Microsoft Outlines Issue With Windows 10 Updates for Older Macs, Solution Coming This Month - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Microsoft Outlines Issue With Windows 10 Updates for Older Macs, Solution Coming This Month

by

Microsoft is facing an issue with Windows 10 updates for Mac devices that came out prior to 2012, as well as newer Macs with older versions of Boot Camp. When users attempt to update to the May 2019 Feature Update for Windows 10, version 1903, there is a driver incompatibility error.

windows 10 issue
On its support page for the issue, Microsoft reported:

Mac devices prior to 2012 or newer Mac devices with the older Apple Boot Camp or Windows Support Software drivers have a compatibilty hold in place and are unable to update to Windows 10, version 1903. Specifically, devices with MacHALDriver.sys dated September 24, 2011 01:57:09 or older in Windows\system32\drivers are affected.

Microsoft went on to state that updating your Boot Camp Windows Support Software drivers may allow you to update to version 1903 of Windows 10. The company is working on an official solution that it hopes will be out by the end of July.

Boot Camp is a utility on macOS that allows users to install and use Microsoft Windows operating systems on Mac devices.

You can read the full support doc by heading to Microsoft's website.

Top Rated Comments

Awesome discussion Avatar
90 months ago
I just hope Apple doesn't hire any of these Microsoft engineers.
while ms sucessfully manage to update millions of different hardware architectures apple fails at 3. according to you the whole apple software team had to go when iOS 8 was released
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Max E Verde Avatar
90 months ago
FYI I install updates for Windows at work and many Windows PCs also have similar errors with drivers when updating to 1903.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Delgibbons Avatar
90 months ago
while ms sucessfully manage to update millions of different hardware architectures apple fails at 3. according to you the whole apple software team had to go when iOS 8 was released
Damn right Sir. MILLIONS of combinations of hardware going way back to the legacy days. Macs don't even bloody support Nvidia graphics cards, so pipe down.

My PC was on hold until the new Intel display driver appeared and now its updating. Rather have a hold and have to wait a while than update and break...
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
crjackson2134 Avatar
90 months ago
Works(ed) until now, my question was what would happen if you update to the latest version 1903, run into the same problems as above?
Well it's on 1903, but I haven't updated again since about 5 days ago, so I'll check if you like.

Okay, so I just got the latest updates, and it all works perfectly on my MP5,1...

Windows 10
Ver. 1903
Build 18362.207

No problems updating, no problems booting back and forth from macOS to WIN10. All flawless for now.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
90 months ago
1903 was meant to be March 2019. They are reporting issues now? My VMs went to 1903 last month but my physical W10 boxes aren't going yet as they are reporting not ready either.

I just hope Apple doesn't hire any of these Microsoft engineers.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chucker23n1 Avatar
90 months ago
Windows can run on ARM. Though who knows if it will be compatible with what Apple rolls out.
Yeah, we'll see.

ARM is nowhere near as standardized/abstracted as x86, so many of Windows on ARM's drivers are Qualcomm-specific. We probably depend on Apple and/or Microsoft to provide a lot of low-level stuff there.

And even if it does run, it isn't quite the same. Virtually all apps are x86 today and run in emulation. A lot of developer tooling is also lacking or limited compared to x86, so even if developers want to help with porting, they may not be able to (add to that that there's neither an IDE-integrated emulator nor a whole lot of actual hardware to test with).
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Apple Wallet

iOS 27 Will Add Two New Apple Wallet Features to Your iPhone

Monday June 1, 2026 12:15 pm PDT by
Apple is set to unveil iOS 27 during its WWDC 2026 keynote on Monday, June 8, and the update will reportedly include two new Apple Wallet features. First, iOS 27 will reportedly let users create their own digital passes by scanning items like movie tickets, concert passes, and gym membership cards. Many apps already offer Apple Wallet passes, but now users will be able to create a custom...
Dynamic Island iPhone 18 Pro Feature

iPhone 18 Pro Battery Capacities Allegedly Leaked

Tuesday June 2, 2026 1:54 am PDT by
Battery capacities for Apple's upcoming iPhone 18 Pro have allegedly surfaced, and the numbers suggest only a modest increase over the iPhone 17 Pro. According to prolific Weibo-based leaker Digital Chat Station, Apple is testing the iPhone 18 Pro with different battery capacities for the China and U.S. versions of the device, similar to last year's iPhone 17 Pro models. The Chinese model is ...
macOS 27 on MacBook Pro

Apple Says macOS 27 Won't Be Compatible With These Macs

Wednesday June 3, 2026 8:29 am PDT by
During WWDC 2025, Apple revealed that macOS 26 Tahoe would be the final major macOS version for Intel-based Macs. macOS 27 will be compatible with Apple silicon Macs only, meaning that you will need a Mac with an M-series chip or a MacBook Neo with an A18 Pro chip in order to install the software update. Apple will unveil macOS 27 during its WWDC 2026 keynote this Monday, June 8, and the...