Author Topic: Parallels for Mac (Read 1785 times)

citoyen · « **on:** 18 May, 2022, 02:35:53 pm »

I'm thinking of installing Parallels on my iMac (2013 Intel i5) so I can access a particular bit of Windows-only software (the only Mac equivalent is terrible). I have a few questions - probably answerable by looking on the Parallels website, but I'm more interested in real-life experiences than the official party line.

There appear to be two versions of Parallels - the standard Desktop version for a one-off £69.99, or Desktop Pro for an annual £79.99 subscription. Is there any reason why I might conceivably want the latter? It seems like a lot of money... far more than the cost of the software I want to use it for. I don't mind that much as a one-off fee, but couldn't really justify it as an annual sub.

How does it actually work in practice? It seems to be that you open Parallels while logged in to Mac OS and run Windows within Parallels. Are there likely to be any performance/memory issues with my computer running two OS simultaneously?

And how much storage space does it take up? Enough to be worth investing in another 1TB SSD for it to live on?

citoyen · « **Reply #1 on:** 18 May, 2022, 02:45:50 pm »

I should add that the reason I'm specifically considering Parallels is because it has been recommended as a way of running this software on a Mac, so I am reasonably confident it will work. But I am open to other suggestions.

ian · « **Reply #2 on:** 18 May, 2022, 02:57:48 pm »

I have always used Virtualbox (admittedly mostly for Linux). Always worked fine (picks up USB and everything else) and costs the princely sum of nothing.

ETA: you just run the the virtual OS in a window like another app (you can full-screen) within MacOS. It's quite smooth and shares clipboard and everything. You can control the size of a VM, but for a full instance of Windows, you'll need a chunk of hard disk space. That said, my Linux VMs typically only take up 32 GB each.

citoyen · « **Reply #3 on:** 18 May, 2022, 03:02:26 pm »

Only 32GB!

I do probably have capacity on the SSD for that though.

Will investigate Virtual Box too, thanks for the suggestion.

Jaded · « **Reply #4 on:** 18 May, 2022, 03:16:12 pm »

I have used Parallels for many years.

There is a constant upgrade scenario - presumably to keep them in dosh. I have used it for XP, W10 and W11, Several flavours of Linux, and currently MacOS Older, 10.14.6, so I can run my accounts package in Monterey. I've considered subscription, but tend to miss out alternate updates. Currently on 16

You can run it as a program, and do stuff like access folders on the host computer, or in Coherence, which makes the apps running in Parallels appear as if they are running natively.

I've never noticed performance issues, even with two Virtual machines working. However, I tend to upgrade to a high spec machine (this one is i9 2.4 Ghz 8 Core 32Gig Ram.)

ian · « **Reply #5 on:** 18 May, 2022, 03:18:50 pm »

You don't need a huge amount for VMs that do a singular thing, you can always share your current MacOS drives for storage. You also need to assign some RAM (probably 8GB for Windows).

JulesP · « **Reply #6 on:** 18 May, 2022, 04:42:05 pm »

Long-time Parallels user here, too – currently using it on a Mac Mini M1 with Windows 10 ARM.

I don't subscribe and only update every few years when macOS supposedly breaks something (though I'm suspicious of the Parallels update model...) or a new feature is added – such as M1 support for ARM VMs.

I'm not sure I paid full-price initially, though – keep an eye out for offers. I think I paid £39.99 for the last upgrade, too – a better option for me with my infrequent upgrades than an £80 annual sub.

Other than that, it works very, very well.

Look at the pretty-much-equivalent VMware Fusion Player, too. I think it used to be free for personal use, though I recall having jump through several hoops to get it when I last used it a few years ago.

Woofage · « **Reply #7 on:** 18 May, 2022, 04:53:28 pm »

Have a look at WiNE too. There's possibly a fruit version but if not you may have to buy the full commercial release. I've not used it (on Linux) for years, but when I did it worked OK. Much lower overhead than a VM, and you won't need to install Windows (which, from memory, takes forever).

Mr Larrington · « **Reply #8 on:** 18 May, 2022, 05:34:34 pm »

A base Windows install is pretty quick these days (albeit that I wouldn’t want to try it on my clockwork & jam-filled laptop, even with a wired network connection). DAMHIKT. Creating the install media can take a while, especially if you are cursed with a skinny pipe fnarr fnarr and getting the bloody thing set up to suit you rather than some faceless apparatchik in Redmond can take days.

citoyen · « **Reply #9 on:** 18 May, 2022, 06:41:19 pm »

Thanks for further thoughts, people, lots to look into...

Quote from: ian on 18 May, 2022, 03:18:50 pm

You also need to assign some RAM (probably 8GB for Windows).

Hmmm. This is the total amount of memory my iMac has.

I'm also wondering if the cheapest/simplest option might be to buy a second-hand Windows notebook.

ian · « **Reply #10 on:** 18 May, 2022, 07:56:01 pm »

You can always install Boot Camp and run Windows directly.

I moved from Parallels to Virtualbox some years back, and never had an issue with it, though in recent years, I've only used it for Linux VMs.

You can probably assign 4GB for Windows, it'll just swap more to disk and be a bit slower.

I think it depends on whether you want an all singing, all dancing, all registry-editing version of Windows, or you just need 10 minutes here and there to run whatever application you need.

I'd try Virtualbox, it's free, and as Señor Larrers says, Windows is quick-ish to install these days. You can create an expanding disk (so it'll get bigger if it needs it) and assign as little RAM as it will let you, and see if that works. Generally, I find performance tip-top, but I only use it for a couple of code packages. If you want to run an antique version of Photoshop with scratch disks and the like, more oomph might be required.

citoyen · « **Reply #11 on:** 18 May, 2022, 11:38:58 pm »

I'm not far into the process of installing Win10 in VirtualBox. I'm already wanting to kill "Cortana".

citoyen · « **Reply #12 on:** 19 May, 2022, 10:17:41 am »

Well, if anyone is interested, I finally managed to install Windows 10 late last night - after a couple of failed attempts... I watched a YT tutorial vid that suggested 2GB would be enough RAM, but also said to increase it if the install failed, so I bumped it up to 3GB and that did the trick.

Then installed the demo version of the software I want to use and that worked just fine, so now I have proof of concept I can go ahead and download the full paid-for version.

I don't know if using Parallels would have made the process less painful, but I'm liking the "it's free" element of Virtual Box.

I've never used Windows 10 before - I was still on XP last time I owned a Windows machine. Can't say first impressions are very favourable - the interface feels really clunky. Maybe it's just that I'm not used to it, but so far I'm very glad I don't have to be.

ian · « **Reply #13 on:** 19 May, 2022, 10:24:56 am »

I've been using Windows back-to-back with MacOS for the last seven months (I have a Macbook on order) – it's awful. Everything is a mess. I'm three weeks into turning on network discovery. I don't know what this is or why I need it or why it got turned off or how I turn it back on. That's basically the Windows usage paradigm.

All I want is to share a drive, something that's five-second's work in MacOS.

Mr Larrington · « **Reply #14 on:** 19 May, 2022, 10:35:35 am »

Absolutely the first thing I do after a Windows install is install Classic Shell. Replaces the horble Fisher-Price interface with a customisable XP (or Win 7, but I'm old-skool) lookalike menu. Admittedly it doesn’t mitigate the foul mess that is used to (barely) control MS Orifice apps or put Stuffs back in Control Panel where they belong, but at least it's a small kick to the incisors of the Great Satan of Redmond.

Fame, if not fortune, awaits the l33t h@XX0r who can devise a one-stop interface for the unholy mélange of Teh Stupidz that is the current Control Panel/Settings farce.

Edit: the second thing is to turn on Network Discovery coz you need it to find, er, things on the network, like NAS drives. Note to self: add it to The Checklist.

ian · « **Reply #15 on:** 19 May, 2022, 12:07:00 pm »

Turning it on doesn't appear to do anything, as far as I can tell, the setting doesn't stick.

But really, that's the thing, if you have to install another shell, I'd say the UX has failed. It's just a mess, why not put all the settings in one place, that kind of thing. Consistent navigation, menus, UX concepts. That kind of thing.

Mr Larrington · « **Reply #16 on:** 19 May, 2022, 12:15:08 pm »

Quote from: ian on 19 May, 2022, 12:07:00 pm

Turning it on doesn't appear to do anything, as far as I can tell, the setting doesn't stick.

That’s just Finestre messin' wif yo' head.

Quote from: ian on 19 May, 2022, 12:07:00 pm

But really, that's the thing, if you have to install another shell, I'd say the UX has failed. It's just a mess, why not put all the settings in one place, that kind of thing. Consistent navigation, menus, UX concepts. That kind of thing.

(Ticks box labelled “Strongly Agree”)

citoyen · « **Reply #17 on:** 20 May, 2022, 05:04:08 pm »

Ok, slight issue I hadn’t anticipated, though it seems obvious now… like duh…

The Windows VM appears to be a hermetically sealed environment, so I can’t easily access files saved outside, nor access internal files from outside.

Can anyone suggest an easy solution to this that isn’t emailing the files to myself? I’m rather hoping it’s as simple as finding a hidden folder, but I’m having no luck with this so far.

Jaded · « **Reply #18 on:** 20 May, 2022, 05:10:17 pm »

You’ll need a VirtualBox expert - this is standard with Parallels, being able to see each OS’s files.

ian · « **Reply #19 on:** 20 May, 2022, 05:25:26 pm »

Settings > Shared folders in the VirtualBox Manager.

citoyen · « **Reply #20 on:** 20 May, 2022, 06:27:11 pm »

Quote from: Jaded on 20 May, 2022, 05:10:17 pm

You’ll need a VirtualBox expert - this is standard with Parallels, being able to see each OS’s files.

I guess that's the kind of feature you pay for!

Quote from: ian on 20 May, 2022, 05:25:26 pm

Settings > Shared folders in the VirtualBox Manager.

Hmmm. I've already got the folder I want to access marked as shared but can't see it from Windows. Never mind. I shall keep digging...

ian · « **Reply #21 on:** 20 May, 2022, 08:19:32 pm »

If I recall, it appears in Windows networking. VBOXSRV or similar.