Boot Camp Mac Must Be Formatted As Ntfs

Mac owners using disks that exceed 2.2TB may find it difficult to set up a Windows disk using Apple’s Boot Camp assistant. The root cause of the problem is that the Boot Camp Assistant uses the FAT32 format when setting up a Windows disk. The end result will be an error message (also seen in the image below) that states:

“The startup disk cannot be partitioned or restored to a single partition.

R/mac: Reddit's Mac community. About my Mac. Late 2011 2.4 GHz Intel Core I7 4 gigs memory Yosemite. So I'm trying to install Windows using bootcamp but when I get to the installer it says I can't because the partition isn't formatted as NTFS. Apr 19, 2017  In order to install Windows (7, 8, 10) you have to format the partition as NTFS, exFAT is not supported for Windows installation. Windows cannot be installed to this hard disk space. Sep 06, 2013  How to format it NTFS is covered in the Boot Camp Install Setup. The one for Mac OS 10.7 is on page 6 and 7 with screen shots.

The startup disk must be formatted as a single Mac OS Extended (Journaled) volume or already partitioned by Boot Camp Assistant for installing Windows.”The Solution
To work around this limitation, before you run the Boot Camp Assistant you can manually create a FAT32 partition that is 2TB or less, using the OS X Disk Utility. You can learn more about partitioning in Disk Utility by reading this document if you are running OS X version 10.6 to 10.10, or this document if you are running 10.11-10.12, or this document if you are using 10.13 or later.

Afterward you can launch the Boot Camp Assistant and use the built-in features to create a Windows installation disk on the new partition and also to download the Boot Camp drivers. Once you boot to the Windows installation disk, you can use the Disk Management application to reformat the disk — choose the NTFS format — before proceeding with the Windows installation.

Note: This information is provided as a courtesy. For further support regarding OS X or Windows, please visit Apple.com or Microsoft.com.

Related articles

What you need to install Windows 10 on Mac

  • MacBook introduced in 2015 or later
  • MacBook Air introduced in 2012 or later
  • MacBook Pro introduced in 2012 or later
  • Mac mini introduced in 2012 or later
  • iMac introduced in 2012 or later1
  • iMac Pro (all models)
  • Mac Pro introduced in 2013 or later

The latest macOS updates, which can include updates to Boot Camp Assistant. You will use Boot Camp Assistant to install Windows 10.

64GB or more free storage space on your Mac startup disk:

  • Your Mac can have as little as 64GB of free storage space, but at least 128GB of free storage space provides the best experience. Automatic Windows updates require that much space or more.
  • If you have an iMac Pro or Mac Pro with 128GB of memory (RAM) or more, your startup disk needs at least as much free storage space as your Mac has memory.2

An external USB flash drive with a storage capacity of 16GB or more, unless you're using a Mac that doesn't need a flash drive to install Windows.

A 64-bit version of Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro on a disk image (ISO) or other installation media. If installing Windows on your Mac for the first time, this must be a full version of Windows, not an upgrade.

  • If your copy of Windows came on a USB flash drive, or you have a Windows product key and no installation disc, download a Windows 10 disk image from Microsoft.
  • If your copy of Windows came on a DVD, you might need to create a disk image of that DVD.

How to install Windows 10 on Mac

To install Windows, use Boot Camp Assistant, which is included with your Mac.

1. Use Boot Camp Assistant to create a Windows partition

Write

Open Boot Camp Assistant, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder. Then follow the onscreen instructions.

  • If you're asked to insert a USB drive, plug your USB flash drive into your Mac. Boot Camp Assistant will use it to create a bootable USB drive for Windows installation.
  • When Boot Camp Assistant asks you to set the size of the Windows partition, remember the minimum storage-space requirements in the previous section. Set a partition size that meets your needs, because you can't change its size later.

2. Format the Windows (BOOTCAMP) partition

When Boot Camp Assistant finishes, your Mac restarts to the Windows installer. If the installer asks where to install Windows, select the BOOTCAMP partition and click Format. In most cases, the installer selects and formats the BOOTCAMP partition automatically.

What a wonderful review! You won’t be disappointed with this program! Developer Response,Fantastic! Cook'n cloud app download. Thank you so much for taking the time to tell your story, share your experience, and recommend Cook'n so highly! The videos that Dan has created make it easy to learn all the functions of this powerful program.I highly recommend Cook’n to anyone who is looking for an easy way to become more organized, to have the ability to capture and share recipes or even make your own cookbooks.

3. Install Windows

Unplug any external devices that aren't necessary during installation. Then click Next and follow the onscreen instructions to begin installing Windows.

4. Use the Boot Camp installer in Windows

Boot camp mac must be formatted as ntfs download

After Windows installation completes, your Mac starts up in Windows and opens a ”Welcome to the Boot Camp installer” window. Follow the onscreen instructions to install Boot Camp and Windows support software (drivers). You will be asked to restart when done.

  • If the Boot Camp installer never opens, open the Boot Camp installer manually and use it to complete Boot Camp installation.
  • If you have an external display connected to a Thunderbolt 3 port on your Mac, the display will be blank (black, gray, or blue) for up to 2 minutes during installation.

How to switch between Windows and macOS

Restart, then press and hold the Option (or Alt) ⌥ key during startup to switch between Windows and macOS.

Learn more

If you have one of these Mac models using OS X El Capitan 10.11 or later, you don't need a USB flash drive to install Windows:

Boot Camp Mac Must Be Formatted As Ntfs Download

  • MacBook introduced in 2015 or later
  • MacBook Air introduced in 2015 or later3
  • MacBook Pro introduced in 2015 or later3

Using Ntfs On Mac

  • iMac introduced in 2015 or later
  • iMac Pro (all models)
  • Mac Pro introduced in late 2013

To remove Windows from your Mac, use Boot Camp Assistant, not any other utility.

For more information about using Windows on your Mac, open Boot Camp Assistant and click the Open Boot Camp Help button.

1. If you're using an iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014) or iMac (27-inch, Late 2013) or iMac (27-inch, Late 2012) with a 3TB hard drive and macOS Mojave or later, learn about an alert you might see during installation.

2. For example, if your Mac has 128GB of memory, its startup disk must have at least 128GB of storage space available for Windows. To see how much memory your Mac has, choose Apple menu  > About This Mac. To see how much storage space is available, click the Storage tab in the same window.

Boot Camp Mac Must Be Formatted As Ntfs Drive

3. These Mac models were offered with 128GB hard drives as an option. Apple recommends 256GB or larger hard drives so that you can create a Boot Camp partition of at least 128GB.