Not all Macs support booting from a Windows-formatted USB thumb drive. So if you don't see an image like the one to the right after plugging in your Windows USB key you're going to need to equip your Mac with rEFIt, which enhances the standard EFI with a few options such as a terminal command line or our much-needed USB boot option. And it's not as complicated as it sounds: Just head over to and get the 6.5 MB DMG file. Install rEFIt and restart your machine. Note: It might take a restart or two until the rEFIT option shows up, so be patient.

Once you've booted from USB or DVD, you've basically survived the most "difficult" part. I won't bore you with the details of how to install Windows on your machine -- it's the same old procedure as ever. Both Windows 7 and Windows 8's setup steps are fairly simple -- just make sure to select the "Boot Camp" drive during setup and let it run its course.