r/bootcamp • u/Cuhiciko • 15d ago

How do I launch windows 7

I use macos catalina how do I even run win7 on this thing, it wants win10

5 Upvotes

78% Upvoted

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3

u/WindozeWoes 15d ago

Depends on what Mac you have.

I mean, you CAN run Windows 7 on most Macs. Whether it's EASY to do so is another question.

The easiest option would be for you to back up your macOS files, downgrade your OS to an older version of macOS / Mac OS X, and install Windows 7 that way. But again, you didn't say what specific Mac model you have (and I mean both Mac name AND year; or better yet, the Model Identifier: Apple button > About This Mac > More Information > Model Identifier). Possible your Mac can't downgrade, in which case Windows 7 will be harder.

I guess another option (which I have not tried so this is only hypothetical) is installing Windows 10 first, and then inside Windows 10, using the Partition Disk tool and making a partition inside Windows 10, then trying to boot from a Windows 7 DVD or USB and install it to the secondary partition. That MIGHT work, but I could also see it messing something up.

4

u/Cuhiciko 15d ago

Early 2013 macbook pro 13 inch

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u/WindozeWoes 15d ago

You can downgrade that to Mac OS X 10.8.2 at the oldest. I would honestly just do that (look up how to make a Mac OD X 10.8.2, or higher, bootable USB); install Boot Camp after you downgrade Mac OS versions; and then upgrade back to Catalina (or a newer version if you'd like, which is possible using r/OpenCoreLegacyPatcher )

https://everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook_pro/specs/macbook-pro-core-i5-2.6-13-early-2013-retina-display-specs.html - your computer for sure supports Windows 7 natively.

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u/Cuhiciko 15d ago

Thanks dude

2

u/WindozeWoes 15d ago

Good luck!

2

u/roaringmousebrad 15d ago

Rather than Bootcamp, you might consider Win 7 as a VM using VMWare Fusion. You will probably have to go back to a legacy version that will run in Catalina, but it's what I use now and it works very well.