windows 7 support software download slow

Welcome to Apple Support Communities

Close Boot Camp Assistant and download the drivers from the Apple site. If you have a Mid 2010 or newer iMac, download Boot Camp 5 drivers > http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1638

If you have an older iMac, download Boot Camp 4 drivers > http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1630

After downloading the drivers, copy them to the USB drive, open Boot Camp Assistant and follow the steps to install Windows, but skipping the step to download the Windows support software

You will need the Windows Support Software once you get Windows installed to use your Mac's accessories such as the built-in camera and Magic Mouse/Trackpad.

If you do a speed test at a site like http://www.speedtest.net, what does it say your download speed is?

And as mende1 mentioned, if you still don't have any luck downloading the drivers through Boot Camp Assistant, just download them from the link he provided.

As I can't edit replies from a iPad, I create a new reply.

It's important to install the Windows support software in Windows because, after installing Windows, you will see that it doesn't work correctly and that not all the hardware works. After finishing the Windows installation, install the drivers and Windows will work as you have expected

You can use a DVD if you want. In this case, download the file and decompress it. Then, you will get a folder with the drivers, so right-click the folder and select "Burn" to burn your drivers onto the DVD

You are welcome

You can download the Boot Camp Installation & Setup Guide.

Is there a download of the Boot Camp 5 Support Software if I'm not using OS X Mountain Lion v10.8.3?
Yes, you can download the Boot Camp 5 Support Software here.

How do I use the Boot Camp 5 Support Software I downloaded from the web page?

1. The download file is a .zip file. Double click it to uncompress it.
2. Double-click the Boot Camp disk image.
3. Copy the Boot Camp and "$WinPEDriver$" folders to the root level of a USB flash drive or hard drive that is formatted with the FAT file system (see question below for steps on how to format).
4. Install Windows, leaving the flash or hard drive attached to the USB port of your Mac.
5. Installation of the drivers can take a few minutes. Don't interrupt the installation process. A completion dialog box will appear when everything is installed. Click Finish when the dialog appears.
6. When your system restarts your Windows 8 installation is done.

Note: If the flash drive or hard drive was not attached when you installed Windows and was inserted after restarting into Windows 8, double-click the Boot Camp folder, then locate and double click the "setup.exe" file to start the installation of the Boot Camp 5 Support Software.How do I format USB media to the FAT file system?

Use Disk Utility to format a disk to use with a Windows computer. Here's how:Important: Formatting a disk erases all the files on it. Copy any files you want to save to another disk before formatting the disk.

1. Open Disk Utility.
2. Select the disk you want to format for use with Windows computers.
3. Click Erase, and choose one of the following from the Format pop-up menu:
   
   • If the size of the disk is 32 GB or less, choose MS-DOS (FAT).
   • If the size of the disk is over 32 GB, choose ExFAT.
4. Type a name for the disk. The maximum length is 11 characters.
5. Click the Erase button and then click Erase again.

Which versions of Windows are supported with Boot Camp 5?
64-bit versions of Windows 8 and Windows 7 are supported using the Boot Camp 5 Support Software. If you need to use a 32-bit version, you need to use Boot Camp 4 Support Software, and you must use Windows 7. 32-bit versions of Windows 8 are not supported via Boot Camp. For a complete list of Windows OS support, click here.

Model-specific Questions

I receive a "Free up space on Drive C" message when I try to do an upgrade install from Windows 7 to Windows 8 on my MacBook Air (11-inch, Mid 2012). Why am I seeing this?
There is not enough free space available to do an upgrade install with the 64 GB SSD configuration. Delete the Boot Camp partition and do a full install instead. See this article for more information.

I see a black screen or distortion when I install Windows 8 on a MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2012). How do I fix this?
The Windows 8 installer does not contain the correct graphics driver for your computer. You'll need to attach the USB media that contains the Boot Camp drivers during installation to address this issue. See this article for more information.

You are welcome

Hello,

Mende1, you said: After downloading the drivers, copy them to the USB drive, open Boot Camp Assistant and follow the steps to install Windows, but skipping the step to download the Windows support software

But I can't skip the step to download the Windows support software because it is checked and greyed out so I can't change it. Any advice on this?

-Sarah

First, I was going to use BootCamp assistant under Utilities on the Mac. It first allowed me to partition the mac. I allocated 50 GB for Windows because I was not too sure how large the software I was planning on running in Widows was. However, once I got to the "Downloading Windows Support Software" stage, it would never finish. Actually, it would only get to about 1/4 of the way after many hours. Thus, I tried to find a way around that stage.

I looked online for the BootCamp 5 software (compatible with my Mid 2012 Macbook)​, downloaded it and put it on a jump drive.

I then put the Windows software installation disc into my Mac. I then restarted the computer and held down the Option (alt) key during startup. The Mac hard drive and the Windows hard drive appeared. I clicked on the Windows one and went through the Windows installation process. After I installed Windows, I was operating on the Windows drive.

Next, I used that jump drive that I had the BootCamp 5 software on and opened that file! Then, I clicked "run" and it downloaded the requisite support software Windows needed. [This was after many trials and errors. I first installed Windows without the BootCamp on the jump drive and could not get the sound to work; connect to the internet (wirelessly); and other things.] However, after "running" the BootCamp 5 from the USB drive while using Windows, everything started "syncing." Now, my sound works and I can connect to the internet on the Windows drive! Everything seems fine!