How To Run Windows Program On Mac For Free

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CrossOver/Wine for Mac The last option you have is to use a program called CrossOver. This program will allow you to run specific Windows applications on your Mac computer without the need for installing Windows or even having a Windows license. The major limitation is that this program only works with a subset of all Windows programs. Don’t buy a Windows license, don’t reboot or use a virtual machine until you try CrossOver for Mac, Linux, or ChromeOS. Download a free 14 day trial now and get your Windows apps running on Mac and Linux.

  1. How To Run Windows Programs On Mac For Free
  2. Running Windows Program On Mac
  3. How To Run Mac Os On Windows
  4. Run Windows On A Mac

Windows Migration Assistant transfers your contacts, calendars, email accounts, and more from a PC. It migrates this data to the appropriate places on your Mac. After migrating data to your Mac, authorize your computer for iTunes Store purchases. It’s important to authorize before you sync or play content that you download from the iTunes Store.

If you're migrating from one Mac to another Mac, follow the steps to move your content to a new Mac.

Before you begin

To prepare for a smooth migration:

  • Make sure that Windows is up to date. Migration Assistant works with Windows 7 and later.
  • Make sure that you know the name and password of an administrator account on your PC.
  • Connect your Mac and PC to the same network, such as your home Wi-Fi network. Or connect an Ethernet cable between the ports on your Mac and PC to create a direct network connection. Some Mac models require an Ethernet adapter, such as the Belkin USB-C to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter or Apple Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter.
  • If you're using Microsoft OneDrive on your PC, follow Microsoft's instructions for uninstalling OneDrive before continuing. You can reinstall OneDrive after migration is complete.

Then use the check disk (chkdsk) utility on your PC to make sure that your Windows hard drive doesn’t have any issues:

  1. Right-click the Start button, then click Run.
  2. Type cmd and press Enter. Command Prompt opens.
  3. At the prompt, type chkdsk and press Enter.
  4. If the utility reports that it found problems, type the following, where drive is the letter that represents your Windows startup disk, such as D:
  5. Press Enter.
  6. At the prompt, type Y, then restart your PC.
  7. Repeat this process until the check disk utility reports no issues. If the utility can't fix every issue that it finds, you might need to have your PC serviced. Then migrate your data to your Mac.

Move your data

How To Run Windows Programs On Mac For Free

This section guides you through migration, post-migration, and what to do if the steps don’t work for you.

How to move your information from a PC to your Mac

  1. On your PC, download and install the appropriate Windows Migration Assistant, based on the version of macOS on your Mac:
    • Windows Migration Assistant for macOS Big Sur
    • Windows Migration Assistant for macOS Mojave and macOS Catalina
    • Windows Migration Assistant for macOS Sierra and High Sierra
    • Windows Migration Assistant for OS X El Capitan or earlier
  2. Quit any open Windows apps.
  3. Open Windows Migration Assistant, then click Continue.
  4. Start up your Mac. Setup Assistant automatically opens the first time you turn on your Mac. If you’ve already set up your Mac, open Migration Assistant, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
  5. On your Mac, follow the onscreen prompts until you get to the migration pane of the assistant. Select the option to transfer your information “From a Windows PC,” then click Continue.
  6. When prompted, enter an administrator name and password.
  7. Click Continue to close any other open apps.
  8. In the migration window on your Mac, select your PC from the list of available computers. Then wait for the PC to show the same passcode that your Mac shows.
  9. When both computers display the same passcode, click Continue on your PC and Mac.
  10. Your Mac scans the drives on your PC to build a list of information to migrate. When the scan completes, select the information that you want to migrate to your Mac and click Continue. Learn about some of the data that you can transfer.

You can watch the progress and estimated time remaining on both the PC and your Mac. They tell you when migration is complete.

After you move your data

How To Run Windows Program On Mac For Free

When migration completes, close Windows Migration Assistant on your PC. Then log in to the new user account on your Mac. The first time you log in to a user account migrated from your PC, you’re asked to set a password. You can use the same password that you used on your PC, or create a new password.

Running Windows Program On Mac

After logging in to the user account that you migrated, authorize your computer for iTunes Store purchases. It’s important to authorize before you sync or play content downloaded from the iTunes Store.

If you have issues moving your data

  • Quit all open apps on your PC, then try migrating your content again. For example, you can press Alt-Tab to choose an open application, then press Alt-F4 to quit it.
  • If your PC doesn't appear in the Setup Assistant or Migration Assistant window on your Mac, make sure the computers are connected to the same network. You can create a network by connecting a single Ethernet cable between your Mac and PC. If that doesn't help, check for firewall software on your PC and turn it off. After migration completes, you can turn firewall software on again.
  • If Migration Assistant doesn’t open on your PC, turn off any antivirus software on your PC. Then try to open Migration Assistant again. After migration completes. You can turn that software on again.
  • If you still can't migrate your information successfully, you can use an external drive or file sharing to manually copy important data to your Mac.

What data can I transfer?

Migration Assistant lets you choose the data to move to your Mac. Here’s what moves over for specific apps and data types:

Email, contacts, and calendar information
Email messages, email-account settings, contacts, and appointments move based on which version of Windows you're using and which accounts you have.

Outlook1
Data from 32-bit versions of Outlook in Windows 7 and later move as follows:

Free
  • People move to Contacts2
  • Appointments move to the Calendar app
  • IMAP and Exchange settings and messages move to the Mail app
  • POP settings and messages move to Mail2

Windows Live Mail
Data from Windows Live Mail in Windows 7 and later moves as follows:

  • IMAP settings and messages move to Mail
  • POP settings and messages move to Mail2

Windows Mail
Data from Windows Mail in Windows 7 and later (excluding Windows 8) move as follows:

  • IMAP settings and messages move to Mail
  • POP settings and messages move to Mail2
  • People move to Contacts

Bookmarks
Bookmarks from Internet Explorer, Safari for Windows, and Firefox move to Safari.

System settings
Language and location settings, and custom desktop pictures move to System Preferences. Your web browser homepage moves to Safari preferences.

Pictures
Photos and other images move to your home folder. You can then add them to Photos, or open Photos and let it search your Mac for photos to import.

iTunes content
Migration Assistant transfers your iTunes media as follows: music to the Apple Music app, videos to the Apple TV app, podcasts to the Apple Podcasts app, and audiobooks to the Apple Books app.

Other files
Migration Assistant also moves these files:

  • Files from the top-level folder of the currently logged-in user’s home directory
  • Non-system files located in the Windows or Program Files folders
  • Top-level folders located on the Windows system disk and other attached disks

1. Migration Assistant doesn’t support 64-bit versions of Outlook. You can manually migrate Mail, Contacts, or Calendars from Outlook 2013 or Outlook 2016 by signing in and entering the content on your Mac manually.

2. Migration Assistant transfers only the Mail or Contacts data that belongs to the logged-in Windows user. To transfer data from another user account, use Migration Assistant again while you’re logged in to another Windows account. Each time you migrate, your Mac creates a new user account.

Mac vs Windows. Windows vs Mac. Why choose if you can get the best of both worlds by dual booting? Install Windows on Mac so you can jump back and forth from one operating system to another on the same computer.

By now, the practice is well-established and Windows can work on Mac well. In this article, we’ll have a deep look at installing Windows on Mac. Don’t worry, we’ll have your back the whole way through!

Program

Boot Camp for Mac vs virtualization software

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. Both methods have their own pros and cons, so let’s dive in.

Boot Camp is built into the operating system of all Macs. If you go to your Applications > Utilities folder, you’ll see the Boot Camp Assistant app. 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.

Advantages

  • built into your operating system
  • easy to use — Boot Camp Assistant guides you through the installation process
  • puts less strain on your Mac’s memory and processing power
  • completely free (not Windows of course)
  • easy to update

Disadvantages

  • you need to reboot your computer to switch between the systems
  • transferring data between operating systems isn’t easy

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.

Among the most popular virtualization programs are VirtualBox, Parallels, and VMware. Each one has its peculiarities, but we’ll try to sum up what they have in common.

Advantages

  • you can run both operating systems at the same time
  • easy file integration between systems

Disadvantages

  • you need at least 8 GB of RAM for Mac to run smoothly
  • virtualization apps are not cheap
  • updates are not free

Depending on your specific needs, you can choose the option that works best for you. But we suggest using Boot Camp. It’s a free native feature of your operating system, running directly on your hardware. Therefore, it will be faster than any other method. And below, you’ll find all information on how to run Boot Camp on your Mac.

How to use Boot Camp: Preparing your Mac

1. Check the system requirements

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:

  • MacBook (2015 and later)
  • MacBook Pro (2012 and later)
  • MacBook Air (2012 and later)
  • iMac (2012 and later)
  • Mac Mini (2012 and later)

2. Clean up your hard drive

You need to have at least 55 GB of free disk space on your startup drive for installing Windows on a Mac. And if you don’t feel like spending the next several hours cleaning your Mac manually, you can use a powerful utility CleanMyMac X to find and remove all the junk from your startup disk.

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. By the way, CleanMyMac finds about 75 GB of junk on average — more than enough for a smooth Windows installation.

Here’s how to clean your Mac with CleanMyMac X:

  1. Download CleanMyMac here.
  2. Run the app and click Scan.
  3. Click Run.

That’s it! Gigabytes of junk are gone from your computer forever.

3. Back up your Mac

Finally, you should also perform a backup of your Mac in case something goes wrong. Although, it happens very rarely, it’s always better to back up your important data. 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. iCloud comes with 5 GB of free storage but you can upgrade it any time. 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.

How to Install Windows with Boot Camp

Here’s how to install Boot Camp. The installation can be a little time consuming, but it is by no means difficult. Check out the details below.

How

Step 1: Get a Windows disk image

First of all, you need to get the Windows disk image (ISO file) from the Microsoft website. Here’s how to download it:

  1. Visit the Windows 10 disk image download website.
  2. Go to the Select edition menu and choose Windows 10.
  3. Click Confirm.
  4. Choose the language of installation and click Confirm.
  5. Click 64-bit Download and then click Save.

The ISO file now will be downloaded to your Mac.

How To Run Mac Os On Windows

Step 2: Open Boot Camp Assistant

Boot Camp Assistant guides you through installing Windows on your Mac. You just have to follow the onscreen instructions. To launch the Boot Camp Assistant, go to Applications > Utilities folder. Click continue and Boot Camp for Mac will automatically locate the ISO file on your system.

Step 3: Create a partition for Windows

When you are done with the Assistant, your Mac restarts to the Windows installer. When you are asked where you want to install Windows, choose the BOOTCAMP partition and click Format.

*Note that this step is only required if you’re using a flash drive or optical drive to install Windows. In other cases, the right partition will be selected and formatted for you automatically.

Step 4: Install Windows

To finish the installation, you have to follow the onscreen instructions. Take a long breath — the next 12 steps may seem like climbing Everest, but it’s much easier than you think. Here’s how to install Windows on a Mac:

  1. Choose your ISO file and click the Install button.
  2. Type your Password and click OK. You will see the Windows Setup screen.
  3. Select your language.
  4. Click Install Now.
  5. Type your product key if you have it. Otherwise, click 'I don’t have a product key'.
  6. Select Windows 10 Pro or Windows Home and then click Next.
  7. Click Drive 0 Partition X: BOOTCAMP.
  8. Click Next. Windows 10 will be installed.
  9. When the Setup screen appears, click either Use Express Settings or Customize Your Installation. We recommend you to choose the Customize button and disable most, if not all of the switches.
  10. Then you’ll be asked to create an account. Type a username. You can also add a password if you want.
  11. Click Next.
  12. Choose whether you want to use the Cortana personal assistant or not. You can disable it by clicking Not Now button.

Windows will boot fully so you can use it normally.

On the Welcome to Boot Camp Installer box, click Next and accept the terms in the license agreement. Then click Install to proceed. When the installer completes, click Finish to reboot your machine.

Run Windows On A Mac

Step 5: Restart your Mac

By default, your Mac will still boot to macOS. To access Windows, you have to turn your Mac off and then turn it on while holding the Option (Alt) key. You will be asked from which drive you’d like to boot.

Note that while in Windows, the Mac’s Command key functions as the Windows key, while the Option key functions as the Alt key. If you have a Touch Bar, you’ll see a complete set of buttons, similar to the Control Strip in macOS.

How to remove Windows from your Mac

If for some reasons you don’t need Windows anymore, you can permanently remove it from your Mac. Follow these steps:

  1. Boot into macOS, launch Boot Camp Assistant and click Continue.
  2. Choose 'Remove Windows 7 or later version' or 'Remove Windows 10 or later version'.
  3. Click Restore when you see the Restore Disk to a Single Volume option.

The Boot Camp Assistant will automatically remove Windows from your Mac.

Warning: All data, including software and files, stored on the Windows partition will be deleted, so make the backup copies first.

That may seem like a lot of steps, but it doesn’t take all that long to install Windows on a Mac. Now you can enjoy two operating systems and switch between them right when you need. Cheers!

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