Parallels runs Windows within macOS, using what’s called a Virtual Machine. This allows you to quickly switch between the Mac and Windows desktops. You can even combine the two desktops, if you want, and run Windows software right on your Mac desktop from your Mac’s dock. PARALLELS DESKTOP FOR MAC NOT STARTING SOFTWARE
Virtual machines are complicated, but Parallels makes it reasonably simple to set one up and use it. There are other virtual machine options available to Mac users, including the open source VirtualBox, but Parallels is different in that it’s designed exclusively with Mac users in mind. Parallels costs more (since VirtualBox is free and Parallels is not), but there are hundreds of little design touches that help make running Windows within macOS as painless as possible, and that make setting everything up quick and easy. Purchasing the latest home version of Parallels Desktop costs $80 as of this writing.How Much Does Parallels Cost?īrowsing the Parallels website, it can be a little tricky to find out what the product actually costs. RELATED: How to Make Linux and macOS Virtual Machines for Free with Parallels Lite A $70 annual subscription gives you access to all updates “for free,” according to the Parallels website.Upgrading from one version of Parallels to another generally costs $50, and will probably be necessary every couple of years if you keep installing the latest versions of macOS.This lets you run Parallels on a single Mac. PARALLELS DESKTOP FOR MAC NOT STARTING FOR FREE If you just want to try out Parallels and see if it works for you, you can: there’s a 14 day trial of the software, which you can access without providing a credit card number. There’s also Parallels Desktop Lite, which is free on the Mac App Store and lets you create both Linux and macOS virtual machines. Parallels Desktop Lite can only run Windows virtual machines if you pay for a subscription, however. One more note: purchasing Parallels does not give you a Windows license, or a Windows product key.
RELATED: You Don't Need a Product Key to Install and Use Windows 10 If you have a Windows installation CD or USB key handy with a valid license you can use that, otherwise you will need to purchase Windows 10 from Microsoft to create a Windows 10 virtual machine. We’ll point out that you don’t technically need a product key to install and use Windows 10-Microsoft basically gave up enforcing their license requirements with Windows 10, and you can download Windows 10 right from Microsoft at no cost (you’ll probably want it in the form of an ISO file). PARALLELS DESKTOP FOR MAC NOT STARTING INSTALL Legally speaking, however, you still need a product key to use Windows, even in a virtual machine. PARALLELS DESKTOP FOR MAC NOT STARTING SOFTWARE.PARALLELS DESKTOP FOR MAC NOT STARTING INSTALL.PARALLELS DESKTOP FOR MAC NOT STARTING FOR FREE.Use parallels "Install Windows or other OS from DVD or image file" to install this.Drag & drop the InstallESDDmg.pkg file downloaded in step 3 to the terminal window.When it is finished downloading, it will tell you where the result was saved.You will see a menu with the available OS releases. Download the project zip file and unzip it.If you're not a developer, here are the steps to use gibMacOS: If you're familiar with programming, an easier way is using gibMacOS to download the exact version of MacOS that you want to run in a VM, turn it into an installable package, and then use the "Install Windows or other OS from DVD or image file" option in parallels to install that. The parallels blog has some walkthroughs on how to do this, but they're quite complicated and didn't work for my use case (trying to run an older MacOS version in a VM) Yes, there is a way to run older and newer releases of MacOS in a VM using parallels.