Boot Camp ( software ) - wikipedia Boot Camp ( software ) For other uses, see Boot camp. Boot Camp Assistant Boot Camp 5.1. 2 running on Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite Developer ( s ) Apple Inc. Initial release April 5, 2006 ; 11 years ago ( 2006 - 04 - 05 ) Stable release 6.1. 0 / August 10, 2016 ; 19 months ago ( 2016 - 08 - 10 ) Type Software assistant for dual booting License Proprietary Website www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/ Boot Camp Assistant is a multi boot utility included with Apple Inc. 's macOS that assists users in installing Microsoft Windows operating systems on Intel - based Macintosh computers. The utility guides users through non-destructive disk partitioning ( including resizing of an existing HFS+ partition, if necessary ) of their hard disk drive and installation of Windows device drivers for the Apple hardware. The utility also installs a Windows Control Panel applet for selecting the boot operating system. Initially introduced as an unsupported beta for Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, the utility was first introduced with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and has been included in subsequent versions of the operating system ever since. Previous versions of Boot Camp supported Windows XP, and Windows Vista. Boot Camp 4.0 for Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard up to Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion version 10.8. 2 only supported Windows 7. However, with the release of Boot Camp 5.0 for Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion in version 10.8. 3, only 64 - bit versions of Windows 7 and Windows 8 are officially supported. Boot Camp 6.0 added support for Windows 10. Boot Camp 6.1 ( macOS 10.12 Sierra only ) will only accept new installations of Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10. Contents 1 Overview 1.1 Installation 1.2 Startup Disk 2 Requirements 2.1 Mac OS X 10.7 Lion and Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion 2.2 Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard 2.3 Supported Macintosh computers with Windows 8 3 Limitations 4 Boot Camp Version history 5 Boot Camp Support Software ( for Windows ) Version History 6 See also 7 References 8 External links Overview Installation Setting up Windows 10 on a Mac requires a USB flash drive and the ISO image of Windows 10 provided by Microsoft. Boot Camp reformats the flash drive as a Mac bootable install disk, and combines Windows 10 with install scripts to load hardware drivers for the targeted Mac computer. Boot Camp currently supports Windows 10 on a range of Macs dated mid-2012 or newer. Startup disk By default, Mac will always boot from the last - used startup disk. Holding down the option key ( ⌥ ) at startup brings up the boot manager, allowing the user to choose which operating system to start up. When using a non-Apple keyboard, the alt key usually performs the same action. The boot manager can also be launched by holding down the `` menu '' button on the Apple Remote at startup. On older Macs, its functionality relies on BIOS emulation through EFI and a partition table information synchronization mechanism between GPT and MBR combined. On newer Macs, Boot Camp keeps the hard disk as a GPT so that Windows is installed and booted in UEFI mode. Requirements Mac OS X 10.7 Lion and Mac OS X 10.8. Mountain Lion Apple 's Boot Camp system requirements lists the following requirements for Mac OS X 10.7 Lion and Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion : 8 GB USB storage device, or external drive formatted as MS - DOS ( FAT ) for installation of Windows drivers for Mac hardware 20 GB free hard disk space for a first - time installation or 40 GB for an upgrade from a previous version of Windows A full version of one of the following operating systems : Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, or Ultimate ( 64 - bit editions only ) Windows 8 and Windows 8 Professional ( 64 - bit editions only ) Windows 10 Home, Pro, Pro for Workstation, Education or Enterprise ( 64 - bit editions only ) Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Apple lists the following requirements for Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard : An Intel - based Macintosh computer with the latest firmware ( Early Intel - based Macintosh computers require an EFI firmware update for BIOS compatibility ). A Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard or Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard installation disc or Mac OS X Disc 1 included with Macs that have Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard or Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard preinstalled ; this disc is needed for installation of Windows drivers for Mac hardware 10 GB free hard disk space ( 16 GB is recommended for Windows 7 ) A full version of one of the following operating systems : Windows XP Home Edition or Windows XP Professional Edition with Service Pack 2 or higher ( 32 - bit editions only ) Windows Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise or Ultimate ( 32 - bit and 64 - bit editions ) Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise or Ultimate ( 32 - bit and 64 - bit editions ) Supported Macintosh computers with Windows 8 Officially, the earliest Macintosh models that support Windows 8 are the mid-2011 MacBook Air, 13 - inch - mid-2011 or 15 and 17 - inch - mid-2010 MacBook Pro, mid-2011 Mac Mini, 21 - inch - mid-2011 or 27 - inch - mid-2010 iMac, and early 2009 Mac Pro. By running the Boot Camp assistant with a compatible version of Microsoft Windows setup disc in the drive and switching to a Windows 8 disc when macOS reboots the machine to begin installing Windows, Windows 8 can be installed on older unsupported hardware. Limitations Boot Camp will only help the user partition their disk if they currently have only a primary HFS partition, an EFI System Partition, and a macOS Recovery Partition. Thus, for example, it is not possible to maintain an additional storage partition. A workaround has been discovered that involves interrupting the standard procedure after creating the Boot Camp partition, resizing the primary macOS partition and creating a third partition in the now available space, then continuing with the Windows install. Changes to the partition table after Windows is installed are officially unsupported, but can be achieved with the help of third party software. Boot Camp does not help users install Linux, and does not provide drivers for it. Most methods for dual - booting with Linux on Mac rely on manual disk partitioning, and the use of an EFI boot manager such as rEFInd. Boot Camp Version history 1.0 beta April 5, 2006 Original release Contained a software bug that prevented certain users from booting back into Mac OS X 1.1 beta August 26, 2006 Support for the latest Intel - based Macintosh computers Easier partitioning using presets for popular sizes Ability to install Windows XP on any internal disk Support for built - in iSight cameras Support for built - in microphones Right - click when pressing the right - hand Apple key on Apple keyboards Improved Apple keyboard support including Delete, PrintScreen, NumLock, and ScrollLock keys 1.1. 1 beta September 14, 2006 Support for Core 2 Duo iMacs 1.1. 2 beta October 30, 2006 The Apple USB Modem now works correctly Trackpad scrolling and right - click gestures work correctly Fixed idle sleep bugs Reduced dialogs during Windows driver installation Improved international support Improved 802.11 wireless networking support 1.2 beta March 28, 2007 Support for 32 - bit Windows Vista Updated drivers, including but not limited to trackpad, AppleTime ( sync ), audio, graphics, modem, iSight camera Support for the Apple Remote ( works with iTunes and Windows Media Player ) A Windows Notification Area icon for easy access to Boot Camp information and actions Improved keyboard support for Korean, Chinese, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Russian, and French Canadian Improved Windows driver installation experience Updated documentation and Boot Camp on - line help in Windows Apple Software Update ( for Windows XP and Vista ) 1.3 beta June 7, 2007 Support for the MacBook Pro 's backlit keyboard Apple Remote pairing Updated graphics drivers Improved Boot Camp driver installer Improved international keyboard support Localization fixes Updated Windows Help for Boot Camp 1.4 beta August 8, 2007 Support for the MacBook Pro 's backlit keyboard Adds Apple Remote Pairing Updated graphics drivers Improved Boot Camp driver installer Improved international keyboard support Updates to Windows help for Boot Camp 2.0 October 26, 2007 Updated Boot Camp control panel Updated keyboard support Updated drivers Updated localization Support for the latest Mac models Updates to Windows help for Boot Camp 2.1 April 24, 2008 Supports for Windows XP with Service Pack 3 Supports for 64 - bit Windows Vista 2.2 November 19, 2009 Fixes issues with the trackpad and digital audio ports on portables Adds support for Apple Magic Mouse and Wireless Keyboard 3.0 August 28, 2009 Read Mac Volumes from Windows Read / Copy Files between Mac and Windows Support for advanced features on Apple Cinema displays Improved tap - to - click support Command line version of the Startup Disk Control Panel from Windows 3.1 January 19, 2010 Support for Windows 7 ( Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate ) Addresses issues with the Apple trackpad Turns off the red digital audio port LED on laptop computers when it is not being used Supports the Apple wireless keyboard and Apple Magic mouse 3.2 November 18, 2010 Adds support for the ATI Radeon HD 5870 graphics card, Apple USB Ethernet Adapter, MacBook Air SuperDrive Addresses critical bug fixes Drops support for 64 - bit Windows Vista 3.3 August 24, 2011 Addresses critical bug fixes Adds support for new hardware Drops support for Windows XP, Windows Vista 4.0 July 20, 2012 Drops support for all versions of Windows XP and Vista Currently only available in Mac OS X 10.6 `` Snow Leopard '', Mac OS X 10.7 `` Lion '', and OS X 10.8 `` Mountain Lion '' Added Support to Install ISO files from USB 5.0 March 14, 2013 Support for Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro ( 64 - bit only ) Boot Camp support for Macs with a 3 TB hard drive Drops support for 32 - bit Windows 7 Currently only available in OS X Mountain Lion version 10.8. 3 and later 5.1 February 11, 2014 Support for Windows 8.1 and Windows 8.1 Pro ( 64 - bit only ) 5.1. 2 October 16, 2014 6.0 August 13, 2015 Support for Windows 10 ( 64 - bit only ) 6.1 ( Sierra only ) September 20, 2016 Only accept new installations of Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 ( 64 - bit ) Boot Camp Support Software ( for Windows ) Version History Version Date Supported Systems 5.1. 5621 Feb 11, 2014 MacBook Air ( 11 - inch & 13 - inch, Mid 2011 ) MacBook Air ( 11 - inch & 13 - inch, Mid 2012 ) MacBook Pro ( 15 - inch & 17 - inch, Mid 2010 ) MacBook Pro ( 13 - inch, & 15 - inch, Early 2011 ) MacBook Pro ( 17 - inch, Early 2011 ) MacBook Pro ( 13 - inch, 15 - inch & 17 - inch Late 2011 ) MacBook Pro ( 13 - inch & 15 - inch, Mid 2012 ) MacBook Pro ( Retina, Mid 2012 ) MacBook Pro ( Retina, 13 - inch, Late 2012 ) MacBook Pro ( Retina, 13 - inch & 15 - inch Early 2013 ) Mac Pro ( Early 2009 ) Mac Pro ( Mid 2010 ) Mac Pro ( Mid 2012 ) Mac mini ( Mid 2011 ) Mac mini ( Late 2012 ) iMac ( 27 - inch, Mid 2010 ) iMac ( 21.5 - inch & 27 - inch, Mid 2011 ) iMac ( 21.5 - inch, Late 2011 ) iMac ( 21.5 - inch & 27 - inch, Late 2012 ) iMac ( 21.5 - inch ) Early 2013 5.1. 5640 Feb 11, 2014 MacBook Air ( 11 - inch, Mid 2013 ) MacBook Air ( 13 - inch, Mid 2013 ) MacBook Air ( 11 - inch, Early 2014 ) MacBook Air ( 13 - inch, Early 2014 ) MacBook Pro ( Retina, 13 - inch, Late 2013 ) MacBook Pro ( Retina, 15 - inch, Late 2013 ) MacBook Pro ( Retina, 13 - inch, Mid 2014 ) MacBook Pro ( Retina, 15 - inch, Mid 2014 ) Mac Pro ( Late 2013 ) iMac ( 21.5 - inch, Late 2013 ) iMac ( 27 - inch, Late 2013 ) 5.1. 5722 Aug 12, 2015 iMac ( 21.5 - inch, Mid 2014 ) 5.1. 5769 Aug 12, 2015 iMac ( Retina 5K, 27 - inch, Late 2014 ) Mac Mini ( Late 2014 ) 6.1. 6655 Sep 25, 2017 MacBook Pro ( Retina, 15 inch, 2015 ) MacBook Pro ( Retina, 13 inch, early 2015 ) MacBook Pro ( Retina, 15 inch, mid 2014 ) MacBook Pro ( Retina, 13 inch, mid 2014 ) MacBook Pro ( Retina, 15 inch, Late 2013 ) MacBook Pro ( Retina, 13 inch, Late 2013 ) MacBook Pro ( Retina, 15 inch, early 2013 ) MacBook Pro ( Retina, 13 inch, early 2013 ) MacBook Pro ( Retina, 13 inch, Late 2012 ) MacBook Pro ( Retina, mid 2012 ) MacBook Pro ( 13 inch, mid 2012 ) MacBook Pro ( 15 inch, mid 2012 ) MacBook Air ( 13 inch, early 2015 ) MacBook Air ( 11 inch, early 2015 ) MacBook Air ( 13 inch, early 2014 ) MacBook Air ( 11 inch, early 2014 ) MacBook Air ( 13 inch, 2013 ) MacBook Air ( 11 inch, 2013 ) MacBook Air ( 13 inch, mid 2012 ) MacBook Air ( 11 inch, mid 2012 ) MacBook ( Retina display, 12 inch, early 2015 ) iMac ( Retina 5k display, 27 inch, 2015 ) iMac ( Retina 5K display, 27 inch, Late 2014 ) iMac ( 21.5 inch, mid 2014 ) iMac ( 27 inch, Late 2013 ) iMac ( 21.5 inch, Late 2013 ) iMac ( 27 inch, Late 2012 ) iMac ( 21.5 inch, Late 2012 ) Mac mini ( Late 2014 ) Mac mini Server ( late 2012 ) Mac mini ( late 2012 ) Mac Pro ( late 2013 ) See also Apple 's transition to Intel processors PowerPC Architecture Universal binary Boot Camp Rosetta Parallels Desktop for Mac rEFIt and rEFInd VMware Fusion VirtualBox References ^ Jump up to : Broersma, Matthew ( April 13, 2006 ). `` Users Find Flaw in Boot Camp ''. PC World. Retrieved August 2, 2011. Jump up ^ Mossberg, Walter ( April 6, 2006 ). `` Boot Camp Turns Your Mac Into a Reliable Windows PC ''. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 2, 2011. Jump up ^ Kessler, Topher ( August 1, 2011 ). `` Boot Camp 4 requires Windows 7 or later ''. CNET. Retrieved February 24, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Boot Camp 5 : Frequently asked questions ''. Apple Inc. Retrieved March 14, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Apple BootCamp 5.0 only supports 64 - bit versions of Windows 7 and 8 ''. BetaNews. March 15, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Use Windows 10 on your Mac with Boot Camp ''. Apple Support. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 29. Jump up ^ `` You need BIOS compatibility and a MBR partition table to boot Windows ''. rEFIt project. December 9, 2006. Retrieved July 19, 2009. Jump up ^ `` EFI and Windows on Option Boot Screen ''. Twocanoes. December 4, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2015. ^ Jump up to : `` Boot Camp : System requirements for Microsoft Windows ''. Apple Inc. January 19, 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Boot Camp 2.0 : Which versions of Microsoft Windows are supported ? ''. Apple Inc. June 17, 2008. Retrieved October 3, 2008. ^ Jump up to : `` Boot Camp : Macs that work with 64 - bit editions of Microsoft Windows Vista ''. Apple Inc. December 21, 2010. Retrieved January 28, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Boot Camp : System requirements for Microsoft Windows operating systems ''. Apple Inc. March 14, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Boot Camp : Frequently asked questions about installing Windows 8 ''. Apple Inc. March 14, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Set up a Windows partition on your Mac ''. Jump up ^ `` Successful setup of OS X Lion + Data Partition... - Apple Support Communities ''. Jump up ^ `` how to resize my bootcamp partition without del... - Apple Support Communities ''. Jump up ^ `` How to Install and Dual Boot Linux on a Mac ''. Jump up ^ Apple Inc. ( March 16, 2011 ). `` Boot Camp 3.0, Mac OS X 10.6 : Frequently asked questions ''. Apple Inc. Retrieved August 2, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Boot Camp Software Update 3.3 for Windows ''. Jump up ^ Keizer, Gregg ( August 2, 2011 ). `` OS X Lion requires Windows 7 for Boot Camp ''. Computerworld. Retrieved August 2, 2011. External links Wikinews has related news : Apple unveils `` Boot Camp '' allowing Windows to work on Macs Boot Camp support page and installation instructions Using the Apple Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard in Boot Camp Troubleshooting Internet Connectivity Issues on Boot Camp with Windows 8 macOS History Architecture Components Technologies Server Software Versions Server 1.0 Hera Public Beta Kodiak 10.0 Cheetah 10.1 Puma 10.2 Jaguar 10.3 Panther 10.4 Tiger 10.5 Leopard 10.6 Snow Leopard 10.7 Lion 10.8 Mountain Lion 10.9 Mavericks 10.10 Yosemite 10.11 El Capitan 10.12 Sierra 10.13 High Sierra Applications Automator Calculator Calendar Chess Contacts Dashboard Dictionary DVD Player FaceTime Finder Game Center Grapher iTunes ( version history ) Launchpad Mac App Store Mail Messages Notes Notification Center Photo Booth Photos Preview QuickTime Reminders Safari ( version history ) Stickies TextEdit Time Machine Discontinued Front Row iChat iPhoto iSync Sherlock Utilities Activity Monitor AirPort Utility AppleScript Editor Archive Utility Audio MIDI Setup Bluetooth File Exchange Boot Camp ColorSync Configurator Console Crash Reporter DigitalColor Meter Directory Utility DiskImageMounter Disk Utility Font Book Grab Help Viewer Image Capture Installer Keychain Access Migration Assistant Network Utility ODBC Administrator Screen Sharing System Preferences System Information Terminal Universal Access VoiceOver Discontinued Software Update Remote Install Mac OS X Technology and user interface AirDrop Apple File System Apple menu Apple Push Notification Service AppleScript Aqua Audio Units Bonjour CloudKit Cocoa ColorSync Command key Core Animation Core Audio Core Data Core Foundation Core Image Core OpenGL Core Text Core Video CUPS Cover Flow Darwin Dock FileVault Fonts Gatekeeper Grand Central Dispatch icns iCloud Inkwell I / O Kit Kernel panic Keychain launchd Mach - O Menu extra Metal Mission Control OpenCL Option key Preference Pane Property list Quartz QuickTime Quick Look Smart Folders Speakable items Spotlight Stacks System Integrity Protection Uniform Type Identifier Universal binary WebKit XNU XQuartz Deprecated Carbon HFS+ Discontinued BootX Brushed metal Classic Environment Rosetta Spaces Xgrid Apple Inc. software on Windows platforms Software Bonjour Boot Camp iCloud iTunes Software Update Discontinued AirPort Utility AppleWorks MobileMe QuickTime Safari Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Boot_Camp_(software)&oldid=824781915 '' Categories : 2006 software Apple Inc. file systems Apple Inc. software Boot loaders Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from October 2013 Pages using Infobox software with unknown parameters All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from July 2014 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Bosanski Dansk Deutsch Español Français 한국어 Hrvatski Italiano עברית മലയാളം Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Русский Suomi Svenska Українська 中文 12 more Edit links This page was last edited on 9 February 2018, at 13 : 18. 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Question: what does boot camp assistant do on mac
Answer: assists users in installing Microsoft Windows operating systems on Intel-based Macintosh computers