- Parallels For Mac Include Windows 10 Black Screen
- Parallels For Windows 10
- Parallels Desktop 10 For Mac
Parallels Desktop for Mac 14 has been unveiled.The popular cross-platform solution that lets you run Windows 10 on your Mac features support for Apple’s upcoming macOS Mojave update and includes storage and performance enhancements, and more.
- Pros
Fast performance in testing. Tight integration with guest OSes. Effortless installation. Flexible file and folder tools. Options for opening Mac files in Windows apps. Can install macOS virtual machines directly from the Mac recovery partition.
- Cons
Some Mac-integration features can be confusing or impractical until you turn them off. Only runs on a Mac, so you can't share guest machines with Windows or Linux users.
- Bottom Line
Parallels Desktop is an excellent way to run Windows apps on MacOS, especially for ordinary users. It's fast in testing, offers tight integration between Macs and guest systems, and supports many other OSes, too.
Parallels Desktop is the fastest and friendliest way to run Windows apps on a Mac for the majority of users who are likely to want to do so. IT pros may prefer VMware Fusion; expert users who want no-cost apps will prefer the open-source VirtualBox. Hardcore gamers may prefer Apple's Boot Camp, which lets users boot directly into Windows, with the added bonus of native graphics card support. For most ordinary Mac users who prefer Windows versions of apps like Microsoft Office or AutoCAD, however, or who use Windows-only apps like CorelDraw or WordPerfect Office, Parallels Desktop is the clear first choice for virtualization software.
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Platforms and Pricing
Parallels Desktop supports all Windows versions since Windows 2000, all Intel-based macOS versions (with some exceptions for licensing reasons), many flavors of Linux, BSD, Solaris, and a few other OSes. VMware Fusion and VirtualBox are even more flexible, and can run historical curiosities like OS/2 and NeXTSTEP. Also, unlike Parallels Desktop, VMware Fusion and VirtualBox have versions that run on Windows and Linux machines, while Parallels Desktop is Mac-only.
There's one other important difference: Parallels Desktop is a subscription-only product, so you'll have to pay $79.99 per year for the home-and-student version or $99.99 for the Pro Edition. VMware Fusion has a one-time cost (a model some consumers may prefer) of $79.99 for its standard version and $159.99 for its Pro version. VirtualBox is free for personal use and $50 for corporate use, but you get far fewer convenience features out of the box with this open-source product.
Get Started With Parallels
Parallels starts up with a menu for creating a new virtual machine or opening an existing one. This is where Parallels' focus on ordinary end users shines best. Unlike all other virtualization apps, Parallels doesn't expect you to have a Windows or Linux installer disk or disk image ready when you start it up, although it can use that image if you have one. Instead, Parallel's user-helpful menu lets you buy a Windows 10 download directly from Microsoft, or simply download a Windows 10 installer if you already have a license key.
Another set of options lets you install a Parallels system-export utility on your Windows PC, and export it to Parallels via a network (slowly) or an external drive. A scrolling list at the foot of the menu lets you download specific versions of Linux or Android, install a virtual copy of macOS from your Mac's hidden recovery partition, or install Windows from a Boot Camp partition if you have one.
Like VMware and VirtualBox, Parallels supports a Snapshot feature that lets you save a guest system in one or more configurations that you know works well, and then restore a saved configuration after making changes in the system that you don't want to preserve. However, Parallels is unique in supplementing this feature with a Rollback option that automatically discards all changes to a system when you shut it down, so it works like a kiosk system, returning to its pristine condition every time you power it up. This feature can be invaluable in testing, or in environments like schools where users are liable to leave systems a lot messier than they found them. If you used Microsoft's long-abandoned VirtualPC app, you'll remember this feature, and will welcome its return in Parallels.
Parallel's Performance
Compared to VMware, Parallels starts up Windows at top speed in testing. On my vintage 2015 MacBook Pro, Parallels boots Windows 10 to the desktop in 35 seconds, compared to 60 seconds for VMware. VirtualBox matches Parallels' boot speed, but it performs far fewer integration tasks while booting up. For example, VirtualBox doesn't provide printer integration and the ability to open Windows files with Mac apps and vice versa.
One reason for Parallels' bootup speed advantage is that Parallels uses an emulated PC BIOS that supports the Fast Startup option, and the others don't. The speed difference isn't nearly as obvious when running Windows apps after the OS starts up, however. Parallels feels slightly faster than its rivals, but not drastically so. Fast as it is, Parallels won't satisfy hard-core gamers because Parallels, like VMware Fusion, only supports DirectX 10, while VirtualBox only supports DirectX 9. There's nothing that Parallels can do about this limitation, which is the result of the Mac's limited support for OpenGL (Open Graphics Library) features.
By default when Parallels runs a Windows system, any files on your Mac desktop will also appear on your Windows desktop. This may sound convenient, but it's a feature that I always to turn off in Parallels' settings dialog. One reason I turn it off is that it leaves the Windows desktop cluttered. Another is that much of what I keep on my Mac desktop—like folders and apps—simply won't work when I click on them in Parallels' Windows desktop. Parallels tends to go overboard with integration features, turning them on by default whether you want them or not.
Another way Parallels goes overboard with its integration is its tendency to clutter up its dialogs and your Mac system with icons and folders that you probably don't want. For example, by default, it adds a folder full of Windows application to your Mac's dock, and a Parallels menu to Mac's menu bar—though you can turn these off by poking around the options and preferences windows. Some of Parallels' menus include links to a set of Mac-related utilities called the Parallels Toolbox; some of these utilities, like a quick disk-cleaning menu, are convenient, but you probably don't want all of them, and they have nothing to do with virtualization. Another link on Parallels' menus invites you to buy Acronis True Image backup software, which you probably don't need if you use your Mac's built-in backup features.
Parallel Computing
Anyone who wants to run a Windows app on the Mac should choose between our two Editors' Choice apps, Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion. For IT managers, developers, and for many tech-savvy users, VMware is the best choice. For most home, school, and SOHO users who don't need VMware's unique cross-platform support and legacy features, Parallels Desktop is the fastest, most hassle-free way to run Windows apps on a Mac.
Parallels Desktop (for Mac)
Parallels For Mac Include Windows 10 Black Screen
Bottom Line: Parallels Desktop is an excellent way to run Windows apps on MacOS, especially for ordinary users. It's fast in testing, offers tight integration between Macs and guest systems, and supports many other OSes, too.
Other Parallels Software International System & Performance
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Parallels For Windows 10
Enterprise users upgrading to Mac and iOS devices often find they need to run some of their existing Windows applications on their new devices and may be interested to learn that the latest edition of Parallels can deliver this and more.
What is Parallels?
Now at version 14 and available since 2006, Parallels Desktop lets you run different types of Windows on your Mac (it also lets you run other operating systems).
The company has been working on its solution for years, which means it has developed (among other things) a way you can run Windows applications on your Mac just like any other Mac app – even dragging and dropping items between the two operating systems.
Parallels is also an excellent solution if you need to run Windows on an iOS device, thanks to a companion product called Parallels Access.
It’s important to understand the extent to which this solution is already in use among enterprise clients. IBM, General Electric, SAP and the Oath media group between them now run almost half a million Macs across their business. There is also a growing demand among new employees to use Macs and Apple’s mobile devices, which Parallels has confirmed is driving demand for its products.
Ready for Mojave
With most Mac users preparing to install macOS 10.14 Mojave when the new operating system ships this fall, Parallels stressed that its software is already ready for the new system – this means you can host the OS in a virtual machine (VM) and will be able to host other VMs using Parallels on a Mojave Mac when the OS ships. You even get Quick Look support on Windows, with Quick Actions, too.
Storage and performance improvements
There are many useful storage enhancements.
One key improvement is that it has optimized storage of virtual machines, which basically means that you should recover several gigabytes of storage space when you upgrade to Parallels 14 from a previous version.
(The company says it saw 17GB of saved storage on the standard release version of Windows 10).
You will also find a series of built-in tools designed to help you save disk space on all the virtual systems you have installed.
The developers have put a lot of focus into performance in this release, so enterprise users attempting to use Windows applications on their Macs can expect up to twice the performance (in comparison to the previous version) when working on their iMac Pro. Applications will launch up to 80 percent faster and it will be faster when booting up a system.
Users can now monitor the CPU usage indicator in the menu, while the completely redesigned Resource Monitor shows Mac resources as well as the impact when running multiple virtual machines.
Additional improvements include
Parallels has improved OpenGL and video memory allocation in the release, which means apps like SketchUp and others will work better than before, and some Windows apps which did not run in the past should now do so.
There are many other highlights:
- You can use Microsoft Ink to edit Microsoft Office for Windows documents on a Mac – pressure sensitivity is carried across.
- You can also use a MacBook Pro Touch Bar with various Windows applications
- You can also create your own Touch Bar customizations using Parallels XML Authoring tools
- Parallels will support shared 4K cameras.
- Better support for multiple monitors
- Even more (over 30) utilities designed to make it easier for Windows users to get more from a Mac, and easier for Mac users to get more done within their Windows VM.
While you must acquire your own copy of any software you hope to run using Parallels, the product itself costs $99.99 for a perpetual license or $79.99 for an annual license, which also includes future product upgrades. A 14-day trial can be downloaded from the Parallels website.
Open for business
Parallels Desktop 10 For Mac
Like Apple, Parallels seems focused on the enterprise.
With this in mind it has made some welcome improvements (enhanced management, security and licensing portals)to its Parallels Desktop Business Edition product.
This is designed to make it very much easier for business users to manage large deployments of the software across multiple Macs, and includes things like smart card reader support, Jamf Pro integration, the capacity to assign separate administrators for sub-licenses and a handy deployment mode.
The licensing portal improvements are particularly handy, as they enable enterprise users to invite employees to install new systems by email, which is useful in terms of both ease-of-use and the application of licensing policy.
All in all, Parallels 14 looks like a great solution for any modern cross-platform enterprise eager to support employee choice while also ensuring excellence in cross-platform compatibility across their business.
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