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Where are the Apple Windows drivers?

When I first installed Windows (XP) on my Mac, I used Boot Camp, which loaded a bunch of "Windows Driver Package - Apple Inc." modules to run the keyboard, display, and such. Over the years I began running the Boot Camp partition from Parallels, then pulled it out of the partition into a VM once I mastered the knack of successfully running low-level network tools from the VM. I also upgraded over those years to Windows 7 and Windows 10, but those drivers (more likely, their upgraded replacements) stayed resident in Windows.


Recently, I wanted to upgrade my Windows 10 from 32-bit to 64-bit. This is not a trivial upgrade, requiring a completely clean install of the OS followed by a "good luck with that" manual migration of your old files and apps. At one point, I got a snarky message from Windows to the effect that I was using more resources than I ought to because it was using a generic driver for my display. Checking Programs, I discovered that all my Apple-specific drivers were gone. A web search for information about how to get them back has been fruitless; double-plus fruitless on the badly-organized Parallels KB.


I know that originally the drivers were resident on the DVD that Boot Camp Utility burned to install Windows. I'm sure I still have it, but the DVD is way older than Windows 10, and might not even have the 64-bit drivers to boot. I would assume that since I'm using Parallels, I may not even need the drivers, except that I got that snarky message, so it appears that Windows, at least, cares.


I considered "dry-running" a Boot Camp installation just to get it to write the drivers onto some thumb media, but the current BC Utility wants to slice and dice my disc partitions BEFORE giving up the good stuff, so I aborted.


So:


1) Do I still NEED those drivers if I'm running under Parallels?

2) If so, where do I find them?

MacBook Pro, macOS Sierra (10.12.6)

Posted on Apr 21, 2018 9:15 PM

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Posted on Apr 22, 2018 3:39 AM

no a virtual machine use it's own drivers


if the mac is new enough to officially support windows 10 one makes the drivers pack on macOS like this https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSxOTQT8zSM7xzXDlUG08Chr4xN xqXYTFM8iooWWfxYZ5qeOUPNEA


if it's too old to have windows 10 support https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204990 click "mac models you can use with windows 10"


you have to try using the windows8 drivers

https://support.apple.com/kb/dl1720?locale=en_US

Boot Camp Support Software 5.1.5640

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Question marked as Best reply

Apr 22, 2018 3:39 AM in response to macswe

no a virtual machine use it's own drivers


if the mac is new enough to officially support windows 10 one makes the drivers pack on macOS like this https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSxOTQT8zSM7xzXDlUG08Chr4xN xqXYTFM8iooWWfxYZ5qeOUPNEA


if it's too old to have windows 10 support https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204990 click "mac models you can use with windows 10"


you have to try using the windows8 drivers

https://support.apple.com/kb/dl1720?locale=en_US

Boot Camp Support Software 5.1.5640

Apr 22, 2018 1:48 PM in response to macswe

macswe wrote:


With it, I managed to obtain all the drivers, but the master setup.exe program just displayed "This version of Boot Camp is not compatible with this computer model" (almost certainly because I'm not actually running Boot Camp). I managed to install a few of the drivers just by double-clicking them, but then I couldn't get Windows Device Manager to accept them as superior to the generic drivers it was already using.

Your Mac has no native drivers for W10, so the downloaded versions cannot be installed on a W10. W10 has driver signature enforcement as default.


BC5.x drivers do not work on W10, but support W7/W8.1 only. BC6.x drivers work with W10, but are not meant for your model. If you have managed to install Keyboard/Mouse/ODD drivers, these are generic across many Macs, and will work. The drivers you will have issues with are Audio, GPU, Co-Processor, ACPI, SATA, etc.,. Based on Rudegar's link (Use Windows 10 on your Mac with Boot Camp - Apple Support), if your Mac is not on the list, expect issues with both BC5.x and Bc6.x drivers. The BC Drivers' Product version is listed Bootcamp.xml.


Boot Camp Support Software 5.1.5640 only supports


Post Date: Feb 11, 2014

File Size: 925.6 MB

System Requirements

  • MacBook Air (11-inch & 13-inch, Early 2014)
  • MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch & 15-inch, Mid 2014)
  • MacBook Air (11-inch & 13-inch, Mid 2013)
  • MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch & 15-inch, Late 2013)
  • Mac Pro (Late 2013)
  • iMac (21.5-inch & 27-inch, Late 2013)
  • Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1, 64 bit


All other Macs will result in "This version of Boot Camp is not compatible with this computer model"

if you use setup.exe.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204990

Apr 22, 2018 6:36 AM in response to macswe

If you came from WXP -> W7 -> W10, some of your drivers were W7, grandfathered into W10. There is no equivalent W10 driver. The Keyboard/Mouse/ODD(CD/DVD) have standard 64-bit drivers. If your Mac can run WXP, it is very unlikely that it can natively support W10. What is the year/model of your Mac (do not post the serial number)?


You can re-install W7 64-bit and use Install Windows 7 on your Mac using Boot Camp - Apple Support for your Mac model as listed in the article. Once W7 64-bit is installed, you can upgrade to W10.

Apr 22, 2018 11:04 AM in response to Loner T

Aaargh, no thanks, I'm not going to subject myself to any more Windows installation struggles. And perhaps I should have made it explicit that I have also upgraded Macs several times since I first installed XP under Boot Camp.


Rudegar's post provided the secret I had lost: the (easily overlooked) menu option in Boot Camp Assistant. With it, I managed to obtain all the drivers, but the master setup.exe program just displayed "This version of Boot Camp is not compatible with this computer model" (almost certainly because I'm not actually running Boot Camp). I managed to install a few of the drivers just by double-clicking them, but then I couldn't get Windows Device Manager to accept them as superior to the generic drivers it was already using.


With the drivers at least safely in hand against future need, I've decided not to pursue forcing the issue unless Windows gives me subsequent indications that it's not comfortable with the drivers it already has.


Thanks for all your help.

Where are the Apple Windows drivers?

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