If you need access to Microsoft Windows on a Mac, you have a few options …

Some computer manufacturers have long done away with optical media drives like CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs and CD/DVD burners. Why not? Most software is available for electronic download/delivery and can be stored on various alternative media sources like USB flash drives, cloud storage and so forth.

If you use older HP printers with macOS, you probably know by now that Apple doesn’t retain older HP printer drivers in newer versions of macOS and they may not be available for download through Apple Software Update either. You’ll realize this when you try to add an older HP printer and macOS is unable to automatically find an appropriate printer driver for your older HP printer.

Apple iTunes by default stores iTunes media on your Mac or Windows PC in the following storage locations

If you’re running a current version of Outlook for Mac, you’re probably aware that you can change the Outlook appearance from the legacy version of Outlook (aka the classic look) to ‘New Outlook’. However, if you use Outlook for Mac to connect to an Exchange server (on-premise Exchange or Hosted Exchange) and/or a POP mail server, you might want to stick to the legacy version of Outlook.

I’ve been running Boot Camp on my Early-2016 12-inch MacBook for almost two years and it has worked well enough for my specific use case. Performance isn’t great but it gets the job done. It’s a base model 12-inch MacBook with an Intel 1.1GHz Dual Core Intel Core m3 processor with 8GB RAM and 256GB of flash storage currently running macOS Monterey natively and the latest version of Windows 10 Pro in Boot Camp.

Apple released macOS Monterey last October and if you’re finally ready to upgrade, the easiest option is to upgrade your existing installation of macOS to macOS Monterey provided your existing Mac is a supported device. If your Mac supports macOS Monterey, simply download macOS Monterey from the App Store and run the installation. Follow the on-screen prompts and in about 45 to 60 minutes, your Mac should be up and running on macOS Monterey.

To create a macOS Big Sur bootable USB installer, you will need a USB Flash Drive. Apple suggests at least 14GB of available storage so get a USB Flash Drive with at least 16GB of storage. Keep in mind all data on the USB Flash Drive will be erased so don’t use one with data that you want to keep. Name the USB Flash Drive “MyVolume”.

Buying a new computer can be a major investment and more so if you need to customize the configuration to meet your specific requirements.