Mac owners have portable computers, where the USB port issue won't be a problem. One really great thing about this dual-boot setup is that the files from each operating system are fully available to the other one, either from the Finder in OS X or File Explorer in Windows 8. No more schlepping files across the network or via sneakernet! I now have a Windows 8 computer that is fast, has a reasonable sized screen and that can open up anything in the Windows Store I might desire. I'm definitely going to spend time browsing all the apps, now that I can get them, and checking our great tutorials to find out how to personalize Windows 8.
They are listed just beneath this article. Discover more:,. Windows 10 is Microsoft's latest operating system, and many people want to install it on their computers or devices. One way is to do that is by upgrading from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1. Another way is to use a DVD with the Windows 10 setup, a USB flash drive, or an ISO file with the installation, which you have downloaded from Microsoft or somewhere else on the web. In this guide we show you how to make a clean Windows 10 installation on your computer or device, using the following types of installation media: DVD, ISO file, or USB memory stick. Let's get started.
We wanted to find the best PC games from the Microsoft Store that are free to download and play. In this article we rounded up a list of free games that you can get in their full versions for Windows 10. However, do keep in mind that some of these games also include paid features, that can enhance your gaming experience if you make in-app purchases. We tried to cover a wide range of genres, suited to different types of players and preferences, from racing games, to puzzles, games for children, and simulators. Let's get started.
Microsoft Surface Arc Mouse is a beautiful Bluetooth device, that looks like a mix between the Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse SE, and Microsoft Touch Mouse (We loved using Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse SE, and we disliked the Microsoft Touch Mouse). You can imagine that we were curious to test it and see if it is new 'hybrid' is a good choice for laptop and tablet users.
Read this review and see whether Microsoft's Surface Arc Mouse is a good fit for your needs: Microsoft Surface Arc Mouse: Who is it good for? Microsoft Surface Arc Mouse is a suitable choice for. TP-Link is famous for its affordably priced home networking products. They manufacture not only wireless routers but also mesh WiFi systems. Their top-selling product in this niche is Deco M5, which now has a new v2 variant, which brings several quality-of-life improvements compared to the first model. We very much enjoyed testing TP-Link Deco M5 v1, and we were curious to see whether v2 is an even better model.
Read this review and find out whether TP-Link Deco M5 is a great choice for your smart home.