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JanZmus

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 26, 2011
11
0
I have been looking for this case but have not found an answer yet. I have the 2015 Macbook Pro and although I have bought a Windows 7 license a year ago I installed a trial version of Windows 8.1 because bootcamp does not support Windows 7. How can I upgrade to Windows 10 with this configuration?

Thanks
 
Buy a license for Windows 8.1 and then upgrade to 10.

I think I saw that others have had luck with starting the Bootcamp assistant using a Windows 8 installation ISO and then quickly swapping out to a Windows 7 installer after the reboot.
Then you could use your existing key for 7 and then upgrade straight to 10.
 
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Sorry but that does not make sense. If I wanted to pay for it I just could buy a Win 10 license right from the start. Why should I buy a Win 8.1 license just to update to Win 10?
 
Sorry but that does not make sense. If I wanted to pay for it I just could buy a Win 10 license right from the start. Why should I buy a Win 8.1 license just to update to Win 10?

I'd just try his advice minus the first sentence. That part doesn't make sense to me. But theoretically the rest of it does.

"Bootcamp" is two things: (1) Bootcamp Assistant, an application in OS X that partitions the hard drive correctly to support a Windows installation on the same drive as OS X, and (2) a collection of Windows drivers and utilities for the Mac hardware, which is mostly PC hardware.

As he points out, (1) is already done and I doubt you need (2) because Windows has a generic drivers that support the critical hardware.

So basically:
  • BootCamp Assistant for 8.1 (already done)
  • Install 8.1 trial (already done)
  • Back everything up (Seriously. Windows installations have a habit of messing with things, and the hybrid partitioning created by BootCamp is somewhat dangerous.)
  • Install 7 over 8.1
  • Do the 40,000 Windows updates until you get the Windows 10 upgrade utility in the lower right
  • Upgrade to Windows 10
  • Download and install the Bootcamp drivers from Apple support website
  • If 7 or 10 installation futzed up the OS X partition (definitely possible), reinstall OSX and restore from backup
No promises, I haven't done this myself. Hope it works for you.
 
Hey the OP can do whatever he likes.
My way will definitely work and someone in the Marketplace is selling 8.1 licenses for $45. That's less than half the cost of a Windows 10 license. He could be done in 30-minutes.

If he does go the Windows 7 route he doesn't need to do the 40,000 updates. He only has to go as far as SP1. Then he can go to the Microsoft website and manually download the Windows 10 installer.
 
Thank you both for your answers. Gjwilly you are right I missed the "price" point. I think I will give the Win 7 SP1 idea a try.
 
Sorry for the question but how would I do that? I have a Windows 7 DVD and a DVD-Drive. I tried to boot from it with the startup key "c" but It ended up with a black screen.

You'd be much better off asking someone who has actually done this.

The people who have done this talk about starting the boot camp process in OS X using an officially supported version of Windows, then swapping the DVD real quick at some point. My guess is the reboot after Bootcamp Assistant is used and before Windows is installed from the disc.

But like I said, I haven't needed to do this myself, so you should ask someone who has.
 
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