MBP '15, Windows 7 and 10 support

Mais78 said:

So, it looks like Apple dropped support of Win 7 with the new MBP. On the other hand I understand you can install Win 10 with bootcamp even if not officially supported.

1) Does that mean I can still install also Win 7 in bootcamp on MBP 15?

2) Hows does Win 10 preview work in bootcamp?

3) I tried Win 10 in Virtualbox but I cannot get the screen resolution of the MBP, anyone knows how to fix this?

My issue is that I bought a copy of Win 7 not long ago and now Apple dropped support. Since W7 entitles me to a free upgrade to W10 there is no way I m buying W8 to use with MBP15. So I would like to install W10 preview in bootcamp, then when it is officialy out i can upgrade to the official version using my w7 license.

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Instead of using Boot Camp Assistant, just format a FAT32 partition yourself, create a bootable Windows 7 USB stick using a supported Mac and start your new Mac up from that to install Windows 7. Then install it to the relevant partition.

Mais78 said:

Hi, i dont feel confident enough to do all that, i would also need to find the proper drivers. Do you have an answer to my specific questions? Thanks

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The drivers are easily accessible from Apple's website, using the 5640 drivers.

https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1721?locale=en_AU

Mais78 said:

Thanks. If you decide to install W10 instead of W7, can you do a standard bootcamp installation vs manual? I think so, right?
So if bootcamp works for W10 which is not supported why shouldn't it work for W7? Because W10 is closer to W8 (supported) than W7 is?

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If you use Windows 10, you can use the standard BC installation.

The reason why Windows 7 is no longer supported is because Windows 7 does not support the UEFI 2.0 standard well. Since Boot Camp in newer Macs now install in UEFI, installing Windows 7 would not be possible at all.

Besides, Windows 7 does not have USB 3.0 support out of the box.

Haswell late-2013/mid-2014 was basically the transition period between BIOS-CSM and UEFI, in which Haswell Macs had support for both. From Broadwell early-2015 onwards, Apple probably removed the BIOS-CSM layer from the logic board, hence making it impossible to install Windows 7.

Mais78 said:

If you have a MBP15 and a Win7 license, will you ever be able to get Win10 for free on your machine? MS said owner of Win7 will be able to upgrade for free, but you cannot install Win7 on the new MBP so you cannot upgrade? Do you think MS will make a fresh install using Win7 key also possible?
How does it work with current Windows Upgrade Editions?

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Always in the past you can use an upgrade key to activate a clean install. I upgraded 7 Ultimate to 8 Pro and used that key to clean install. I then moved that key from my old windows laptop to bootcamp on my mac and have used it to activate Windows 10.

At the moment you can only activate 10 preview with a 8 Pro key (which I did with the same upgrade key out of curiosity - there is no need to). Activation with a 7 key does not work.

What sort of Windows 7 key do you have? Is it oem or retail? If it is retail you really don't have to worry as it is transferable - if you had to you could install windows 7 in a vm and upgrade it then move the license.

OEM licenses are not transferrable so you might (although I really really doubt it) have to install windows 7 and upgrade on your bootcamp partition.

I suggest you install 10 and wait for October. Once you have 10 installed it is easy to download and create a Windows 7 USB from Microsoft so if you have to (which you won't) you can then backup, wipe windows 10, install windows 7, upgrade and then restore back your documents.

Finally, if you want to use bootcamp to create a windows 7 bootable USB (although I would not, I would create it using rufus from a windows machine) you can delete the <key>Win7OnlyModels</key> from the bootcamp assistant plist as described here


tl:dr? Just install 10 and worry about activation later when it is clear what to do. It will be possible as there are millions of people in the same boat.