Install Windows on your Mac using Parallels Desktop Unable to start Parallels Desktop: Troubleshooting Parallels Desktop start issues The articles created most recently.
If you want to use the Windows version of Excel from Mac through Parallels, you need to drive things from a Windows based Python installation, too (e.g. From the Windows Command Prompt instead of Mac Terminal).

Parallels For Mac Support
Parallels For Mac Errors Alert
Buy Parallels For Mac

Boot Camp is the easy way to run Windows on a Mac, but it has one major drawback: it requires you to reboot. And that can be a rather big disruption of your work, depending on how much time you spend in either Mac OS X or Windows.

I'd agree that Parallels cannot replace the bootcamp option. It simply can't in terms of compatibility and performance. However, that doesn't mean Parallels can't be a great asset for a gamer on a Mac.

Virtualization software like Parallels Desktop 7 avoids this glaring issue altogether, as it lets you run a full copy of Windows from within Mac OS X. But is it actually the best of both worlds or just a bag of compromises?

[ VDI shoot-out: VMware View 5 and Citrix XenDesktop 5.5 ]

Virtualization for serious work?

In part 1 of my Running Windows on a Mac series, I made it very clear that virtualization solutions such as Parallels or VMware Fusion are merely a compromise for anyone who needs to get serious work done or has to spend several hours in full-screen Windows.

And I didn't just base that on my past experience with virtualization, but also one some benchmarks Ed Bott performed this summer.

It was only a couple of days after that article went live that Parallels came out with version 7 of their 'Parallels Desktop'. And they didn't exactly play small: Parallels promised not just the full-blown Lion support (Launchpad, full screen mode, Mission Control) and the ability to run Mac OS X Lion as a guest machine. They also made a big promise of running Windows 'without compromising performance'. The company also claims that Parallels Desktop 7 runs 45% faster using Windows 7 and 60% faster on 3D-accelerated applications (games, rendering, etc.) than before. These claims, coupled with enhanced support for USB, networking and sound cards (7.1 surround sound in a virtual machine), made me curious.

Can I run my Windows applications under Lion on Parallels Desktop 7 with no compromise? Can I run it all day?

For this shootout, I took the plunge and used Parallels Desktop 7 for over four weeks. After having some severe performance issues with running Windows 8 Developer Preview under Parallels, I decided to use Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 under Mac OS X Lion for my test. Here's what I found:

Pricing and installation

Boot Camp is free and pre-installed on every Mac (post 2006). Parallels, on the other hand, charges you $79.99 ($49.99 for upgrade) for its Mac virtualization product. In both cases, that also excludes the price of a Windows 7 license, which you'll need! So, if you're adding Windows 7 Home Premium to the mix, think at least $99 (for the system builder DVD) of additional charges for the privilege of running Windows on your Mac.

Boot Camp doesn't support Windows XP or Vista, so if you're going the Boot Camp route on OS X Lion, you're basically stuck with Windows 7. I can imagine this being a deal breaker for some companies.

Parallels Desktop 7, however, fully supports Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7. And it doesn't stop there. Parallels supports Chrome OS, Linux and even the Windows 8 Developer Preview, which makes it a full-blown virtual PC solution and not just a way of running Windows on your Mac. In fact, a built-in downloader allows you to grab the respective ISOs and install them automatically. I think that's quite a killer feature for IT pros: Getting all of these OSes to run on a Mac is torture, so in terms of OS support and pure simplicity, Parallels just blows Boot Camp away. Period.

The Windows 7 installation procedure is fairly straightforward in both Boot Camp and Parallels Desktop 7. You insert the DVD or the ISO, perform some initial configuration and run the Windows installer. However, I went a slightly different route. I actually used Parallels to virtualize my Boot Camp partition. Yes, Parallels Desktop 7 allows you to select your pre-existing Windows 7 partition on your Mac and just run it as it if were an actual virtual machine. This is actually the only way to compare performance of Boot Camp versus Parallels, since I'm testing both solutions on the exact same configuration with the exact same number of programs installed and identical settings. Neat.

Today's Best Tech Deals

Picked by Macworld's Editors

Top Deals On Great Products

Picked by Techconnect's Editors

For many Mac users, running Windows applications is a necessity. Perhaps your employer uses software that’s available only for Windows, or requires use of a Web site that relies on some Windows-only technology. For years, these users haven’t had many options. Microsoft’s Virtual PC was the best choice, but even on the fastest Macs, it provided a less-than-speedy Windows experience.

Apple’s switch to Intel CPUs, however, means that running Windows on a Mac is suddenly much easier—there is no longer a need to emulate an entire CPU, as new Macs now use the same CPU as their Windows counterparts. This means that, in theory, running Windows on OS X should be both simpler and much faster than it was with Virtual PC.

Apple’s Boot Camp program allows new Intel Macs to boot directly into Windows XP (Pro or Home versions) and run it natively, with full support for accelerated graphics and hardware devices (other than the built-in iSight camera, that is). But rebooting is time consuming, and Mac users would much rather stay in OS X and just run Windows when needed. Plus, Boot Camp only supports Windows XP.

Enter Parallels Desktop for Mac, an OS X solution for running “guest” operating systems within OS X. Parallels utilizes the Intel chip’s hardware virtualization technology (VT). Although that’s a mouthful of buzzwords, what it means is simple: VT lets an Intel CPU act as if it were several distinct CPUs, which in turn enables guest operating systems to run much faster.

What it really means to you, the user, is that you can run a wide variety of operating systems, including multiple versions of Windows—from 3.1 to 2000 to XP—as well as multiple versions of Linux, at very good speeds, and without ever rebooting your machine.

Installation

Installing Parallels is no different than installing any other OS X program that uses an installer. Double-click the installer, follow the prompts, and wait for it to finish. After installation, you’ll find the program in the Parallels folder in the Applications folder. Behind the scenes, Parallels has installed quite a few things on your machine, including a kernel extension (a low-level tool that modifies the core of OS X) to enable its magic. An included uninstaller worked well when I tested it, removing the program and its associated parts.

Setting up

As noted, Parallels can run many different operating systems. After launching the application, the first thing you must do is create a virtual machine (VM), specifying which OS you’re planning to install. You do this by answering a few questions in an easy-to-use setup wizard. Based on the OS you choose, Parallels appoints values for the hard drive size, CD-ROM, video, RAM, etc. (You can customize these settings, if you wish.)

Once everything’s set up, the next step is to install your chosen operating system. Parallels doesn’t include any operating systems, so it’s up to you to supply them. In the case of Windows, you’ll need the actual installation CDs. For Linux distributions, you may have image files (.iso) or burned CDs, depending on the source of the Linux distribution you’re using. (Parallels can handle both formats, though you’ll need to specify that you are using an image file during the setup process.) You simply insert your installation CD, press the Play button in the Parallels interface (see screen shot), and the virtual machine will “boot,” which begins the actual OS installation process.

Parallels for mac won't auto update. Oct 04, 2011 Did a search cannot see a resolution. Parallels Desktop 3.0 for Mac Build 5582 won't update despite activation and registration. On Mac Pro dual quad core 3Ghz, 8Gb RAM actual.! Apr 22, 2008 Windows XP in Parallels won

Parallels For Mac Errors