Reverse engineer the boot process and install Windows 10 on a 2009 Mac Mini using a reverse-hacking method.
Reverse engineer the boot process and install Windows 10 on a 2009 Mac Mini using a reverse-hacking method.
This seems unusual. I chose to replace the hard drive on my 2009 Mac Mini with a Samsung SATA SSD. Thinking the system BIOS would still be present, I tried using Disk Utility to format it. Then I noticed the Windows login screen appeared and a message about updating the computer. Surprisingly, the machine restarted and booted into Windows 10! Didn’t I do anything unusual or incorrect? It seems this happened because I didn’t want to proceed perfectly. Am I making a mistake or is this really strange?
According to what I know, Macs don’t use a BIOS like many other computers do.
It seems this setup was quite a pleasant discovery! Such features are common with Intel-based Macs. Apple also offers Boot Camp for this purpose. When I first got my Macbook in 2013, I quickly enabled Boot Camp and installed both OS X and Windows. However, Boot Camp isn't available on the latest M1 models since Macs no longer have a BIOS to modify. Without access to change settings, your attempt wouldn't work anymore. I suspect older Intel machines lack the internet recovery tools found in newer ones—please verify if that's correct. If you need assistance clearing the drive, consider these steps: reinstall a MacOS drive and connect the Windows drive as a backup. Use built-in disk utility to erase it. With several boot options attached, hold ALT on the Apple logo screen to select your preferred drive. You can also use an installer USB to format the disk or a Windows USB to wipe partitions and reformat.
Some older Intel Macs can start up using the internet. Press Command-R to attempt a connection to an available WiFi network or connect via Ethernet, which may provide a basic installer. If you still have the original hard drive, it likely contains a "Recovery Partition" that will boot you into an installer. For the Samsung drive, hold down the Option key during boot and it should show a list of recognized boot devices. It’s useful to try entering a recovery mode to reformat the Windows drive.