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Help Installing Windows 10 on Mac Pro 5,1

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spartan2381

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 24, 2017
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I have been browsing and reading multiple threads on how to get Windows 10 installed on a Mac Pro 5,1. From what I have gathered it seems that Windows 10 should be installed in EFI mode to gain the best performance. Can anyone give me the proper steps to get Windows 10 up and running since bootcamp does not support Windows 10. My setup is below.

Mac Pro 5,1
1TB SSD - macOS Sierra installed
480GB SSD - This will be dedicated to Windows 10
 
spartan2381 said:
I have been browsing and reading multiple threads on how to get Windows 10 installed on a Mac Pro 5,1. From what I have gathered it seems that Windows 10 should be installed in EFI mode to gain the best performance. Can anyone give me the proper steps to get Windows 10 up and running since bootcamp does not support Windows 10. My setup is below.

Mac Pro 5,1
1TB SSD - macOS Sierra installed
480GB SSD - This will be dedicated to Windows 10
Click to expand...
[doublepost=1500933062][/doublepost]This is what I did... download a copy of Windows 10 from Microsoft, put it on a zip drive and used bootcamp to install. I used a separate hard drive just for bootcamp/Windows. You can find instructions online. It takes about an hour maybe longer to complete the install. To go back and forth, from Windows to Mac, there is an option on the bottom right corner to reboot into Mac. In Mac you just have to select the start up disk to go into Windows.
 
Freakshow69 said:
[doublepost=1500933062][/doublepost]This is what I did... download a copy of Windows 10 from Microsoft, put it on a zip drive and used bootcamp to install. I used a separate hard drive just for bootcamp/Windows. You can find instructions online. It takes about an hour maybe longer to complete the install. To go back and forth, from Windows to Mac, there is an option on the bottom right corner to reboot into Mac. In Mac you just have to select the start up disk to go into Windows.
Click to expand...

So nothing special needed like editing plist files for bootcamp to support Windows 10 when running Mac Pro 5, 1?
 
spartan2381 said:
So nothing special needed like editing plist files for bootcamp to support Windows 10 when running Mac Pro 5, 1?
Click to expand...

Not for me, no. I have the mid-2012, 2x 3.46 6 core, running 10.11.6... just haven't gotten around to updating. Good luck!
 
Use a disc is the easiest way to do that it. Bootcamp assistant still able to install Windows 10. The only step require work around is after Windows installation, you need to use command prompt to install bootcamp driver. This is the easiest way to do it, but in lagacy mode AFAIK.
 
Yes, burn the Windows ISO to DVD, don't use a flash drive.
Then, hold down OPTION key when you boot and select the DVD called EFI.
This will setup Windows 10 in UEFI mode offering the best performance.
 
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Wasn't there also some issue that your Windows drive should be in bay 1? Or was that for something else?
 
I my case, I can keep all other drives (both OSX and data) connected, they won't affect the installation.

And the Windows drive can be at any bay (including the optical bay).
 
Squuiid said:
Not true. UEFI mode enables AHCI on drives without having to hack it in by force.
AHCI has a significant impact on performance.
Click to expand...

Unless your general workflow can utilise QD32, otherwise, the real world difference is not significant.

4K random read / write won't be affect. That's the main reason to use SSD. TRIM won't be affected.

Sequential speed may able to go up about 20%. But if that's really important, using a cMP is already the wrong decision.

For HDD, doesn't really matter IMO.
 
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h9826790 said:
Unless your general workflow can utilise QD32, otherwise, the real world difference is not significant.

4K random read / write won't be affect. That's the main reason to use SSD. TRIM won't be affected.

Sequential speed may able to go up about 20%. But if that's really important, using a cMP is already the wrong decision.

For HDD, doesn't really matter IMO.
Click to expand...
You're missing the obvious one, CPU usage when accessing the disk in ATA mode can be huge, sometimes maxing out an X5690 core.
 
Squuiid said:
Not true. UEFI mode enables AHCI on drives without having to hack it in by force.
AHCI has a significant impact on performance.
Click to expand...

I have tested this and found the difference negligible. I posted results here when Win 10 came out when I was first person to install it on cMP.

Even my workstation PC runs in legacy mode and every component benchmark hits the manufacturer specification.
 
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I have Windows 10 installed on its own SSD drive. What version of the Bootcamp drivers should I be using?
 
spartan2381 said:
@h9826790 - Will give it a try. Any recommendation on HFS+ driver?
[doublepost=1503682980][/doublepost]@saulinpa - Thank you!
Click to expand...

Paragon HFS+

Also, if you have Magic Mouse / BT 4.0 card etc. you need to manually extract the AppleBluetoothInstaller64.exe from the 5.1.5640 drivers. Otherwise, the card won't work, or the mouse won't scroll.

For bootcamp driver installation under Windows 10, I think you need to run the bootcamp.msi from command prompt (as admin). From memory, the setup.exe won't work properly.
 
@h9826790 - I do have the Magic Mouse and BT 4.0 card. I'll download the 5.1.5640 drivers per your recommendation and see how it goes. Thanks for the help.
 
i did the plist bootcamp hack to get it to let me install win10 but then it was smooth after that. this on 4,1->5,1 sierra latest
 
Freakshow69 said:
[doublepost=1500933062][/doublepost]This is what I did... download a copy of Windows 10 from Microsoft, put it on a zip drive and used bootcamp to install. I used a separate hard drive just for bootcamp/Windows. You can find instructions online. It takes about an hour maybe longer to complete the install. To go back and forth, from Windows to Mac, there is an option on the bottom right corner to reboot into Mac. In Mac you just have to select the start up disk to go into Windows.
Click to expand...
Zip drive or thumb drive I haven't seen a Zip drive in a decade
 
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Squuiid said:
Yes, burn the Windows ISO to DVD, don't use a flash drive.
Then, hold down OPTION key when you boot and select the DVD called EFI.
This will setup Windows 10 in UEFI mode offering the best performance.
Click to expand...
How do you figure out if you already have an install in UEFI mode? Was a while ago now but I'm sure I installed on an old Windows box, updated it fully and installed the bootcamp drivers and then just moved that to my Mac. If I can get better performance I might reinstall.
 
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