Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Windows 8 Pro (final edition) on a Mac

Hello,

I have Windows 7 Ultimate installed on my iMac via Boot Camp and I want to buy Windows 8 Pro ,as a digital copy, from the Microsoft's site. How can I upgrade from Windows 7? Is it possible to do it right from Windows or will I have to erase the Boot Camp partition and install Windows 8 again? Thank you in advance.

iMac, OS X Mountain Lion

Posted on Oct 27, 2012 4:53 AM

Reply
Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Oct 27, 2012 5:03 AM

I would wait until Apple releases Windows 8 Bootcamp drivers. At that time you should be able to upgrade your Windows 7. If you install Windows 8 before there being any Windows 8 drivers you run a good chance of Windows not working correctly with your Apple hardware.

21 replies

Oct 27, 2012 10:06 AM in response to konstantinos205

@ konstantinos205 I am in the exact same boat as you!!! but from all the research i have done and watching f videos of people installing and upgrading to windows 8 on macs,its been a breeze and everything is working fine.Only some people are reporting trackpad not working but thats only on macbook pros or other macbook laptops. the desktops are working perfectly. I am sure that Micrososft hasnt changed barely anything besides the stupid metro UI and that deep down it is still windows 7 just masked by cheezy new interface things. I will wait a little bit more before upgrading to windows 8 but if an dwhen i do,i will post back and confirm exactly how everything is working. Sincer i use my bootcamp windows partition solely for playing games,I will comment on everything from performance in those games and the how my graphics drivers are running as well.

Oct 27, 2012 8:57 PM in response to josephfromlorton

if you have the oem windows 7 already installed on your mac,the of course the upgrade version for $40 bucks will upgrade your existing windws 7 partition to the newer windows 8 pro version. no need for the full disc version,that would be for a full clean install,meaning you would be wiping your entire bootcamp partition and installing just windows 8,losing all system settings and previous games,apps alreayd installed. you should only require the windows 8 upgrade which will transfer all your existing apps,games and settings from windows 7 to the newer version,windows 8. that is the same boat me and konstantinos are in.

Oct 28, 2012 7:50 AM in response to konstantinos205

YES!!! anything that has to do with your bootcamp side of your mac will not affect your mac side at all, unless you were to use a full windows installation disc and choose format and then would happen to choose the wrong partition instead of the one labveled bootcamp. Then of course you would wipe all the data on your mac side. But since you say you already have windows insatlled on your mac,and obviously at least lion on your mac side,then you have like a 1% chance of losing any data on your mac side,especially from simply upgrading your windows side software.I have 2 imacs both with mountain lion insatlled and windows 7 64 bit running with bootcamp 4.0 drivers installed. I have been through it all when it comes to installing,resotring windows all versions on my imacs and have learned quite a bit about computers throughout my lifetime. I actually repair them for all my employess and friwends free of charge. I would highly recommend if you havent dne it already is to A,make a fresh time machine backup of your mac side just in case you would ever need to restore it, and B. Use winclone software to make routine backups of your windows partitions in case you will ever need to restore your windows side. Also use the built in system restore feature in windows 7,since its much quicker to do a system restore on the windows side vs a winclone restore on the mac side,however both work well and will eliminate your worries about overwriteing or losing any data on either partition you have installed. Winclone costs only $19.99 and works perfectly everytime.



https://www.twocanoes.com/winclone/

Nov 8, 2012 2:28 PM in response to konstantinos205

I installed Windows 8 Pro on my iMac 27 mid2011 (boot camp installation). The biggest problem I'am experiencing so far is low screen resolution. I can't force it to go pass 1600x1200px which is most probably caused by wrong graphics card driver. A lot of stuff from windows boot camp manager doesn't work (like for instance volume and brightness on keyboard). So far I had no idea how to get it to work.

Nov 21, 2012 10:33 AM in response to iDeepV

Hi


I installed directly into Win 7 on both my iMac and MacBook Pro. Everything appeared to work fine but now after a week or so both keyboards are haphazard at startup. When I attempt to type in my password it appears as if the keyboard isn't working, but oddly when I hit the CAPS LOCK and message appears on the screen that it is turned on. I guess the drivers are faulty. I also seem to get alot of messages about high CPU usuage even when I am not working on anything.

Nov 21, 2012 10:33 AM in response to iDeepV

It is safe to install win7, meaning that no harm will be done to your hardware. You can't be sure whether everything will work properly untill Apple releases official drivers. I'm sure somebody has already tried to install this on your model (you didn't wrtie which one you have) so you can try and search the web again to see if it was successfull.

Nov 21, 2012 10:46 AM in response to Csound1

I installed Windows 8 Pro on my iMac 27 mid2011 (boot camp installation). The biggest problem I'am experiencing so far is low screen resolution. I can't force it to go pass 1600x1200px which is most probably caused by wrong graphics card driver. A lot of stuff from windows boot camp manager doesn't work (like for instance volume and brightness on keyboard). So far I had no idea how to get it to work.

As I've mentioned in on of the previous posts, I have iMac 27 mid2011. :-)

Windows 8 Pro (final edition) on a Mac

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.