Which Windows version best for 2010 Mac Pro/10.13 High Sierra?

[macstatic]

I want to run a few (old/unsupported) Windows and DOS apps and wonder which Windows version would be the best choice? My needs are very basic (these are simple file-editing apps and similar), and I suppose (correct me if I'm wrong!) that the latest Windows is backwards compatible -provided that's true, do I need to be concerned about which Windows version actually works on my Mac Pro mid-2010 (3.46GHz 6-core/24 GB)?

Also, should I stay away from buying whatever says "OEM" for Windows? From what I've told this means the license only works on one specific computer, so if I'd want to install Windows on my 2012 Macbook Pro instead I'd have to buy a brand new license (same thing if I upgrade my Mac Pro significantly with for instance a new graphic card)...

 

[Shirasaki]

Windows 10 should remain 95% compatible for anything released past Windows XP, some may date back to windows 98 era. For those that are not compatible, there are many ways to run inside a virtual machine or something similar, so Windows version itself doesn’t really matter.

What’s actually matter is which version is supported by Apple boot camp, be it Windows 7/XP/8. That should be your determine factor.

As for license, to simply put it, you have to activate windows 7/8/XP somehow on your own cause Microsoft no longer sells those licenses. For Windows 10, just get a Windows 10 Pro license and you will be good to go. You can’t really upgrade to Windows 11 I’d imagine.

 

[macstatic]

Glad to hear that Windows 10 will run most software out there. A trial version would be great to test out the software before buying. I'll see if Microsoft supplies that.

On my Mac Pro I'm running MacOS 10.13 High Sierra (I use some 32-bit software which can't be upgraded). If I further down the line decide to ditch that software I can upgrade to 10.14 Mojave, but I need to invest in a "Metal" compatible graphic card which in turn means I can forget about ever booting into an older OS such as OSX 10.6 Snow Leopard.

But I digress..... which MacOS version Bootcamp will Windows 10 work with?
Since I want to do this legally and Microsoft won't sell licenses for anything below Windows 10 it looks like I'm stuck with that version. I have an unused 128 GB SSD which I could use for this as I'm a little weary of partitioning my main drive. Do I need to install MacOS on the drive first, then repartition it for Bootcamp as well, or can I use the SSD entirely for just Windows?

 

[Shirasaki]

I dunno how boot camp works in too much detail unfortunately, but I strongly not recommend you to upgrade to Mojave unless somehow that’s the only option. High Sierra is the LAST version that has full 32-bit app support, not Mojave. You don’t necessarily need to follow boot camp assistant to install Windows 10, as long as basic preparation is done, which might help in your case, but do some google search first.

You should be able to use an external (as in, compared to internal drive that is soldered on, if that’s the case) SSD to install Windows. As long as boot camp assistant doesn’t complain and you can boot up to Windows, install drivers, all successful, you are golden.

Windows 10 has undergone many revisions. The latest version you can get, again, legally, might not support your Mac very well. Do test it out first.

 

[satcomer]

When you guys realize the Bootcamp system is TWO parts! Thee Program partitions a drive and format using the disk utility protocols FAT32 that reformatted with Windows installer to NTFS! Then one in Windows it would direct you as a user to download Windows drivers from Apple to see Apple download servers and all ports inside your Mac!

 

[macstatic]

I dunno how boot camp works in too much detail unfortunately, but I strongly not recommend you to upgrade to Mojave unless somehow that’s the only option. High Sierra is the LAST version that has full 32-bit app support, not Mojave. You don’t necessarily need to follow boot camp assistant to install Windows 10, as long as basic preparation is done, which might help in your case, but do some google search first.

Apparently there's a Windows 10 trial available (90 days), but only if you go for the "enterprise" version and register first. That'll allow me to test the Windows-software (which was made for much older versions of Windows) and see if it works before forking out the money for a license
On the other hand, if the software doesn't work with Windows 10 (but needs an earlier Windows) I suppose I've "missed the train" as I didn't buy a license back then

You should be able to use an external (as in, compared to internal drive that is soldered on, if that’s the case) SSD to install Windows. As long as boot camp assistant doesn’t complain and you can boot up to Windows, install drivers, all successful, you are golden.

Good to hear that Windows can be installed on an external drive, but does the drive need to have MacOS installed on it first?
It would be so much quicker to just download the Windows trial installer (an .ISO file I believe) and somehow just try it out (on an external hard drive, SSD or USB flash-drive) without all that hassle first.
Does anyone know if this is possible and how you do this?

Windows 10 has undergone many revisions. The latest version you can get, again, legally, might not support your Mac very well. Do test it out first.

Yes, that's a good idea.

 

[Shirasaki]

On the other hand, if the software doesn't work with Windows 10 (but needs an earlier Windows) I suppose I've "missed the train"

Tell you what? You can use any windows version unactivated, and you only lose some customisation plus a watermark at the bottom right corner. If you care so much about “legally use windows”, you can test it out this way, theoretically indefinitely as well.

Also, if I were you, I’d throw the moral burden out of the window and just get the job done if needed be. But that’s the discussion for another day.

but does the drive need to have MacOS installed on it first?

If it does need to be that’ll be stupid and insane. Sadly I don’t have tools available to test this out for you. (Not even using Intel Mac anymore)

 

[macstatic]

Lots of good advice here! Thanks again.
As for the actual installation/configuration I'm going to create a separate thread for that, being a different subject and all.

 

[opeter]

... but I strongly not recommend you to upgrade to Mojave unless somehow that’s the only option. High Sierra is the LAST version that has full 32-bit app support, not Mojave.

What do you mean? I am using Mojave and I am using 32-bit applications without bigger problems (Adobe CS6 Design Standard, DragThing, FineReader Express 5... also some games like Quinn and others).

 

[macstatic]

Shirasaki suggested I not upgrade to 10.14 Mojave, but stay at 10.13 High Sierra if I continue needing to use 32-bit applications.
Are you sure the apps you mention are 32-bit?

In my posting (posting #3 in this thread) I should have mentioned that if I decide to upgrade to 10.14 it'll be because I no longer need those those 32-bit apps or I will have a High Sierra 10.13 on a separate drive which I will boot into whenver I need to use 32-bit apps. A bit cumbersome, but doable in case I very seldomly need to use any 32-bit apps.

10.14 as far as I know demands you have a "Metal" compatible graphic card (which my Mac Pro classic currently doesn't have) but once you put in such a graphic card (after having run it with 10.14 and thus have the Mac Pro firmware upgraded as part of the process, as I've been told if I'm not mistaken) the "Metal" graphic card will also work with 10.13 High Sierra (possibly also one or two MacOS version below as well -I can't remember). But of course I can forget about booting into an even older OS if I should ever need to (i.e. 10.6 Snow Leopard) unless I swap the graphic card again.
Anyway, for the time being I see no real advantage to upgrading beyond 10.13 along with the high cost of a new graphic card to make it worthwhile.

 

[Shirasaki]

What do you mean? I am using Mojave and I am using 32-bit applications without bigger problems (Adobe CS6 Design Standard, DragThing, FineReader Express 5... also some games like Quinn and others).

See the post right below yours for more info. Those are the caveats apple never highlights. Plus Mojave will pop up window at every single 32-bit application running for the first time. Might not be a big deal but annoying nonetheless. High Sierra is much better in regards to 32-bit support.

 

[StephanieSy]

What problems are you having? better to fix them than to avoid newer versions of Windows.

 

[wonderings]

Personally I would run and do run Windows as a VM. Unless you are doing something that needs your entire computers power the advantages of being able to run Windows 10 while running MacOS is huge and makes life much simpler. Would not hesitate buying a Windows 10 OEM installer and have one it in the past from a local computer store. They are supposed to only sell it with new builds, which could simply be a new hard drive. I have been sold OEM without buying any other hardware, other shops may be different. OEM is not specific to a certain brand of pre-built PC, it is just supposed to go along with a computer build be it for personal or resale.

 

[macstatic]

You're right, Wonderings. After all I won't be running Windows apps regularly, so I don't mind as long as it works.

Actually, prior to your reply I've just installed VirtualBox with a Windows 7 ISO disk image file.
It appears to work fine (I had some problems with the actual VirtualBox app as 10.13 High Sierra's security settings wouldn't allow it (I think I read somewhere about it having a bug as not even going to the "Security" system preference and clicking on the "allow" button for that app would do it -the button didn't respond, so I ended up having to reboot into recovery mode, write "csrutil disable" in order to disable system integrity protection then reboot).

Now I'm looking into how to make the shared folder work so I can edit some files on the Windows-side, then transfer them over to the Mac-side when done (or vice versa). It seems a little complex and time-consuming to set up, but in the end (if it works as intended) I believe I'll much easier be able to transfer files cross-platform than with Bootcamp.

UPDATE: thanks to this video I now have a working cross-platform folder for transferring stuff back and forth.
Once set up and having used it for several weeks I must say it works very well (for my use). I don't mind the sluggishness compared to a real PC or in Bootcamp, and I don't have to deal with the hassle of figuring out the Bootcamp installation and dealing with a separate partition (which is tricky to back up).


Thanks for suggesting OEM installers. I haven't had much luck finding low cost OEM packages from the usual stores here for some reason, but will look into the used market. Maybe I can even find an older Windows version (less bloat and CPU demanding than with Windows 10 I assume, since the software I'll be running is pretty old anyway, and probably cheaper as well as it'll be in less demand).

I'm guessing that the OEM installation DVD only contains the same thing you download as an ISO file from Microsoft, and that the valuable part is the license code, right? Does that usually come as a sticker on the package or something? What happens if it's been used on the previous owner's computer before but not un-installed?
Will it prevent me from getting the license verified or will it just invalidate Windows on the previous owner's computer and instead transfer it to mine?