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Use the Boot Camp Assistant in macOS to install Windows on your Intel-based Mac. You'll need a compatible computer, USB drive of at least 8GB in size, and a Windows 10 ISO file from Microsoft.

Boot Camp Assistant lets you install Windows on some Mac computers and boot into it, just like you can on a regular PC. Modern Apple Silicon models (M1, M2, and so on) don't support Boot Camp and must use other methods to run Windows instead.

Can I Use Boot Camp on an M1 or M2 Mac?

You can only use Boot Camp to install Windows on a Mac if it has an Intel (x86) processor. These Macs are basically just PCs and have the same type of processor you'll find in a Windows PC.

Modern Apple Silicon Macs that feature an M1 or later processor use a different processor architecture and do not support Boot Camp or booting Windows natively in any capacity.

You can test this by running the Boot Camp Assistant application, which is located in your Mac's Applications > Utilities folder. If you see a message that says "This Mac does not support Boot Camp" then you have a newer Mac model.

Trying to use Boot Camp Assistant on an M1 Max MacBook Pro

You can still run Windows in other ways on an M-series Mac, but you'll need to use the ARM release of Windows 11 (known as Windows on ARM) and a virtualization environment like Parallels Desktop. Windows on ARM can run most of the same applications as its standard x86 counterpart, and performance in a virtual environment is surprisingly good.

Learn more about running Windows on your Mac with Parallels Desktop, VirtualBox, and more.

Related: How to Run Windows on a Mac

Do You Actually Need to Use Boot Camp?

Boot Camp makes it easy to install Windows, as long as your Mac is capable of natively running Microsoft's operating system. If you want to run the OS natively, this is by far the best way of doing it. There is no performance penalty since Windows runs natively as if it was running on a PC.

That said, there are a few drawbacks to using Boot Camp that you might want to keep in mind. The first is storage space, since Boot Camp requires you to repartition your Mac drive to accommodate a Windows installation. You'll need to dedicate a chunk of available space, whereas a virtual machine like Parallels Desktop only consumes the space amount of space you're actively using.

A Windows 11 desktop seen in Parallels on Mac.

There's also the matter of simplicity. Virtual machines are applications that run within macOS. If you only need to run fairly lightweight applications, booting up Windows within macOS is a fast and easy way to do so. You can even use Parallels Desktop to play games, though performance suffers compared to a native install.

If you go the Boot Camp route, then you'll need to reboot into a Windows or macOS environment each time you want to switch between operating systems. For hours-long gaming sessions, this might make sense, but for quickly accessing apps that only work on Windows, it can become a chore.

What Version of Windows Can I Run?

Which version of Windows you can run depends on which version of macOS you are running and the hardware you're using. As a general rule of thumb:

Some versions of macOS will specifically mention a version of Windows (for example, Windows 10 in macOS Ventura) within the Boot Camp Assistant application. You'll need to find an .ISO image file for your chosen version of Windows.

The latest version of Windows officially supported in any version Boot Camp Assistant is Windows 10. Since Windows 11 has additional hardware requirements (and emerged at a time when Apple was retiring support on new Mac models), Apple does not provide official support for Windows 11 in Boot Camp even in the latest versions of macOS.

You may have luck installing Windows 11 on your Mac by creating an installer with Rufus. There are other guides that involve copying files from a Windows 10 .ISO onto your installation media, but your mileage may vary if you go this route. Fortunately, Windows 10 will receive support until 2025.

How to Install Windows on Your Mac

Let's run through the installation of Windows 10 on an Intel-based Mac. The Boot Camp process has barely changed since it was first introduced, so you should be able to follow this guide regardless of which version of macOS you are using.

Things You'll Need

To complete the installation, you'll need:

First Create Your Installation Media

First, insert the USB drive that you want to use to create your Windows 10 installer. Remember that anything on the drive will be erased, so make sure you don't need any of the files.

Open Boot Camp Assistant and click "Continue" to get started. You'll find it in the Applications > Utilities folder (or you can just search for it with Spotlight).

Launching Boot Camp Assistant with Spotlight search

Once it loads, you'll see a few options that will help you create installation media and prepare a partition on your Mac drive ready for installation. Make sure they're all selected, and hit the "Continue" button.

Check all Boot Camp Assistant options that apply

On the next screen, you'll need to choose the Windows ISO you want to use and the USB drive you want to use as your installer. Boot Camp Assistant is pretty good at automatically detecting these. If it's not pre-filled for you, select an ISO file and drive, then hit the "Continue" button.

Select a Windows .ISO and your destination USB drive

Boot Camp Assistant will now create your installation media. You may need to enter a password (or use Touch ID) to approve changes, after which your drive will be formatted and the Windows installer copied onto it. Sit tight and wait for the process to complete.

Boot Camp Assistant creating a USB drive

Once your USB drive is ready, drag the slider to partition your Boot Camp drive. The more space you give to your Windows volume, the smaller your macOS volume will be.

Drag to resize your Boot Camp Windows partition

Once you're happy, hit "Install" and wait for the process to complete.

Boot Camp assistant partitioning Windows drive

Install Windows 10

Once the partition tool is finished, your Mac should reboot, and the Windows installer should start automatically from your USB drive. If it doesn't, shut down your Mac and then hold the "Option" button while it boots. Select the "EFI Boot" external boot volume (the orange drive icon) when prompted.

Choose the "EFI Boot" option for installing Windows

The Windows 10 setup process will now start. From here, it's a case of following the setup through to the end. First, you'll need to select which version of Windows you want to install.

Select which version of Windows you want to install

Next, nominate the "BOOTCAMP" partition you prepared earlier in the process.

Select your "BOOTCAMP" partition to install Windows

Windows will begin the installation process. You can sit back now and wait for this to complete.

Let Windows install to your "BOOTCAMP" partition

Eventually, you'll need to finalize the installation by picking a language, keyboard layout, and connecting to Wi-Fi when prompted. You can always set up Windows without a Microsoft Account if you don't want to log in right away.

Finalize Windows 10 setup process

Install Boot Camp Drivers

The last step of the installation involves installing a few drivers and Apple's Boot Camp utility on Windows. You should see this appear shortly after you boot into Windows for the first time. Click "Next" to start.

Boot Camp Control Panel setup

Accept the user agreement and hit "Install" to start the installation.

Install Boot Camp Control Panel

Once the installation is complete, hit the "Finish" button, then click "Yes" when prompted to reboot Windows.

Finalize Boot Camp Control Panel installation

You'll now find the Boot Camp Control Center in your Windows system tray in the bottom-right corner of the screen (you may need to click on the up-arrow to see it).

Boot Camp Control Panel in the system tray

How to Boot Into Windows on Your Mac

You can pick between your macOS and Windows partitions by holding the Option key when your Mac starts up. To set a default partition, hold the Control key on your keyboard while selecting a partition (the upward arrow will turn into a circle to signify the change).

Choose between Windows and macOS partitions

You can also set a startup disk using System Settings > General > Startup Disk (macOS Ventura or later), System Preferences > Startup Disk (macOS Monterey and earlier) or using Boot Camp Control Center (on Windows).

How to Remove Windows From Your Mac

The easiest way to remove Windows is to launch the Boot Camp Assistant again from within macOS. Check the "Remove Windows 10 or later version" box and click "Continue," then follow the instructions to delete your Windows partition and recover the space on your macOS partition.

You can also launch Disk Utility and repartition your drive using the "Partition" tool to remove the Windows ("BOOTCAMP") partition.

Sometimes a PC Is a Better Idea

Boot Camp is the best way of getting the most performance out of your Intel-based Mac in a Windows environment, but it's not without its drawbacks. For example, if you want to run Windows specifically for gaming, you might be better off buying a gaming PC and running Windows natively.

If space is an issue, you could opt for a mini PC, and if money is a concern then building your own PC with off-the-shelf-parts is great bang for your buck. Even a console like the Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5 might be a better choice.

If you're sticking with Windows on your Mac, make sure you know where to find the Alt key (among others) on a Mac keyboard.