Converting a windows based laptop to a Mac OS?

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Converting a windows based laptop to a Mac OS?

Hi,

all of our devices are Apple based except for 1 laptop which, although old (as in running window 7 old) is still upgradeable and was only set aside when we switched.

My plan is to replace the hard drive with an SSD which is an easy enough fix on its own, however it got me wondering, as I have to re-install the operating system, how much extra work would be required to install an appropriate 🍎 OS so it basically works like our other devices?

I know most will say it’s probably cheaper to just buy a new Mac laptop and I get that, but at this point, I’m just really interested in the process, if there is one and if it’s actually do-able more than anything else.

Looking fwd to others thoughts. Cheers, Ross

Posted on Apr 11, 2026 4:15 PM

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HWTech

Community+ 2026

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74,960 points

Apr 11, 2026 7:53 PM in response to Riverduk

It is against the macOS Terms & Conditions EULA to install macOS onto non-Apple hardware. Such a discussion is not permitted on the Apple forums.

Since it is an old Windows laptop, I would suggest trying Linux Mint on it. It should run quite nicely on the older hardware & is a great way to extend the useful life of older computers (even older Macs prior to having USB-C ports). It does require learning a new OS and Linux is not for everyone.

You can easily check out Linux Mint by booting the Linux Mint USB installer & selecting "Live Mode" which will allow you to see whether your Windows laptop is able to run Linux Mint as well as giving you an opportunity to check out what Linux Mint is like. Performance of Linux Mint while booted to the USB stick will be slow....performance will be much better once it is installed to a real drive. There is more software available to install from the Linux Mint software repository than is installed by default. Many popular web browsers can also be installed on Linux Mint (Firefox, Vivaldi, Brave, Google Chrome).

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