Can you run or install Windows OS on new M1 Mac Computers? M1 Mac users can use Windows OS and other software with the help of Parallels Desktop 16 software; But how can this software be used to run or install Windows 10 OS on the new M1 Mac?
You unfortunately cannot run VirtualBox on Macs with Apple's M1 chip. No, Boot Camp does not work on the new M1 Macs. Windows used to be installable on Mac through the Boot Camp feature. Since the Mac processor can no longer interpret the Windows operating system, this is.
- Seamless Use Windows side-by-side with macOS (no restarting required) on your MacBook, MacBook Pro, iMac, iMac Pro, Mac mini or Mac Pro. Share files and folders, copy and paste images and text & drag and drop files between Mac and Windows applications. Easy Set-Up Parallels Desktop automatically detects what you need to get started so you are up and going within minutes!
- I've been running stuff using vagrant and virtualbox. But virtualbox is not working. So I was able to recreate it using homebrew. Picked up the Mac mini M1 and it's been running great. Runs cool and fans have yet to spin. Can't say the same for my 2016 MBP i7.
Parallels software company optimizes Parallels Desktop 16 software for Macs equipped with M1 processor; This means that new M1 Mac computers can run or install Windows OS based on ARM and software on the Mac OS. If you’ve been following the news, you know that Apple recently unveiled M1-based Macs based on the architecture and instructions of the ARM.
Related: How to Install or Use iPhone and iPad Apps on Your New M1 Mac?
The beating heart of the new Mac computers brings unparalleled efficiency and power; But due to the change in architecture from x86 to ARM64, a lot of software has not been optimized for the new architecture, and with Microsoft’s decision, Windows on Arm has not been made available to Mac users yet. The good news is that applications are rapidly updating to support native new processors, while software such as Parallels will make up for some of the lack of Windows.
Parallels software company recently released a technical demo of the Parallels 16, which is compatible with Mac computers running the M1 processor and performs surprisingly well. In fact, the “Apple Silicon of Parallels” version is designed for ARM-based operating systems; Therefore, it does not support the x86 version of Windows 10, and an ARM-based version of Windows is required to run it.
Table of Contents
Details to keep in mind
Apart from relatively good performance, the software has weaknesses and shortcomings from Parallels’ perspective and Microsoft’s. In other words, it certainly can not be considered a complete replacement for the native version or boot camp of Windows 10 based on x86, for example, 32-bit programs will be completely unusable during startup, and evidence shows that the suspension and resumption of the virtual machine (VM) ) Will not be possible. In addition, when using the virtual machine, it is not possible to use the close button and instead the virtual machine must be turned off completely.
Latter in this article, we are going to teach you اow to run or install Windows 10 for ARM on M1 Macs using Parallels 16 Technical Preview, including MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro and Mac mini equipped with M1 processor.
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As soon as the software is installed, Parallels uses technical previews to show users more details about running an ARM-based virtual machine. Here are the steps you should take to download and run this software:
- Download and install a technical preview of Parallels Desktop 16 software for M1 Mac PCs via the company’s website. After this process, Parallels will send an activation code to the user below the download link.
- In order to receive ARM-based Windows, you must register for the Windows Insider Program and download the Windows 10 Client ARM64 Insider Preview version there. Note that you must download this version; Because Microsoft has recently introduced a 64-bit program emulator in this version of Windows.
- Open the Parallels software and drag the Windows10_InsiderPreview_Client_ARM64_en-us file to the Mac OS installation assistant and drop it to the Create section.
- The Parallels 16 software creates Windows 10 based on a new ARM virtual machine instance, and in this step you have to login to the Parallels system using an account and apply the activation code issued in the first step.
- Once logged in and activated, Parallels 16 configures the Windows 10 Virtual Machine and installs the required widgets and tools, and finally completes the Windows 10 ARM-based installation and setup.
Disable Time Sync
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In the initial launch of Parallels for Mac computers running the M1 processor, the important point is that you must disable the Time Sync option; Otherwise, the Windows Virtual Machine may not work properly or you’ll run the risk of having an unresponsive Windows VM.. To disable Time Sync, click on the “Actions” section in the Parallels menu bar and select “Config”. In the next step, click on the Options tab and select More Options, and in the drop-down box next to Time Sync, select the Do Not Sync option to disable this feature, and finally exit the opened windows.
How to Enable x64 Emulation Support
- In the Windows search bar, search for “Insider” and click on Windows Insider Program settings.
- Click on the link to go to Diagnostics & Feedback settings and activate optional diagnostic data.
- Click on the link associated with your Windows Insider account and sign in to your Windows account.
- Once logged in, it is recommended that you click the Beta Channel option in the Internal Settings section and enable the Dev Channel option to access the latest updates.
- Click the Home button to return to the main Windows settings page, and finally, click on the Update & Security section to check for the latest updates.
- After completing the fifth step, you will have to wait for the latest preview of the developer version called Windows 10 Insider Preview to appear. To install the latest developer version, click the Download and Install button below the build description. Remember, it will take some time to complete the download and installation of Windows; So be patient and after installing all the updates and restarting the device, the Parallels tool will be reinstalled; So you have to start it again.
For more information on adding a 64-bit program simulator to Windows 10 based on the ARM, you can refer to the Microsoft blog post at this link.
Suggestions for better performance
For best performance, it is recommended that you change the application’s default processing cores to four cores. Because all Mac computers running the M1 processor have an eight-core CPU, the Mac OS retains access to the remaining four cores. To increase core allocation, turn off the Windows, click the Action section in the menu bar, and select Config. In the Hardware section, select “CPU and Memory” and use the slider box next to the processors to upgrade it from two to four cores. Finally close the config window and restart the virtual machine.
Related:How to Restart or Force Shutdown any Frozen Mac?
Once in desktop mode, you can emulate programs based on arm64 instructions and x86 and x64 programs; Unfortunately, as mentioned earlier, 32-bit ARM programs, including Skype and the Windows App Store, still do not work, and launching these programs will cause them to crash. On the other hand, programs such as Microsoft Edge and other native arm64 programs run relatively well.
9to5Mac
The following is an opinion from a member of the 9to5Mac website about using Parallels software:
I downloaded the Steam app and tested the Rocket League game to gauge its performance. The gaming experience was not perfect and certainly did not run at 60 frames per second; But at least it was playable. I can also use this software to watch 4K videos and content through the Microsoft Edge browser on YouTube, and use the Affinity Photo software to edit photos and much more.
In general, I was impressed by the consistency and smoothness of the animations and the performance of this software in the initial run of the game. Given that I had dedicated four processing cores to the virtual machine and was working with half of the system resources, the geek benchmark scores were relatively impressive.
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Running or installing Windows on Parallels software on Apple Silicon processors will by no means be perfect; But the results show that it is much better than previously thought and may improve with subsequent updates. If there is a specific program in Windows that you want to run, you may be surprised by the results in the software.
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I’m old enough to remember when Mac used propriety chips in their computers. They were called “PowerPC” or PPC. Proprietary chips mean proprietary code to run them. . Such as it was with the old OS X operating systems. Right around 2005 Apple announced it would transition to Intel chips which most of the rest of the world was running on already. It opened up a new world of software and hardware to the Mac.
People found they could run OS X on Intel PC’s (aka Hackintosh).
Macbook Pro M1 Virtualbox
Now here we are again 16 years later and Mac has gone their own route and selected another proprietary chip, the M1 which is ARM based and not X86. When you think ARM, think Raspberry Pi.
The advantages to doing this are MANY. Apple controls the hardware build and can write tight code for that specific hardware. The chips are FAST.
THE DOWNSIDE HERE IS THAT YOU LOSE LEGACY COMPATIBILITY. That old hardware you have connected to USB may not work anymore. That old hunk of software you love may not work anymore. Or the software you love may have to run on top of something called “Rosetta 2” which allows Intel apps to run on ARM OS’s. So there could be hiccups with that as well.
So lets get to my experience:
I built a man cave hobby room that has 3D printers, a vinyl sign cutter and a laser cutter. Most everything in the room was controlled by a Mac mini (Late 2012) which no longer has support for the latest operating system. It has reached the end of its life. Realistically it will still be supported for 2 years or so but old John won’t be. Old John is retiring and has to buy this crap while he still has a check. So I got me a shiny new M1 Mac mini.
So I unbox it and hook it up to my HP monitor which is fairly old and has a DVI input (which I have a DVI to HDMI adapter on).
Boot and then……..nada. Nothing. A couple of flashes and my heart sinks. I think my new Mac mini must have taken a jolt in shipping or something. A quick internet search reveals about 42,612 very angry people that their DVI monitors don’t work.
So just for fun I go grab a new 32″ TV I have and hook it to the HDMI and it boots right up and the display is great. Basically Dr. Google says that you need a USB-C to DVI adapter and things will work fine. Just for fun I actually have a
HDMI Adapter
Okay, I want you to visualize something. The back of the Mac mini has an HDMI port. When I hook an HDMI cable from the Mac to the adapter on the back of the TV…….. IT DOES NOT WORK.
When I plug this adapter into a USB-C port on the back of the Mac and hook an HDMI cable to the adapter and the other end to the TV………..IT WORKS!
How in the tap dancing hell does that make sense?
That adapter costs $70 new and I use it for a lot of other stuff. I need it elsewhere. Not only that it ties up one of those fast Thunderbolt (USB-C) ports that I think I’m going to need.
But, lets not lose sight of the fact that my ancient monitor DOES INDEED work now. At any rate, with a new Mac mini with an M1 chip you’re probably going to have to factor in that you need a newer hardware monitor than I have or you will need an adapter. You can find really cheap HDMI to DVI adapters BUT NOT ALL OF THEM WORK. It’s a mess. And it seems to be an OS software mess. Not a hardware problem.
Next issue I stumbled into is that as much as I hate to admit it…………I run Windows in Virtualbox on my Mac mini. That is until I got an M1 because Virtualbox doesn’t work on an M1. Currently the only way to run Windows is by using a Tech Preview of Parallels and a beta version of Windows 10 for ARM processors.
If you think Windows is an unstable OS try running it on a beta Parallels with a beta non Intel version. It WILL NOT install legacy x86 drivers. I have a Roland GX-24 vinyl sign cutter and it works under software which has its own drivers such as CoCut Pro or EasyCut Studio but the Roland Windows 10 drivers WILL NOT INSTALL. Fortunately for me EasyCut Studio Mac version works fine on the M1 and I can do 99% of what I want to do on it. My heavy lifting software, CoCut 2017 (Windows only) does in fact install on bastardized Windows 10 ARM and it does work so I’m set.
My laser etcher uses a program called LaserGRBL which is Windows only and it also installs. I do find that when I run the program in Parallels it’s a little goofy getting the USB connected laser machine accessible to the virtualized Windows and I even found I might have to reboot MacOS to get it back visible to Mac. 99.9% to 100% of what I do with the laser machine can be done in a Mac program called “Lightburn” which works fine on the M1.
Mac Mini M1 Virtualbox Software
My 3D printer software (PrusaSlicer) works fine under MacOS on the M1.
Finally I have a Police Scanner in the other room which has 3rd party, Windows only software called ProScan which allows me to listen to the scanner on my local network. It took me quite some time to get it working and the issues were with Parallels and the Windows sound devices. Right at this moment I’m not sure what I did right but it is working right now. I’m scared to reboot the Windows session!
Make no mistake though, Parallels Tech Preview running Windows 10 ARM is a turd of epic proportions. It crashes FREQUENTLY and almost never connects to the internet first time causing me to have to run the troubleshooter. Running the troubleshooter resets the ethernet adapter which connects it to the internet but I’m running on Wifi through Parallels and not using ethernet so who knows what the hell is going on?
PROS AND CONS
PROS
- Probably the biggest advantage is that the chip architecture between the iPhone and iPad and these new M1 chips is very similar. You can run iPhone and iPad apps on your M1 app. That may or may not seem useful at the moment but what it means is that the Mac ecosystem can get way tighter and way better. Stand by for great things from the ecosystem.
- Mac M1 is lightning fast. Even lightning says “Phew” when it sees the Mac M1 operate.
- Specific Code tied to specific hardware is always best. When you have something like an Intel platform and 4 million people make devices and drivers for it there are going to be problems.
- Not as expensive as most Macs
- Rosetta 2 seems to run all of my Intel Mac programs that I use and I’m pretty damn diverse. I have a lot of junk.
- Lots of ports and 3rd party vendors make external hard drive adapters that have lots more ports. It is best to buy the cheap 256 GB Mac and get a hard drive caddy with extra ports. It will save a ton of money over buying a Mac with a 1 TB drive. A. Lot. Of. Money.
CONS
- Big issues with legacy hardware with x86 drivers
- Big issues with running virtualization software
- Big issues with HDMI to DVI
- Using an adapter to hook up a DVI monitor makes you lose one of your high speed Thunderbolt ports.
- Lots of users claim horrific Bluetooth issues (no problems for me).
Conclusions
Mac Mini M1 Virtualbox Free
If you are a Mac only dude living in a lonely world (sorry that song was just on the radio) then an M1 is your Huckleberry. It’s super fast and will run your Mac ecosystem with aplomb. (Sorry, I just wanted to say aplomb somewhere).
If you have a roomful of old USB devices that you need Windows software and legacy x86 drivers to operate then maybe you better just get a Windows computer.
Virtualbox For M1
If you need to run other OS’s in virtualization software get another laptop and slap Ubuntu Linux on it because you ain’t gonna virtualize on this Mac M1, at least not yet.