Instructions: How to install Windows 10 on an old Mac as the only operating system
You have a Mac around 2008 or 2009 for which no macOS updates are available anymore? How about we install Windows 10 on it. Many people need Windows and and extra computer for it is not bad. Maybe you just don't want to throw away the Macbook because it still works great (you can still give it away after the installation 
). In any case Windows 10 should be the only operating system and we will show you how to install it. Alternatively it can be a younger Mac from 2012. Make sure that you choose the DVD install version for the older ones - the option with USB stick is possible for the newer ones.
First of all check out Microsoft and download a Windows 10 .iso file (hopefully you will take care of the purchase).
Furthermore you can get UNnetbootin, what you can download here. In the following we explain the installation with USB stick for newer computers from 2013 onwards. Everybody with an old model until about 2012 has to do it from DVD and just burn the .iso as explained here on a blank and then get back in below. Installing from USB doesn't work with older models, because they don't support Windows in EFI mode.
First we have to delete the USB stick and format it MS-DOS with a master boot record. To do this, go to Programs > Utilities > Hard Disk Utility and select the option "Delete" and set the appropriate properties. Then the USB stick is freshly formatted - for the Windows world.
Now open UNetbootin. With this program we can write the Windows image to a USB stick and make it bootable at the same time. Just select the option "DiskImage ISO" below and select the downloaded Windows .iso file. The drive should be the connected USB stick. Press "OK" and let the program do its work.
In the meantime, we'll find the right Windows drivers for our Mac hardware. Since Apple will no longer support Macs via bootcamp after a certain age, we have to do this manually. Please download the following driver packages:
Boot Camp Support Software 5.1.5722
Boot Camp Support Software 5.1.5621
Boot Camp Support Software 4.0.4131
When downloading and unzipping, make sure that you know which folder contains which version afterwards, some packages are simply called "BootCamp" afterwards. So maybe first copy the name, then unzip it and rename it again.
The folders are then copied to a USB stick.
The Mac, which should get Windows, has to be prepared a bit. For this you boot it either from a macOS USB installer that you have already prepared at some point or from the original OS X DVD that you still have. Keep the "alt" key pressed for a USB stick and the "c" key for the DVD.
In the hard disk utility you format the internal hard disk like already the stick with the MS-DOS (FAT) file system. You can then also name the hard disk WINDOWS directly. Make sure that GUID is selected as the partition table!
Then shut down the Mac (in the apple menu) and insert the Windows DVD into the drive, depending on the model. With new models the stick with Windows is plugged in.
Press and hold the "alt" key again when switching on. The stick appears as an orange logo, which you choose. Since you have formatted the hard disk completely before, the USB stick should also be the only option (in contrast to the picture). In the DVD version, the option is "Windows", not EFI-Boot.
After your selection the Windows logo appears immediately.
Followed by the first Windows setup window.
Then you can enter the code and choose the appropriate Windows version (Home/Pro etc.). Important: We choose the lower installation option called "Custom" - after all, we have nothing to upgrade.
Then Windows will complain that it cannot be installed. That's true, after all we formatted the hard drive to the lowest common denominator between macOS and Windows earlier: MS-DOS. Now we simply reformat: To NTFS (which macOS can't do, otherwise we would have been already prepared). So just click on "Format", then on "Next".
If there are several partitions, you can delete them all and then click "Next". The "unallocated space" will then be correctly formatted by Windows.
After copying the data and a restart you can now first choose your region and then log in with your Microsoft account.
If you want to avoid this, just enter the wrong address. Then the Windows desktop should welcome you.
Now it gets interesting: it's known that we could install Windows now, but we still don't have the drivers that are usually set up via bootcamp. In our example here we used a MacBook Pro 5,5 from 2009. So the tips may differ for your model, but we'll give you a rough guide here so you know where to look.
Apple has listed which driver package is actually intended for which model. So if you have a model that is titled with the number "5", then these are the packages for Windows 8 and 8.1. All the drivers should also run under Windows 10, that's the trick. However, our 2009 MacBook Pro runs under the number "4", i.e. the drivers only run under Windows 7, which is useless. If you are in a similar situation, the package to choose is 5.1.5722, as listed above, this should mostly run on older devices.
Now connect a USB stick to which you have copied the drivers with the new Windows installation. Then open the Windows Power Shell as administrator. You can find the shell either via Search (magnifying glass in the taskbar) or in the start menu under Windows PowerShell. Mark it with the mouse pointer, but don't click on it. Then press "Shift + fn + F10" for a right click (or use an external mouse if you have one attached). Now you get to see the option "Run as administrator". Click on it.
Then use the command "cd" to go to the corresponding directory. For example
cd BootCamp5.1.5722/BootCamp/Drivers/Apple
There you open BootCamp.msi. If there is an error message type "./BootCamp" without the quotation marks. Now the normal installer for the BootCamp software should start. We have now simply made it clear to Windows 10 that it should still run the installer that is actually made for Windows 8.
The installer has run and you have to restart. You will now find the settings for the Apple drivers in the lower right corner of the taskbar. So it worked!
You can then update the Apple software right away.
Depending on the individual configuration, one or two things may be missing. We had the problem that the wifi worked but was extremely slow. Secondly, an NVIDA coprocessor without drivers was listed in the "Device Manager". The solutions were as follows: We simply collected the drivers from other driver package versions, being the reason we let you download three versions above.
For the coprocessor on a MacBook Pro 2009, simply select the NVIDIA folder from the 4.0.4131 version when updating the driver. Done.
For the Broadcom wifi, simply run the Legacy Broadcom driver from the 5.1.5621 package, and the wifi is fast again.
Now you should run the Windows update so that you are up to date. But all drivers should be in place. With other model years it can turn out somewhat differently, but at least now you know how to solve the problems.
If you are not satisfied with the trackpad performance you can download a better driver
Now you can run Windows 10 with the latest security updates on your old Mac.
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