That bug, for those that missed it, was that Microsoft had to admit clean installs of Windows 10 CU would fail – the only proper way to install Creators Update on a Mac with Boot Camp, was to install Windows 10 Anniversary Update, and then update via Windows Update in-place. Microsoft even went as far as to keep the Anniversary Update as an available download, just for this reason.
Now that Fall Creators Update is out, I have put it through its paces on a 2008 Mac Pro (a MacPro3,1). I’m a bit known for that, as my initial Windows 10-on-old-Mac review is one of the most-read articles on the blog. How is the Fall Creators Update on old Mac hardware? Pretty good, I’m impressed.
What’s Great Again?
First, the BSODs are gone. I was having terrible BSODs with Creators Update, even when installed properly. GPU swaps, yadda, yadda, did nothing. No more. It’s rock solid. Sleep, Wi-Fi, USB, graphics, all works great. Even with my AMD-shuns-it-on-Win10 factory-issued Radeon HD 2600 XT. The graphics driver installed perfectly, with Windows Update picking up the right driver.
Also Microsoft now supports Windows 10 N (the Korea-spec version without Media Player features built-in) on the standard install disc. No more juggling different versions.
What’s (Still) Bad?
My ASMedia USB 3.0 PCI Express card no longer is recognized. It appears Microsoft has pulled the Windows 10 support from the Windows Update Catalog, though they aren’t confirming any issues publicly.
Similarly, the SATA SSD card that I use for SATA-III booting of Mac OS X, no longer works. It shows up as four RAID Controllers with no driver. Unsurprisingly, it too has an ASMedia chipset.
Bluetooth still doesn’t work, though I suspect if I ran through the Boot Camp install I could get the right one running.
Audio still requires sourcing the Realtek driver, Microsoft’s default bundle won’t work for the built-in speaker. The latest Realtek driver does.
Is it worth installing?
Apple won’t touch Windows 10 on these old Mac models. But you should. You may have to hack the installer to run on MacPro1,1 or MacPro2,1, but all newer Mac Pro models will at least boot off the DVD drive.
Installation is easy, it’s stable, and unlike macOS, it’s supported by the operating system vendor.
Windows 10 is now my go-to recommendation for Mac Pro. Enjoy!