Are you looking for a way to install Windows 11 on a Mac without using Boot Camp? Yes. A computer can only run one operating system at a time in most instances. In some cases, users of Mac computers may find themselves needing to run two operating systems on the same machine at the same time.
Apple’s built-in Boot Camp application has allowed Mac users to partition their hard drives and then install Windows on their Macs from the beginning of time. Despite this, many people are still looking for alternatives to Boot Camp for installing Windows 10 on their Macs.
This is due to the fact that Boot Camp is time-consuming, error-prone, and decreases installation productivity in many instances since it does not work flawlessly in all cases. Don’t be alarmed. This article will show you how to install Windows 11 on a Mac without using Boot Camp.
Installing Windows 11 without Boot Camp on a Mac
To begin, you must first download Windows 11. Here’s how to go about it:
You may install Windows 11 on your PC without interruptions using a Windows 11 ISO image. ISO files are disc images that allow bootable USB flash devices and DVDs to be created. They can also be used to start a virtual machine.
The Windows 11 ISO file is now available for download on the Microsoft website; it is a free download. Customers who have the genuine Windows 10 OS installed may be eligible for a free upgrade from Microsoft. In the interim, while installing Windows 11 from an ISO file, you can skip the product key portion of the installation procedure.
Obtaining the ISO file directly from the official website is the quickest and most convenient approach. To learn how to obtain the Windows 11 ISO file, follow these instructions:
Step 1: Go to the download page for Windows 11 ISO.
Step 2: From the drop-down option, choose “Windows 11.”
Step 3: Click “Download” to get the file.
Step 4: After selecting your preferred language, click the “Download” option.
Now you’re ready to install Windows 11 on your Mac; simply follow these steps:
1. Creating a Windows 11 bootable USB for the installation process
To finish the installation, you’ll need to create a Windows 11 bootable USB installer. You’ll need a flash drive for this, and you’ll need to follow the instructions below to create a Windows 11 USB bootable installer.
Step 1: Format Bootable USB Drive
- To format your USB bootable drive, utilize the Master Boot Record (MBR) Scheme and an exFAT partition.
- Disk Utility was used to format a bootable USB device.
- Select Application > Utilities > Disk Utility to open the Disk Utility.
- Select View > Show All Devices from the drop-down menu.
- After selecting Windows USB Bootable, click Erase.
- Pick MBR, then select exFAT from the Format option.
- Now is the time to insert your Windows USB disc.
- Then press the Erase button.
Step 2: Mount the Windows 11 ISO
Double-click the file titled Windows 11.iso to mount the Windows 11.On your Mac, create an iso image.
Step 3: Windows 11 Bootable USB Installer creation
Using Terminal, you may create a bootable Windows 11 USB on a Mac. To open the Terminal, go to Application > Utilities > Terminal or search for “terminal” in the macOS Spotlight search tool. Run this command to create a bootable USB for Windows 11.
2. How to Make a New Windows Partition on a Mac?
Internal solid-state discs (SSDs) on Macs are often formatted in either HFS or APFS, two popular file systems supported by OS X and macOS. However, the Windows operating system can only be installed on NTFS and FAT file systems.
You’ll need to establish a second partition to accommodate the Windows operating system. The MS-DOS (FAT) file system is recommended as your target file system.
Please create a backup of your Mac before starting to avoid data loss.
- Let’s begin the process of establishing a new partition on your Mac.
- The first step is to open the Disk Utility software and choose the Apple SSD from the navigation bar on the top left. Then, at the very top of the screen, select the Partition tab to access the disc partition window.
- The entire disc is represented with a circular representation. To create a new division, go to the bottom of the circle and click the “+” button. After that, rename the partition, determine its size, and select MS-DOS as the operating system (FAT). Windows 11 requires at least 65 GB of free disc space to install. We encourage you to contribute more if you plan to use Windows 11 on a frequent basis in the future.
After you’ve completed the steps above, click the “Apply” button to save your changes. As a consequence, a new Windows FAT partition is created!
3. Boot your Mac with the Windows 11 installation media
Up until this point, all of the preparatory work has been performed! It’s now time to connect your Mac to the Windows 11 installation USB.Then, while holding down the Option key, restart your Mac. In the Startup Manager, the EFI boot (Windows 11 Bootable USB) icon will display. Simply click the button to begin installing Windows 11 on your Mac.
On the Mac, Getting Around the TPM 2.0 Restriction
On the Windows 11 setup page, pick your desired language and then click Next. You will be able to see the “Install Now” option. Please refrain from pressing the button.. Instead, press Shift + F10 to open the built-in Command Prompt tool that comes with the Windows 11 operating system. On the Mac, we’ll need to do a few registry hacks to get over the TMP 2.0 constraints..
- To start the Registry Editor from the Windows 11 install media, type Regedit in the Command Prompt window.
- Then navigate to the following route in the Registry Editor:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup
- To access the Setup folder, right-click on it. In the pop-up box that displays, select New->Key.
- “LabConfig” should be the new name of the key. You may now pick New->DWORD from the drop-down menu by right-clicking on the LabConfig folder icon (32-bit). Give this new value a name (BypassTPMCheck).
- Follow the steps above to create two more values, which you may call BypassRAMCheck and BypassSecureBootCheck, respectively. Change the data for each number by double-clicking it and changing it to 1.
- Close the Command Prompt programme to return to the Windows 11 installation. At this point, the errors will no longer occur! As a consequence, you can continue with the installation process by following the instructions below:
- When the Windows 11 installation method prompts you for a partition, select the one you’ve created.
- The installation of Windows 11 will ask you a number of basic questions, such as your location, keyboard settings, network, username, password, diagnostic information, and so on. After you’ve made your selections, click “Continue.”
- You should now be able to view a completely clean Windows 11 desktop on your Mac. To have a flawless experience when running Windows 11 on a Mac, you’ll need to install the Mac drivers.
- Navigate to the “Bootcamp” folder on the bootable Windows 11 USB device to install the necessary drivers. Launch setup.exe from the Boot Camp folder and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation. Continue by restarting your device after the installation has been completed.
Conclusion
The process of installing Windows 11 on a Mac takes quite some time. This is due to the fact that Windows 11 does not officially support Macs. When installing Windows 11 on hardware that is not officially supported, extra settings have to be used. It is fortunately possible to resolve this problematic situation using the approach described above.
