Downloading windows 10 on mac for free

Here we show you how you can easily get Windows 10 on your Mac for free, including Apple Silicon M1 Macs, in little more than 10 minutes. The best way to run Windows on a Mac is to install it in a virtual machine. A virtual machine allows you to run Windows and macOS at the same time so that you can switch between the two at any moment with just one click.

By far the best virtual environment on Mac is Parallels which makes it extremely easy to install Windows on macOS. With Parallels, you can switch between Windows games or apps and macOS instantly in just a click.

Parallels is also the only way to run Windows on M1 Macs. You can download a free trial of Parallels and you can can read our full Parallels review for a more detailed look.

The advantage however is that Boot Camp is completely free whereas Parallels is only free for 14 days. For the needs of most Mac users that want to run Windows only programs on Mac, using a virtual machine is by far your best option. Windows 11 was released by Microsoft on October 5th and you can now install Windows 11 on a Mac including M1 Macs. You can find full instructions on how to run Windows 11 on a Mac here. Note that If you want to install Windows on an M1 Mac, the following procedure is slightly different and you can find instructions how to install Windows on an M1 Mac for free here.

Parallels is updated frequently to keep apace of updates to macOS and Windows so this may work out cheaper in the long run than having to buy a new version every year if new versions of macOS and Windows are released. By now, the practice is well-established and Windows can work on Mac well. If you want to install Windows on your Mac, you have two options. You can either use Mac Boot Camp, a native feature of the macOS operating system, or you can use a third party virtualization program.

Boot Camp is built into the operating system of all Macs. It makes the separate partition on your hard drive for installing and running Windows.

Once Windows is installed in Boot Camp, every time you turn on your Mac, you will be asked to choose the operating system you want to run. This means that in order to switch from macOS to Windows, you need to reboot your computer.

Virtualization programs are third-party applications that allow to install a separate operating system on one machine. They run like any other app on your Mac, so you can see the entire Windows desktop within a window on your computer. Depending on your specific needs, you can choose the option that works best for you. But we suggest using Boot Camp. Therefore, it will be faster than any other method. Some versions of Windows require a certain processor and more hard drive space than the others.

Therefore, you have to check the documentation that came with your copy of Windows to learn what you need. You also need to make sure that your Mac is compatible with the version of Windows you want to install.

For instance, Windows 10 is supported on these models:. You need to have at least 55 GB of free disk space on your startup drive for installing Windows on a Mac. CleanMyMac has everything to finish the 3-hour task of cleaning your hard drive in less than 5 minutes. It will scan every inch of your system and remove gigabytes of junk in two clicks. Finally, you should also perform a backup of your Mac in case something goes wrong. There are a few methods of backing up your Mac, so choose the most convenient one for you.

You can make automatic backups with Time Machine — software that comes with your Mac. It backs up all data, so you can recover individual files or your entire system from your backups. You may also store files in iCloud and access them whenever you need.

If you have an external storage device, you can copy some files and folders on it. We do recommend you to back up your Mac before installing Windows as it minimizes the chance of losing important data.

Learn how to check your Secure Boot setting. The default Secure Boot setting is Full Security. After installing Windows, you can use any Secure Boot setting without affecting your ability to start up from Windows. Follow the onscreen instructions. Unplug any external devices that aren't necessary during installation.

Then click Next and follow the onscreen instructions to begin installing Windows. Follow the onscreen instructions to install Boot Camp and Windows support software drivers. You will be asked to restart when done. For example, if your Mac has GB of memory, its startup disk must have at least GB of storage space available for Windows. To see how much storage space is available, click the Storage tab in the same window.

These Mac models were offered with GB hard drives as an option.