In.NET 5.0 and later, Environment.OSVersion always returns the actual OS version. For more information, see Environment.OSVersion returns the correct operating system version. To identify the operating system platform, for example, Linux or Windows, you can use the RuntimeInformation.IsOSPlatform method. The Apple Real-time Operating System Environment (A/ROSE) was a small embedded operating system which ran on the Macintosh Coprocessor Platform, an expansion card for the Macintosh.
If you own Intel-based Macs, you can run OS X and Windows on one machine. In fact, it's been possible to run Windows on a Mac for some time — with agonizing limitations. Near-extinct Mac models were loaded with Virtual PC emulation software could do Windows, too, but the program was painfully slow. Even if you find an old copy of the software, it won't work with any current Macs.
Boot Camp software from Apple shook up the computing public upon its apocalyptic arrival in April 2006. Boot Camp graduated from beta, or near-finished, status with the arrival of Leopard. Boot Camp Assistant software is stored in the Utilities folder inside the Applications folder.
Boot Camp itself is free. You have to supply your own single-disc or downloadable full-install version of Windows; an upgrade disc won't cut it.
It's also important to note that you can use a 64-bit version of Windows, Windows 7 (Home Premium, Professional, or Ultimate), Windows 8, or Windows 8.1. Consult Apple support to see which Mac models are compatible with which versions of Windows. In its current incarnation, Boot Camp isn't compatible with 32-bit versions of Windows.
Other requirements follow:
An Intel Mac with OS X version 10.6 or later
At least 2GB of RAM and 20GB of available space on the Mac's storage drive that you want to donate to Windows
A blank CD or USB storage device that you'll use for Windows software drivers
If you don't run into snags, the entire installation should take about an hour.
Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 are optimized for a touchscreen environment, though you can use it with a standard mouse and keyboard. For now, Macs don't support touchscreen computing.
To install Windows 8 via Boot Camp, you still must have a legitimate Windows 8 license from Microsoft and a Win8 installation disc, assuming that you have an optical drive. If you don't have an optical drive, you may be able to create a Windows installer from an ISO file downloaded from Microsoft on a USB flash drive that's 8GB or larger.
Because snags are possible, back up all your important information on the Mac's startup disk.
Basic training
Following are the basic steps to get through Boot Camp:
Run Boot Camp Assistant (in the Utilities folder inside the Applications folder) to make sure that you have the latest firmware on your computer and to install any support software from Apple that you might need.
You'll find any updates at Apple support. If you're using a portable computer, make sure to connect the power adapter. You will also be given the option to create a Windows 7 (or later version) install disk for which you'll need a USB flash drive and an ISO image downloaded from Apple.
Follow the prompts in Boot Camp Assistant to create a partition for Windows.
You're essentially carving out an area of your hard drive for the Windows operating system,. This partition must be at least 30GB and can swell to the total free disk space on hand minus 30GB. If you don't plan on doing much in Windows, keep the partition small.
Drag the divider to set the partitions for both OS X and Windows, or click Divide Equally to make equal partitions. You can't resize a Windows partition after creating it, though you can replace it with a larger Windows partition.
If you have a Mac Pro with more than one internal hard drive, you can select which drive to partition. If any of this makes you nervous, know that you can remove the Windows partition later and go back to a single-partition Mac.
Insert the Windows CD or a USB flash drive with the Windows ISO file and then click Start Installation.
If you exited Boot Camp Assistant before installing Windows, open it again, choose Start the Windows Installer, and click Continue.
When you're asked to choose the Windows partition, select the partition that says BOOTCAMP.
You may have to scroll down to see it.
Don't erase any partitions that you see or create a new partition here. Failure to heed this warning could wipe out your entire Mac OS X startup disk.
(Optional) If you see a listing for Drive Options, click it; otherwise, proceed to Step 6.
Reformat the partition by using the Windows installer: Click Format.
You're using the reliable and secure NTFS file system, but you won't be able to save files to Windows from Mac OS X, at least not without a techie workaround.
Follow the onscreen instructions to finish installing Windows.
Boot Camp 5.1 includes several Mac drivers so that Windows will recognize your trackpad, Thunderbolt, USB 3.0, the iSight (or FaceTime) camera, the Eject key on the Mac keyboard, networking, audio, graphics, and so on.
A Boot Camp Control Panel for Windows and an Apple Boot Camp system-tray item will be added.
As with any new Windows computer, Microsoft requires that you activate your Windows software within 30 days.
Switching operating systems
You can go back and forth between OS X and Windows on your Mac, but you can't run both operating systems simultaneously under Boot Camp. Instead, you have to boot one operating system or the other — thus, the name Boot Camp.
Restart your Mac, and hold down the Option key until icons for each operating system appear onscreen. Highlight Windows or Macintosh HD, and click the arrow to launch the operating system of choice for this session.
If you want OS X or Windows to boot every time, choose app → System Preferences, click Startup Disk, and choose the OS you want to launch by default.
You can perform the same function in Windows by clicking the Boot Camp system-tray icon and selecting the Boot Camp Control Panel. Click either the Macintosh HD or Windows icon, depending on your startup preference.
In the previous tutorial I explained how to create a Linux bootable usb drive in Windows and macOS. As already explained one of the many incredible features of most Linux distributions is the ability to boot and use a distribution directly from the USB stick you created, without the need to install Linux and affecting your hard drive and the current operating system on it. It is not necessary to perform a complete installation to first use and try out Linux to see if it is something for you. This short tutorial will explain how to boot from your previously created Linux usb drive so you can use Zorin OS without installing it on a PC or Mac.
About this course
In my free Zorin OS tutorial series I try to explain in an accessible and beginner friendly way everything you need to know to get the most out of Zorin OS. Click below to see a complete overview of all chapters of my free Zorin OS beginner course.
Note: This course is still in progress, so not all chapters are finished yet. Be patient
Content
- How to use Zorin OS without installing on a PC
- How to use Zorin OS without installing on a Mac
How to use Zorin OS without installing on a PC
Okay, so you have the Linux USB drive now. If not, then first follow all the steps in my tutorial How to create a Zorin OS bootable usb drive in macOS and Windows and then come back here to proceed.
The nice thing of having this magical fresh Linux bootable live drive is that you can try Linux now on whatever desktop or laptop you want. Well, of course it needs to have a working USB slot to be able to use it, but that is basically it. So take the following steps:
1) If you have not already done so, first shut down your computer.
2) Then put the Linux USB stick into a free USB slot.
3) Start your computer.
If all goes well, in the first couple of seconds, right after seeing the logo of your motherboard supplier, you will see an option to go to Setup or to go to the Boot menu.
How to start up your boot menu depends on things like the brand, type and age of your computer. But for example if you have an ASUS computer it can be Esc or F8, if you have a Dell computer it probably is F12, for most HP computers it is Esc and for a Lenovo it is probably F8 or F12. So take a good look at the notification on your screen as it normally pops up only for a little while, or search the internet for your specific model. And you can find more information on hot keys for boot menu and BIOS Settings at disk-image.com or webtechmag.com.
4) So hit the correct option on your keyboard (sometimes it is required to hit this option each second till the boot selection screen appears) to go to your boot menu.
Now you see a new screen with hopefully the options to boot from your hard drive or from USB.
5) Choose the generic USB option or if applicable choose the correct USB drive.
6) After a little while a menu with some Zorin specific options will be presented. Choose the option 'Try Zorin OS without installing'.
7) Now a menu with some options will be presented. Choose the option 'Try or Install Zorin OS'.
Now a complete live session of Zorin OS will be created, ready for you to use and test without actually wiping your hard drive.
If everything went well you will see a desktop environment that shows a selection screen that probably looks something like the screenshot below.
8) Select Try Zorin OS to use the live environment.
Now that Zorin OS has been booted into a live session the real fun can begin. In this environment you can use most of the options Zorin OS has to offer to see if you like it and to check if all your hardware works properly.
How to use Zorin OS without installing on a Mac
Disable Secure Boot
Before I start explaining how to boot the Zorin OS USB stick on an Apple Mac computer, it is important to know that the newest Apple computers have the T2 'Security' chip that prevents you from installing 'unrecognized' operating systems if you don't change some settings first in the devices hardware settings (p.s. the newest M1 based Macs can't run Linux yet, so are out of scope for this tutorial). This does not only reflect Linux, but also 'older' Apple OSX operating systems like macOS Sierra and older.
Older 64 bit macs without the T2 chip can run Linux without a problem from a bootable USB stick.
To disable Secure Boot on T2 equipped Apple computers you can do the following:
1) Press Command + R while starting up your Mac, until you see a macOS Utilities screen.
2) Click on Utilities in the menu bar and select Startup Security Utility.
3) From the provided options choose 'No Security'.
4) Now Shut Down your Mac via the Apple menu item.
Boot Zorin OS from USB
Ok, so now you have an Apple Mac computer that could already or can from now on boot from a Linux USB stick, and you have the Zorin OS USB bootable stick now. If not then first follow all the steps in my tutorial How to create a Zorin OS bootable usb drive in MacOS and Windows and then come back here to proceed.
The nice thing of having this magical fresh Linux bootable live drive is that you can try Linux now on whatever 64 bit Apple computer you want, like the MacBook Pro, iMac and Mac Mini. Well, of course it needs to have a working USB slot to be able to use it, but that is basically it.
To be able to boot into the Zorin usb drive, you'll need to hold the option (alt) key while you boot your macBook. So let's start.
1) If you have not already done so, first shut down your Mac computer.
2) Then put the Linux USB stick into a free USB slot.
3) Hold the option key.
4) Start your Mac computer while holding the option key, and wait.
If everything went well you see a screen with graphical presentations of at least your internal drive and the Zorin OS usb drive (presented as EFI boot).
5)You can let go of your option key now.
If you don't see the usb drive, unplug it and plug it in again while this screen is visible. Now the usb drive should pop up on this same screen.
6) Select the usb drive (EFI boot) and hit Enter.
7) Now a menu with some options will be presented. Choose the option 'Try or Install Zorin OS'.
If you don't run into snags, the entire installation should take about an hour.
Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 are optimized for a touchscreen environment, though you can use it with a standard mouse and keyboard. For now, Macs don't support touchscreen computing.
To install Windows 8 via Boot Camp, you still must have a legitimate Windows 8 license from Microsoft and a Win8 installation disc, assuming that you have an optical drive. If you don't have an optical drive, you may be able to create a Windows installer from an ISO file downloaded from Microsoft on a USB flash drive that's 8GB or larger.
Because snags are possible, back up all your important information on the Mac's startup disk.
Basic training
Following are the basic steps to get through Boot Camp:
Run Boot Camp Assistant (in the Utilities folder inside the Applications folder) to make sure that you have the latest firmware on your computer and to install any support software from Apple that you might need.
You'll find any updates at Apple support. If you're using a portable computer, make sure to connect the power adapter. You will also be given the option to create a Windows 7 (or later version) install disk for which you'll need a USB flash drive and an ISO image downloaded from Apple.
Follow the prompts in Boot Camp Assistant to create a partition for Windows.
You're essentially carving out an area of your hard drive for the Windows operating system,. This partition must be at least 30GB and can swell to the total free disk space on hand minus 30GB. If you don't plan on doing much in Windows, keep the partition small.
Drag the divider to set the partitions for both OS X and Windows, or click Divide Equally to make equal partitions. You can't resize a Windows partition after creating it, though you can replace it with a larger Windows partition.
If you have a Mac Pro with more than one internal hard drive, you can select which drive to partition. If any of this makes you nervous, know that you can remove the Windows partition later and go back to a single-partition Mac.
Insert the Windows CD or a USB flash drive with the Windows ISO file and then click Start Installation.
If you exited Boot Camp Assistant before installing Windows, open it again, choose Start the Windows Installer, and click Continue.
When you're asked to choose the Windows partition, select the partition that says BOOTCAMP.
You may have to scroll down to see it.
Don't erase any partitions that you see or create a new partition here. Failure to heed this warning could wipe out your entire Mac OS X startup disk.
(Optional) If you see a listing for Drive Options, click it; otherwise, proceed to Step 6.
Reformat the partition by using the Windows installer: Click Format.
You're using the reliable and secure NTFS file system, but you won't be able to save files to Windows from Mac OS X, at least not without a techie workaround.
Follow the onscreen instructions to finish installing Windows.
Boot Camp 5.1 includes several Mac drivers so that Windows will recognize your trackpad, Thunderbolt, USB 3.0, the iSight (or FaceTime) camera, the Eject key on the Mac keyboard, networking, audio, graphics, and so on.
A Boot Camp Control Panel for Windows and an Apple Boot Camp system-tray item will be added.
As with any new Windows computer, Microsoft requires that you activate your Windows software within 30 days.
Switching operating systems
You can go back and forth between OS X and Windows on your Mac, but you can't run both operating systems simultaneously under Boot Camp. Instead, you have to boot one operating system or the other — thus, the name Boot Camp.
Restart your Mac, and hold down the Option key until icons for each operating system appear onscreen. Highlight Windows or Macintosh HD, and click the arrow to launch the operating system of choice for this session.
If you want OS X or Windows to boot every time, choose app → System Preferences, click Startup Disk, and choose the OS you want to launch by default.
You can perform the same function in Windows by clicking the Boot Camp system-tray icon and selecting the Boot Camp Control Panel. Click either the Macintosh HD or Windows icon, depending on your startup preference.
In the previous tutorial I explained how to create a Linux bootable usb drive in Windows and macOS. As already explained one of the many incredible features of most Linux distributions is the ability to boot and use a distribution directly from the USB stick you created, without the need to install Linux and affecting your hard drive and the current operating system on it. It is not necessary to perform a complete installation to first use and try out Linux to see if it is something for you. This short tutorial will explain how to boot from your previously created Linux usb drive so you can use Zorin OS without installing it on a PC or Mac.
About this course
In my free Zorin OS tutorial series I try to explain in an accessible and beginner friendly way everything you need to know to get the most out of Zorin OS. Click below to see a complete overview of all chapters of my free Zorin OS beginner course.
Note: This course is still in progress, so not all chapters are finished yet. Be patient
Content
- How to use Zorin OS without installing on a PC
- How to use Zorin OS without installing on a Mac
How to use Zorin OS without installing on a PC
Okay, so you have the Linux USB drive now. If not, then first follow all the steps in my tutorial How to create a Zorin OS bootable usb drive in macOS and Windows and then come back here to proceed.
The nice thing of having this magical fresh Linux bootable live drive is that you can try Linux now on whatever desktop or laptop you want. Well, of course it needs to have a working USB slot to be able to use it, but that is basically it. So take the following steps:
1) If you have not already done so, first shut down your computer.
2) Then put the Linux USB stick into a free USB slot.
3) Start your computer.
If all goes well, in the first couple of seconds, right after seeing the logo of your motherboard supplier, you will see an option to go to Setup or to go to the Boot menu.
How to start up your boot menu depends on things like the brand, type and age of your computer. But for example if you have an ASUS computer it can be Esc or F8, if you have a Dell computer it probably is F12, for most HP computers it is Esc and for a Lenovo it is probably F8 or F12. So take a good look at the notification on your screen as it normally pops up only for a little while, or search the internet for your specific model. And you can find more information on hot keys for boot menu and BIOS Settings at disk-image.com or webtechmag.com.
4) So hit the correct option on your keyboard (sometimes it is required to hit this option each second till the boot selection screen appears) to go to your boot menu.
Now you see a new screen with hopefully the options to boot from your hard drive or from USB.
5) Choose the generic USB option or if applicable choose the correct USB drive.
6) After a little while a menu with some Zorin specific options will be presented. Choose the option 'Try Zorin OS without installing'.
7) Now a menu with some options will be presented. Choose the option 'Try or Install Zorin OS'.
Now a complete live session of Zorin OS will be created, ready for you to use and test without actually wiping your hard drive.
If everything went well you will see a desktop environment that shows a selection screen that probably looks something like the screenshot below.
8) Select Try Zorin OS to use the live environment.
Now that Zorin OS has been booted into a live session the real fun can begin. In this environment you can use most of the options Zorin OS has to offer to see if you like it and to check if all your hardware works properly.
How to use Zorin OS without installing on a Mac
Disable Secure Boot
Before I start explaining how to boot the Zorin OS USB stick on an Apple Mac computer, it is important to know that the newest Apple computers have the T2 'Security' chip that prevents you from installing 'unrecognized' operating systems if you don't change some settings first in the devices hardware settings (p.s. the newest M1 based Macs can't run Linux yet, so are out of scope for this tutorial). This does not only reflect Linux, but also 'older' Apple OSX operating systems like macOS Sierra and older.
Older 64 bit macs without the T2 chip can run Linux without a problem from a bootable USB stick.
To disable Secure Boot on T2 equipped Apple computers you can do the following:
1) Press Command + R while starting up your Mac, until you see a macOS Utilities screen.
2) Click on Utilities in the menu bar and select Startup Security Utility.
3) From the provided options choose 'No Security'.
4) Now Shut Down your Mac via the Apple menu item.
Boot Zorin OS from USB
Ok, so now you have an Apple Mac computer that could already or can from now on boot from a Linux USB stick, and you have the Zorin OS USB bootable stick now. If not then first follow all the steps in my tutorial How to create a Zorin OS bootable usb drive in MacOS and Windows and then come back here to proceed.
The nice thing of having this magical fresh Linux bootable live drive is that you can try Linux now on whatever 64 bit Apple computer you want, like the MacBook Pro, iMac and Mac Mini. Well, of course it needs to have a working USB slot to be able to use it, but that is basically it.
To be able to boot into the Zorin usb drive, you'll need to hold the option (alt) key while you boot your macBook. So let's start.
1) If you have not already done so, first shut down your Mac computer.
2) Then put the Linux USB stick into a free USB slot.
3) Hold the option key.
4) Start your Mac computer while holding the option key, and wait.
If everything went well you see a screen with graphical presentations of at least your internal drive and the Zorin OS usb drive (presented as EFI boot).
5)You can let go of your option key now.
If you don't see the usb drive, unplug it and plug it in again while this screen is visible. Now the usb drive should pop up on this same screen.
6) Select the usb drive (EFI boot) and hit Enter.
7) Now a menu with some options will be presented. Choose the option 'Try or Install Zorin OS'.
Now a complete live session of Zorin OS will be created, ready for you to use and test without actually wiping your hard drive.
If everything went well you will see a desktop environment that shows a selection screen that probably looks something like the screenshot below.
8) Select Try Zorin OS to use the live environment.
Now that Zorin OS has been booted into a live session the real fun can begin. In this environment you can use most of the options Zorin OS has to offer to see if you like it and to check if all your hardware works properly.
Final words
Mac Operating System List
Now you are being able to have some first looks at this Zorin OS distribution. Just browse around and try things out. In next tutorials I will show you the basic elements of the Zorin OS distro and go much more deeper in specific functionalities of this operating system.
What is next
Operating Environment For Mac Installer
You want to learn more about Zorin OS? Click below to see a complete overview of all chapters of my Zorin OS beginners course.
Mac Operating System Download
Zorin OS beginner course – an overview
