I'm trying to set up my old 2010 MacBook Pro for my kids, primarily for gaming, and I need to install Windows on it. I've already reset the laptop and reinstalled macOS Catalina, but when I attempt to use Boot Camp or Parallels, I'm told that I need a newer version of macOS. I've also tried shrinking the Mac partition to install Windows, but it won't boot into Windows afterward, showing that the partition doesn't exist. I'm considering simply swapping the SSD with one that has Windows installed, but I'm not sure if that would even work. I've tried to find solutions online without luck, so I'm hoping for some guidance here—how can I successfully install Windows on my MacBook Pro when the usual methods are failing?
3 Answers
Boot Camp is just a guided method for installing Windows. You can boot from a USB drive to install Windows directly and then manually load the drivers afterward. Just make sure not to try installing Windows 11 or higher, as older Macs like yours can't run those due to the required CPU specs. Windows 10 is your best bet for gaming on that hardware, which has limitations on modern games.
Playing on a 15-year-old laptop for gaming? That's quite ambitious, isn't it?
It might be old, but it’s got 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. It’s better than nothing for my kids, and I do want them to learn how to use technology!
You can only install Windows 7 or 8 on a 2010 MacBook Pro, which are both end-of-life versions. If you want Windows 10, you'll need at least a 2012 model. Your best option might be to install Linux instead and run games through Wine.
I’ve got OEM versions of 8, 10, and 11, so I was hoping to get one of those working. So far, I’m just frustrated with the failure of trying Boot Camp or Parallels; I really want to have a full Windows OS running on this laptop.
So, if I get a new SSD with Windows pre-installed, I should be good to go after getting the right drivers? My current attempts with a Windows disk or flash drive haven’t worked, so I’m hoping it’ll boot right up this way.