need help fixing macbook.

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need help fixing macbook.

hey everyone, so i was attempting to change my MacBook to windows to use as a makeshift pc until i have enough money for a better one. during the attempt to factory reset it, it deleted macOS and continued to fail to redownload it. i was going to download windows through boot camp as i always had before, but due to being stuck in the disk utility section my only option was to put a windows 10 file on a USB drive and launch and download windows through that. now that did work perfect and I'm running windows great, only huge issue is because i didn't go through boot camp i need to download bootcamp for all the drivers for Wi-Fi, keyboard, mouse, and audio and so on. the only way to do that is to put a valid boot camp or drivers download on a USB drive and do it through that because i have no Wi-Fi or macOS on this MacBook now. i have a 2016 MacBook pro 15 inch, and no matter what i try i cant find anything that will fix my issue due to apple not publicly releasing the drivers downloads. if you know where to get a download for boot camp version 6.1.6655 that would be great!

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 12.7

Posted on Sep 23, 2026 10:46 PM

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Answer 1

Sep 25, 2026 9:15 PM in response to calcal08

I think Apple did stop providing separate downloads of those drivers for Windows, but I'm not certain. Your better option would be to get macOS reinstalled.

Is this a model with USB-C ports and Touchbar or is it an older model with a MagSafe2 charger?

If macOS 10.12.6+ was previously installed on this laptop anytime in the past, then you should be able to boot into Internet Recovery Mode using Command + Option + R to access the online installer (hopefully for macOS 12.x Monterey). If you end up booting into an older online installer, then it may be a bit more difficult to install since Apple has not been doing a good job of keeping those older online installers working properly, but we can probably assist with them as well (let us know which OS it boots and the error you may receive).

The other option would be to create a bootable macOS USB installer, but this requires access to another Mac which is compatible with an OS your laptop supports. Both the 2015 model (MagSafe2 port) and the 2016 (USB-C ports) are compatible with these operating systems which does give you a nice selection of models (those computers can currently be running any version of macOS 10.6+):

- macOS 12.x Monterey --- 2015 to mid-2022
- macOS 10.15 Catalina --- 2012 to mid-2020
- macOS 10.13 High Sierra --- Late-2009 to mid-2019

If this is the older 2015 MagSafe2 model without Touchbar or USB-C ports, then another option may be installing Linux Mint on this laptop, however, this will require you to learn a new OS. And most proprietary software such as MS Office, or Adobe products will not be available although Linux can access & use Microsoft's online versions through a web browser & subscription. Linux Mint does include LibreOffice which is a free & open source office suite similar to MS Office.

If the laptop is the 2016 model with USB-C ports, then Linux Mint may not be a good option. I'm not sure how well the early T1 USB-C Macs are supported with Linux (I think some preliminary Touchbar support may have been added recently, but it may not yet be where the Touchbar can actually be used).

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