Running Windows 7 on bootcamp?

Recently I've decided to install Windows 7 Professional on my Mac. I'm running El Capitan v10.11.6, and I want to make sure I buy the right version/do the right thing as to not waste money. I have a few question about the setup/running of Win7, which I guess is why I'm here. ;D

1. Does any version of Windows 7 work, or do I need to buy a certain kind? (32/64, RTM/SP1/SP2/SP3)
2. My mac doesn't have a CD/DVD drive, is there anywhere I can get an official/legal ISO of the OS?
3. Besides the serial key, and possibly the CD/Drive, is there any other equipment I need to successfully run Windows 7?
4. I've seen some people install their OS on a formatted external drive, is it possible to just partition my Mac's drive and install to that?

I really appreciate if you've taken the time out of your day to read this, it will help me a lot.
Have a nice day!

PS. I've seen a lot of Youtube tutorials, but none of them really answered these questions.

EDIT: So what I've learned so far is that I should simply partition my Macintosh HD drive, get a version of Windows 7 Professional (All I can find is SP1, So that should work.) and go through the formatting/installation process. Sound right?

RESOLVED

The best place for the answer to these questions is Apple, they have a lot of great support articles, here is one that should help you get started, https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205016.

MooseOnMac said:

Recently I've decided to install Windows 7 Professional on my Mac. I'm running El Capitan v10.11.6, and I want to make sure I buy the right version/do the right thing as to not waste money. I have a few question about the setup/running of Win7, which I guess is why I'm here. ;D

1. Does any version of Windows 7 work, or do I need to buy a certain kind? (32/64, RTM/SP1/SP2/SP3)
2. My mac doesn't have a CD/DVD drive, is there anywhere I can get an official/legal ISO of the OS?
3. Besides the serial key, and possibly the CD/Drive, is there any other equipment I need to successfully run Windows 7?
4. I've seen some people install their OS on a formatted external drive, is it possible to just partition my Mac's drive and install to that?

I really appreciate if you've taken the time out of your day to read this, it will help me a lot.
Have a nice day!

PS. I've seen a lot of Youtube tutorials, but none of them really answered these questions.

Click to expand...

1. Any version of W7 64-bit will work but I suggest at least W7 Pro - as far as Service packs - what ever you lack Windows update will supply.
2. You can purchase a product key and then download the ISO file and install it on your mac from there.
3. Just a Product Key.
4. You can install to an external drive but it will run much slower. Bootcamp will partition and install W7 on your mac main drive for you.

Lisa

Recently I've decided to install Windows 7 Professional on my Mac. I'm running El Capitan v10.11.6, and I want to make sure I buy the right version/do the right thing as to not waste money. I have a few question about the setup/running of Win7, which I guess is why I'm here.

Click to expand...

Your Mac may not be able to run Windows 7 if it is a late model and has no optical drive. We would need to know exactly which model Mac you have - year and model. The reason we need to know is that late model Macs do not support Windows 7.

FYI installing Windows on an external drive is very difficult if not impossible. This article covers most of what you need to know for installation on your internal Mac HD; https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT205016
When you run Boot Camp the first thing you will need to decide is what size to make the partition. As this is a irreversible decision (you cannot resize later) some thought should be given to this before running the initial setup. I think the minimum is 50Gb. The Windows OS and programs will take up about 20Gb so dependent on what you want to use this partition for eg media or data, specific Windows programs and files etc. For large programs and media (especial visual media and video games) you will very quickly fill the remaining 30Gb.
I am running Win 10 via Boot Camp on a MBPr with a 500Gb SSD and allowed 80Gb which suits my needs because I do not store data permanently in this partition but there are times I wish I had gone for 100Gb.
Don't forget the Mac HD partition should have at least 10-15% free for operational needs, virtual memory etc.
Have you also considered Parallels and running a Virtual Machine as alternatives?

chscag said:

Your Mac may not be able to run Windows 7 if it is a late model and has no optical drive. We would need to know exactly which model Mac you have - year and model. The reason we need to know is that late model Macs do not support Windows 7.

Click to expand...

I'm running a 27-inch Late 2012 iMac. Would that work?
(I noticed on Sierra it didn't even give you the option to run Windows 7 a few months ago, so I downgraded just to be sure.)

I have thought about doing a virtual machine, I actually used one a while ago on my old laptop to run XP, but I'd prefer just being able to boot to Windows instead (call me crazy).

MooseOnMac said:

I have thought about doing a virtual machine, I actually used one a while ago on my old laptop to run XP, but I'd prefer just being able to boot to Windows instead (call me crazy).

Click to expand...

The VM route makes a lot of sense depending on how often you intend to use Windows, what programs you intend to run and if you need to have access to something from the macOS side while running Windows. Being able to start the VM and then suspend when not needed is a nice thing. I did that for a while and it worked great when I was using Windows in a VM for development. Using the Suspend<->Resume cycle with the VM actually yielded a system where Windows would behave for a long time. Additionally, after the clean install, I created a snapshot for the VM (in VMWare Fusion) and avoided running any anti-virus programs and if the Windows installation began to freak out, I just reverted back to the snapshot..

Interesting, I'll remember that. Would there be any reason to use Bootcamp at all, or should I just use Virtualbox?

MooseOnMac said:

Interesting, I'll remember that. Would there be any reason to use Bootcamp at all, or should I just use Virtualbox?

Click to expand...

Depends on what you intend to run in Windows. If you're a gamer, VirtualBox will fall flat, however, if you intend to run some Windows programs like QuickBooks, Office, etc, then VirtualBox will work well. And, by the way, your 2012 iMac can not run Windows 7 whether you're on El Capitan or Sierra, or even Yosemite.

Then I have a serious problem.. I run steam games almost every day such as Subnautica and CS-GO, but if Bootcamp won't work then what should I do? I've tried Winebottler, but that never seems to work, so I guess I'm kind of in a tough spot.

MooseOnMac said:

Then I have a serious problem.. I run steam games almost every day such as Subnautica and CS-GO, but if Bootcamp won't work then what should I do? I've tried Winebottler, but that never seems to work, so I guess I'm kind of in a tough spot.

Click to expand...

No one said Boot Camp wouldn't work. What we and Apple say... is that you can not use Windows 7. Purchase a copy of Windows 10 which will work on your 2012 iMac and you'll be able to run your games just fine.

Okay! Thanks!

One thing I forgot to mention... you will need a "FULL INSTALL" version of Windows 10. An upgrade version will not work for you.

This https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/software-download/windows10ISO is where I started for my Win I0 Boot Camp installation. Be aware that after installation you need to obtain an Activation Key. I found (after some mucking around) the easiest way was to contact the MS Support Center via their Chat line. You will need a Microsoft account of course if you don't have one already.
I too play fairly cpu demanding 3D games on this partition and if you want the best Game performance Boot Camp is definitely the way to go.

When you submit payment on the MS site for Windows 10 (whichever version) the download and the product key are included. When buying Windows 10 from say, Amazon, all you'll get is a small cardboard folder with the product key and instructions to download from the MS site. Maybe different where you are?

It was a little different for me. I downloaded the ISO from MS and after installation via Bootcamp I registered the software in my name and paid for it but the software was from the US store and I needed to register it in Australia ( because thats my address) and thats where I had created my MS account originally.
Nonetheless it was easily sorted. The girl at the MS US help desk sent me an email confirmation of payment via the Australian site, registered the purchase in Aus and sent a CD Key and receipt for activation via email. All up only took about 10min.

OK, I understand. I didn't think you could purchase it direct from the MS US store, but I guess their site is available world wide and the payment winds up equivalent in US dollars anyway even though you paid for it with AU$.

Here in the US, when you buy direct from MS (Windows or Office) they include the Product ID activation codes with the ISO. But if I go into a local store like Wal-Mart and buy Windows 10, all I get is a small box with the Product ID activation codes. I still have to download the ISO from the MS server.