Booting Windows 10 on MacBook Pro via SD Card

Question

I have a late 2012 MacBook Pro and I've always had this problem with storage. Sure, 128 GB is definitely enough, but having a Windows 10 partition at the same time completely reduces the amount of storage required for normal day to day usage for me. I found a solution where I would have an external MicroSD card with an adapter that fits in flush within the SD card slot so that it's portable as if it was never there. Although I'm aware that an SD card would slow things down, I still would like to boot Windows off of the 128 GB MicroSD card. After searching around the internet for a while, I still haven't found a way to do it. Here is what I have so far:

• A Windows 10 ISO image
• A working VM of Windows 10 (will be deleted later)
• Using a program called WintoUSB, the entire VM to my SD card
• A .dmg file of the SD card contents

The SD card I have does contain the full suite of the required Windows drivers. I haven't tried because I haven't been able to yet, but from the given information, all I need to know at the moment is how to boot from the SD card. If it is required, I am OK with reinstalling any software or doing any steps over again.

Solution

This is because Boot Camp Assistant won't work with any external storage devices. It's been clearly stated on the Apple website about using Boot Camp:

Can I use an SD, SDHC, or SDXC card to install Windows on my Mac?

No. You can’t use SD, SDHC, or SDXC cards with Boot Camp to install Windows software on Mac computers.

The only option you got is Parallels Desktop. Because—as you mentioned—it's the best cross platform so far and you don't need any drivers at all (This means basic drivers such as audio and display).

After format your SD card as Mac OS Extended (Journaled), you can easily choose the SD card as the installation disk and the parallel desktop will look after the rest.

Comments

[Joshua Liu]

This doesn’t help me because bootcamp is designed to partition my hard drive, not my SD card.

[MMM]

Welcome to SuperUser! Could you please format your post so that it is more understandable and easier to read?

[Raj]

Thanks MMM. I did not understand what you mean by formatting the post.. you mean rearr?anging point wise..perhaps in paragraphs