With virtual machines you run both macOS and Windows at the same time, which is handy if you want to open a single Windows program alongside your Mac applications. Windows will “think” it’s running on a real computer, when it is running inside an app. Virtual machines allow you to install and open Windows 8.1 in a window on your Mac desktop. Option 2: Run Windows 8.1 on a Macbook Without BootCamp, Using a Virtual Machine

That is not a problem when using virtual machines. Another possible drawback is fact that Windows and macOS use different file systems, and you will not be able to open Mac files on Windows or vice versa unless you install specific third-party drives for it. On the other hand, only one operating system will be able to run at the same time, so you will have to reboot between them depending on which apps you need to run at the moment. That’s why dual-booting is ideal for running resource-intensive programs like video-editing software or high-end games. If you install Windows via Boot Camp, Windows will have all of your Macbook’s resources and can run programs with the maximum possible performance. Mac’s Boot Camp Assistant will help you install Windows, partition the startup drive and install necessary drivers. Option 1: Download Windows 8.1 on a Mac With BootCampīoot Camp comes with your Macbook for free, and it allows you to install Windows alongside macOS, so you can choose which of them to boot on startup. In this article we describe pros and cons of each method so that you can decide for yourself which one to use. In that case virtualization software should still work if you have a Windows 8.1 license key. Unfortunately, installing Windows 8 via BootCamp will probably not work if your Macbook is newer than 2016. If you need to run Windows 8.1 on a Macbook, there are a few ways to do it: you can use Mac’s BootCamp Assistant or download and use a virtual machine like Parallels Desktop, VMware Fusion or VirtualBox.

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