Macbook Air Parallels Desktop For Mac
Editors' note, October 30, 2014: This review has been updated with new features added after the release of the technical preview. Has been letting people run Windows and other operating systems on their Macs for years. And with every major update, has added yet another feature that makes switching between your regular operating system and virtual machines even more seamless. There are other apps that do virtualization, such as $60 (also available for £36, or AU$64) or (free). These will both let you run Windows on your Mac (as long as you own a copy) and might be good enough for your purposes. What is Parallels for?
Parallels Desktop ($80, £50, or AU$86) is a virtualization system for running other operating systems on your Mac. As an example, this would be useful if you use Windows at work, but have a Mac laptop at home because it means you can run all the Windows specific tools from work on the Mac without having to buy a separate computer. Virtualization is used by software developers as well, because it allows them to run an operating system that has no ties to the computer it's on. This way, even if a virtual system gets a virus, it can only infect that enclosed system, leaving the host computer virus free.
From there all they need to do is shut down and restart from an earlier healthy snapshot of the virtual system to start again fresh. Parallels is also useful for people who play video games because it lets them pick from the much larger library of Windows titles and play them on a Mac. In this particular case, your mileage may vary because your Mac may not have the video processing power of high-end video cards. If you're going to use Parallels with one of the free operating systems offered in the app (more on this later), you'll only need to spend the $80 for Parallels.
But be warned, that in order to use this software with Windows as I did in this demo, you're going to be spending $80 for Parallels, plus the price of Windows 8.1 (currently available for about $120, £70, or AU$130). While it is not cheap, if you identify with one of the use cases above, it's worth the money. Installing an operating system To get Parallels up and running, you're going to need to have the full version of another operating system on hand. From the Parallels launcher, you can download free operating systems including Chrome OS, Ubuntu Linux, Android OS, or even another version of Mac OS X using your Mac's recovery partition. Past versions of Parallels had the option to purchase and install Windows 7 from within the software, so you could get started right away. Microsoft no longer has a deal with Parallels, but Parallels Desktop 10 enables you to download and install a 90-day trial of Windows. The wizard also lets you move a PC, including Windows and all of its applications and files to your Mac so you have everything you need on one computer If you know you'll need to run Windows for the long term, the easiest option is a box copy of Windows 8 on a DVD.
As long as you have an internal or external DVD drive, you can select it from the Parallels Launch Center, and start installing straight away. In the latest version of Parallels, you also can drag and drop a.ISO file straight into the interface to start the installation. If you downloaded Windows from Microsoft hoping (like I did) to just select the installer executable, you're going to have a tough time. Parallels requires either a DVD or image file (ISO), or you can use the Parallels Transporter Agent to migrate Windows from another PC. To create an ISO file, you'll need to start the installation on another Windows PC, download all the data files, then select create as image, and choose either DVD or thumb drive.
It took me some time to figure it all out, but I finally used a thumb drive to transfer the installer and get it running on my Mac. This is all just a precaution to make sure you don't make the same mistake I did and already have an ISO image or boxed version of Windows before you get started. While I think it's OK that Parallels has specific requirements for the installation file, it would be nice if the app took care of the conversion for you.
Without knowing, it's pretty easy to buy and download an operating system in the standard way (resulting in an.exe file) that requires a lengthy process for conversion before it will work.
Verified Buyer Reviewer: Sad2Say Rating: 4/5 Good but 11 is better October 8, 2016 I've gotten lot of good use out of this version of Parallels, but having recently upgraded to 11 (also through OWC), I can say that the latter is a huge improvement. 10 has some fairly evident bugs - I've never been able to suspend or shut down a virtual machine successfully, for example, and always have to go through a painful boot process after force-quitting the app - but all appear to have been resolved in 11. As always, however, OWC customer service has been terrific. This review is from. Customer Videos. Verified Buyer Top 250 Contributor Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Kankakee, IL Age: 45-54 Experience Level: Power User Owned Product: over 6 months Rating: 4/5 Easy, robust July 8, 2016 I have been using Parallels since version 7. I like the ease of setting up most VM's, though Windoze Upgrades can be tricky.
It allows me to run those occasional use Windoze or Linux software without having to keep a dedicated machine. The only drawback that drops it to a 4 star from a 5 is that it restricts the versions of OS X that you can setup. Currently, you can't go any further back that Mavericks.
My first Mac Mini was a Snow Leopard machine and sometimes I find that even in a VM, I can get certain tasks accomplished quicker than with all of the bells and whistles of newer versions. I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from. Verified Buyer Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Austin, TX Age: 35-44 Experience Level: IT Professional Owned Product: 1-3 months Rating: 5/5 Superior product for running Windows/Linux in OS X February 23, 2016 I enjoy tinkering with multiple operating systems and was looking for a good way to do this in OS X. Although VirtualBox is free and a good alternative, I was able to get Parallels bundled with my order from OWC. I also like physical media so this was win-win. I was really impressed with the Coherence mode and enjoyed the easy printer and file sharing - I literally had to configure NOTHING in my guest operating systems to access my desktop printer.
If you want a professional product which provides fantastic integration between OS X and the guest operating systems you want to run, this is for you! I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from. Verified Buyer Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Australia Age: 55-65 Experience Level: Power User Owned Product: 1-3 months Rating: 5/5 Long Time Supporter November 20, 2015 It works well. The only downside is the constant upgrades with OS versions. Do we really have to pay every single time the OS changes?
Surely they could throw a free upgrade for loyal customers. Of course this is a Paralles issue. What great about OWC, the cost of purchasing is discounted when picking up some great hardware. Thats a really good deal.
I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from. Verified Buyer Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Kankakee, IL Age: 45-54 Experience Level: Power User Owned Product: less than a month Rating: 4/5 Very good solution if you NEED to run Win April 27, 2015 I have been using Parallels almost as long as I have been using a Mac. ( 5 years) My big concern when switching to the Mac was.would I need to rebuy a lot of the software that I was using. With Parallels the issue was moot. Most of the applications I use are either supplied within OSX or I was able to find cost-effective equivalents.
But for the things that I just couldn't afford to replace, Parallels allow me to run them in a Win VM without a hitch. When Yosemite was released I held off upgrading because I didn't want to pay the full upgrade price. But then I had a HD that was failing so I decided to replace it with an SSD. OWC was offering a hefty discount when purchasing Parallels with an SSD so I opted to upgrade after all. I currently maintain VM's for WinXP, Win7, Snow Leopard, Mavericks and Linux. Mostly for sandboxing and testing, but the XP VM I have to keep running for some legacy software. On a conventional HD the performance is rather good.
But when coupled with an SSD the performance increases dramatically. The only issue that I have had is that sometimes after upgrading from a previous version, you will need to 're-authorize' your copy of Windows.
Macbook Air Parallel Desktop For Mac
For XP it worked easily. Win7 was a bit more troublesome. I would recommend this item to a friend!
This review is from. Verified Buyer Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Marco Island, FL Age: 45-54 Experience Level: IT Professional Owned Product: over 6 months Rating: 5/5 A solid VM environment March 16, 2015 Having been a Parallels user for years, each new version brings better performance and other refinements - v10 continues this tradition.
I've explored alternative VMs, but for me, the features and ease of use Parallels provides makes it the clear choice. I would recommend this item to a friend!
This review is from. Verified Buyer Top 250 Contributor Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Antioch,CA Age: 55-65 Experience Level: IT Professional Owned Product: 1-3 months Rating: 5/5 An Easy way to run Multiple OS February 19, 2015 I was looking for an easy way to run multiple OS's on my MBP.
I do computer repair and personally have used Linux for years but I like the Apple OS as well. I tend to fix many Windows computers so I needed that one too.
Now instead of haveing to carry 3 Laptops to locations I can carry one and take care of all 3 OS's at once. This software makes installing another OS as easy as getting the Distro or OEM Disk and installing it.
Its so simple anyone can do it. I have tried several Windows software titles and all run well. As do all the Linux software apps I have tried and believe me I really tried to cause a problem. Great Software.
I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from.
Verified Buyer Top 50 Contributor Reviewer: Anonymous Location: central VA Age: 55-65 Experience Level: Home User Owned Product: less than a month Rating: 5/5 Works as advertised. January 5, 2015 Love it.
Installed this and XP Pro. No need to partition a certain amount of space, Parallels does this automatically, I guess. I only have one program I use, so it's easy, but you (I) open to FireFox and go from there. I open Parallels, click on FF, enter the site I want and I'm there.
The site I want to go to has 'only IE 8 and Windows 7 will work.' In their requirements page, I have neither and the site opens as usual. Had to jump through hoops for that, but Parallels 10 made it happen. Can't add any durability info, too new.
I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from. Verified Buyer Reviewer: Anonymous Location: New York Age: 55-65 Experience Level: IT Professional Owned Product: less than a month Rating: 4/5 Parallels Continues To Be The Best Virtualization System October 27, 2014 Thank you to OWC for a kind Parallels upgrade discount! I continue to be pleased with the work Parallels has put into Parallels desktop. It offers more features and functionality that all the other options, at least for my needs.
It continues to rule the speed and functionality tests. I keep waiting for a moment of regret that I didn't choose the competition instead, and that moment never happens. Please keep up the great work! I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from. Verified Buyer Top 50 Contributor Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Indiana Age: 55-65 Experience Level: IT Professional Owned Product: 1-3 months Rating: 4/5 Not the easiest product to configure August 3, 2014 Parallels works for running my old Microsoft apps on the new Mac system, but it takes a lot of room and wasn't the easiest install.
I think it would have been easier to make a separate boot partition with a separate install of Windows. On the other hand Parallels had good chat support to get me up and running, and it's nice to be able to punch up an app without rebooting. Just be patient and you should be able to get things working fine. I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from. Verified Buyer Reviewer: Anonymous Location: SoCal Age: 55-65 Experience Level: Power User Owned Product: 1-3 months Rating: 3/5 Ok I guess May 22, 2014 You will only want this if you moved to Mavericks and still run a PC on your Mac. I was happy with the earlier version and only upgraded because OWC gave me a good discount.
I have moved almost completely away from the PC side so I don't really feel like I wanted to make the switch and I'm not sue it was worth it except for the compatibility with 10.9.x. I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from. Verified Buyer Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Miami, FL Age: 35-44 Experience Level: Home User Owned Product: 3-4 months Rating: 5/5 Fantastic - Whoever thought of this should get an award! May 12, 2014 If you want to work on Windows because software in your business only lets you use Windows, but love your Mac, then install this on your Mac and have the best of both worlds. My friend recommended this to me and as much as he raved about it, I think I can go on a tour promoting this product - simply amazing. I would recommend this item to a friend!
This review is from. Verified Buyer Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Central NY Age: Over 65 Experience Level: IT Professional Owned Product: 1-3 months Rating: 5/5 Works well running a Windows 7 VHD February 26, 2014 As much as I like iMacs, I need to do professional Windows based programming using Visual Studio 2013. I decided to eliminate my Windows workstation and virtualize it using Parallels 9.
I virtualized my existing computer using Parallels tools and was amazed how smoothly it went. I can't tell the difference in performance between the virtual machine and my old workstation. All my Windows apps have worked with no problems. As they point out in their instructions, I did have to reauthorize the Windows installation I do allocate it 16 GB of memory which is probably overkill.
I find Coherence Mode very useful. I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from. Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Rochester NY Age: 35-44 Experience Level: Power User Owned Product: over 6 months Rating: 4/5 Paralells Customer Review October 29, 2013 I've been using Paralells on multiple Macbook and Macbook Pro 13' machines for over 7 years. I like the software very much. It's stable and allows me to run older Microsoft XP Pro applications.
Currently running Paralells on my late 2011 Macbook Pro Core 2 Duo 2.8GHZ. I'm writing this as I check out with OWC's offer of Paralells 9 for $39.00 and saw there was only one review of this product and thought I should share my experience with Paralells. I am a professional photographer and run intensive Photoshop and other intensive imaging software on both sides of my Mac simultaneously. Paralells gives me the best of both worlds. I would recommend this item to a friend!
This review is from. Reviewer: Jesse Location: Tulsa, OK Age: 25-34 Experience Level: IT Professional Owned Product: over 6 months Rating: 3/5 I love Parallels, but they got cocky September 9, 2013 I am writing this review and rating it only 3 stars, but I continue to love Parallels.
I actually hope that others will buy Parallels 9 and then call, write, and chat with the support team to complain about the loss of Parallels Mobile and its replacement with a more expensive, but more functional version called Parallels Access. Hopefully, people reaching out and complaining will push them to re-visit their idea.
Parallels Desktop 13 For Mac
So, here's my review of the actual software. Parallels makes upgrading easy. I just popped in the Desktop 9 CD, then realized that they will let me download it. I prefer to download as the CD will never survive in my house. If I ever needed to re-install, then I will have to have it.
So, I downloaded the software and hit install. It found my Parallels 8 and replaced it. All of my OS's are still there.
Now my Dropbox and Google drive docs are available on the Windows machine. This may seem like nothing, but I can access my Photo Stream, my iCloud Docs (which I don't use), and my Google Drive docs straight from my Windows machine without having to create shares and links or by installing and mirroring the same data on the Windows machine.
This is very nice and makes it much easier for me to update a file and know it will be pushed to Google Drive or Dropbox. The last time I upgraded my Mac, I had an issue because Parallels stopped working. Apparently, Parallels Desktop 7 worked for Lion (10.7), but not Mountain Lion (10.8). That was a frustration that I wanted to avoid.
Parallels Desktop For Mac Pro
When Mavericks (10.9) comes out, I can upgrade my laptop without worrying that all of my Parallels Operating Systems will shut down. I use the windows side for some of the work that I do and that was frustrating to realize that I couldn't access Windows until I upgraded Parallels. In their defense, they notated this on their website and had sent emails that I must have missed. I was pleased that the issue was documented and easy to see if I searched. Parallels has replaced Parallels Mobile with Parallels Access as of this version. First off, what are these things, you might ask.
These are Apps that you run on your iPhone/iPad which allows you to takeover your remote machine. I can sit at the coffee shop and remember I needed to hit send on an email. I grab my phone, open the Parallels Mobile app, and it connects to my laptop at home, shows me the desktop, and lets me do what I need to do. You don't have to setup your router or anything. Just have Parallels running and you're good to go.
The downside, Parallels Mobile worked for iPhone and iPad. This meant that if I just had my phone, I was still good. Parallels Mobile was introduced around version 7 and now it's being phased out. It's being phased out in favor of Parallels Access, which does the same thing, but costs $79.99/yr and doesn't currently work on the iPhone. When you connect with Parallels Access, the computer you takeover gets all funky as Parallels us tweaking the desktop resolution so that it can show you one Mac/Windows application at a time. The upside, Parallels Access is pretty sweet.
You can takeover just one Mac/Windows Application at a time. You don't have to re-size the application to perfectly fit in the screen. They have taken the iPad finger strokes and made them work when you are taking over a remote computer.
It's pretty amazing and has allowed me to get more done faster. Parallels Access might be worth $20/yr to me, but not $79.99. It's worth even less to me because I don't have a choice.
Parallels Mobile is End of Purchase. This means that you can't get it anymore and those of us that have been with them for years can't use it if we want to upgrade. If the next Mac upgrade to Mavericks works the same, then once I upgrade my Mac, I will have to upgrade Parallels and lose access to Parallels Mobile. (This is what I was talking about on the first paragraph.
Please phone, chat, Skype, and email support. Please push for Parallels Mobile to come back or Parallels Access to be reasonably priced.) I love Parallels and they have always come out with something new and some reason that it's worth it to me to upgrade. This is the first time I wouldn't want to give 5 stars. I still love them and want to stick with them. If you are choosing between Parallels and Fusion, I'd still say to go with Parallels. We just need them to get a little less cocky and be more open with us the consumers. I would recommend this item to a friend!
This review is from. Verified Buyer Reviewer: Anonymous Location: Northern Ontario, Canada Age: 45-54 Experience Level: Home User Owned Product: less than a month Rating: 5/5 Ordered but not installed January 3, 2013 Good product no doubt many of you know that already.what I wasn't clear on when I ordered it was the need to do a complete install of Win8 and possibly allow sharing of my file structure with Windows. Not prepared to do that so I uninstalled. No complaints with product though I just wasn't exactly clear on how much integration was expected to have it work smoothly. I don't need the one Win8 app I was looking to use enough to justify the install.
I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from.