How to Install Windows 10 on a 2011 iMac

Installing Windows 10 on an old 2011 iMac can be a bit tricky, but with the right steps, you can overcome the common issues that arise during the process. In this article, we will guide you through the installation of Windows 10 on your 2011 iMac.

The first step is to decline the offer to restart when prompted, as we're not done yet. Instead, let's delete the driver that's causing us trouble by going to the Driver tab, clicking Uninstall, checking the box to delete the driver, and then clicking OK.

Next, open Notepad or a text editor of your choice and copy the four lines of Device IDs shown. In the drop-down box, select Hardware IDs. Right-click on this option and select Properties, then click the Details tab. You'll see a line under Display Adapters called something like 'Intel Display Graphics.'

Once you've completed these steps, boot into Windows 10, log in, and open the Device Manager. Navigate through the options until you're allowed to boot with options, at which point Safe Mode or Safe Mode with Networking is the choice needed. We're disabling the Intel graphics, which won't affect the use of the iMac, as it primarily runs on the Radeon under normal circumstances.

The 2011 model iMacs have two video cards onboard, which is where we can easily fix this particular issue. One or two reboots will happen, upon which Windows will start up the System Repair. However, the biggest issue is that Windows immediately grabs an 'updated' Intel Graphics driver, installs it, and then blue-screens.

Under Windows 10, booting from a USB stick into UEFI mode, Bootcamp 5.1 drivers install and work correctly but sound from the onboard Cirrus Logic WILL NOT WORK. RAM, disks, and display are pretty easy to install. The 2011 model is the last of the thick, optical drive-equipped and easily serviceable iMac series.

As a tech professional who uses Apple's excellent iMacs with Windows and macOS, this issue has yet to be resolved in Windows LTSC (Build 1809). However, this guide should fix the issue with igdkmd64.sys and BSOD.

Install windows 10 on 2011 imac