Apple ends Windows 7 support in Boot Camp for new Mac Pro

Posted:
in macOS edited March 2015
Professional Mac users who depend on Apple's Boot Camp to run legacy Windows applications may need to reconsider upgrading to the latest Mac Pro as Apple has dropped support for Windows 7 on the redesigned desktop.

Windows 8 Boot Camp


Users attempting to install Windows with Apple's dual-boot solution are prompted to install "Windows 8 or later" by the setup assistant, according to independent Mac developers Twocanoes. Apple subsequently confirmed the changes with an update to its Boot Camp support documentation uncovered by MacWindows.com.

The change is unlikely to please professional users who will be forced to choose between upgrading to Windows 8, migrating their Windows 7 environment to a virtualization package, or choosing a different Mac. The oft-maligned Windows 8 has suffered much the same fate as Windows Vista, largely passed over by corporate IT departments and professional users thanks to its controversial architecture and user interface changes.

The new Mac Pro is the first Mac to drop support for Microsoft's previous-generation operating system, but subsequent releases will presumably follow suit. Apple stopped supporting Windows XP and Vista installations beginning with the second-generation MacBook Air, just under two years after the release of Windows 7.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 89
    john.bjohn.b Posts: 2,742member
    Apple does really dumb shit sometimes.
  • Reply 2 of 89
    brlawyerbrlawyer Posts: 828member

    If you want to use Windows, go buy a Dell.

  • Reply 3 of 89
    ws11ws11 Posts: 159member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by brlawyer View Post

     

    If you want to use Windows, go buy a Dell.


    Why Dell?

  • Reply 4 of 89
    Yea, I don't get it. Win7 is huge compared to Win8 right now. I'll keep my Win7 as long as I possibly can before I upgrade.
  • Reply 5 of 89
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    What's the big deal about leaving it in? Is this about offering drivers for the Mac Pro HW?
  • Reply 6 of 89
    darklitedarklite Posts: 229member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by brlawyer View Post

     

    If you want to use Windows, go buy a Dell.


    There was a recent study done on laptops that found that the Macbook Pro Retina was the most reliable and highest-rated Windows laptop. Getting a Mac device gets you higher build quality and reliability than most Windows devices, as well as letting you run OS X if you need. 

  • Reply 7 of 89

    It could easily be a hardware issue or a licensing issue with Microsoft. Who knows? One way to find out would be to boot up with an external drive or USB stick, reformat the Mac Pro hard drive and see if you can install Windows 7 in a separate partition. My guess is the PCIe flash memory is not compatible. 

  • Reply 8 of 89
    ws11ws11 Posts: 159member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by thetorrey View Post



    Yea, I don't get it. Win7 is huge compared to Win8 right now. I'll keep my Win7 as long as I possibly can before I upgrade.

    In all fairness, Windows 8 is the better OS.  It has a smaller footprint and can run very well on lower performance devices.  

     

    Of course the catch is the tile UI which created a lot of confusion.  It works pretty well on some touch devices (tablets), but not so much on desktop computers.  Some of this was fixed in Windows 8.1, but Microsoft still needs to give the user the option to completely disable the tile UI.

  • Reply 9 of 89
    bobschlobbobschlob Posts: 1,074member
    This isn't terribly surprising to me (even though I know Win 8 sucks a lot more than Win 7)

    I would also bet you can't install any Mac OS earlier than 10.9 on this computer either (Duh).
  • Reply 10 of 89
    brlawyerbrlawyer Posts: 828member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by WS11 View Post

     

    Why Dell?


     

    Actually you're right: stick to Mac; don't use Windows at all.

  • Reply 11 of 89
    ws11ws11 Posts: 159member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DarkLite View Post

     

    There was a recent study done on laptops that found that the Macbook Pro Retina was the most reliable and highest-rated Windows laptop. Getting a Mac device gets you higher build quality and reliability than most Windows devices, as well as letting you run OS X if you need. 


    Although they're usually not a manufacturer I would jump to, Razer's latest Blade laptop is considerably more powerful and less expensive than a MBPr.  It even uses the similar MBP style chassis and has a 3200x1800 IGZO display.

     

    2014 Razer Blade

     

    Otherwise I find ASUS and Lenovo offer some great products with industry leading performance and reliability.  Not so much a fan of Samsung, HP or Dell.

  • Reply 12 of 89
    ws11ws11 Posts: 159member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by brlawyer View Post

     

     

    Actually you're right: stick to Mac; don't use Windows at all.


    Or there's that.

  • Reply 13 of 89
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by John.B View Post



    Apple does really dumb shit sometimes.

     

    On purpose too. Why should Apple give a dump whether Windows will run on their machines? If you can produce any survey or study that proves Apple sells more machines because it can run Windows then please do so. Anecdotal “my cousin needs this” doesn’t count. I see this as a stick-it-to-em move.

  • Reply 14 of 89
    john.b wrote: »
    Apple does really dumb shit sometimes.

    Microsoft doesn't support booting Windows 7 on the Surface Pro. And that's supposed to be a PC, not a Mac.
  • Reply 15 of 89
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    VMware screams on my nMP with Windows 7. I'm not suggesting it is used for high end PC games but it runs X-Plane for Windows which isn't too shabby. I don't do this normally, it was just an experiment. For normal applications is faster than many PCs I would suspect.
  • Reply 16 of 89
    saareksaarek Posts: 1,520member
    Windows 8 has been widely shunned & licences can still be purchased for Windows 7. This is a poor move for Apples customers who require bootcamp.
  • Reply 17 of 89
    e1618978e1618978 Posts: 6,075member

    You can probably still install it with bootcamp, I was able to install XP after they dropped support.  You just reboot the computer from CD after bootcamp makes the partition for you.

  • Reply 18 of 89
    sudonymsudonym Posts: 233member

    Apple is always first to get rid of the unnecessary cruft of outdated legacy crap.

  • Reply 19 of 89
    If you buy a Mac, don't expect old windows OS support, why surprised?
  • Reply 20 of 89
    jlanddjlandd Posts: 873member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by brlawyer View Post

     

     

    Actually you're right: stick to Mac; don't use Windows at all.


      The mid range MacBooks on down down have much need for running Windows.  But in a pro environment, which is the market for this machine, some people are totally OS X-centric but do need to go into Windows occasionally.  It can't be avoided for what they do.  What Apple should be doing, IMO, is not give anyone any reason to spend any time in front of a non-Apple computer.  They can't give them a good reason to never, ever enter into Windows, because they haven't set the stage for that.  It's not about how superior one OS is, it's about certain things that exist in one which have no suitable equivalent in the other.  

     

    They're opening the door for someone who has never purchased any non Apple computers in their life to have to go buy that first $1,000 Windows laptop.  I simply think it behooves them to not let that happen.

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