
- VIRTUAL MACHINE FOR MAC TO RUN WINDOWS INSTALL
- VIRTUAL MACHINE FOR MAC TO RUN WINDOWS UPDATE
- VIRTUAL MACHINE FOR MAC TO RUN WINDOWS DRIVER
However, this can be a bit confusing for new users who are not familiar with virtualization technology, so Parallels 17 now includes an automatic resource manager that can monitor your virtual machines to determine the amount of memory and power. I have about six VMs on my iMac hard drive, running different versions of Windows and macOS, so these new features are really helpful.Īs always, you can specify the number of processor cores in your Mac and the amount of memory allocated to each virtual machine. There are many behind-the-scenes improvements that can help you manage multiple virtual machines. Version 17 improves on this capability, now allowing you to paste unformatted text into Windows applications, and you can even copy text and graphics from Windows applications into the new Quick Notes that are part of Monterey.

Copy and pasteĪ really useful feature of Parallels Desktop is the ability to copy and paste text and graphics between Windows and Mac applications.

We also get a rundown of the best options for running Windows on a Mac.
VIRTUAL MACHINE FOR MAC TO RUN WINDOWS INSTALL
And, because M1 Macs can no longer use Boot Camp to install Windows on your Mac, you also can’t use a Boot Camp installation to create a virtual machine.įor more info, read Everything You Need to Know About Running Windows on a Mac. In contrast, existing Intel Macs can run most versions of macOS as virtual machines, as well as older versions of Windows going directly back to Windows XP. You can only run Parallels on a Mac M1 that has Monterey or Big Sur as the primary (host) operating system, and you can only run guest virtual machines with Windows 10 or 11, or macOS Monterey. There are, however, some limitations for the new M1 Macs.

VIRTUAL MACHINE FOR MAC TO RUN WINDOWS UPDATE
There are improvements when running 3D graphics that also use OpenGL, although Parallels is rather vague here, saying “up to 6 times faster”, depending on individual applications.Ī few months ago, there was a rare mid-year update to Parallels Desktop 16.5, to ensure compatibility with newer Macs equipped with Apple’s M1 processors, but version 17 refines this compatibility to provide better performance than Mac M1s, including 28% faster 3D graphics when using Microsoft’s DirectX 11 software (which is widely used in Windows games, while OpenGL tends to be used in a variety of ‘professional graphics and design tools).
VIRTUAL MACHINE FOR MAC TO RUN WINDOWS DRIVER
Good performance is vital when running Windows or Linux in a VM on your Mac, which is why Parallels Desktop 17 includes a new display driver that improves 2D graphics performance by around 25%, delivering graphics smoother for the Windows interface in a VM, as well as better performance when playing video or 2D games (so you can play all those Windows-only platform games and those rogue-likes that are all the rage right now). Windows 11 has pretty high system requirements – including the need for a special security chip known as TPM 2.0 – but Parallels 17 includes a virtual TPM chip that will work with Windows 11 and its BitLocker data encryption features.

before deciding to install it completely on your Mac. It’s also possible to run Monterey both as a host – the primary operating system on your Mac – and as a guest virtual machine (VM), which means you can test Monterey as a VM. Parallels still schedules its updates for Parallels Desktop to coincide with Apple’s own updates for macOS, but this year Microsoft is also releasing a major new version of Windows.
