Running windows on Mac using Parallel Software

Mr. Incognito

Hi there,

Need some help from people that may have experience with this.

My mother is a teacher so needs to run some teaching windows programmes on her mac. To this end she purchases parrallel software to run a virtual machine on her mac and has just discovered she needs to go out and pay another 200 bucks to install a windows OS as Parrallel does not seem to have this function.

Anyone out there have any experience of this at all ?

nesf

She'll need a separate copy of the operating system, so she'll have to buy a copy of Windows. You should be able to do it for a lot less than 200 quid though.

Mr. Incognito

Could I download and install a freeware operating system like Ubuntu that is windows compatible?

Another consideration is that she wants programmes to run on it that are windows compatible. would they run on ubuntu?

nesf

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

Could I download and install a freeware operating system like Ubuntu that is windows compatible?

Another consideration is that she wants programmes to run on it that are windows compatible. would they run on ubuntu?

Eh, Ubuntu is Linux, it won't run Windows based software without using something like Wine which will complicate things a fair bit for her. You can install any (well, almost any) free OS in Parallels, it's just a lot simpler to shell out for the Windows licence and install that rather than trying to get software running on a non-Windows OS.

Glico Man

I'm using a programme called Crossover which lets me run pretty much everything once I have a .exe file or CD. As far as I'm aware (mainly as I cannot remember) crossover doesn't require you to purchase a version of windows software as it's an emulator

Dorsanty

Crossover is a modded version of Wine running in OS X. I used Darwine in the past too which would be a free version of Wine. I just read that this has been discontinued though and that there is a newer project called winebottler

http://winebottler.kronenberg.org/

Using wine in OS X should be equivalent to attempting to do so in Linux running in a VM, so I would go with winebottler before I'd run a Linux VM in order to run Wine.

conor.hogan.2

I would not recommend wine, just for per hassle it seems to give.

But for Paralells or virtualbox or whatever you need a windows licence key - although it will still work if you dont register windows it will just keep stating you dont have a registered version iirc.

Talisman

It pays to do a bit of research before making a purchase - VirtualBox is a free alternative to Parallels Desktop.

You can download Windows 7 ISO images for free. When you purchase the product you are paying for the activation key.

Without an activation code the product will work for 30 days. There is a legitimate workaround to extend this for up to 120 days - WindowsSecrets.com article.

Freddie59

FWIW I'm running Windows 7 through Parallels on a 2010 iMac. Seamless. Parallels itself is cheap (around €70), but you do have to purchase Windows. But it's seamless. Works like a dream.:)

Talisman

Talisman wrote: »

It pays to do a bit of research before making a purchase - VirtualBox is a free alternative to Parallels Desktop.

You can download Windows 7 ISO images for free. When you purchase the product you are paying for the activation key.

Without an activation code the product will work for 30 days. There is a legitimate workaround to extend this for up to 120 days - WindowsSecrets.com article.

VirtualBox isn't integrated with the desktop and can't run 3D applications whereas Parallels can do both.

conor.hogan.2

If you are running 3d applications you should really be dual booting.

Talisman

Karsini wrote: »

VirtualBox isn't integrated with the desktop and can't run 3D applications whereas Parallels can do both.

I'm well aware of the limitations of Virtualbox but it's not a deal breaker for free software, especially if you only need Windows to run a simple program.

Gregor Samsa

nesf wrote: »

She'll need a separate copy of the operating system, so she'll have to buy a copy of Windows. You should be able to do it for a lot less than 200 quid though.

You can get an OEM version of Windows 7 Home Premium from Komplett.ie for just under 100. They used to have a note on the site saying that since it's the OEM version (supposed to be bundled with a computer), you had to buy a piece of hardware with it (even the cheapest mouse would qualify) - but I don't see that message on the site any more, so I don't know if you can just go ahead and buy it on it's own now.

Sad Professor

I noticed this in Bargain Alerts. Windows 7 for €45.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056024047&page=10