Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
I mentioned earlier that you need a certain amount of free hard drive space to fit Windows comfortably on your
MacBook Air. Just how much constitutes a certain amount is discussed a bit later. For now, you need to know
just how much free space you have to work with.
Make sure you're running the latest version of OS X
The major releases of OS X — 10.0, 10.1, 10.2, and so on — come out every 18 months to 2 years, give or take.
In between these major versions Apple puts out minor versions of OS X — 10.5.1, 10.5.2, and so on — every
few months. These updates (as they're called) include, as Apple always says, “general operating system fixes
that enhance the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac.”
It's always a good idea to install these updates as soon as possible, and it's a particularly good idea to ensure
you have the latest update installed before you take on any major tasks, such as installing Boot Camp and Win-
dows.
Make sure you've installed the latest firmware for your MacBook
Air
Your MacBook Air comes with
firmware
, a small program that's embedded with your MacBook Air's hardware
and helps control the hardware's internal functions. The well-being of your MacBook Air's hardware is crucial
with Boot Camp because it gives Windows full access to that hardware. So bugs or glitches in your MacBook
Air's firmware could cause problems when you try to run Windows.
Apple periodically releases new firmware versions for each Mac, and these new versions are almost always
more stable and less buggy. So to help ensure that Windows can coexist peacefully with your MacBook Air's
hardware, always make sure that your MacBook Air has the latest version of its firmware installed. In particu-
lar, look for updates to the EFI firmware. EFI is the Extensible Firmware Interface, and it's the code your
MacBook Air uses to (among other things) help the operating system boot. As such, it's used extensively by
Boot Camp at start-up, so having the latest EFI firmware can help Boot Camp do its job.
EFI firmware updates should appear in the Updates section of the App Store. If not, you can double-check by
following these steps to locate, download, and install the latest EFI firmware for your MacBook Air:
1. Use Safari or another web browser to go to
www.apple.com/support/downloads
.
2. In the Search box, type MacBook Air firmware and then press Return.
Apple Support displays a list
of matches.
3. If you see an EFI Firmware Update link for your MacBook Air model, click the link.
You see details
about the firmware update.
4. Click the link to download the update.
Your MacBook Air downloads the disk image and then mounts
it on the desktop.
