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furtadodias

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 8, 2013
4
-1
Is it possible to install windows 10 on macbook air 2020 without bootcamp?
I dont want to have macOs installed on my mac, only windows 10.
 
You still need to use Bootcamp to download the drivers to an external and circumvent the T1/2 boot security (unless you want to boot into recovery). Then during the reboot, hold down Option to load the external you have Windows on. If it’s a newer Mac, it can only be Windows 10 and the bootable USB has to be made on Windows. Or at least I haven’t found another way to make it bootable.
 
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I have downloaded the drivers using bootcamp.
I have disabled T2 chip on bios.
But I want to only have windows 10 installed on my macbook.

Is it possible?
 
No it is not possible. Mac OS is baked into MacBook even for bootcamp to function, you need Mac OS.
 
Get Parallels Desktop and install Windows in a virtual machine.

If you don’t want macOS (why the hell buy a mac then?), you absolutely need bootcamp.
if
That,s what i thought.:rolleyes:It would have been different if it was a older Mac and not a new 2020 one.
 
Surely you can,t play games with Parallels unless you use it to put Windows on a extenal drive?

My MBP has a 2TB internal SSD. While I do have an NVME external drive (Thunderbolt) - I get much higher speeds with the internal 2TB SSD on my MacBook.

Games are doable. Compared to Parallels 15, - with 16 and my EGPU I was able to play Starcraft II on high settings. Was it lag free? No, lol. I much prefer Shadow Cloud.

I have an RX 5700 XT in a Sonnet EGPU - despite this, I don't recommend gaming on Parallels especially if the game is high end (Starcraft is anything but high end and it is playable).

I usually game on my Shadow Cloud instance if I want lag-free experiences. :p
 
You still need to use Bootcamp to download the drivers to an external and circumvent the T1/2 boot security (unless you want to boot into recovery). Then during the reboot, hold down Option to load the external you have Windows on. If it’s a newer Mac, it can only be Windows 10 and the bootable USB has to be made on Windows. Or at least I haven’t found another way to make it bootable.

I would add you need to select the SSD drivers from your previously downloaded boot camp drivers from the usb stick to get the internal ssd to show up.

You can then delete the Mac OS partition and install only Windows on the Mac.
 
I have installed the latest Windows 10 as my sole OS on my 2013 MacBook Air and this is how I did it:

- Make sure you're on macOS (whatever version, I would suggest trying Big Sur already as it will also install the new boot chime on your Mac, and that's cool :D ).

- Use Bootcamp Assistant to create a bootable drive with Windows 10 previously downloaded (you can find it on the official Microsoft website) and a 16gb USB drive. Uncheck the option to trim the space on your drive and directly install Windows afterwards. You just need to create your USB.

- Download the latest Mojave or Catalina or Big Sur from the Mac AppStore to then create another USB (or SD card too if available) drive with the whole macOS on it (8gb required for Mojave if I remember correctly, 16gb for the other two). To do that, rename your external drive in MyVolume and then use one of those 'createinstallmedia' commands provided by Apple in Terminal. It will take some minutes, then you'll have your "health pack" ready for whatever you want to do next (also for restoring back your Mac without the need of internet recovery for example).

- Now save all your files in a cloud service and/or onto an external HDD/USB drive, logout of apps/services from your Mac, sign out of iCloud, etc. (this is optional but I highly recommend it for a cleaner approach and peace of mind).

- Having created both the USB drives (one for Windows Bootcamp and the other with a whole macOS), you can now reboot your Mac with the macOS drive inserted. Press Alt/Option to boot from that. It will take a little longer than a usual macOS boot because it's loading from the USB (or SD if you did that).

- You'll now open Disk Utility, make sure to select "Show all devices" from the list view, and format the entire drive as MS-DOS (FAT) with GUID partition map as scheme (it's fine to me). Do that a bunch of times if you want.

- Time to shut down the system, remove the USB with macOS and insert the one with Bootcamp.

- Boot with the Windows/Bootcamp created USB drive pressing Alt/Option until you see the EFI drive (if I correctly remember the name) and press enter. You're now booting Windows from the USB, next make sure to follow the usual steps for installation (you can also skip the activation tab if you still don't have a serial) and just format the partition with the biggest space in it (not the EFI boot one). Then go ahead and Windows 10 will install.

- After around 15-30 minutes you'll see your Mac rebooting by itself as Windows is finalizing the installation process (it usually takes 2-3 reboots until you can see the new setup screens).

- When it's done, you can skip through all the screens saying "No thanks" to everything, and when you finally see the Windows desktop you should also see the Bootcamp executable starting up automatically. Install that, let it finish, then reboot your new Windows :apple: machine.

- After reboot, connect it to a WiFi network and already proceed with Windows updates (go into Settings - Updates and Security). It will take a little while to update. Finally also open the Windows Store to update every apps already installed in the system and then remove the ones you don't want to use (you can also do this before).

Well, I think that's all folks! :cool:
 
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YOu certainly can. Vmware fusion is free for personal use now. This is the easiest solution. no hackery involved.
 
YOu certainly can. Vmware fusion is free for personal use now. This is the easiest solution. no hackery involved.
Sure but this is not what OP asked for. He/she wants to get rid of macOS and just install and use Windows 10.

Otherwise, you can obviously use VMware Fusion 12 (now free per personal use, as you say) or Parallels Desktop, but these two creates virtual machines and the overall speed is greatly reduced, especially on low-spec hardware.
 
Sure but this is not what OP asked for. He/she wants to get rid of macOS and just install and use Windows 10.

Otherwise, you can obviously use VMware Fusion 12 (now free per personal use, as you say) or Parallels Desktop, but these two creates virtual machines and the overall speed is greatly reduced, especially on low-spec hardware.

I have installed the latest Windows 10 as my sole OS on my 2013 MacBook Air and this is how I did it:

- Make sure you're on macOS (whatever version, I would suggest trying Big Sur already as it will also install the new boot chime on your Mac, and that's cool :D ).

- Use Bootcamp Assistant to create a bootable drive with Windows 10 previously downloaded (you can find it on the official Microsoft website) and a 16gb USB drive. Uncheck the option to trim the space on your drive and directly install Windows afterwards. You just need to create your USB.

- Download the latest Mojave or Catalina or Big Sur from the Mac AppStore to then create another USB (or SD card too if available) drive with the whole macOS on it (8gb required for Mojave if I remember correctly, 16gb for the other two). To do that, rename your external drive in MyVolume and then use one of those 'createinstallmedia' commands provided by Apple in Terminal. It will take some minutes, then you'll have your "health pack" ready for whatever you want to do next (also for restoring back your Mac without the need of internet recovery for example).

- Now save all your files in a cloud service and/or onto an external HDD/USB drive, logout of apps/services from your Mac, sign out of iCloud, etc. (this is optional but I highly recommend it for a cleaner approach and peace of mind).

- Having created both the USB drives (one for Windows Bootcamp and the other with a whole macOS), you can now reboot your Mac with the macOS drive inserted. Press Alt/Option to boot from that. It will take a little longer than a usual macOS boot because it's loading from the USB (or SD if you did that).

- You'll now open Disk Utility, make sure to select "Show all devices" from the list view, and format the entire drive as MS-DOS (FAT) with GUID partition map as scheme (it's fine to me). Do that a bunch of times if you want.

- Time to shut down the system, remove the USB with macOS and insert the one with Bootcamp.

- Boot with the Windows/Bootcamp created USB drive pressing Alt/Option until you see the EFI drive (if I correctly remember the name) and press enter. You're now booting Windows from the USB, next make sure to follow the usual steps for installation (you can also skip the activation tab if you still don't have a serial) and just format the partition with the biggest space in it (not the EFI boot one). Then go ahead and Windows 10 will install.

- After around 15-30 minutes you'll see your Mac rebooting by itself as Windows is finalizing the installation process (it usually takes 2-3 reboots until you can see the new setup screens).

- When it's done, you can skip through all the screens saying "No thanks" to everything, and when you finally see the Windows desktop you should also see the Bootcamp executable starting up automatically. Install that, let it finish, then reboot your new Windows :apple: machine.

- After reboot, connect it to a WiFi network and already proceed with Windows updates (go into Settings - Updates and Security). It will take a little while to update. Finally also open the Windows Store to update every apps already installed in the system and then remove the ones you don't want to use (you can also do this before).

Well, I think that's all folks! :cool:
Sounds a very long process 😯
 
Sure but this is not what OP asked for. He/she wants to get rid of macOS and just install and use Windows 10.

Otherwise, you can obviously use VMware Fusion 12 (now free per personal use, as you say) or Parallels Desktop, but these two creates virtual machines and the overall speed is greatly reduced, especially on low-spec hardware.
I wish. Parallels Desktop 16. would follow VMware Fusion 12 in doing a free version of it.
 
I tried to download VMware Fusion but it wanted a registration and then wouldn't accept my sign-up info without entering in a valid 'company name' and address, business phone, etc. I tried just inputting a fake phone number and N/A as the business name but it wouldn't progress (sign-up greyed out).

There seems to be zero means of setting up a Vmware account (required to get the 'free' download') without a valid company name. It made no sense so I just shelled out the bucks for Parallels. Oh well.
 
I tried to download VMware Fusion but it wanted a registration and then wouldn't accept my sign-up info without entering in a valid 'company name' and address, business phone, etc. I tried just inputting a fake phone number and N/A as the business name but it wouldn't progress (sign-up greyed out).

There seems to be zero means of setting up a Vmware account (required to get the 'free' download') without a valid company name. It made no sense so I just shelled out the bucks for Parallels. Oh well.
Hi Nick, I don,t know what country you are in but you can buy a pro version UK price license key for VM12 PRO
FOR 3.29 on eBay, of course, it does not matter what country you live in as it is a download.
I got one on there myself. No in signing up etc.
* This product does not infringe on any copyright*
I just wish they had Parallels Desktop 16 for the same price, they only have 15. :(

 
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U.S.

I just thought it was odd, on their site it says free for home users and 'non-commercial' use, but after clicking that, then download, it wants a MyVMware account, and to do that a section of the sign-up form has 'required information' for 'your company'. I tried entering fake info, no dice. even without any field showing an error, it still had a greyed out 'sign up button' even with everything else checked. Doesn't matter anyway, since I later found out that the only compatible virtual machine app for a T-2 Mac like mine (running Big Sur) is Parallels 16.

I wanted to run linux natively, as a dual-boot, but unfortunately I found out that there is literally no keyboard, mouse, or wifi support. Can't even pass the boot properly. I have a book for my Mac telling me it's one computer for everything, mac, Windows or whatever. Apparently Apple lied. again. Or Big Sur broke it.

Virtual machine is currently how I am running Elementary OS. It's slow, but passable. At least my laptop doesn't heat up to 90 celcius just watching Youtube like it does on Big Sur (if you want HD or better quality. I had to downgrade to 480p just to get 75C)
 
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