Boot Camp (software)

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For other uses, see Boot camp.
Boot Camp
Boot Camp Large.png
Boot Camp 1.1.png
Boot Camp 5.1.2 running on OS X Yosemite
Developer(s) Apple Inc.
Initial release April 5, 2006
Stable release 5.1.2 [1] / October 16, 2014; 4 months ago (2014-10-16)[2]
Operating system OS X
Type Software assistant for dual booting
License Proprietary
Website www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/

Boot Camp is a multi boot utility included with Apple Inc.'s OS X that assists users in installing Microsoft Windows operating systems on Intel-based Macintosh computers. The utility's Boot Camp Assistant guides users through non-destructive disk partitioning (including resizing of an existing HFS+ partition, if necessary) of their hard disk drive and installation of Windows device drivers. The utility also installs a Windows Control Panel applet for selecting the boot operating system.

Initially introduced as an unsupported beta for Mac OS X Tiger,[3][4] the utility was first included with Mac OS X Leopard and has been included in subsequent versions of the operating system ever since. Previous versions of Boot Camp supported Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. Boot Camp 4.0 for Mac OS X Snow Leopard up to OS X Mountain Lion version 10.8.2 only supported Windows 7.[5] However, with the release of Boot Camp 5.0 for OS X Mountain Lion version 10.8.3, only 64-bit versions of Windows 7 and Windows 8 are officially supported.[1][6] Users have also installed Linux using the utility, although Apple has not listed support for Linux operating systems.[7][8]

Overview[edit]

Holding down the option key (⌥) at startup brings up the boot manager, allowing the user to choose which operating system to start up. When using a non-Apple keyboard, the alt key usually performs the same action. The boot manager can also be launched by holding down the “menu” button on the Apple Remote at startup.

Mac OS X's Startup Disk selection screen used by Boot Camp

Boot Camp displaced the open source Xom Project for dual booting Mac OS X and Windows XP.[9]

Its functionality relies on BIOS emulation through EFI and a partition table information synchronization mechanism between GPT and MBR combined.[10]

Requirements[edit]

OS X Lion and Mountain Lion[edit]

Apple's Boot Camp system requirements lists the following requirements for OS X Lion and Mountain Lion:[11]

  • 8 GB USB storage device, or external drive formatted as MS-DOS (FAT) for installation of Windows drivers for Mac hardware
  • 20 GB free hard disk space for a first-time installation or 40 GB for an upgrade from a previous version of Windows
  • A full version of one of the following operating systems:
    • Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, or Ultimate
    • Windows 8 and/or Windows 8 Pro (64-bit editions only)

Mac OS X Leopard and Snow Leopard[edit]

Apple lists the following requirements for Mac OS X Leopard and Snow Leopard:[11]

  • An Intel-based Macintosh computer with the latest firmware (Early Intel-based Macintosh computers require an EFI firmware update for BIOS compatibility).
  • A Mac OS X Leopard or Mac OS X Snow Leopard installation disc or Mac OS X Disc 1 included with Macs that have Leopard or Snow Leopard preinstalled; this disc is needed for installation of Windows drivers for Mac hardware
  • 10 GB free hard disk space (16 GB is recommended for Windows 7)
  • A full version of one of the following operating systems:
    • Windows XP Home Edition or Professional with Service Pack 2 or higher (32-bit editions only)[12]
    • Windows Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise or Ultimate (32-bit and 64-bit editions)[13]
    • Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise or Ultimate (32-bit and 64-bit editions)

Supported Macintosh computers with Windows 8[edit]

Officially, the earliest Macintosh models that support Windows 8 are the mid-2011 MacBook Air, 13-inch-mid-2011 or 15 and 17-inch-mid-2010 MacBook Pro, mid-2011 Mac Mini, 21-inch-mid-2011 or 27-inch-mid-2010 iMac, and early 2009 Mac Pro.[14][15] By running the Boot Camp assistant with a compatible version of Microsoft Windows setup disc in the drive and switching to a Windows 8 disc when OS X reboots the machine to begin installing Windows, Windows 8 can be installed on older unsupported hardware.[citation needed]

Limitations[edit]

Officially Boot Camp does not work on Mac OS X Lion and later releases if more than three primary OS X partitions exist on the target hard drive. Since on Mac OS X Lion, the Mac operating system itself consumes three partitions (EFI, Mac OS X, and Recovery), effectively there can only be one partition other than Boot Camp. Thus, for example, it is not officially possible to create a data partition, until after creating the Boot Camp partition. There are alternatives to Boot Camp like rEFInd (forked of rEFIt) which are not subject to these limitations. There is also a work around for Mac OS X Lion which involves interrupting the standard procedure after creating the Boot Camp partition, resizing the primary OS X partition and creating a third partition in the now available space, then continuing with the Windows install. Also, it is a simple matter to fully complete the Windows installation and then create a new Mac partition.[16]

Version history[edit]

1.0
beta		 April 5, 2006
  • Original release
  • Contained a software bug that prevented certain users from booting back into Mac OS X[3]
1.1
beta		 August 26, 2006
  • Support for the latest Intel-based Macintosh computers
  • Easier partitioning using presets for popular sizes
  • Ability to install Windows XP on any internal disk
  • Support for built-in iSight cameras
  • Support for built-in microphones
  • Right-click when pressing the right-hand Apple key on Apple keyboards
  • Improved Apple keyboard support including Delete, PrintScreen, NumLock, and ScrollLock keys
1.1.1
beta		 September 14, 2006
  • Support for Core 2 Duo iMacs
1.1.2
beta		 October 30, 2006
  • The Apple USB Modem now works correctly
  • Trackpad scrolling and right-click gestures work correctly
  • Fixed idle sleep bugs
  • Reduced dialogs during Windows driver installation
  • Improved international support
  • Improved 802.11 wireless networking support
1.2
beta		 March 28, 2007
  • Support for 32-bit Windows Vista
  • Updated drivers, including but not limited to trackpad, AppleTime (sync), audio, graphics, modem, iSight camera
  • Support the Apple Remote (works with iTunes and Windows Media Player)
  • A Windows Notification Area icon for easy access to Boot Camp information and actions
  • Improved keyboard support for Korean, Chinese, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Russian, and French Canadian
  • Improved Windows driver installation experience
  • Updated documentation and Boot Camp on-line help in Windows
  • Apple Software Update (for Windows XP and Vista)
1.3
beta		 June 7, 2007
  • Support for the MacBook Pro's backlit keyboard
  • Apple Remote pairing
  • Updated graphics drivers
  • Improved Boot Camp driver installer
  • Improved international keyboard support
  • Localization fixes
  • Updated Windows Help for Boot Camp
1.4
beta		 August 8, 2007
  • Support for the MacBook Pro's backlit keyboard
  • Adds Apple Remote Pairing
  • Updated graphics drivers
  • Improved Boot Camp driver installer
  • Improved international keyboard support
  • Updates to Windows help for Boot Camp
2.0 October 26, 2007
  • Updated Boot Camp control panel
  • Updated keyboard support
  • Updated drivers
  • Updated localization
  • Support for the latest Mac models
  • Updates to Windows help for Boot Camp
2.1 April 24, 2008
  • Supports for Windows XP with Service Pack 3
  • Supports for 64-bit Windows Vista
2.2 November 19, 2009
  • Fixes issues with the trackpad and digital audio ports on portables
  • Adds support for Apple Magic Mouse and Wireless Keyboard
3.0 August 28, 2009
  • Read Mac Volumes from Windows
  • Read/Copy Files between Mac and Windows
  • Support for advanced features on Apple Cinema displays
  • Improved tap-to-click support
  • Command line version of the Startup Disk Control Panel from Windows[17]
3.1 January 19, 2010
  • Support for Windows 7 (Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate)
  • Addresses issues with the Apple trackpad
  • Turns off the red digital audio port LED on laptop computers when it is not being used
  • Supports the Apple wireless keyboard and Apple Magic mouse
3.2 November 18, 2010
  • Adds support for the ATI Radeon HD 5870 graphics card, Apple USB Ethernet Adapter, MacBook Air SuperDrive
  • Addresses critical bug fixes
  • Drops support for 64-bit Windows Vista[13]
3.3 August 24, 2011
  • Addresses critical bug fixes
  • Adds support for new hardware
  • Drops support for Windows XP, Windows Vista[18]
4.0 July 20, 2012
  • Drops support for all versions of Windows XP and Vista[19]
  • Currently only available in Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard", Mac OS X 10.7 "Lion", and OS X 10.8 "Mountain Lion"
5.0 March 14, 2013
  • Support for Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro (64-bit only)
  • Boot Camp support for Macs with a 3 TB hard drive
  • Drops support for 32-bit Windows 7
  • Currently only available in OS X Mountain Lion version 10.8.3 and later
5.1 February 11, 2014
  • Support for Windows 8.1 and Windows 8.1 Pro (64-bit only)
5.1.2 October 16, 2014

See also[edit]

Apple's transition to Intel processors

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Boot Camp 5: Frequently asked questions". Apple Inc. Retrieved March 14, 2013. 
  2. ^ "OS X 10.10 Yosemite release date". Retrieved 17 November 2014. 
  3. ^ a b Broersma, Matthew (April 13, 2006). "Users Find Flaw in Boot Camp". PC World. Retrieved August 2, 2011. 
  4. ^ Mossberg, Walter (April 6, 2006). "Boot Camp Turns Your Mac Into a Reliable Windows PC". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 2, 2011. 
  5. ^ Kessler, Topher (August 1, 2011). "Boot Camp 4 requires Windows 7 or later". CNET. Retrieved February 24, 2013. 
  6. ^ "Apple BootCamp 5.0 only supports 64-bit versions of Windows 7 and 8". BetaNews. March 15, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2013. 
  7. ^ "Apple Intel Mac FAQ". Ubuntu Forums. 
  8. ^ "How to install Ubuntu via Boot-Camp on Intel iMac, Mac OS X 10.5". Ubuntu Forums.  (Registration required)
  9. ^ "Xom hack for running Windows on Mac". EveryMac. Retrieved September 26, 2007. 
  10. ^ "You need BIOS compatibility and a MBR partition table to boot Windows". rEFIt project. December 9, 2006. Retrieved July 19, 2009. 
  11. ^ a b "Boot Camp: System requirements for Microsoft Windows". Apple Inc. January 19, 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2010. 
  12. ^ "Boot Camp 2.0: Which versions of Microsoft Windows are supported?". Apple Inc. June 17, 2008. Retrieved October 3, 2008. 
  13. ^ a b "Boot Camp: Macs that work with 64-bit editions of Microsoft Windows Vista". Apple Inc. December 21, 2010. Retrieved January 28, 2011. 
  14. ^ "Boot Camp: System requirements for Microsoft Windows operating systems". Apple Inc. March 14, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2013. 
  15. ^ "Boot Camp: Frequently asked questions about installing Windows 8". Apple Inc. March 14, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2013. 
  16. ^ https://discussions.apple.com/message/16041377#16041377
  17. ^ Apple Inc. (March 16, 2011). "Boot Camp 3.0, Mac OS X 10.6: Frequently asked questions". Apple Inc. Retrieved August 2, 2011. 
  18. ^ Boot Camp Software Update 3.3 for Windows
  19. ^ Keizer, Gregg (August 2, 2011). "OS X Lion requires Windows 7 for Boot Camp". Computerworld. Retrieved August 2, 2011. 

External links[edit]

Wikinews has related news: Apple unveils "Boot Camp" allowing Windows to work on Macs
Versions
Applications
Discontinued
Utilities
Discontinued
Technology and
user interface
Deprecated
Discontinued
Software
Discontinued
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