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ChrisPowder

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 22, 2015
37
2
I was just wondering if anyone out there could share their experience with Windows 10 on the MacBook?

How is it running etc, giving the MacBook's limitations?
 
What limitations are you referring to?

As for win10 it works perfectly fine
 
We have two rMBs, and love both of them.

However, for Win 10, I prefer my new XPS 13. Sure, it's a bit bigger. But you get: better screen, bigger screen, more power, more ports, and you can opt for touch. It has USB-C and TB3 as well.
 
I was just wondering if anyone out there could share their experience with Windows 10 on the MacBook?

How is it running etc, giving the MacBook's limitations?

I hate OSX, I only use Windows, and I bought my 12" Retina MacBook in May strictly to run Windows 10 and it's brilliant, couldn't be happier. I use the free Boot Camp utility in the MacBook to boot directly to Windows each time, it's like OSX doesn't exist.

The only things that are different using a MacBook vs. a dedicated HP/Dell/Toshiba machine for Windows are:

1. There is no Print Screen key, so screen captures have to be done using the Windows Snipping Tool which is included in Windows 10.

2. There is no Windows key, so to lock the computer screen and bring up the passcode entry you have to hit CTRL + L instead of Windows + L.

3. You need to use Hibernate instead of Sleep for short-term shut downs for battery purposes.

That's it. Use the Snipping Tool, learn a new keyboard shortcut, and set Hibernate instead of Sleep and it's the best Windows notebook on the market. I'm thrilled with it. These so-called MacBook "limitations" are mythical, don't let them worry you.

BJ
 
I hate OSX, I only use Windows, and I bought my 12" Retina MacBook in May strictly to run Windows 10 and it's brilliant, couldn't be happier. I use the free Boot Camp utility in the MacBook to boot directly to Windows each time, it's like OSX doesn't exist.

The only things that are different using a MacBook vs. a dedicated HP/Dell/Toshiba machine for Windows are:

1. There is no Print Screen key, so screen captures have to be done using the Windows Snipping Tool which is included in Windows 10.

2. There is no Windows key, so to lock the computer screen and bring up the passcode entry you have to hit CTRL + L instead of Windows + L.

3. You need to use Hibernate instead of Sleep for short-term shut downs for battery purposes.

That's it. Use the Snipping Tool, learn a new keyboard shortcut, and set Hibernate instead of Sleep and it's the best Windows notebook on the market. I'm thrilled with it. These so-called MacBook "limitations" are mythical, don't let them worry you.

BJ

Can you install Windows 10 using bootcamp after OS X is already installed? Will I need to reformat my OS X install?
 
Can you install Windows 10 using bootcamp after OS X is already installed? Will I need to reformat my OS X install?
That's how Bootcamp works. You use the Bootcamp utility in OS X. You can tell it how much space to use for Windows and Bootcamp does the repartitioning for you.
 
Can you install Windows 10 using bootcamp after OS X is already installed? Will I need to reformat my OS X install?

As Fancu said, you use the Boot Camp utility in OSX. You buy a clean version of Windows 10 from Microsoft, follow the prompts, and about an hour later you're running both operating systems.

From there, you use the Boot Camp Utility in Windows to jump back over to OSX whenever you want, the files you create in Windows are accessible from OSX and vise versa. For me, I have no need for OSX so I dedicated about 80% of my drive space to the Windows partition and tell Boot Camp to boot directly into Windows each time. The end result is that I run Windows 10 on the 12" Retina MacBook and it is no different in booting or performance than if I were running an HP or a Dell.

BJ
 
As Fancu said, you use the Boot Camp utility in OSX. You buy a clean version of Windows 10 from Microsoft, follow the prompts, and about an hour later you're running both operating systems.

From there, you use the Boot Camp Utility in Windows to jump back over to OSX whenever you want, the files you create in Windows are accessible from OSX and vise versa. For me, I have no need for OSX so I dedicated about 80% of my drive space to the Windows partition and tell Boot Camp to boot directly into Windows each time. The end result is that I run Windows 10 on the 12" Retina MacBook and it is no different in booting or performance than if I were running an HP or a Dell.

BJ
You don't need to buy Windows 10 you can buy a win 7 key for $20 and use that to activate win 10. That's if you want to save $$$
 
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You don't need to buy Windows 10 you can buy a win 7 key for $20 and use that to activate win 10. That's if you want to save $$$

Good tip, I didn't know that back in May when I paid $120 to Microsoft.

BJ
 
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You don't need to buy Windows 10 you can buy a win 7 key for $20 and use that to activate win 10. That's if you want to save $$$
I tried that way as I had several keys for win 8.1 and could not upgrade ended up getting Win 10 keys instead

However on our other Macs it was no problem to upgrade
 
So I'm thinking I'll install Windows 10 on my MacBook. Please could someone explain to me exactly how I could get it for $20? That sounds like a really good deal. Did those of you who installed it without buying it direct from Microsoft get the ISO image by using Microsoft Image Creation Tool?
 
You need a v1511 of win10 which allows input of the key after install.
I tried that way as I had several keys for win 8.1 and could not upgrade ended up getting Win 10 keys instead

However on our other Macs it was no problem to upgrade
 
You download the latest win 10 installer from Microsoft. Then you use boot camp and follow the process of installing Windows. Once that's done you activate it by typing in a win 7/8 licence key.

If you search google for Windows 7 product key you'll find loads of companies selling old licences for next to nothing. You pay and they email the code over. Slap that in and it'll activate.

My MacBook runs win10 pro and it cost me £15
So I'm thinking I'll install Windows 10 on my MacBook. Please could someone explain to me exactly how I could get it for $20? That sounds like a really good deal. Did those of you who installed it without buying it direct from Microsoft get the ISO image by using Microsoft Image Creation Tool?
 
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Thanks man. Will I need a specific license for Pro vs Home edition or can it just be any Win 7 license? Where did you buy yours for £15 if you don't mind me asking? :)
 
Try FN+Shift+F11 for print screen :)

Ha! Learned something new. Gracias.

That said, I actually like the Snipping Tool as I can control a capture that's either full screen or just a portion thereof, I find it quite useful.

BJ
 
Ha! Learned something new. Gracias.

That said, I actually like the Snipping Tool as I can control a capture that's either full screen or just a portion thereof, I find it quite useful.

BJ
That's great. Thanks for all the help.

A noob question if you don't mind- if I purchase a copy of Windows 10 and install it on my rMB, if I then purchase a different Mac, can I uninstall it on my rMB and install it on my new Mac, without any additional costs?
 
That's great. Thanks for all the help.

A noob question if you don't mind- if I purchase a copy of Windows 10 and install it on my rMB, if I then purchase a different Mac, can I uninstall it on my rMB and install it on my new Mac, without any additional costs?

I believe the answer is yes, you're allowed to install Windows on one machine always, even if you change machines over the years. I believe you deactivate the registration from the one installed first and then use that same activation key to install it and activate it on the new computer.

BJ
 
So I'm thinking I'll install Windows 10 on my MacBook. Please could someone explain to me exactly how I could get it for $20? That sounds like a really good deal. Did those of you who installed it without buying it direct from Microsoft get the ISO image by using Microsoft Image Creation Tool?

In my link I sent the web site think you have seen it before but yes I got the key and DL the ISO from MS independently :)
 
You need a v1511 of win10 which allows input of the key after install.

Thanks but that was not the problem being a windows guy I have more copies of windows from all my previous MBA for some unknown reason only on the rMB I could not upgrade for free I tried literally 20-30 different permutations only a full install from MS for windows 10 would work of course I did the skip serial key 1st to see if it was ok before I bought a key

On our other Macs the upgrade was fine only our rMB's had a problem going from 8.1 to 10, I think it was the MS install did not like how the rMB partitions are done and thinks there is an error on the SDD

Probably if you go straight to 10 you will see no problem but I would suggest that anyone considering using bootcamp and buying the cheaper win 7, 8, 8.1 route is to install prior to buying a key to make sure they have no problems, then get the upgrade
 
That's great. Thanks for all the help.

A noob question if you don't mind- if I purchase a copy of Windows 10 and install it on my rMB, if I then purchase a different Mac, can I uninstall it on my rMB and install it on my new Mac, without any additional costs?

Yes with a full Win 10, if you go the upgrade route you need to use a utility afterwards to get the Win 10 Licence key that you can re-use on any one PC at a time
 
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