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Can anyone explain Bootcamp to me please and help with setting it up ?

D

dUnKle

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 28, 2020
174
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I have a Mac mini that got last year when I got rid of my windows machine
12 months on I am just about getting to grips with it, however there are a few things that I would still like the opportunity to use windows for

I own Windows and would like to get it to run on my Mac. In fact, I have, however always with problems

On the two occasions I do it seems to replace MacOS as the bootable operating system and always loads by default

Can anyone advise how to stop this. How I can just have windows available on the occasion I need it and how I boot into it when I do want it

thanks
 
dUnKle said:
Can anyone advise how to stop this. How I can just have windows available on the occasion I need it and how I boot into it when I do want it
Click to expand...

Bootcamp is the means for Apple to allow windows to run on a mac. This includes a process to create a partition to install windows, and device drivers that are needed.

What can happen, is that after you create the windows partition and boot into the windows installer, you pick the wrong partition, and thus overwrite macOS. When I had a mac, I'd purposely make the windows partition a size no where near that of the mac, i.e., not a clean 50-50 split and thus when selecting what partition to install windows, its fairly evident.
 
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Also, set up the Mac boot partition from within Windows after BootCamp spits out all its drivers for Windows. Search for BootCamp in Windows search.

Might help as I think setting the boot drive from Windows helps much more better for the purpose of booting to macOS.
 
I’ve found a guide to install on an external ssd which I have a couple spare so thought would try.

would I be correct in thinking as long as don’t have that drive plugged in macOS would boot but if plugged in, windows would boot automatically?
 
dUnKle said:
I’ve found a guide to install on an external ssd which I have a couple spare so thought would try.

would I be correct in thinking as long as don’t have that drive plugged in macOS would boot but if plugged in, windows would boot automatically?
Click to expand...

Installing Windows on an external usb drive creates it's own world of problems.

For instance read this thread:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/need-recommendation-for-external-ssd.2288231/

There are also many other threads about (problems when) installing Windows on an external SSD.
Also most articles (Google) about this subject describing how to do this are using 'Windows to go' which is not supported by Microsoft anymore.

In my opinion, the best and least complicated way to go is installing Windows on your internal drive with bootcamp. That's the officially supported way.
 
@dUnKle doesn't say what Mini they have. I got a 2018 i7 Mini last summer and installed Windows 10 under Parallels. It works better than I ever imagined, much faster than my HP Desktop PC from 2013 and I'm running some pretty demanding GIS software (for making maps). But I don't play games or do things that require the absolute best performance.

Installing Windows with Parallels is basically a no-brainer, just a few clicks. No need to create partitions or worry about boot disks. What really amazes me is that Windows starts in about 10 seconds. And the integration with MacOS is great. So, depending on your needs and exactly what kind of Mini you have, it's worth considering a virtual machine for Windows instead of Bootcamp.
 
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Cheers
I shall try and research parallels
It’s for very very very light windows use
I currently have a 2018 mini but likely get an m1 later in year

it’s just to get a few niche programs working that can’t get on Mac, mostly comic rack
 
dUnKle said:
Cheers
I shall try and research parallels
It’s for very very very light windows use
I currently have a 2018 mini but likely get an m1 later in year

it’s just to get a few niche programs working that can’t get on Mac, mostly comic rack
Click to expand...

Maybe this is superfluous and you know this already, but Windows (until now) is not available for the M1.
 
AndyMacAndMic said:
Maybe this is superfluous and you know this already, but Windows (until now) is not available for the M1.
Click to expand...

ah, ok
Did not know that. Thanks
It wouldn’t be an issue as the 2018 mini would be used by my daughter so would still have access. But thanks, that’s helpful

I’ll look at “ parallels “
 
Apple does not support Windows on the M1. Since Intel Macs (like the 2018 Mini) use the same processor as Windows machines, it is possible for them to efficiently run Windows. On the M1, this would require some kind of emulation which has performance issues. Now, there is a version of Windows that runs on ARM processors and people have been playing with that on the M1, but it's really still in the "experimental" phase, from what I've read.

If your needs are really modest, you could also look at VMWare Fusion, they have a free version for home use. I have no experience with it however. Parallels has a free trial, but you need to purchase if you want to continue. They have a subscription version as well as a one-time purchase. The subscription version includes free updates and is capable of using more processors and more memory. The one-time purchase only offers support for the version you buy and you would need to pay for future upgrades.
 
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Thanks.
in almost 12 months I’ve had less than a handful of occasions do need windows and when did was only for ten minutes or so at a time.

I actually may have an old nuc somewhere that may be worth setting up just as a windows machine maybe
 
dUnKle said:
Thanks.
in almost 12 months I’ve had less than a handful of occasions do need windows and when did was only for ten minutes or so at a time.

I actually may have an old nuc somewhere that may be worth setting up just as a windows machine maybe
Click to expand...
Probably that is the best way to go: a dedicated NUC for Windows. I don't know what kind of Intel processor you have in your NUC, but even a simple i3 with 4 GB RAM should be more than capable to run standard Windows tasks.
 
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allan.nyholm said:
Instead of purchasing Parallels consider signing up for an account at VMware and make use of their free VMWare Fusion Player 12 for Mac. You get a serialnumber for activation, but you don't pay a dime for the virtualization software.
Click to expand...
^ I will add that having used both, I actually prefer VMWare, and happily paid for it before it was free. It has a more Mac-native interface, and performance for Windows guests is basically the same. (I've actually found VMWare does much better than Parallels for Mac guests.)
 
dUnKle said:
I have a Mac mini that got last year when I got rid of my windows machine
12 months on I am just about getting to grips with it, however there are a few things that I would still like the opportunity to use windows for

I own Windows and would like to get it to run on my Mac. In fact, I have, however always with problems

On the two occasions I do it seems to replace MacOS as the bootable operating system and always loads by default

Can anyone advise how to stop this. How I can just have windows available on the occasion I need it and how I boot into it when I do want it

thanks
Click to expand...

To answer your original question. If you are running Windows in Bootcamp and want to boot into MacOS just Click ^ in the right side of the taskbar, then click the Boot Camp and then select "Restart in MacOS".

The process is detailed by Apple here: https://support.apple.com/guide/boo...your-mac-in-windows-or-macos-bcmp29b8ac66/mac
 
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