Windows – Bootcamp software for MacBooks older than 2012

bootcampkeyboardwindows

Ever since Windows 10 Tech Preview was released I've been running it with very few problems on my Late 2011 A1278 MacBook Pro. Now since Windows 10 Final was released Apple is not openly providing Windows 10 drivers for MacBooks older than 2012.

Bootcamp driver version 5.1.xxxx intended for Windows 7/8/8.1 will install on Windows 10 and all peripherals, excluding the function keys, seem to work properly. Unfortunately, the function keys are a necessity because when my MacBook boots into Windows 10 the screen brightness is OFF; after a few minutes I guess the Bootcamp drivers engage and the function keys are usable.

Now to the important questions:

  1. Is it possible to download/obtain the Windows 10 Bootcamp drivers without having Bootcamp 6? i.e. from the internet like version 5.1.
  2. If a copy of the fresh Windows 10 drivers was obtainable, what is the outcome of the installation on a MacBook older than 2012? I would imagine it would install and operate normally.

Best Answer

  1. Download BootCamp and open command line as an Admin (cmd+x -> command line), cd to bootcamp install folder/BootCamp/Drivers/Apple/, run BootCamp.msi. It should skip the check for your MacBook compatibility.

P.S.: I installed BootCamp like this on my PC for compatibility with my apple keyboard. The normal install fails with message about compatibility.

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