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I'm trying to install Win10_21H1_English_x64 (Windows 10) on my 2011 iMac. Here are the specs:

  • Model Identifier: iMac12,1
  • Processor Name: Intel Core i5
  • Memory: 12 GB
  • macOS High Sierra 10.13.6

I've been trying to do this for probably a month now, and I can't find anything.

I have the windows 10 iso image and I've tried using Boot Camp Assistant, but I don't know really how to use it.

Here is what I've done so far:

  • I open boot camp,
  • I click next,
  • I choose the USB flash drive,
  • Click next, it installs the windows support,
  • then says "Plugin windows media and wait a few seconds for it to recognize."

I don't know what that means or how to proceed from here.

Can anyone help me??

David Anderson
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Isaac Johnson
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    Are you sure your iMac is officially compatible with Windows 10? I have a mid-2011 27” iMac with High Sierra and Bootcamp / Windows 7 and I remember finding out Windows 10 was incompatible with my iMac / Bootcamp when I considered upgrading the Windows. I eventually installed Windows 10 using Parallels Desktop but continue to use Windows 7 most of the time when I need Windows. – Alper Sep 29 '21 at 05:06
  • I'm not sure if it's on the "officially" compatible with windows 10 list. Mine is a mid-2011 21.5" You say you used parallels desktop to install it. is that an app? – Isaac Johnson Sep 29 '21 at 05:21
  • Yes. It’s a bit pricey but it works: https://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/ Not sure if its latest version is compatible with Sierra though. Maybe you can purchase an earlier version if available. – Alper Sep 29 '21 at 05:26
  • Is there anything that you know of like it that's free? Also, I'm wanting to install windows as a separate os on my HDD. So do you know of any tutorials that could help me? – Isaac Johnson Sep 29 '21 at 05:30
  • Sorry but I don’t. – Alper Sep 29 '21 at 05:32
  • Ok. Well, thanks for trying. Maybe someone else will know of a toturial. – Isaac Johnson Sep 29 '21 at 05:34
  • "It's not working" doesn't give us a lot of insights. Which specific steps do you take, how do they fail? – nohillside Sep 29 '21 at 05:45
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    The 'trick' used to be to get Win 7 on it first, then upgrade it to Win10; but I'm not at all sure that will still work up to 21H1 as Windows have dropped support for pretty much all hardware older than 2015, even on 'proper' PCs. I'd be looking at a VM instead. – Tetsujin Sep 29 '21 at 07:44
  • BTW, I have Win10, fully up to date, happily running in a Parallels VM on an old 2008 Mac Pro with zero issues. Similarly on a 2012, which is actually fast enough to play games on. – Tetsujin Sep 29 '21 at 10:50
  • Isaac: Would first upgrading to High Sierra be a problem? I ask because the upgrade also upgrades the firmware which makes Windows 10 easier to install. – David Anderson Oct 15 '21 at 10:19
  • I now have High Sierra – Isaac Johnson Oct 15 '21 at 10:56

3 Answers3

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Install a version of Windows compatible with your version of Boot Camp. Then upgrade that to Windows 10.

You will most likely have problems with your Apple hardware because the drivers come in through Boot Camp. This may be fixable by extracting them from an newer distribution of Boot Camp. I suggest you open a new question when you get there.

Thorbjørn Ravn Andersen
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  • Usually, the Windows Support Software containing the latest Windows drivers for a Mac can be downloaded by using the Boot Camp Assistant installed on the Mac. In other words, using the Boot Camp Assistant on a different Mac model will probably result in downloading the wrong drivers. Although, the correct drivers for any Mac can be downloaded from any machine running a current or almost current version of Windows or macOS. However, the procedure in not trivial and is not recommended in this case because the OP has High Sierra installed. – David Anderson Oct 16 '21 at 08:01
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You can’t install Windows 10 properly on a 2011 iMac via Boot Camp. This Apple Support page says one needs a 2012 iMac at the earliest.

Alper
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The Boot Camp Assistant can be used to installed 64 bit BIOS booting Windows 7 through Windows 8.1. Once installed, you should be able to upgrade to Windows 10 version 21H1. The Boot Camp Assistant is designed to use a Windows installation DVD to install Windows on your model Mac. The USB flash drive is suppose to just have the Boot Camp Support Software or Windows Support Software. The Windows drivers provided by Apple work best when Windows is installed to BIOS boot.

Attempting an UEFI booting installation of Windows on a iMac12,1 generally results in either complete failure or partial lost of use of hardware.

The rest of this answer addresses how to do a clean install of Widows 10 version 21H1 without having to upgrade from a previous version.

There have been posts here at Ask Difference and elsewhere explaining how to install Windows 10 on Macs where the Boot Camp Assist is either not utilized or only partially utilized. One method, which was explicitly tested using a iMac12,1 and Windows 10 version 21H1, is given as the accepted answer to the Ask Different question "How to install Windows 10 into a 2011 iMac without using the Boot Camp Assistant, an optical (DVD) drive or third party tools?". This accepted answer requires the Mac to have firmware upgrades provided when High Sierra is first installed.

The basic steps are outlined below. See the link for more detailed steps.

  1. A partition is created for Windows on the internal drive.
  2. Care is taken to insured that at least the partition where Windows is to reside is recorded in the legacy Master Boot Record (MBR) partition table. This is referred to as hybrid partitioning, which is a requirement when macOS and a BIOS booting Windows are installed.
  3. The Windows files provide by Microsoft are copied to both the internal drive and an USB flash drive. The Windows files provided by Apple copied to the USB flash drive.
  4. The Windows installer is UEFI booted from the USB flash drive. Once booted, commands are issued to make the internal drive BIOS bootable.
  5. The Windows installer is BIOS booted from the internal drive. Windows 10 is then installed to the internal drive.
  6. A temporary Administrator account is created so that Boot Camp can be installed along with other drivers. This account is then removed before the Mac shuts down.

When finished installing, the Mac is left in the same state as any PC purchased with Windows preinstalled.

David Anderson
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