Yes, you can clean a MacBook Air and install Windows only.
Yes, you can clean a MacBook Air and install Windows only.
I brought a Macbook air with 128 GB storage and am trying to figure out if it's feasible to run Windows only there. Since I'm limited in space, dual booting wouldn't be practical as it would consume most of the drive. The motivation is using Notepad++ for coding, which I haven't been able to get working on the Mac yet. I searched online, but most results were about installing Windows on Mac rather than running it alongside. You seem to have some experience with this, so I'm confident you can figure it out.
Consider keeping Mac OS running but with minimal space. If you're aiming for a 20GB setup, it's possible. Use Boot Camp to generate a boot disk and install drivers, then enter recovery mode (search online) and use Disk Utility to partition the SSD. After that, boot into the install disk you created and install Windows. For future Mac installations, you can restart from recovery and install again.
Are you concerned about the additional space required by the OSX partition? If not, you can launch it in Bootcamp while reserving a small drive space for OSX. Alternatively, consider using virtual machines like Parallels, VMware, or the free Virtualbox. If you really need that extra space, then it might be feasible. I found this information on a HardForum forum where someone asked the same thing—though I’ve never used Windows exclusively on a Mac before. It seems possible, but it could also lead to issues like being unable to update firmware. Would you like to know why someone chose a Mac for running Windows-only?
Try Boot Camp and install Windows on the appropriate partition size. You can retain the OS X partition or replace it entirely with Windows. Ensure you download the Boot Camp drivers during setup and save them to a USB drive for later installation. Using Windows alongside OS X has generally performed better in my experience.
Back in the day, I worked with a Desktop Mac Mid-2010 and faced frequent driver issues during boot camp. The graphics card software kept crashing, making the partition extremely frustrating to use. Unless you're certain your GPU is solid, skip this route. I managed to run Windows games smoothly on the Mac OS X side instead of the Windows version. This issue might be resolved now, but my past experience left a lingering unease about using Windows on a Mac.
Uncertain about the reason for clearing your OS X partition just to install Notepad++. There are many excellent text editors available on macOS and working in OS X/Linux is generally much easier overall. This tool is quite simple and easy to use, and I've tried it with Notepad++ (http://winebottler.kronenberg.org/). You can also use a virtual machine with VirtualBox (free) or VMware (paid). I wouldn't suggest Parallels since they display ads and charge for their services.
Stick with Mac for simplicity, as modifying the original OS from the factory can be quite complicated. You might find it easier to use Virtual Box or the link provided: http://superuser.com/questions/73965/rem...ll-windows. It’s feasible. Insert the Mac OS X installation disc (this should work with OS X 10.4 Tiger or 10.5 Leopard). Restart the system. During reboot, press and hold the C key. Avoid starting the installation process. From the Utilities menu, open Disk Utility. Choose your hard drive from the available options and click the Partition tab or button. Choose the Options button, then pick “Master Boot Record” as the partition scheme and click OK. From the Volume Scheme dropdown, select 1 Partition. Set MS-DOS (FAT) as the format (this won’t matter later when reformatting with NTFS during the Vista setup). Click Apply and restart again. When the boot menu appears, press the eject button to remove the OS X disc. Insert your Vista installation disc with SP1 and continue the install. When prompted, choose Disk 0 for the installation location. You’ll see a warning that it can’t install to that drive because it isn’t formatted with NTFS. Click Drive Options, then Format, and confirm by clicking OK. Select Disk 0 again and proceed to the next step. The installation should finish normally. After Windows is set up, insert an OS X 10.5 Leopard disc and install the necessary drivers from Apple. This process is based on "Derek Hatchard's Information Flume Ride."
It might function but you'll require a significant amount of space. He has a 128GB SSD, which is modest for keeping files and two operating systems.