damien
Jun 15, 2007, 03:06 PM
Dragon NaturallySpeaking 8 works in Parallels 4124
I have a MacBook C2D with 2 GB of RAM, OS 10.4.9, parallels build 4124, Windows XP SP2, and an Andrea 7100 USB headset.
First, it works, and it works well. Speed and accuracy of good, maybe not as good as in boot camp 1.2, but good enough for everyday use so far. Having the extra gigabyte of RAM is essential, though.
Second, it's a bit tricky to get it up and running. At first it worked, then it didn't, quality was bad, speed was bad etc.
Third, here are the simple instructions to make DNS8 work in parallels. At least, this worked for me, after all sorts of trouble. Other posts provided the instructions, but it wasn't entirely clear
1. Install parallels.
2. Install Windows XP service pack 2
3. Shut down Windows after a successful installation.
4. Quick parallels desktop.
5. Shut down your Macintosh.
6. Plug in your USB headset that you know provides satisfactory audio input both in OS X on its own and in Windows on its own.
7. Turn your Macintosh on.
8. Open your system preferences, and select sound. And choose your USB microphone as the input source. Make sure the volume is high enough.
9. Keep the system preferences open and the USB microphone selected.
10. Launch the parallels desktop program.
11. Start your virtual machine of windows XP.
12. Do not connect the USB headset to the windows XP virtual machine if prompted. Do not select your USB headset from the devices menu of the parallels desktop program.
13. Launch Dragon NaturallySpeaking, it should be working.
14. Do not plug in or unplug your USB headset while the virtual machine is running.
15. If you experience difficulty, test the audio quality using sound recorder. It is a small Windows program in the accessories/entertainment menu of the start menu.
16. Make sure that Windows is using the integrated audio for sound recording. In the Windows control panel for sound, make sure Windows is set to use the integrated audio as the default, and the use default only button is checked.
17. If audio quality is fine but the dictation seems slow, turn off as many features of Windows as possible. Also make sure you have lots of memory -- 1 GB is not enough. Putting in a total of 2 GB of RAM made a world of difference.
18. Good luck!
After listening to lots of advice and lots of trial and error, this worked for me. I will be trying with different headsets shortly.
Performance is good, many dictation appears rapidly, even in windowed mode. Full screen seems a bit faster, but things are okay in a window. So far, nothing has crashed -- knock on wood.
I have a MacBook C2D with 2 GB of RAM, OS 10.4.9, parallels build 4124, Windows XP SP2, and an Andrea 7100 USB headset.
First, it works, and it works well. Speed and accuracy of good, maybe not as good as in boot camp 1.2, but good enough for everyday use so far. Having the extra gigabyte of RAM is essential, though.
Second, it's a bit tricky to get it up and running. At first it worked, then it didn't, quality was bad, speed was bad etc.
Third, here are the simple instructions to make DNS8 work in parallels. At least, this worked for me, after all sorts of trouble. Other posts provided the instructions, but it wasn't entirely clear
1. Install parallels.
2. Install Windows XP service pack 2
3. Shut down Windows after a successful installation.
4. Quick parallels desktop.
5. Shut down your Macintosh.
6. Plug in your USB headset that you know provides satisfactory audio input both in OS X on its own and in Windows on its own.
7. Turn your Macintosh on.
8. Open your system preferences, and select sound. And choose your USB microphone as the input source. Make sure the volume is high enough.
9. Keep the system preferences open and the USB microphone selected.
10. Launch the parallels desktop program.
11. Start your virtual machine of windows XP.
12. Do not connect the USB headset to the windows XP virtual machine if prompted. Do not select your USB headset from the devices menu of the parallels desktop program.
13. Launch Dragon NaturallySpeaking, it should be working.
14. Do not plug in or unplug your USB headset while the virtual machine is running.
15. If you experience difficulty, test the audio quality using sound recorder. It is a small Windows program in the accessories/entertainment menu of the start menu.
16. Make sure that Windows is using the integrated audio for sound recording. In the Windows control panel for sound, make sure Windows is set to use the integrated audio as the default, and the use default only button is checked.
17. If audio quality is fine but the dictation seems slow, turn off as many features of Windows as possible. Also make sure you have lots of memory -- 1 GB is not enough. Putting in a total of 2 GB of RAM made a world of difference.
18. Good luck!
After listening to lots of advice and lots of trial and error, this worked for me. I will be trying with different headsets shortly.
Performance is good, many dictation appears rapidly, even in windowed mode. Full screen seems a bit faster, but things are okay in a window. So far, nothing has crashed -- knock on wood.