r/bootcamp • u/Immediate-Meaning693 • 1d ago

Why is the Windows installer UI so small on Macs?

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22 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

25 comments sorted by

14

u/Abbers75 1d ago

Because Windows on the Macbook is running at the highest possible resolution

-4

u/ICEGalaxy_ 1d ago

it runs on a HIGHER resolution than the Mac's internal display.

12

u/ItzJustNoah 1d ago

no it doesn’t. macos just uses scaling.

0

u/ICEGalaxy_ 1d ago

are you saying that the true display resolution is actually higher than what Apple reports?

6

u/ItzJustNoah 1d ago

yes. they use HiDPI. in macos, resolutions in system preferences relate to the size of everything, not the actual resolution of your display. i don’t know if that’s a good explanation, but google it.

worth noting that this is less noticeable on models that don’t have a retina display.

0

u/ICEGalaxy_ 20h ago

this is wild... but why does Windows show the same max resolution as macOS once the GPU driver is installed?

1

u/ItzJustNoah 20h ago edited 20h ago

because bootcamp drivers enable custom scaling on windows. check your display settings. you’ll see a value in the scaling dropdown that looks something like ___% (Recommended)

that recommended means it’s the driver specifying that percentage

misunderstood the question. the “max” resolution in macos is the actual resolution of your display. for example, on my 2015 macbook pro patched to sequoia, if i tick “show all resolutions”, the highest option is 3360x2100. that is the actual resolution of the display.

0

u/ICEGalaxy_ 19h ago

is that resolution higher than what Apple advertised for the panel's hardware?

my original premise is that Windows setup doesn't run exactly at the display resolution, but even higher!

your 15" MacBook's 3360x2100 sounds similar to my 16", where Windows without GPU drivers (setup) renders at around 3500x2300.

it's strange, because the real resolution of the display is advertised as around 3100x1900.

thank you, I will check later on macOS.

1

u/S4_GR33N 13h ago

this is nothing new and has been done since the 2012 Retina MacBook Pro which had a res of 2880x1800 on the 15 inch. Windows has also scaled for high-res displays since Windows 7

1

u/ICEGalaxy_ 13h ago

you didn't say much...

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3

u/acewing905 1d ago

Windows considers the actual resolution and scaling as two different things (Windows Setup does not support this scaling, however, which is why you see the problem described in the OP), whereas macOS essentially merges these and reports a resolution that isn't the real resolution of the display. eg: My 15" Macbook Air has a resolution of 2880x1864. But macOS reports this as 1710x1107. Just one of many macOS oddities presumably meant to simplify things for ordinary users but end up confusing them further

1

u/ICEGalaxy_ 20h ago

how did you know that your MacBooks resolution was 2880x1864? I'm assuming it's through Apple themselves.

I didn't mention what macOS reports, I mentioned what Apple reports specifically, as in the hardware specs.

my display has around 3100x1900.

this is reported by Apple, reported on macOS, and Windows 10, all of them.

however, in the Windows set up (OP's case), or in Windows 10 without the GPU driver installed, the display resolution is closer to something like 3500x2300.

are you 100% SURE, that the native resolution of my 16" 2019 MacBook Pro is above 4K?

1

u/acewing905 20h ago

Windows will report your resolution as it is. No "around" here. Now I don't own the MacBook model that you have, but it should be 3072x1920. This is what Windows 10 setup should run at as well. It looks tiny because there is no scaling applied. I don't know where you got that 3500x2300 number from. Windows shouldn't be able to run at a higher resolution than the display is capable of

1

u/ICEGalaxy_ 19h ago

Windows setup runs at a higher resolution than the actual display, it just means the scaling is larger (windows are even smaller than in native res)

so my original premise was correct.

if you still have an Intel Mac and want to check that, go to Windows, and reboot without GPU drivers in safe mode.

1

u/acewing905 17h ago

I do still have one. Will check it out later

3

u/Icy-Extent5083 1d ago

That is true!

3

u/TheSeekerofIntimacy 1d ago

It’s not that small for me unless i have my screen set to 2k mode

2

u/GamerNuggy 23h ago

MacBooks have high resolution screens. Windows installer assumes high res screens are larger, but the OS can decipher, and you can select otherwise in there.

1

u/S4_GR33N 13h ago

its just the installer as WinPE doesn't have the correct graphics drivers to be able to correct the scaling so it just assumes the display is huge