I have a Mac desktop 2017 and I'm running parallels with Windows 10 and it's running very slow. I have the same setup on my laptop and it works fine. I have parallels, and windows 10. I have a brand new Mac desktop. I changed the ram distribution to 50/50 but windows is still running super slow and also slows down the Mac. Parallels Desktop was slow; but it was still, in my opinion, the best and easiest way to run Windows and Windows apps on a Mac without having to constantly reboot the machine. 4.5 out of 5 The current version – Parallels Desktop 14 – is by far – the best version of the virtualization environment yet.
I am starting my first year in college as a Comp Science major and am thinking of purchasing a new Mac. I've made up my mind to buy the 13' Macbook Air with 4GB RAM, 1.7 GHz I5 processor, and 256GB hard drive, and purchase a Mac Mini later on in my years at college. (If using the Mac Air is ill advised, please let me know your opinion, as I'm clearly a newb in the computer game. Though I do enjoy the portability, I don't want to sacrifice power to the point where I can't get any programming done on the thing or it will be too hectic for me to do so). I am considering purchasing Parallels for Mac in order to run other operating systems such as Linux or Windows from my external hard drive for testing and such. Does this make the computer any slower? What about if I partition the hard drive to run both OSX and Windows as opposed to installing Windows on an external HD? All-in-All I would like the OSX to be my main OS
Any information is greatly appreciated and I look forward to spending a lot of time here :)
Thank you
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2 Answers
IMO on an an MBA you will defiantly notice a difference when running the virtual machine.
I make my living as a embedded software engineer, so I running Parallels on my Mac has been a requirement to still use all of the Windows only tool chains / compilers. I will give you a quick summary of my current system and past systems along with the issues I encountered.
Current System
2011 Macbook Pro 2.0GHz i7 with 8gigs of RAM
Lion + Parallels 7 (and Boot Camp) to run Windows 7 Pro.
This setup is an absolute dream. I generally run Windows 7 virtualized all day long and unless I put a Windows application / program into a tight while loop I cannot even tell that the VM is running.
Previous System
Early 2008 Macbook Pro:
Intel 2.5GHz Dual Core CPU and maxed 4 gigs of RAM.
Snow Leopard + Parallels 7 (and Boot camp) to run Windows 7 Pro.
I can tell you without a doubt, when I was running the VM it became very noticeable and painful when using Windows applications. In general anytime I needed to use a Windows App I would restart and boot into Windows natively.
Thoughts on the Air
Seeing how the specs on the Air are similar (minus the SSD) to my previous setup, I think it might quite noticeable when running the VM. A show stopper? Most likely not.
Honest Opinion
If you plan on using a VM during normal operations, I would strongly advice to look into the 15' Macbook Pros with an i7. If you only plan on using the VM occasionally and it doesn't bother you to reboot, I think an Air will suffice. No matter what you do I would try to max out the RAM on any build you get. One of the beautiful things about Parallels is that you can configure each VM to use X number of CPUs available and X amount of RAM.
Other Thoughts
You can't install Windows on an external drive (without a whole heck-of-a-lot of work). Windows does not support this in any way shape or form.
I currently have the 13' 1.7 i5 w/ 256 SSD... I just moved from a 2007 MacBook Pro w/ a 2.4Ghz Core2Duo, 4GB of RAM, and a 500GB HDD. I do a lot of content creation and have a 30GB partition for Windows and occasionally boot to it via bootcamp or run it in OS X under VMWare Fusion. I love this system!
With VMware or Parallels, there are daemons (services) running in the background that take a little memory, but shouldn't impact day to day performance. I opted to remove the VMWare menu bar context menu because I really don't need or want it taking up resources when I'm not using it.
With the overall speed and performance of the system, these applications will have little impact on your system when you're not using them.
When you are running the virtual machines, the one drawback is you will only have 4GB of RAM to Split between OS X and your virtual guests - fortunately, Windows 7 is pretty slim and I give it 2GB of RAM to works with as well as 2 CPU's (of the 4 logical cores) and I have not noticed any performance issues while in OS X. If I find myself doing something more cpu-intensive in Windows - then I'll reboot and run Windows on its own. Both VMWare and parallels support Bootcamp partitions so you can run Windows under OS X or on their own.
I have no issues giving my full recommendation of this system for your needs. Keep in mind if you are a pack rat, then you might have issues with the limited storage. The past month with this machine has been a lesson in being selective of the information and applications on my system, but much of the stuff that I had on my old MacBook Pro was collecting dust anyway.
For the portability, speed / power, and battery life, this would be a great college machine for many people. The only instance where I would say you should get a MacBook Pro is if you know you are going to cross the 256GB barrier or planned on running multiple Virtual Machines at once - then you would want 8GB of RAM - an upgrade you could perform with the Pro.
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While Mac OS X works well for most tasks, there are times when it just can’t do what you want it to; usually that’s some application or game that just isn’t supported natively. More often than not, this means running Windows on your Mac.
You can often get away with running Windows in a Virtual Machine using Parallels or VirtualBox, but sometimes that won’t cut it. Maybe you’re using a peripheral that doesn’t play nice with virtualization (like some printers) or you want to squeeze as much performance as possible from a game.
Maybe you really like Apple’s hardware, but can’t stand OS X. In either case, you want to boot Windows 10 on your Mac.
Consider Virtualization
If you just need to get Windows 10 up and running to use a particular application once in a while, you can save a lot of hassle by just running Windows 10 in a virtual machine inside OS X using virtualization software like Parallels, VMWare Fusion or VirtualBox (our guide to VirtualBoxHow to Use VirtualBox: User's GuideHow to Use VirtualBox: User's GuideWith VirtualBox you can easily install and test multiple operating systems. We'll show you how to set up Windows 10 and Ubuntu Linux as a virtual machine.Read More.)
There are a number of advantages to going down the virtualization route. You don’t need to partition your hard drive and potentially waste space – your Windows installation will only take up as much space as it needs. Installation is a lot faster and more straightforward, and you don’t need to worry about downloading and installing drivers.
I grew up on #Windows; being able to go through tortuous Win updates on my VM’d Boot Camp whilst working in #Mac at the same time is AMAZING
— Chris Law (@inequals) April 29, 2016
The main downside, of course, is that by using this method you’re running multiple operating systems at the same time, so it’s by no means efficient. You’ll need to make sure that your Mac has enough RAM to handle both OS X and Windows, and battery life will take a significant hit while the VM is running.
This is also definitely not the solution if you’re wanting to do anything particularly graphics intensive. While virtualization software has made great strides in the last few years in making the graphics card more accessible to virtual machines, performance is still nowhere near what you’ll get running Windows natively.
Booting Directly Into Windows
If virtualization isn’t an option for you, you’ll want to boot directly into Windows. This means partitioning your hard drive so that it’s shared between OS X and Windows (unless you plan to only run Windows) and then using the Boot Camp Utility in OS X to create a bootable USB drive containing the Windows installer and Apple’s Boot Camp drivers.
Boot Camp
The Boot Camp Assistant is Apple’s utility for running Windows natively on your Mac (meaning that you shut down OS X and boot into Windows). It makes it easy to partition your drive, download the drivers that you need and create a bootable USB drive using an ISO file (if you bought Windows 10 from a retail store, you’ll probably be better off just using the DVD or USB drive that came with it).
This guide assumes that you’ve bought Windows from Microsoft’s online store and that you’ve got an ISO file from them. You can download Windows 10 directly from Microsoft here.
When you start up Boot Camp Assistant (found in /Applications/Utilities/), you’ll be given the option to create a bootable install disk using a USB drive and download the latest Boot Camp drivers. To do either you will need a USB drive plugged in (at least 8GB if you want to create a Windows installation drive). If you choose both options, the Assistant will automatically copy the drivers to the install disk. If you’re planning on just downloading the drivers, you may wish to just download them directly from the Apple support website (see the Running Windows Only section below).
To use the BootCamp Assistant for prepping your Mac to install Windows, you’ll need at least 50GB free on your hard drive and also check the “Install or remove Windows 7 or later version” option. The Assistant will give you a slider allowing you to choose how much space you want to allocate to Windows. It’ll then shrink your OS X partition accordingly and create a new partition ready for the Windows installation.
Once you’ve created the installer and partitioned your hard drive, you can restart your Mac and boot using the USB drive you just created. The Boot Camp Assistant should do this for you automatically, but you can also select the USB drive from the boot menu by holding down the Option key as your Mac boots.
Macbook Parallels Windows 10
To install Windows, you’ll need to do a “custom install” rather than an upgrade, and you’ll need to format the partition created by the Boot Camp Assistant. Then sit back, relax, and grab yourself a beverage as Windows completes the installation process.
Once you’ve finished fighting your way through the initial setup process and got to the desktop, it’s time to install the Boot Camp drivers. Open a File Explorer window and go to the USB drive that you set up with the Boot Camp Assistant and find the Boot Camp folder. Now it’s just a case of running setup.exe — it’ll install everything for you.
Once that’s done, everything should work — it includes drivers for graphics card, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, audio, webcam, keyboard (including backlighting and the media keys) and the trackpad.
Boot Camp Performance
If the main reason you want to run Windows 10 in Boot Camp is for performance, you probably want to know what to expect.
First up, the good news – if you’re heading to Windows for gaming, you’ll probably get good graphics performance out of your Mac (as long as you have a dedicated graphics card). That’s because, generally speaking, a lot of games are written for Windows first and will often use Direct X (a Microsoft technology); the same games in OS X will have to make do with a different technology, OpenGL, which is cross-platform and well supported but generally less efficient resulting in lower performance.
Quite pleased with my Mac with boot camp gaming, despite driving a 5k display it can do DS3 1080 at 55fps Max setting and 2k at 40fps
— Gaijinhunter (@aevanko) April 19, 2016
Now, the not so good news. You know how your Mac gets incredible battery life and has an amazing trackpad? They’re both so good because they’re optimized for use with OS X, which is tailored to work perfectly with a very specific set of hardware and is heavily optimised because of it. Windows, designed to run on lots of different hardware, is nowhere near as optimised, and it shows. You’ll most likely lose a few hours battery life running Windows — with some reports of a 50% reduction in battery life. Your mileage may vary, but it definitely doesn’t stand up to OS X.
Unfortunately, the trackpad doesn’t behave so well in Windows, either. While you can set up tap to click and two finger right clicking, it just doesn’t feel as nice as it does in OS X.
Extra Drivers
If you’re wanting to play games you’ll probably want to go and find the latest drivers for the particular graphics card in your Mac from either AMD or NVIDIA. These can increase the performance of your graphics card even further, but beware: they may break functionality like the ability to change the brightness of your display.
The Boot Camp drivers work well enough, though power management and trackpad functionality are definitely nowhere near as good as they are in OS X. Thankfully, better options are available which bring them a lot closer… if you’re willing to pay for them.
Power Plan Assistant helps to eke out a bit more battery life by giving you much greater customisation over power saving mechanisms, such as how quickly your monitor should dim and turn off. It lets you have multiple profiles (for different battery percentage ranges, or when you’re charging), and also provides quick access to toggling Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on or off — which usually requires diving into your network/Bluetooth settings.
Trackpad++ [No Longer Available] (which requires Power Plan Assistant to be installed) gives you back the extra trackpad functionality from OS X that you lost in Boot Camp. Yes, the settings window is super cluttered and confusing, but you can tweak pretty much anything from scrolling sensitivity to extra gestures (like pinch to zoom), and even configure things like trackpad rejection when you’re typing.
Both of these applications are free to install, but require a reinstall with every version release unless you have a serial number (which you can only get with a $17 “donation” to the developer).
Running Windows Only
You may decide that you’re done with Mac altogether and that you only want to run Windows on your Mac. In this case, you’ll probably still want to use the Boot Camp utility to download the Boot Camp drivers, although you won’t need to use its partitioning tool to resize your hard drive as you’re planning on wiping it anyway.
In case it wasn’t obvious, if you’re planning on installing Windows on the Mac by itself, you’ll be wiping your hard drive, so you’ll want to make sure that all of your files are saved elsewhere (you should already your files saved elsewhere because they’re already backed up, right?). Bear in mind that if you’re relying on getting your files from a backup, Time Machine won’t work because Windows has no way of accessing Time Machine (though being able to read Mac filesystems definitely helps6 Ways to Read Mac Drives in Windows6 Ways to Read Mac Drives in WindowsNeed to read a Mac drive on Windows? Here's how to access your Mac-formatted APFS or HFS+ drive on Windows.Read More). The best way to make sure is to just copy all of the files you want onto another hard drive so you’re definitely sure you have everything you need.
If you’ve already wiped your hard drive and installed Windows only to realise that you didn’t download the Boot Camp drivers using the utility, fear not; you can download them directly from the Apple website. Older Macs (pre 2013) need Boot Camp 5.1.5621, whereas newer Macs (from 2013 on) need Boot Camp 5.1.5640.
Besides that, installation is the same as for Boot Camp. Just use the partition selector under Windows installation to delete any current partitions before formatting for Windows, and you’ll still want to install the Boot Camp drivers (and any other 3rd party drivers mentioned above).
Mac Os
A Note on EFI vs. BIOS
Traditionally, computers have used a Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) to compile a system report listing the hardware that the computer has available to it. This includes the CPU model and its specifications, the amount of RAM installed, any storage devices (like any hard drives installed via IDE or SATA) and other devices (optical drives, graphics cards, sound cards, or any other expansion card). This report is then passed on to the operating system so that it knows what it’s working with.
Macs don’t use a BIOS, but rather use a system called the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI). It performs much the same functions as a BIOS, but allows extra features (such as support for a graphical user interface and built in support for booting over a network).
For older versions of Windows that only supported booting with a BIOS, a compatibility support module (CSM) translates the information from the EFI to a virtual BIOS which is then provided to the operating system to allow it to boot.
Microsoft started providing support for EFI booting from Windows 8 onwards. Booting from EFI results in much faster boot times, is by default much more secure (protecting you from malware hijacking your computer or running outside of what can be detected and fixed by antivirus software) and allows you to boot from devices larger than 2TB. Windows 10, like Windows 8, supports booting from either a BIOS or the EFI.
Unfortunately, driver support can be a bit hit and miss when booting Windows in EFI mode. For example, the Mid–2012 13-inch MacBook Pro will happily boot into Windows 10 in EFI mode, but for whatever reason Windows 10 will absolutely refuse to recognise the sound card.
the efi version of windows 10 doesn't recognize my hdd just like Mac OS X >10.8.2! So I must use the bios version pic.twitter.com/U9JbGLDNMq
— Computer Guy (@TCG96) October 1, 2014
Whether you should boot via an EFI or BIOS comes down to whether your particular Mac is fully supported by Windows in EFI mode, and requires a bit of research. Booting in EFI mode is generally much faster, but you run the risk of something not being properly supported; this may or may not be a deal breaker based on your own personal requirements.
While BIOS mode is slower and will one day be phased out, that day is not today. It’s the method officially supported by Apple and its Boot Camp drivers, so if reliability, compatibility and ease of setup is your biggest priority, BIOS mode is still the way to go.
Windows Works Well… Mostly
If you need to run the odd Windows application on your Mac, you should definitely consider running a virtual machineWhat's the Best Way to Run Multiple Operating Systems on Your PC?What's the Best Way to Run Multiple Operating Systems on Your PC?Undecided between Windows and Linux? It's possible to run multiple OSes on a single machine either by dual booting or using a virtual machine. Let's find out which one is best for you.Read More. For most users it should be more than sufficient, and is generally much easier to set up and transition to and from OS X.
However, sometimes you really do just need to run Windows natively, whether it’s for gaming or you just can’t stand OS X any longer. Boot Camp makes this much easier to set up, too. With drivers that all install together, you’ll be up and running in no time. You’ll have better graphics performance at the expense of battery life and trackpad usability, but sometimes a Mac’s gotta do what a Mac’s gotta do.
Desktop Parallels For Mac Windows 8
If you have a Windows computer around, why not try remote accessing Windows from your Mac instead? You can also run Mac apps on WindowsHow to Run Mac Apps on Windows 10How to Run Mac Apps on Windows 10Have you found amazing software that's Mac-only? Here's how you can run Mac apps on your Windows 10 machine.Read More with a virtual machine.
Explore more about: Dual Boot, MacBook, MacBook Air, OS X Yosemite, Windows 10.
Parallels For Mac
has anyone here run Windows on the 16GB Macbook Pro ? Windows 7 used to make the fan turn on high speed running the OS with no applications open. I'm wondering if Windows 10 runs without destroying my CPU when idling.
I installed without Boot Camp. I was able to get the sound card working on my mid-2012 MacBook Air by downloading and running the Boot Camp Support Software for Windows AND manually running CirrusAudioCS4206x64 under BootCampDriversCirrus in the downloaded package.
Thanks to this article, I partitioned my Mac Air with Bootcamp so one partition runs Mac Os and the other Windows 10. I really cannot stand Mac Os, and found the Win 10 install process ridiculously smooth and error free. I have a very simple setup on a machine that I'd wiped clean, so no driver or connectivity issues whatsoever. Couldn't be happier running Win 10 on the mac.
Hey , how is it working on windows in a Mac Air ?
Does it affect the performance of the Mac Air?
What is the partition you did ?
I'm so confused in these issues , if you could clear it out it'll be really helpful. Coz for my office use i'll have to use tally software , and it'll only run on windows so i would like to know if i can run it smoothly . i will only use windows the purpose of this software only.
It'll be really helpful
ThanksI have encountered no problems running Win10 in the mac (mid 2013 128 GB model). Your experience may be different, as no one use case is exactly the same. I did not detect any difference in performance, and the experience is the same as if you are using a windows laptop. My advice is to BACK UP EVERYTHING !!! If you have both work and personal stuff, exercise caution. In my case, I was tired of mac os and was about to sell the mac or exchange it for a windows laptop. I have a separate windows laptop from my employer which is used strictly for work. The mac is my personal machine used only for private use, so I did not worry about losing anything, especially as I had backed everything up. I wiped the mac clean so it was basically a fresh start. I created a windows installer in a usb stick (https://www.windowscentral.com/how-create-windows-10-installer-usb-drive-mac) and followed the steps as advised by Lachlan Roy. You can also follow the steps in this help article (https://support.apple.com/en-za/HT201468). Using Bootcamp is a really easy, step by step approach. Bootcamp wil ask you how you want to partition your hard drive. I chose to do a 50/50 split to give each os an equal amount of space to play. It takes quite a long time to create the windows installer on a USB stick, and it may also take a similarly long time to install windows. Just be patient and leave the machine alone to do its thing. Once it's installed, set up is a doddle. My bluetooth mouse installed as easily as on any windows machine. Job done. Just one point to remember, check if your software ('tally') needs 32 bit or 64 bit windows, and install the relevant windows version. The mac is 64 bit but I believe you can still install 32 bit windows on it - best you verify this. Good luck.
Mart,
I'm looking for a computer to do programming and it seems Macs have the best screens. What specs do I need in a computer to run Windows based coding applications, like anaconda?
I also love windows 10 only on my iMac but it is a 2008 model do have some sound issues I just use Bluetooth sound to get around it, it works well
Got fed up when Apple said the latest version of OSX wouldn't run on my older IMac so decided to try windows 10 install was easy and bootcamp installed all the drivers apart from sound which I had to do manually other than that runs perfect and is far faster than OSX so well pleased with the change from OSX to Windows 10
I just wanted to take the 20 seconds to say this article was well-written while being informative.
'Maybe you really like Apple’s hardware, but can’t stand OS X.'
This in particular speaks to me.
I am running win10 in bootcamp on my mac. In actuality, it performs better than most PCs running windows 10 except for annoying network items.
The firewire to ETH cable wont work on the Win side.
Various connectivity issues arise even when I use wireless. .Net apps have issues, and connectivity is not as good as when on the Mac partition using the same wifi.
It is super frustrating. I have tried updating the bootcamp drivers and all that, as well as updating the drivers in the win 10 side. Nothing resolves it.
Think Im going to move to VMware Workstation to run Windows to see if its any better.Beware! As Roy said, the trackpad performance is 'not as nice' under Windows Bootcamp, it's very smooth under Windows Virtualbox (100% open source free). Also, with Virtualbox you don't need to 'update' as much since Windows runs as a virtual machine. Plus you can save and restore multiple snapshots in seconds with Virtualbox (so you can run trial software, erase a virus, etc., and do it all again).
perhaps i missed it in the original article however there is one last step that must be performed post native windows install which is to run the 'Boot Camp Installer' - for me, the installer had already launched and was waiting for me to acknowledge and 'next / next' through it. For me this was a critical 'last mile' step as I had bangs in Device Manager for several devices, among them the wireless network card. Post BC install and reboot all is well and DevMgr is happy - all drivers loaded and all hardware functioning as expected. Don't forget to enable BitLocker, turn the firewall feature on, load up an AV client, and in general sanitize the W10 install to your liking.
Thank you for the write up, much appreciated - saved me a lot of time. Macbook Pro w/Retina 15' - lightening fast boot and a beautiful display....
On to running OSX in a VM now....
~ ZHHi
I gather that you recommend Bootcamp ... sounds like you've had success.
I have a Macbook Pro Retina 15'. It is a mid 2012 model. What year is yours?
Do you have any good links to a 'How to' for the process? I'm currently running latest OS with Parallels and it is highly problematic ... Win10 updates seem to regularly bring incompatibility issues with Parallels and I waste a lot of time with their support process which is diabolically clunky.
Does your trackpad work well? Keyboard?Hope you can help.
Thanks
Thanks for your guide, im switching my macbook to Windows 10 because of MS office 2016, but for MSoffice- i miss too much outlook (with the integration of the ms word to use tables) and a lot of tools in excel (formula step by step evaluation does not exist in mac version and a lot of VBA tools...) and sadly, i have to use this software most of the day, and a virtual machine with unity (is what im running right now)... just does not cut it...
do you know where i can get the compatibility details for a Macbook mid-2012 (13-inch)?Hello Hector
Did you find any info re compatibility for your Macbook? I have the 15' model.
Cheers, JohnHi John.
actually, yes,i found it... for EFI sound was missing (i remember having other issues, although, i cannot recall it right now.... so, i tried BIOS installation, it was ok, for the most part, but the trackpad was so bad.... even with the third party software i had to re caliber a couple of times a day.... i just got tired and ended selling the mac, i though in buying a new MAC, but when i checked that you cannot install more RAM in the new models,because is soldered i just got angry and got a Dell machine, it was a very good change, sometimes i miss the OS (everytime i need to SSH my server), But thats the thing, i miss it , but i dont need it (i got plenty of alternatives to compensate the things i miss)... its sad though...the MAC has not changed much since SJ died, and the differences are not advantages anymore, they just get in the way.
thanks for your reply Hector.
Which Dell did you end up getting? The XPS models get good reviews I see.
Hi john
I got an inspiron 15' (7559). Very good machine and I expanded it to 16GB Ram and a 512 GB SSD. Using it with win 10 as main OS. I don't regret it. (first time I have a good graphic card in a laptop)