Many times you want to install Windows 10 on a Mac computer with the intention of running your favorite windows games, applications which don’t have a version for Mac OS, or solve some Windows issue especially for boot-related issues. Regardless of the causes, you need to first create a Windows 10 bootable USB from ISO on Mac OS. As a Mac users, you might know that Apple provides an custom-tailored solution called Bootcamp to help create a Windows bootable USB. But in fact, creating Windows bootable USB on Mac isn’t as straightforward as you think, in the creating process, naturally there will be a variety of problems.
UniBeast is a tool by MacMan and tonymacx86 to create a bootable USB drive from any Mac App Store purchased copy of OS X. This is an all-in-one bootable USB drive can also be used as a rescue boot drive for system recovery. However, without this tool, there is TransMac that you can use them on your Windows operating system.
- Windows USB/ DVD Tool windows. This is another best bootable USB software windows 2021 and this tool is perfect for those who are dedicated window users and who are looking for the software to create bootable windows installation drives. This software can be used to create both DVD drives and bootable USB. This software is very easy to use.
- When you install Microsoft Windows on your Mac, Boot Camp Assistant automatically opens the Boot Camp installer, which installs the latest Windows support software (drivers). If that doesn't happen, or you experience any of the following issues while using Windows on your Mac, follow the steps in this article.
- Windows USB/DVD Download Tool. Editor’s Note: if you want to create a bootable Windows install USB, this is the tool you should choose. The Windows USB/DVD Download Tool is an official, freeware tool from Microsoft that allows you to install Windows 7 and Windows 8 and Windows 10 without having to first run an existing operating system on your computer.
We've also received lots of emails from readers asking why Bootcamp wouldn’t allow me to use Windows 10, despite the fact that my laptop is compatible. BootCamp doesn't always work well, especially in creating Windows 10 bootable USB installation media, the most common errors you will encounter: 'failed to load BOOTMGR' or 'not Enough Space'. Another reason is Apple has already stripped the ability to make Windows 10 bootable USB in last release of Mac OS, and it is a problem because that require uses other tools. It’s believed that each software has its own pros and cons, Boot Camp is no exception. But it’s still a outstanding tool which is developed by Apple, so, this article will give priority to Boot Camp and also shows 4 intuitive approach to help you make a Windows 10 bootable USB on mac with or without Boot Cam Assistant.
Method #1: Create A Bootable Windows 10/8/7 USB on Mac with Bootcamp
As a dual-boot booting tool, Boot Camp Assistant is highly regarded in the field of creating Windows 7/8/10 bootable USB since it was released, it provides the ability to download drivers, re-partition, and add new partition on your Mac. But sometimes you will find bootcamp tool doesn't allow any customization of the process. Before using it, you need to know that your USB installation media will be formatted as FAT32 file system, which can’t store files larger than 4 GB. Let’s see how it works.
Step 1. First of all, make sure you’ve download a Windows 10, or Win7, 8 ISO image file on your Mac computer. Then you need to move ISO file to your USB drive by using Boot Cam.
Step 2. Now, insert your USB dive with at least 8GB to your Mac computer, make sure you’ve created a copy for your important file because your USB will be formatted.
Step 3. Launch the Boot Cam Assistant from Utilities, then check the two options: Create a Windows installation disk and Install Windows 7 or later version. Click Continue to proceed.
Step 4. when you go to this step, Boot Cam Assistant will detect and locate your ISO image file, click choose button to find and import the right one, and click continue. It may take some times to format your USB, please wait.
Step 5. When the process is complete, you will see that your USB drive will be renamed as WINNSTALL, this is your windows 10 bootable USB tool! Click Quit to close the app and then Eject the USB drive.
That's it! You’ve successfully made a bootable USB drive with Windows 10 OS, and you can use it to configure new Windows 10 PCs from scratch.
Method #2: Create A Bootable Windows 10 USB On Mac with WonderISO
Making a bootable USB is not as easy as copying ISO file to your USB drive,it requires professional ISO writing tool to burn it to USB drive instead of copying. For Mac users, There may have many chance to encounter some unknown errors when using Bootcamp to create a Windows 10 USB disk on Mac, like Bootcamp failed to load bootmgr, not recognizing iso or usb not enough space,etc. So you desperately need to find a way to create bootable USB without Bootcamp.
Fortunately, PassCue for ISO is a wonderful tool which can burn, create, edit and extract ISO files from any files, folders and operating system files. It has been adopted on a large scale by various users and widely recommended. It provides 5 key functions for your ISO operations including: Burn ISO, Extract ISO, Edit ISO, Create ISO and copy disc, it works very effectively in both Windows and Mac OS.
Step 1. Get the software downloaded from above button and install it on your Mac with proper step instructions. Launch the tool with admin privileges to enable every kind of possible authorities. Once the tool screen turns up, you should see there are five functions including Burn, Extract, Cretae, Edit and Copy Disc. To make a Windows 10 bootable USB, then you need to choose the first option “Burn” and next.
Step 2. As you can see, you’re allowed to create a Windows 10 bootable disk with USB drive or DVD/CD, here, just insert your USB drive to your Mac, then import ISO file by clicking browse button. Select your file format from the 'System File' section as FAT, FAT 32, NTFS.
Step 3. In the partition style, it provide two mode to choose based on your ISO file: MBR or UEFI. If MBR won’t boot, then change UEFI mode to create again. When all settings are complete, click Burn button to begin, it will take 5 - 10 minutes to complete the burning process.
Step 4. When the burning is complete, you can open your USB drive and see there are many boot files inside it. Take out of your USB drive and try to install Windows OS on your other computers.
As you can see, this method is so easy and safe! Never damages your ISO file. If you don’t find the method satisfactory and have plans to try out a different approach, you are most welcome to do so.
Part 3 : Create A Windows 10 Bootable USB on Mac without Bootcamp
As we mentioned above, creating a bootable USB Windows 7/8/10 on mac OS isn’t as simple as you might think. You will need Terminal tool on Mac to perform some command. Before we start make sure you have an effective ISO file and have USB flash drive with not less than 4GB capacity. Here are the steps to be performed on a Mac to create a Windows 10 USB Bootable Installation Drive on mac.
Step 1. Connect your USB drive to your Mac.
Step 2. Open a Terminal (under Utilities)
Step 3. Now you need to Run diskutil list and confirm the device node assigned to your USB flash media disk2.
Step 4. Type the following command.
hdiutil convert -format UDRW -o ~/path/to/windows-10-iso.img ~/path/to/windows-10-iso.iso
Step 5. Replace /path/to/downloaded.iso with the path to where the image file is located; for example, ./windows10.iso). This command will convert the ISO file to IMG format.
Step 6. Type the following command to check the location of your USB drive:
diskutil list
Step 7. Superluminal for macular degeneration. Next, you need to type the command to Unmount the USB drive, then replace /dev/diskX with the location of your USB drive.
diskutil unmountDisk /dev/diskX
Step 8. Finally, run the following command to create Windows 10/8/7 bootable USB on Mac.
sudo dd if=/path/to/windows-10-iso.img of=/dev/rdiskX bs=1m
Step 9 . Then try to replace /path/to/windows-10-iso with the real filepath of the ISO file and /dev/diskX with the location of the USB drive. This command will take some time, and once it’s complete, you can eject the USB drive by this command: diskutil eject /dev/diskX
Once the process is complete, you can see the data will be copied and your USB will be bootable.
Part 4 : Create Bootable USB Windows 10 on Mac with UNetbootin
UNetbootin is free software and the latest release of new features in UNetbootin focuses on cross-platform technology that allows you create bootable Live USB drives for Ubuntu, Fedora, and other Linux distributions without a CD. It can run on Mac, Windows and Linux. Now, I will show a detailed tutorial.
Step 1. Like other method 1, you can also need to check the path name of the USB drive. After you insert your USB to your Mac, open the Disk utility on Mac OS X, select the USB drive from the left panel and click Info button. Write down the USB name info for the next usage.
Step 2. Now, you need to download UNetbootin tool then install it on your Mac, launch it. And copy the app to the /Application folder. Select the Diskimage button and import your ISO image file.
Step 3. In the panel, select the USB drive in the Type option, and select your USB drive on UNetbootin. Click on the OK button and wait to the process end!
In my opintion, It’s easy to use and doesn’t damages your system. But there still some users reported that UNetbootin is not working. Good luck to you!
Related Articles
What you need to install Windows 10 on Mac
- MacBook introduced in 2015 or later
- MacBook Air introduced in 2012 or later
- MacBook Pro introduced in 2012 or later
- Mac mini introduced in 2012 or later
- iMac introduced in 2012 or later1
- iMac Pro (all models)
- Mac Pro introduced in 2013 or later
The latest macOS updates, which can include updates to Boot Camp Assistant. You will use Boot Camp Assistant to install Windows 10.
64GB or more free storage space on your Mac startup disk:
- Your Mac can have as little as 64GB of free storage space, but at least 128GB of free storage space provides the best experience. Automatic Windows updates require that much space or more.
- If you have an iMac Pro or Mac Pro with 128GB of memory (RAM) or more, your startup disk needs at least as much free storage space as your Mac has memory.2
An external USB flash drive with a storage capacity of 16GB or more, unless you're using a Mac that doesn't need a flash drive to install Windows.
A 64-bit version of Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro on a disk image (ISO) or other installation media. If installing Windows on your Mac for the first time, this must be a full version of Windows, not an upgrade.
- If your copy of Windows came on a USB flash drive, or you have a Windows product key and no installation disc, download a Windows 10 disk image from Microsoft.
- If your copy of Windows came on a DVD, you might need to create a disk image of that DVD.
How to install Windows 10 on Mac
To install Windows, use Boot Camp Assistant, which is included with your Mac.
1. Check your Secure Boot setting
Learn how to check your Secure Boot setting. The default Secure Boot setting is Full Security. If you changed it to No Security, change it back to Full Security before installing Windows. After installing Windows, you can use any Secure Boot setting without affecting your ability to start up from Windows.
2. Use Boot Camp Assistant to create a Windows partition
Windows Install Usb Tool
Open Boot Camp Assistant, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder. Follow the onscreen instructions.
- If you're asked to insert a USB drive, plug your USB flash drive into your Mac. Boot Camp Assistant will use it to create a bootable USB drive for Windows installation.
- When Boot Camp Assistant asks you to set the size of the Windows partition, remember the minimum storage-space requirements in the previous section. Set a partition size that meets your needs, because you can't change its size later.
3. Format the Windows (BOOTCAMP) partition
When Boot Camp Assistant finishes, your Mac restarts to the Windows installer. If the installer asks where to install Windows, select the BOOTCAMP partition and click Format. In most cases, the installer selects and formats the BOOTCAMP partition automatically.
4. Install Windows
Unplug any external devices that aren't necessary during installation. Then click Next and follow the onscreen instructions to begin installing Windows.
5. Use the Boot Camp installer in Windows
After Windows installation completes, your Mac starts up in Windows and opens a ”Welcome to the Boot Camp installer” window. Follow the onscreen instructions to install Boot Camp and Windows support software (drivers). You will be asked to restart when done.
- If the Boot Camp installer never opens, open the Boot Camp installer manually and use it to complete Boot Camp installation.
- If you have an external display connected to a Thunderbolt 3 port on your Mac, the display will be blank (black, gray, or blue) for up to 2 minutes during installation.
How to switch between Windows and macOS
Restart, then press and hold the Option (or Alt) ⌥ key during startup to switch between Windows and macOS.
Learn more
If you have one of these Intel-based Mac models using OS X El Capitan or later, you don't need a USB flash drive to install Windows:
Windows 10 Bootable Usb Tool For Mac
- MacBook introduced in 2015 or later
- MacBook Air introduced in 2017 or later3
- MacBook Pro introduced in 2015 or later3
- iMac introduced in 2015 or later
- iMac Pro (all models)
- Mac Pro introduced in late 2013 or later
To remove Windows from your Mac, use Boot Camp Assistant, not any other utility.
For more information about using Windows on your Mac, open Boot Camp Assistant and click the Open Boot Camp Help button.
1. If you're using an iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014) or iMac (27-inch, Late 2013) or iMac (27-inch, Late 2012) with a 3TB hard drive and macOS Mojave or later, learn about an alert you might see during installation.
Usb Tool
2. For example, if your Mac has 128GB of memory, its startup disk must have at least 128GB of storage space available for Windows. To see how much memory your Mac has, choose Apple menu > About This Mac. To see how much storage space is available, click the Storage tab in the same window.
3. These Mac models were offered with 128GB hard drives as an option. Apple recommends 256GB or larger hard drives so that you can create a Boot Camp partition of at least 128GB.