If you are installing Windows 10 on a PC running Windows XP or Windows Vista, or if you need to create installation media to install Windows 10 on a different PC, see Using the tool to create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file) to install Windows 10 on a different PC section below. Virtual Machines. We recommend using a virtual machine program, ideally Parallels or VMWare Fusion, to run Windows applications on a Mac without rebooting.For maximum performance, which is particularly necessary for gaming, we recommend dual-booting Windows with Boot Camp instead. The best way to run Windows 10 on a Mac is. People are buying new Macs at the rate of around 5 million every quarter, but it seems that many users still can't make a total break from Windows.

• Windows 10 Software For Macro
• Windows 10 Program For All Users

Macs have a thriving ecosystem of software, but some programs still only support Windows. Whether you want to use business software or play Windows PC games, there are many ways to run Windows programs on your Mac.

Some of these methods are similar to the ways you can install Windows software on Linux or run Windows programs on a Chromebook. Virtual machines, dual-booting, the Wine compatibility layer, and remote desktop solutions are all included here.

Virtual Machines

We recommend using a virtual machine program, ideally Parallels or VMWare Fusion, to run Windows applications on a Mac without rebooting. For maximum performance, which is particularly necessary for gaming, we recommend dual-booting Windows with Boot Camp instead.

A virtual machine is one of the best ways to run Windows desktop software. They allow you to install Windows and other operating systems in a window on your Mac desktop. Windows will think it’s running on a real computer, but it’s actually running inside a piece of software on your Mac.

You don’t have to use your Windows program in the virtual machine window, either—many virtual machine programs allow you to break Windows programs out of your virtual machine window so they can appear on your Mac desktop. However, they’re still running inside the virtual machine in the background.

You’ll need a Windows license to install Windows in a virtual machine. If you already have a product key, you can download Windows installation media for free and install it in a virtual machine program.

RELATED:How to Seamlessly Run Windows Programs on Your Mac with Parallels

Popular virtual machine programs for Mac include Parallels and VMware Fusion. Each of these is a paid program, so you’ll have to buy both a Windows license and a copy of your virtual machine program of choice. You can also use the completely free and open-source VirtualBox for Mac, but its 3D graphics support and Mac operating system integration aren’t as good. Parallels and VMWare Fusion both offer free trials, so you can try all these programs and decide which is best for you.

Note:We don’t often recommend paid software, but in the case of Parallels Desktop, it’s something we use at How-To Geek every single day for testing software and running Windows. The integration with macOS is amazingly well done, and the speed blows away VirtualBox. In the long run, the price is well worth it.

There’s one big downside to virtual machines: 3D graphics performance isn’t amazing, so this isn’t the best way to run Windows games on your Mac. Yes, it can work—especially with older games—but you won’t get the best performance, even in an ideal situation. Many games, especially newer ones, will be unplayable. That’s where the next option comes into play.

Boot Camp

RELATED:How to Install Windows on a Mac With Boot Camp

Apple’s Boot Camp allows you to install Windows alongside macOS on your Mac. Only one operating system can be running at a time, so you’ll have to restart your Mac to switch between macOS and Windows. If you’ve ever dual-booted Linux on your Windows PC, it’s just like that.

Installing Windows as a real operating system on your Mac is the best idea if you want to play Windows games or use demanding applications that need all the performance they can get. When you install Windows on your Mac, you’ll be able to use Windows and Windows applications with the maximum possible performance. Your Mac will perform as well as a Windows PC with the same specifications.

The downside here is that you can’t run macOS applications and Windows applications side-by-side at the same time. If you just want to run a Windows desktop application alongside your Mac applications, a virtual machine will probably be ideal. On the other hand, if you want to play the latest Windows games on your Mac, Boot Camp will be ideal.

As with virtual machines, you’ll need a Windows license to install Windows on your Mac.

Wine

RELATED:How to Run Windows Programs on a Mac With Wine

Wine originated on Linux. It’s a compatibility layer that allows Windows applications to run on other operating systems. Essentially, Wine is an attempt to rewrite the Windows code that applications depend on so they can run on other operating systems. This means that Wine is nowhere near perfect. It won’t run every Windows application, and will have bugs with many of them. The Wine AppDB can give you some idea of which applications are supported, although it focuses on Linux support.

Nevertheless, Wine is one way to try running Windows applications on a Mac. Because it doesn’t require you actually use Windows, you don’t need a Windows license to use Wine. It’s completely free. Just download Wine or WineBottler for macOS and see how well it works for your application.

CrossOver Mac

CodeWeavers’ CrossOver Mac is a paid application that will run Windows programs on Mac. It uses the open-source Wine code to accomplish this, but CrossOver provides a nice graphical interface and focuses on officially supporting popular programs. If an officially supported program doesn’t work, you can contact CodeWeavers and expect them to make it work for you. CodeWeavers contributes their improvements back to the open-source Wine project, so paying for CrossOver Mac also helps the Wine project itself.

CrossOver offers a free trial it you want to try it out first. You can also view a list of which programs run well on CrossOver before buying. While CrossOver focuses on compatibility, it’s still based on Wine, and won’t work with everything.

Most people will probably be happiest going for a virtual machine program and a Windows license. With CrossOver, you don’t need to run a Windows virtual machine—but, if you do run a Windows virtual machine, you’ll be able to run almost any Windows program with less risk of bugs. CrossOver does theoretically allow you to run Windows PC games on a Mac with better performance than you’d get in a virtual machine, but you’ll risk running into bugs and unsupported programs. Boot Camp may still be a better solution for that.

Remote Desktop

RELATED:How to Access Windows Remote Desktop Over the Internet

If you already have a Windows system, you could skip running Windows software on your Mac completely and use remote desktop software to access the Windows machine from your Mac’s desktop. Organizations with business software that runs on Windows can host Windows servers and make their applications available to Macs, Chromebooks, Linux PCs, iPads, Android tablet, and other devices. If you’re just a home user who also has a Windows PC, you could configure that Windows PC for remote access and connect to it whenever you need a Windows application. Bear in mind that this isn’t ideal for visually intensive applications like PC games.

If you’re a Chrome user, you can even use Chrome Remote Desktop to connect to a Windows PC running Chrome from your Mac running Chrome.

All these tricks obviously require more work than simply installing a Windows program on a Windows PC. If you have a Mac, you should focus on using Mac software when possible. Windows programs won’t be as integrated or work as well.

You may have to buy a Windows license for your Mac to get the best compatibility, whether you’re using a virtual machine or installing Windows in Boot Camp. Wine and CrossOver are nice ideas, but they aren’t perfect.

Image Credit: Roman Soto on Flickr

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Editors' note: This post was updated on August 12, 2015, with information on how to remove Windows from a dual-boot Mac.

If you haven't already heard, Windows 10 is pretty great and worth installing on your PC. Apple fans won't miss out either, since the new operating system can be installed on your Mac as well.

To install Windows 10 on a Mac, you will need the following:

• The Mac you plan to install Windows 10 on
• A thumb drive with at least 5GB of storage space (for reference, I named mine 'WININSTALL')
• A second computer that already runs Windows
• A fast Internet connection

Note that you won't need a Windows 10 license for the installation, but you will need to buy one if you want to continue to use it on your Mac after the 30-day trial period.

Following these instructions will install Windows 10 on your Mac in a dual-boot configuration, meaning you'll have the option to choose which operating system (Windows 10 or Mac OS) to use each time you turn on the computer. And, if you later on change your mind, the guide also includes the information on how you can remove Windows afterwords.

This guide is for a Mac that doesn't have already have Windows installed. If yours already has Windows 7 or Windows 8 on your Mac, you can upgrade it to Windows 10 the normal way.

Part 1: Getting the Windows 10 file on your Mac

Step 1: Insert the flash drive into your Windows computer and download Windows 10's media creation tool from Microsoft. There are 32-bit and 64-bit versions, depending on which Windows system you intend to use the tool on. If you're not sure whether your computer is using 64-bit or 32-bit Windows, here's how you can find out. Only the version compatible with your system will actually run.

Step 2: Open the downloaded media creation tool, choose Create installation media for another PC then click Next.

Step 3: Select the Language, Edition and the 64-bitArchitecture for Windows 10, then click Next. It's important that you select the 64-bit Architecture, unless your Mac specifically supports only the 32-bit architecture (very few do). If you select the 32-bit or both option, you may run into problems later on.

Program that manages wireless networks for mac os:x. The bars on the icon indicate the signal strength.

As for what edition of Windows to get, check out this chart to find out if Pro or Home fits you best. Keep in mind that you will need to buy a license later when you need to activate Windows and the Pro edition is more expensive than the Home edition. The N edition of Windows 10 is for certain European markets.

Step 4: Choose to save Windows 10 installer as an ISO file then click on Next. Don't worry, you won't need a DVD burner or a DVD at all.

Note that you'll want to avoid using the USB flash drive option here since, in my experience, the Windows 10 USB installer drive created using Windows has trouble working on certain Macs.

Step 5: Choose a location to save the Windows ISO file. For this guide, I chose to save that file on the flash drive, but you can save it anywhere on the computer and then copy it onto the flash drive later.

Depending on your Internet connection, this will take between a few minutes and several hours. Once the file has been saved on the flash drive, remove it from your Windows computer and insert it into your Mac.

You will not need the Windows computer again for the rest of the process.

Part 2: Getting the flash drive and your Mac's partition ready

Note: At times you'll be prompted to type in the password for your Mac's admin account. Make sure you have that ready.

Step 1: Insert and then open the flash drive. Copy the Windows ISO file onto the Mac's desktop. Leave the flash drive connected to the Mac for the rest of job. Make sure there are no other flash drives or external hard drives connected to the Mac.

Step 2: Run Boot Camp Assistant, then click on Continue. Boot Camp Assistant is located in ApplicationsUtilities folder. You can also quickly search for it using Spotlight.

Step 3: Make sure all three tasks Create a Windows 7 or later version install disk, Download the latest Windows support software from Apple and Install windows 7 or later version are checked. Then click Continue.

Step 4: If you've copied the Windows ISO file to the Mac's desktop, it will be automatically located. If you put it elsewhere on the computer, you'll need click on Choose and browse for it. The flash drive will be automatically chosen as the install disk if it's the only flash drive plugged in.

Verify everything then click on Continue. Boot Camp Assistant will then confirm the erasing of the flash drive before turning it into a Windows 10 install disk (make sure you have no important information on the flash drive.) After that it will also download the latest Windows support software onto the flash drive.

Step 5: Boot Camp Assistant will prompt you to choose the size of the partition that you'll use for Windows. Use the slider to select the size. Windows 10 itself requires at least 20GB to install, so you'll want more than that to make room for software and data. Note that this is the only time you can pick the partition size for Windows so make sure you make up your mind before continue.

Once done, without removing the flash drive, click on Install. The partitioning will takes place and then the Mac will restart. This is the end of part 2. Make sure the flash drive remained plugged in for the entire part 3.

Part 3: Installing Windows 10

Step 1: The Mac will automatically boot up from the flash drive and start the Windows Setup process. You'll be prompted to choose the Language, Time and currency format, and Keyboard settings for Windows. Do this, then click on Next.

Note: If somehow the Mac doesn't boot from the flash drive, just restart it, hold down the Option key after the Apple startup sound for available boot options, use the left/right keys to pick the flash drive -- which will likely appears as 'Windows' -- and press Enter to boot from it.

Step 2: Enter the Windows 10 product key if you have it, then click on Next, or click on Skip. The installation process will then ask you to confirm the Windows edition you want to install, and ask you to agree to the terms and conditions.

Step 3: Eventually, you will be presented with the all existing partitions, one of which is marked as BOOTCAMP. This is the partition you want to install Windows 10 on. Select it then click on Format. Do not do anything about the rest of the partitions.

Step 4: Windows Setup will then ask you to confirm, click on OK and then click on Next.

Step 5: Windows Setup will continue the rest of the setup process by itself. This should take about about 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the speed of your Mac. After that, the Mac will start up with Windows 10. You will be asked to go through with the normal steps of setting up a new Windows computer, including creating an user account.

Step 6: As you log in for the first time, you will be greeted with this Boot Camp installation message. Click on Next and follow the rest of the installation, reboot the computer, and you're done!

If you don't see this message, open the flash drive, and double-click on the Setup file inside the BootCamp folder. Once Boot Camp is done installing, you can remove the flash drive from the computer. It's no longer needed.

While you have both Mac OS and Windows 10 on the same machine, you can only run one of them at a time. To manually select which operating system to run, during the startup, hold down the Option key after the Apple startup sound and then use the left and right keys to select which one you want to boot into, then press Enter. To set which operating system to boot up as default, use the Boot Camp control panel (Windows) or Startup Disk in System Preferences (Mac).

Windows 10 Software For Macro

Removing Windows

If for some reason, you don't want to have Windows 10 (or any version of Windows for that matter) on your Mac anymore, you can permanently remove it and regain the disk space the Mac OS. Here are the steps.

1. Boot into Mac OS, run Boot Camp Assistant and click Continue.

Windows 10 Program For All Users

2. Pick the third option that reads Remove Windows 7 or later version then click on Continue.

3. In this step, just click on Restore; you will be prompted for the Mac's admin password to confirm. After a short process, Windows will be removed like it had never been installed. Note that removing Windows also means that all data, including software and files, stored on the Windows partition will be permanently erased.

• Review
  Windows 10 review: Microsoft gets it right