Running windows app on mac 'parallel'

[bbabythai]

We have to install some software on the mac and the guy says that its actually for windows but we can run it in parallel 

or something. 

 

Is this possible to do? How does it work exactly

thanks

[andy72]

Got to say the usual vague description 
what is it about the internet that makes everyone think others are mind readers
Some Software well it could be any thing right

So luckily my clairvoyant skills are par excellence

So Im guessing Parallel is virtual in Windows speak;

It means installing software that is a virtual computer space on your computer
https://www.parallels.com/landingpage/pd/windows-on-mac/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw6PD3BRDPARIsAN8pHuFK93r844fo20UU6owzlE04Zjr6k5Oiuskl3NjUBahgPDJ535ecWhIaAuxWEALw_wcB

And Im guessing your tech guy meant this Parallel looks like a MAC Virtual space
Ok so you install that then you got to install Windows into that space 

Parallel is going to take up a 'x' amount of GB space from your hard disc cos you gotta run another computer virtual one) a inside your computer 

you can put anything in that virtual space if you have the HD room windows linux even another OS
plus the good ones can act like a sandbox a sandbox is a safe place to try things that wont screw up your real computer OS,

thats enough 
 

Edited July 1, 2020 by andy72

[tomazbodner]

VMWare Fusion, Parallels and Vbox are Virtualisation software packages. You would install the software, then install real Windows into them (depends on CPU what you can install - if CPU is 7th generation or newer - like you have a new or up to 1-2 years old Mac - then you can only install Windows 10 as older versions might not run properly or at all).

Once you're done with that, you start up Windows inside your virtualisation software and it will open either in a window or full screen. You use it as if that was a PC.

VMWare can add a menu to the top (near the clock) which is the full Start Menu of Windows so you can run the applications in "Unity mode" where Windows programs look like they are running natively in MacOS. Of course unless you load Windows at the boot time, it needs to load Windows first before it can open the software from that menu. You can have several different VMs installed.

 

The above allow you to run MacOS and Windows at the same time. But Mac also supports Boot Camp. With Boot Camp you decide which OS you wish to boot up. To install it, open Applications, Utilities, and select BootCamp. You'll need Windows installation USB stick (or DVD and SuperDrive if you're old-fashioned) and a serial number to register it with. You'd choose how much disk/SSD space you wish to allocate for Windows - choose 60 GB or more - and it will repartition the disk and install Windows for you. Then it runs just like any PC, using all the resources of the computer (all cores of CPU and all memory).

 

VMWare Fusion costs 69 or 99$ and works until the next Mac OS is out when they try to force you to upgrade. Latest version is 11. You can get it much cheaper on eBay.

Parallels are 69$ last time I've checked. I've found Parallels slower than VMWare, but some others claim it's faster.

Oracle VirtualBox is freeware. It may be a little slower and clumsier to set up than commercial software but I've never had any beef with it. Worked as advertised.

 

https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

https://www.parallels.com/

https://www.vmware.com/products/fusion.html

 

Using virtualisation or Bootcamp, you'll need Microsoft Windows and a registration key. They cost about 4500 baht for standard and about 6500 for Pro edition. Again, you can get them on eBay for fraction of the price. Else:

 

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/get-windows-10

 

If you decide for virtualisation, remember that your Mac also needs RAM and disk space. If you have 8 GB RAM or more, give 2 GB to Windows, if only 4 GB, give it 1 GB. Regardless of whether you have 2 or 4 core CPU, Windows will be OK with single core. Give it more resources only if you have performance issues and your Mac has at least 16 GB RAM and 6 or more core CPU.

 

Hope this is of any use.

[sometimewoodworker]

32 minutes ago, bbabythai said:

We have to install some software on the mac and the guy says that its actually for windows but we can run it in parallel 

or something. 

 

Is this possible to do? How does it work exactly

thanks

One of the systems that can run on the Mac that will virtualise windows is Parallels. I currently have Windows NT, Windows 7 and Windows 10 on my iMac. It will also virtualise other systems like Linux and Mac OS versions.

 

you buy the Software and the version of Windows you want. Currently it costs $59.99 or $74.99 for parallels 
 

it is not fast but if the program you need only runs on Windows it could be better than buying a Windows machine.

 

You can also run Boot Camp and there are at least 1 or 2 more programs.

[bbabythai]

21 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

VMWare Fusion, Parallels and Vbox are Virtualisation software packages. You would install the software, then install real Windows into them (depends on CPU what you can install - if CPU is 7th generation or newer - like you have a new or up to 1-2 years old Mac - then you can only install Windows 10 as older versions might not run properly or at all).

Once you're done with that, you start up Windows inside your virtualisation software and it will open either in a window or full screen. You use it as if that was a PC.

VMWare can add a menu to the top (near the clock) which is the full Start Menu of Windows so you can run the applications in "Unity mode" where Windows programs look like they are running natively in MacOS. Of course unless you load Windows at the boot time, it needs to load Windows first before it can open the software from that menu. You can have several different VMs installed.

 

The above allow you to run MacOS and Windows at the same time. But Mac also supports Boot Camp. With Boot Camp you decide which OS you wish to boot up. To install it, open Applications, Utilities, and select BootCamp. You'll need Windows installation USB stick (or DVD and SuperDrive if you're old-fashioned) and a serial number to register it with. You'd choose how much disk/SSD space you wish to allocate for Windows - choose 60 GB or more - and it will repartition the disk and install Windows for you. Then it runs just like any PC, using all the resources of the computer (all cores of CPU and all memory).

 

VMWare Fusion costs 69 or 99$ and works until the next Mac OS is out when they try to force you to upgrade. Latest version is 11. You can get it much cheaper on eBay.

Parallels are 69$ last time I've checked. I've found Parallels slower than VMWare, but some others claim it's faster.

Oracle VirtualBox is freeware. It may be a little slower and clumsier to set up than commercial software but I've never had any beef with it. Worked as advertised.

 

https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

https://www.parallels.com/

https://www.vmware.com/products/fusion.html

 

Using virtualisation or Bootcamp, you'll need Microsoft Windows and a registration key. They cost about 4500 baht for standard and about 6500 for Pro edition. Again, you can get them on eBay for fraction of the price. Else:

 

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/get-windows-10

 

If you decide for virtualisation, remember that your Mac also needs RAM and disk space. If you have 8 GB RAM or more, give 2 GB to Windows, if only 4 GB, give it 1 GB. Regardless of whether you have 2 or 4 core CPU, Windows will be OK with single core. Give it more resources only if you have performance issues and your Mac has at least 16 GB RAM and 6 or more core CPU.

 

Hope this is of any use.

Thanks for your detailed, helpful and non sarcastic response. 

 

I have checked out my mac and its a 2016 model (processor 2.9ghz Intel core i5. Storage 228gb of 499gb. Ive just run a software update to the Catalina version. 

 

The parallel website looks ok to me. Would this be the best option based on my mac. Does it mean we have to keep paying upgrade fees? 

 

I cant decide which option to use actually. 

 

The guy in bkk selling the software to us says we should go to the istore where we live and let them download it. 

But should I first pay/ install the parallel software and then go to the istore and pay for the windows? Or should I just get it from the microsoft site after I have successfully installed parallel and logged on?

 

If i have below average IT skills should I go to the apple store and ask them to help me? Or is it easy to do both from the internet?

 

thanks from a non techie guy

Edited July 2, 2020 by bbabythai

[Sterling]

If you'd like to give it a try for no cost, Virtualbox is free but is a bit more difficult to work with than Parallels or VMware Fusion.

In my opinion, it also has the worst performance, but it is free: https://www.virtualbox.org/

 

You can also download Windows 10 directly from Microsoft and use it without having to pay for it.

It will nag you to buy a license/activate and wont let you personalize parts of it, but you can use it for testing: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10ISO

 

I personally use Parallels as in the past it has had the best performance, but the latest version of VMware Fusion is supposed to be as good, if not better.

I cant speak to VMware, but Parallels usually releases a new version around the same time that Apple releases a new version of MacOS, so roughly once per year.

So if you wanted the latest and greatest, you'd need to budget paying around $50 per year for each new version.

I usually only upgraded every other version, so I went with v10->v12->v14 every other year.

 

You can go to the Apple store and ask for help but I dont know if they would be willing to help as none of those products are made by Apple.

 

Good luck!

[tomazbodner]

12 hours ago, bbabythai said:

Thanks for your detailed, helpful and non sarcastic response. 

 

I have checked out my mac and its a 2016 model (processor 2.9ghz Intel core i5. Storage 228gb of 499gb. Ive just run a software update to the Catalina version. 

 

The parallel website looks ok to me. Would this be the best option based on my mac. Does it mean we have to keep paying upgrade fees? 

 

I cant decide which option to use actually. 

 

The guy in bkk selling the software to us says we should go to the istore where we live and let them download it. 

But should I first pay/ install the parallel software and then go to the istore and pay for the windows? Or should I just get it from the microsoft site after I have successfully installed parallel and logged on?

 

If i have below average IT skills should I go to the apple store and ask them to help me? Or is it easy to do both from the internet?

 

thanks from a non techie guy

Given your CPU is from 2016, you could load Windows 7 to Windows 10. Unless you wish to run any pirated software, I'd recommend you install Windows 10. Here is the site that describes how to make bootable USB stick on a Mac:

 

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-create-windows-10-installer-usb-drive-mac

 

There is nothing to pay to download the Windows 10, and you could buy a serial number off Lazada or eBay for a few dollars with immediate delivery. You'll need a USB stick. Those things are cheap and useful so I'd say get a larger one, 32 GB or more, although you really only need about 8 GB. Use the stick with BootCamp Assistant as described in the link above - basically download ISO, and use that assistant to make bootable USB. Do NOT continue installing BootCamp.

 

Now get VMWare or Parallels. It's your choice of whether you buy it from eBay or the official sites. I use VMWare as it creates images that can be run on Windows OS as well, while Parallels can't. So it's easy for me to move them around and ran off anything.

 

Whether eBay or official site, you'll be downloading a file, and when double clicking it, a desktop icon with drive will appear, and a window prompting you to move app into Applications folder (like any other software). You do that, then start the app, and it'll ask you for serial number. Enter it to register (or use 30 days trial).

 

Once software is up and running, if wizard doesn't start, insert USB stick and choose New virtual machine, and in properties choose how many CPUs and memory and disk do you wish to assign to the Windows PC running in your Mac. If you want to connect to internet from Windows, set network settings to "Bridged". That's pretty much all you need to set, other than where on your Mac disk you would like to keep the file that contains Windows. I usually make VM-Images folder on my disk and put all of them in there so I know where they are. You might not care and just use defaults. As said previously, give it a single core (1 CPU), and 1-2 GB of RAM (you can change later if it's sluggish), and at least 60 GB of disk space. No need to reserve space (so it doesn't block the whole 60 GB but can grow up to 60 GB). As you have more space you can give more, if you'll install more apps to Windows later, but don't go below that.

 

 

You're asked what OS it's using - you can choose auto-detect or choose Windows 10. It allows you to enter Windows 10 key up-front, then (VMWare at least) will do all the configuration and activation of Windows. Once done, there will be Windows running inside a window of your Mac. Once you're done, choose from VM top menu "Install VMWare Tools" which will install all the drivers needed to make full use of the VM you just installed.

 

 

Now you'll need to get files into Windows. You can do this 4 ways:

- when you plug in any external drive, you'll be asked whether you want to connect it to Mac or Windows. If you choose Windows, it'll not mount to your Mac desktop, but instead to Windows, like if you had a Windows PC and plugged USB stick in (Note USB stick should be FAT, NTFS or ExFAT formatted. Mac can only READ the NTFS format, but can't write to it. FAT has limitation on file size of 2 or 4 GB, can't remember. ExFAT is readable/writable by both and doesn't have such low file limits - so if you want to use same USB stick on both, use ExFAT format).

- Another option is using Shared Folders. You can in VMWare settings create a folder on your Mac, and you will see it under Network folders in your Windows.

- You can drag and drop files between the 2 desktops, so if you have Windows open in a window, you can drag and drop file from Mac desktop to Windows desktop, or vice versa.

- And obviously if you're connected to network, you could download files from internet, or other network drives, etc.

Once your software is installed, you can decide whether you want to use Windows in full screen (like a PC), or in a Window (this is my preferred way - you just give Windows lower resolution than what Mac has), or in Unity mode. Latter loads Windows in the background and you can't see it. But when you open any applications from top menu, it opens window of that application as if it was Mac application. You can add these Windows applications into your MacOS dock just like any other Mac apps. But understand Windows still needs to load and run in the background for that to happen.

 

Below is how VMWare looks like on your Mac. Window behind is the one I am typing for you, the blue window is the Windows in a window with Windows Explorer and Chrome for Windows open. The Bridged at the top is where you set the network settings. And at the top menu, in Virtual Machine you have Ctrl+Alt+Del ... and Install VMWare Tools.

 

 

The above instructions are for VMWare Fusion. Parallels is similar but as I haven't used it for a few years now I will stick to VMWare.

 

Hope this is a little more visual.

 

If you're in a hurry - eBay sells VMWare 11.5 from 80 baht up, Windows from a few 100 baht up for OEM. All you get is link to official download site and a serial number. If you want to be reassured you do the right thing, you can buy VMWare or Parallels from their official websites, and Windows 10 from Bnn.in.th, and if you pick version with the USB stick you won't even have to create one as per instructions in the link above.

 

 

[bbabythai]

5 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

Given your CPU is from 2016, you could load Windows 7 to Windows 10. Unless you wish to run any pirated software, I'd recommend you install Windows 10. Here is the site that describes how to make bootable USB stick on a Mac:

 

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-create-windows-10-installer-usb-drive-mac

 

There is nothing to pay to download the Windows 10, and you could buy a serial number off Lazada or eBay for a few dollars with immediate delivery. You'll need a USB stick. Those things are cheap and useful so I'd say get a larger one, 32 GB or more, although you really only need about 8 GB. Use the stick with BootCamp Assistant as described in the link above - basically download ISO, and use that assistant to make bootable USB. Do NOT continue installing BootCamp.

 

Now get VMWare or Parallels. It's your choice of whether you buy it from eBay or the official sites. I use VMWare as it creates images that can be run on Windows OS as well, while Parallels can't. So it's easy for me to move them around and ran off anything.

 

Whether eBay or official site, you'll be downloading a file, and when double clicking it, a desktop icon with drive will appear, and a window prompting you to move app into Applications folder (like any other software). You do that, then start the app, and it'll ask you for serial number. Enter it to register (or use 30 days trial).

 

Once software is up and running, if wizard doesn't start, insert USB stick and choose New virtual machine, and in properties choose how many CPUs and memory and disk do you wish to assign to the Windows PC running in your Mac. If you want to connect to internet from Windows, set network settings to "Bridged". That's pretty much all you need to set, other than where on your Mac disk you would like to keep the file that contains Windows. I usually make VM-Images folder on my disk and put all of them in there so I know where they are. You might not care and just use defaults. As said previously, give it a single core (1 CPU), and 1-2 GB of RAM (you can change later if it's sluggish), and at least 60 GB of disk space. No need to reserve space (so it doesn't block the whole 60 GB but can grow up to 60 GB). As you have more space you can give more, if you'll install more apps to Windows later, but don't go below that.

 

 

You're asked what OS it's using - you can choose auto-detect or choose Windows 10. It allows you to enter Windows 10 key up-front, then (VMWare at least) will do all the configuration and activation of Windows. Once done, there will be Windows running inside a window of your Mac. Once you're done, choose from VM top menu "Install VMWare Tools" which will install all the drivers needed to make full use of the VM you just installed.

 

 

Now you'll need to get files into Windows. You can do this 4 ways:

- when you plug in any external drive, you'll be asked whether you want to connect it to Mac or Windows. If you choose Windows, it'll not mount to your Mac desktop, but instead to Windows, like if you had a Windows PC and plugged USB stick in (Note USB stick should be FAT, NTFS or ExFAT formatted. Mac can only READ the NTFS format, but can't write to it. FAT has limitation on file size of 2 or 4 GB, can't remember. ExFAT is readable/writable by both and doesn't have such low file limits - so if you want to use same USB stick on both, use ExFAT format).

- Another option is using Shared Folders. You can in VMWare settings create a folder on your Mac, and you will see it under Network folders in your Windows.

- You can drag and drop files between the 2 desktops, so if you have Windows open in a window, you can drag and drop file from Mac desktop to Windows desktop, or vice versa.

- And obviously if you're connected to network, you could download files from internet, or other network drives, etc.

Once your software is installed, you can decide whether you want to use Windows in full screen (like a PC), or in a Window (this is my preferred way - you just give Windows lower resolution than what Mac has), or in Unity mode. Latter loads Windows in the background and you can't see it. But when you open any applications from top menu, it opens window of that application as if it was Mac application. You can add these Windows applications into your MacOS dock just like any other Mac apps. But understand Windows still needs to load and run in the background for that to happen.

 

Below is how VMWare looks like on your Mac. Window behind is the one I am typing for you, the blue window is the Windows in a window with Windows Explorer and Chrome for Windows open. The Bridged at the top is where you set the network settings. And at the top menu, in Virtual Machine you have Ctrl+Alt+Del ... and Install VMWare Tools.

 

 

The above instructions are for VMWare Fusion. Parallels is similar but as I haven't used it for a few years now I will stick to VMWare.

 

Hope this is a little more visual.

 

If you're in a hurry - eBay sells VMWare 11.5 from 80 baht up, Windows from a few 100 baht up for OEM. All you get is link to official download site and a serial number. If you want to be reassured you do the right thing, you can buy VMWare or Parallels from their official websites, and Windows 10 from Bnn.in.th, and if you pick version with the USB stick you won't even have to create one as per instructions in the link above.

 

 

Wow. Thanks so much for the detailed help. I don't think that I could have done this by myself. I will give it a go tomorrow. 

 

I really appreciate your help

cheers

[sometimewoodworker]

2 hours ago, bbabythai said:

Wow. Thanks so much for the detailed help. I don't think that I could have done this by myself. I will give it a go tomorrow. 

 

I really appreciate your help

cheers

It isn’t rocket science.
 

Just be sure that you do not need windows to run at full speed, I don’t as there is only 1 program that I need to run. If you need full speed windows then you must either have a PC or run BootCamp
 

In my case when I’m running that program I don’t need anything else so I close virtually everything and have Windows 10 running with 4GB memory & multi processor. 
 

I don’t run any windows programs that I don’t have to, so no email, web browser or anything else. This lets me keep my Windows 10 image between 21GB and 30GB the larger size is just when updating. I don’t keep restore points as I can/do just make a duplicate that I can revert back to if needed.
 

That is my use case, yours may be different.