Microsoft Keyboard For Mac Drivers

Boot Camp requires a Mac with an Intel processor.

When you install Microsoft Windows on your Mac, Boot Camp Assistant automatically opens the Boot Camp installer, which installs the latest Windows support software (drivers). If that doesn't happen, or you experience any of the following issues while using Windows on your Mac, follow the steps in this article.

  • Your Apple mouse, trackpad, or keyboard isn't working in Windows.
    Force Touch isn't designed to work in Windows.
  • You don't hear audio from the built-in speakers of your Mac in Windows.
  • The built-in microphone or camera of your Mac isn't recognized in Windows.
  • One or more screen resolutions are unavailable for your display in Windows.
  • You can't adjust the brightness of your built-in display in Windows.
  • You have issues with Bluetooth or Wi-Fi in Windows.
  • You get an alert that Apple Software Update has stopped working.
  • You get a message that your PC has a driver or service that isn't ready for this version of Windows.
  • Your Mac starts up to a black or blue screen after you install Windows.

Can I get Mac OSX Lion drivers for the Microsoft wireless keyboard 800? I have the accompanying mouse and that works. According to the microsoft website here: (Microsoft Keyboard & Mouse: Wireless Keyboard 800 Microsoft Hardware) it's compatible with mac, but I can't find any mac drivers for it. Download MICROSOFT Keyboard & Mouse drivers, firmware, bios, tools, utilities. Download Microsoft USB Keyboard Driver for Mac to key-swapping driver for OS X 10.1 only.

If your Mac has an AMD video card and is having graphics issues in Windows, you might need to update your AMD graphics drivers instead.

Microsoft SideWinder X4 Keyboard (IntelliType Pro): Drivers List. How to play wrf files in vlc. 4 drivers are found for ‘Microsoft SideWinder X4 Keyboard (IntelliType Pro)’. To download the needed driver, select it from the list below and click at ‘Download’ button.

Install the latest macOS updates

Before proceeding, install the latest macOS updates, which can include updates to Boot Camp.

Format a USB flash drive

To install the latest Windows support software, you need a 16GB or larger USB flash drive formatted as MS-DOS (FAT).

  1. Start your Mac from macOS.
  2. Plug the USB flash drive into your Mac.
  3. Open Disk Utility, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
  4. Choose View > Show All Devices from the menu bar.
  5. From the sidebar in Disk Utility, select your USB flash drive. (Select the drive name, not the volume name beneath it.)
  6. Click the Erase button or tab.
  7. Choose MS-DOS (FAT) as the format and Master Boot Record as the scheme.
  8. Click Erase to format the drive. When done, quit Disk Utility.

Download the Windows support software

After preparing your USB flash drive, complete these steps:

  1. Make sure that your Mac is connected to the Internet.
  2. Open Boot Camp Assistant, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
  3. From the menu bar at the top of your screen, choose Action > Download Windows Support Software, then choose your USB flash drive as the save destination. When the download completes, quit Boot Camp Assistant.

Learn what to do if you can't download or save the Windows support software.

Install the Windows support software

After downloading the Windows support software to your flash drive, follow these steps to install the software. (If you're attempting to resolve issues with a Bluetooth mouse or keyboard, it might be easier to use a USB mouse or keyboard until these steps are complete.)

  1. Make sure that the USB flash drive is plugged into your Mac.
  2. Start up your Mac in Windows.
  3. From File Explorer, open the USB flash drive, then open Setup or setup.exe, which is in the WindowsSupport folder or BootCamp folder. When you're asked to allow Boot Camp to make changes to your device, click Yes.
  4. Click Repair to begin installation. If you get an alert that the software hasn't passed Windows Logo testing, click Continue Anyway.
  5. After installation completes, click Finish, then click Yes when you're asked to restart your Mac.

Learn more

If you can't download or save the Windows support software:

  • If the assistant says that the Windows support software could not be saved to the selected drive, or that the USB flash drive can't be used, make sure that your USB flash drive has a storage capacity of at least 16GB and is formatted correctly.
  • If the assistant doesn't see your USB flash drive, click Go Back and make sure that the drive is connected directly to the USB port on your Mac—not to a display, hub, or keyboard. Disconnect and reconnect the drive, then click Continue.
  • If the assistant says that it can't download the software because of a network problem, make sure that your Mac is connected to the Internet.
  • Make sure that your Mac meets the system requirements to install Windows using Boot Camp.

If a Mac feature still doesn't work after updating the Windows support software, search for your symptom on the Apple support website or Microsoft support website. Some features of your Mac aren't designed to work in Windows.

Mac

By David Röthlisberger. Comments welcome at david@rothlis.net.

Last updated 4 Oct 2011. This article is Creative Commons licensed.

The Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 doesn’t feel very “Mac-like”, at least not out-of-the-box. Read on for helpful settings to improve the experience, and a brief review of the keyboard at the end.

If your kernel panics, upgrade the drivers

OS X kernel panic

Drivers

On Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6), the IntelliType Pro 8.0 drivers caused me kernel panics at least once a day.

The recent 8.2 driversdon’t cause kernel panics on Lion (OS X 10.7). I haven’t tested them on Snow Leopard, but I assume it is the new drivers, rather than the new Operating System, that contain the fix. Readers have reported that the older 7.1 drivers work well with Snow Leopard (note that the 7.1 drivers say they are for the older Natural Keyboard Pro, but they also work for this newer keyboard). Let me know if you have tested other combinations of driver/OS versions.

Or don't use the Microsoft drivers at all

Ironically, the Microsoft drivers stop OS X from recognising the keyboard for what it is! Without the drivers, OS X reports “Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000”; with the IntelliType drivers, it’s a mere “Keyboard”.

With IntelliType drivers

As the last straw, if you remap your Caps Lock key to Control via Apple’s Keyboard preference pane, with the Microsoft drivers installed the remapping will be lost every time you restart.

The following table should help you decide whether you want the Microsoft drivers. More detailed explanations follow.

With Microsoft IntelliType driversWithout Microsoft drivers
Kernel panics with 8.0 drivers on Snow Leopard; fine with 8.2 drivers on Lion.No kernel panics.
Modifier key mappings...
lost every time you restart.aren't lost.
You can swap the Alt and Windows keys...
with the IntelliType software.with KeyRemap4MacBook.
You can use the Application key as a Command or Option key...
with the IntelliType software.with KeyRemap4MacBook.
Media keys all work correctly.

Only mute, volume and play/pause keys work. Web, search, mail, calculator, favourites 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5, back and forward, and the zoom slider don’t work.

How to uninstall the Microsoft drivers

The IntelliType UnInstaller is in the Utilities sub-folder of your Applications folder. (If you installed the IntelliPoint mouse drivers, which were bundled in the same installer, the corresponding UnInstaller is in the same location.)

If you don’t want to run the uninstallers, you can remove the following manually:

  • /System/Library/Extensions/MicrosoftKeyboard.kext

  • /System/Library/Extensions/MicrosoftMouse.kext (if you also installed the IntelliPoint drivers)

  • /Library/Keyboard Layouts/Microsoft Keyboards.bundle

  • and the Microsoft Keyboard preference pane (open System Preferences, and right-click the Microsoft Keyboard icon, or drag it off the window in a puff of smoke).

Swap the Alt and Windows keys

Microsoft Natural modifier keys

For

The Windows key is automatically treated as Command (⌘), but on Apple keyboards the Command key is next to the spacebar, with Option (Alt) the next key out. On the Microsoft keyboard this is reversed, and the IntelliType drivers helpfully have a setting to reverse these two keys; luckily OS X also has this functionality built in.

It’s under the Modifier Keys button of the Keyboard System Preferences pane.

Simply map Option to Command, and vice-versa. These settings are per-keyboard, so you won’t mess up your MacBook’s built-in keyboard.

While you’re here you can also map your Caps Lock to Control, if you so wish.

Use the Application key as a Command or Option key

Application key

To the right of the spacebar, this keyboard has an “Application” (or Context Menu) key instead of a Windows key. The IntelliType drivers include a setting to treat this key as Command, but OS X has no such setting.

Apple’s customizable XML keylayouts only allow mapping key codes to output characters, but not changing or adding modifier keys. Graphical interfaces built on top of this mechanism, such as Ukelele, have the same limitations. You’ll need the open-source KeyRemap4MacBook.

In spite of its name, KeyRemap4MacBook works on any Mac (with OS X 10.4 or later). It doesn’t allow arbitrary key mappings, but, in the best open-source tradition, it does have zillions of settings. The one you want is under “For PC Users” » “Change PC Application Key” » “Application Key to Option_L” (i.e. left-option, not option+“L”). What you set here doesn’t seem to be affected by OS X’s own modifier keys remapping.

Media keys

The keyboard’s mute, volume and play/pause keys all work out of the box, no IntelliType required. There are no keys for previous/next song.

(Without the Microsoft drivers) None of the remaining media keys work (web/home, search, mail, calculator, “favorites” 1 through 5, back and forward, and the zoom slider).

Function keys

The Function keys (F1, etc) behave as such (as opposed to brightness, volume, etc), regardless of what you set in the Keyboard preference pane. If you press “F Lock” the F keys simply do nothing. Luckily the F Lock remembers its setting across reboots.

There is no Fn modifier key as on the Mac keyboards.

KeyRemap4MacBook allows you to map the F keys to the usual brightness, volume, etc. but then you’d lose the normal F keys.

Insert, Delete, Home, End, Page Up, Page Down

On the Mac OS there is no such thing as an Insert/Overwrite toggle (even on Apple’s extended keyboard there is no Insert key). So unsurprisingly, the Insert key does nothing.

Delete works. Page-Up and -Down work. Home and End scroll to the top and bottom of the window instead of moving the cursor to the beginning or end of the line (but this is consistent with the behaviour of Apple keyboards) except in Microsoft Office, where Home and End behave as on the PC.

Numeric keypad

Num Lock doesn’t work, but fortunately it is stuck in the numeric mode.

Microsoft Keyboard For Mac Drivers

Final thoughts

I initially liked this keyboard: The split and tenting angles provide a comfortable resting position, it has Command, Option and Control keys for both hands, and the price is quite reasonable.

But after several months, I have stopped using this keyboard. It’s just too large! Keys like Return, Backspace, and Escape are quite far away from the home position. I don’t really need a numeric keypad (it forces the mouse that much further away). The keys are loud (especially the clunky spacebar) and the key travel distance (and the force required to press them) is more than I’d like.

Microsoft Touch Mouse Driver

These are of course quite personal opinions, and this keyboard could be just perfect for someone else. As a computer programmer I do a lot of typing, so I try to optimise for ergonomics.

Kinesis Freestyle for Mac:
No right-hand Control key

Microsoft Keyboard For Mac Drivers Downloads

I really like having all three modifiers (Command, Option and Control) available to my left and right hands, though this may not be so important for non-programmers. I don’t think I’d buy an ergonomic keyboard without this feature. The Kinesis keyboards, and Apple’s own keyboards (except the Apple external keyboard with numeric keypad), lack the right-hand Control.