Boot Camp (Boot Camp Assistant) is a multi-boot creation utility that comes pre-installed with your Mac and allows you to easily install a Windows copy on a Mac. In other words, Boot Camp partitions the disk and lets you dual-boot your machine. Boot Camp is without a doubt a great way to welcome Windows into Apple's ecosystem. Boot Camp has its own issues.
Indeed, you may lose access to all your normal Mac apps while you are running Windows or some users are running into the "Boot Camp installation failed" or "There is no enough space on USB" error. To avoid such issues and errors, which could take some time to figure out a fix, you can use alternative solutions to install Windows on your Mac.
Boot Camp Alternative #1: Oracle VirtualBox (Free)
VirtualBox is one of the best Boot Camp Assistant alternatives out there. With VirtualBox, you can virtually install multiple operating systems without the need to buy any new hardware. In this case, it lets you run Windows 10 on your Mac and use it like it's running on real hardware.
Unlike Boot Camp, both macOS and Windows can be running at the same time. That means you can run Windows apps on your Mac right alongside your favorite Mac apps, eliminating the need to shut down Windows and boot back into macOS.
But VirtualBox has disadvantages too. Indeed, running two operating systems at once requires a lot of processor power and memory to maintain smooth performance. In reality, most modern Macs can handle Windows in a virtual machine. However, if you want to play some new graphics-intense games, it's a good idea to go for dual-booting with Boot Camp.
Step 1: Download VirtualBox Mac version from official website and also download a copy of Windows 10 ISO.
Step 2: Open VirtualBox on your Mac, then tap on New at the top left corner, select a name and operating system type from a popup and click on the Continue button.
Step 3: Tick the box next to Create a virtual hard disk now and click on Create.
Step 4: Select the VDI VirtualBox Disk image option and hit Continue. After that, select Fixed Size and choose Continue again. Use the slider to increase the file size for Windows 10 (Windows 10 requires a minimum 10 GB of free space).
Step 5: From the VirtualBox's main screen, choose Start to boot the new Windows 10 volume, then choose the Windows 10 ISO file you downloaded earlier, and click Start.
Step 6: Windows 10 will start to boot up and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup. Once you are done, Windows 10 will be running in VirtualBox.
Pros:
- 100% free of cost.
- Easy to set up .
- Create more than Windows guest OS .
Cons:
- Eat up additional computing resources.
- Slow down Mac performance.
- Activate Window is small in size.
- App running slow in Windows guest OS.
Boot Camp Alternative #2: CrossOver Mac ($499)
CrossOver is another great alternative to Boot Camp Assistant. Unlike VirtualBox and Boot Camp, CrossOver takes a different approach to running Windows on a Mac. Indeed, it translates Windows apps' APIs into a form that can be used on Linux and Mac operating system.
In reality, CrossOver is all about Windows apps, which eliminates the need for Windows license. However, one major drawback is CrossOver does not run all Windows apps or some app features may not work while using CrossOver.
Step 1: Head over to www.codeweavers.com, sign up for a free trial, and download CrossOver Mac dmg.
Step 2: Go to the Downloads folder and open the file you downloaded earlier. After that, Archive Utility will start decompressing the zip file.
Step 3 : Double-click the CrossOver app, then move it to the Applications folder. Then, click the Install a Windows Application button and insert the name of the app you wish to run.
Step 4: Click on the app you wish to run and click the Continue button. After that, select the installer source and hit the Choose Installer file button.
Step 5: Select where you want to store the file and select the file. Once you are done, click the Use this installer button and you will be taken back to the Installer Source screen.
Step 6: Hit the Continue button, then create a bottle from the Select Bottle tab and click Continue. After that, CrossOver will install all required software such as NET Framework or Microsoft Direct Runtime. From here, hit the Install button and wait until the installation is complete.
Step 7: Click Done, then click the CrossOver icon to reveal all the bottles you have installed. Just simply locate the bottle you created earlier and run the software.
Pros:
- Lightweight and consume less resource.
- Run Windows app on Mac directly .
- Easy to get started.
- No need to buy Windows license or download Windows ISO.
Cons:
- $499 for a single lifetime license .
- Certain Windows apps are not supported.
Boot Camp Alternative #3: UUByte ISO Editor ($29)
The third alternative we recomend in this post is UUByte ISO Editor, a cross-platform app that burn Windows ISO to USB easily. After burning, a bootable Windows USB is ready and you can use the USB to install a copy of Windows on Mac computers.
UUbyte is not just about installing Windows on a Mac as it has more features, including the ability to extract ISO files and edit them. Currently, it supports the latest macOS Mojave as well as Windows 10 March 2019 Update.
Step 1: First off, download UUbyte ISO Editor for your Mac and Windows 10 ISO.
Step 2 : Open Boot Camp Assistant app on Mac, then head over to Action and click on Download Windows Support Software.
Step 3 : Click Save from the dialog and select a location for the files. After that, launch the UUbyte ISO Editor and then click on Burn.
Step 4: Attach a USB flash drive to the Mac and select the Windows 10 ISO file. After that, click on Burn. Now, the program starts to write ISO file to USB as well as boot sector.
Step 5: Open Disk Utility tool and move to the Partition tab. After that, click the + symbol to create a new drive. Select MS-DOS (FAT) format for Windows 10 installation.
Step 6: Now simply disconnect the USB drive that contains Windows 10 ISO files and restart your Mac while holding down the Option key at once.
Step 7 : When your Mac boots from your USB drive, make sure you run this file: WindowsSupport/BootCamp/Setup.exe. Now, follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
Final Thought
There are a number of ways to run Windows or Windows app on Mac even without the help of Boot Camp Assistant, the built-in tool on Mac for creating dual boot. As you can see from the above content, Boot Camp alternative almost works the same way as Boot Camp or even better. Pick up the best one that works for you!
Petty is editor in chief at UUByte and writes various topics about Windows and Mac to help people make the most of current technology.