Macbook Pro Running Windows 8

As you have a MacBook Pro with Retina display, if you bought Windows 8 on a disc, you have to buy an external optical drive and use it to install Windows. If you purchased it on the Microsoft Store as a download, you got it on a ISO file, so you can create a bootable USB drive with the Windows installer using Boot Camp Assistant. I have a Macbook 2,1 that has been running Windows 7 for years now. Earlier this week the hard drive failed, and so I replaced it and installed Windows 8 Pro 64-bit. In general it's running very well, but there are a couple driver issues. The most annoying one is that the trackpad no longer has two-finger scrolling functionality.

• Macbook Pro Windows Trackpad
• Macbook Pro Windows 10
• Installing Windows 10 On A Macbook Pro

SOME OF THE Frequently Asked Questions

Q.: What does the Trackpad++ Control Module user interface look like?
A.:Here is a screen shot. (Note: in the most recent version, both the appearance and the features may be different).

Q.: Why alternate trackpad driver for Windows 7 / 8 / 10?
A.: Apple trackpads are the perfect, probably world's best, touchpad devices. And the MacOS native driver is good: it unleashes almost all of the amazing trackpad capabilities. But the stock Windows driver provided by Apple for Boot Camp is, unfortunately, very far from being perfect. No support of 3+ finger gestures. No accelerated scrolling (yet the scrolling is too sensitive!). Dragging is just usable. And there is no vital option to ignore accidental input when typing. This is just an incomplete list of the issues every Boot Camp user is experiencing. So, the need of the better trackpad driver is obvious. In fact, if you are asking this question, then probably you have never tried to use Windows on an Apple Macbook Retina / Pro / Air :)

Q.: Do I need to install the Boot Camp drivers first? What are the supported Boot Camp and Windows versions?
A.: Yes, the Boot Camp drivers shall be installed (but normally it's already done automatically by Apple installer, right after you install the Windows). The supported Boot Camp versions are 3.0 - 3.3, 4.0, 4.1, 5.0, 5.1, 6.0 and 6.1

Q.: Which devices except of the Macbook, Macbook Pro and Macbook Air are supported?
A.: NONE. The only supported devices are: Force Touch Macbook Pro 16' Late 2019, Macbook Pro 13' / 15' Mid 2020, Mid 2019, Mid 2018, Mid 2017 and Late 2016, Macbook 12' Early 2015, Early 2016, Mid 2017, Macbook 13' / 15' Early 2015 and Mid 2015; classic Multi Touch models: Macbook Pro (Mid 2009, Mid 2010, Early 2011, Late 2011, Mid 2012 / Retina, Late 2012 / Retina, Early 2013 / Retina, Late 2013 / Retina, Mid 2014 / Retina) and Macbook Air (Late 2010, Mid 2011, Mid 2012, Mid 2013, Early 2014, Early 2015, Mid 2017, Late 2018, Mid 2019, Early 2020).
If you search for a Bluetooth Magic Trackpad / Magic Trackpad 2 driver installer and control panel for Boot Camp or PC, please see the following solution: an ExtraMagic.

Q.: Is it safe to install the Trackpad++? And, just in case, how do I remove the driver?
A.: Yes, it's completely safe to install, especially now when the driver is Microsoft-cross-signed, so its origin and integrity and fully assured. Just follow the simple installation instructions. Also (optional, but recommended step) you can install the Power Plan Assistant software first. In fact, the Trackpad++ does not interfere with any of the Boot Camp drivers installed. Instead, it seamlessly integrates into your existing Boot Camp installation. The setup procedure is transparent and fully automatic. If you would like to remove the Trackpad++ from your system, you can simply uninstall the Control Module (as you do with any Windows application - via Windows Control Panel) and, optionally, roll back to a 'HID-Compliant Mouse' driver via Windows 7 / 8 Device Manager. When the Trackpad++ Control Module is not installed anymore, the system will use the settings of the Boot Camp control panel, as if the Trackpad++ had never been installed.

Q.: Even with Trackpad++, the scrolling in my web browser isn't as smooth as in MacOS (Safari). Any suggestions?
A.: First of all, even in MacOS, other browsers do not provide the same ultra-smooth experience as Safari. So, the question is not just about the trackpad driver settings, but about how each specific browser handles the scrolling events it receives from the driver. For Windows, the answer would be - consider using the Opera or Firefox web browser. These browsers work best with Trackpad++, providing almost as smooth and as intuitive scrolling experience as Safari in MacOS. As to the rest of the browsers, the experience may not be 100% perfect. In any case, the Trackpad++ significantly improves scrolling behavior vs. the Boot Camp driver, so you should get noticeable improvement regardless of the web browser you are using.

Q.: I have got a question which is not listed there! How can I get an answer?
A.: Please feel free to contact us.

Boot Camp Assistant User Guide

You need an external USB drive to install Windows on older Mac computers. To find out whether you have a Mac that requires an external USB drive, see the “Learn more” section in the Apple Support article Install Windows 10 on your Mac with Boot Camp Assistant. If your Mac is a newer model that doesn’t require a USB drive, follow the instructions in Install Windows on your newer Mac using Boot Camp instead.

What you need

• The keyboard and mouse or trackpad that came with your Mac. (If they aren’t available, use a USB keyboard and mouse.)

• A blank 16 GB or larger external USB 2 flash drive, formatted as MS-DOS (FAT).

  To format an external USB drive as MS-DOS (FAT), use Disk Utility, located in /Applications/Utilities. In Disk Utility, choose View > All Devices, select the USB drive in the sidebar, then click Erase in the toolbar. In the dialog, enter a name for the drive, choose MS-DOS (FAT) from the Format pop-up menu, choose Master Boot Record from the Scheme pop-up menu, then click Erase.

• A full-installation, 64-bit version of Windows 10 on a disk image (ISO file) or other installation media.

  You can download a Windows 10 Disc Image (ISO File) from Microsoft.

• Sufficient free storage space on your startup drive. For information about the amount of free space needed, see the Apple Support Article Install Windows 10 on your Mac with Boot Camp Assistant.

Before you begin

Before you install Windows, make sure you back up important files.

You can use Time Machine or any other method to back up your files. For information about backing up files, see Back up your files with Time Machine and Ways to back up or protect your files.

Perform the installation

Do the following steps in order.

Step 1: Check for software updates

Before you install Windows, install all macOS updates.

1. On your Mac, log in as an administrator, quit all open apps, then log out any other users.

2. Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Software Update, then install all available updates.

   If your Mac restarts after installing an update, open Software Update again to install any additional updates.

Step 2: Prepare your Mac for Windows

Boot Camp Assistant prepares your Mac by creating a new partition for Windows named BOOTCAMP and downloading the Boot Camp support software.

Important: If you’re using a portable Mac, connect it to a power source before continuing.

Macbook Pro Windows Trackpad

1. Connect an external USB drive or insert a flash drive into the USB port on your Mac; keep it connected or inserted while you install Windows and the Windows support software.

2. On your Mac, open Boot Camp Assistant , located in /Applications/Utilities.

3. At the introduction screen, click Continue.

   The system is checked for total available disk space. Older Time Machine snapshots and cached iCloud files are removed to make space for Boot Camp. This process may take a long time to complete (you can click the Stop button to skip this process).

4. At the Select Tasks step, select all the tasks, then click Continue.

5. At the Create Bootable USB Drive for Windows Installation step, choose the Windows ISO image and the USB drive, then click Continue.

   The Windows files are copied to the USB drive. This process may take a long time to complete (you can click the Stop button to interrupt this process).

6. At the Create a Partition for Windows step, specify a partition size by dragging the divider between the macOS and Windows partitions. If you have multiple internal hard drives, you can select a different hard drive from the one running macOS and create a single partition on that drive to use solely for Windows.

7. Click Install.

When this step is complete, the Windows installer starts.

Step 3: Install Windows

1. In the Windows installer, follow the onscreen instructions.

2. When you’re asked where to install Windows, select the BOOTCAMP partition (you may need to scroll through the list of partitions to see it), then click Next.

   WARNING: Do not create or delete a partition, or select any other partition. Doing so may delete the entire contents of your macOS partition.

3. Continue following the onscreen instructions to finish installing Windows.

   After you install the Windows software, your Mac automatically restarts using Windows.

4. Follow the onscreen instructions to set up Windows.

Step 4: Install Boot Camp on Windows

After installing Windows, Boot Camp drivers that support your Mac hardware start installing.

Macbook Pro Windows 10

Note: If the support software doesn’t install automatically, you need to install it manually. For instructions, see the Apple Support article If the Boot Camp installer doesn't open after using Boot Camp Assistant.

Installing Windows 10 On A Macbook Pro

1. In the Boot Camp installer in Windows, follow the onscreen instructions.

   Important: Do not click the Cancel button in any of the installer dialogs.

   If a message appears that says the software you’re installing has not passed Windows Logo testing, click Continue Anyway.

   You don’t need to respond to installer dialogs that appear only briefly during installation, but if a dialog asks you to install device software, click Install.

   If nothing appears to be happening, there may be a hidden window that you must respond to. Look behind open windows.

2. When the installation is complete, click Finish, then click Yes to restart your Mac.

3. After your Mac restarts, follow the instructions for any other installers that appear.

Macbook Pro Running Windows 8