Just bought a macbook, should I wait until the final realease of the next Parallels?

Discussion in 'Parallels Desktop for Mac' started by Walker, Feb 18, 2007.

  1. Walker

    Walker Bit poster

    Messages:
    4
    My new macbook arrived yesterday and I'm itching to get parallels installed (that coherence mode looks awesome!). My macbook is the fastest version and I've maxed out the ram. I'll be using Windows XP in the virtual enviroment. I'll also be using bootcamp in conjunction with Parallels desktop.

    It would appear to me that Parallels is about to finish up with their release candidate versions. Would it behoove me wait until the the next complete version of Parallels Desktop is released before I install it on my computer? I am very much a newbie to the virtual environment world and want to make this process as simple as possible.

    Thanks in advance for any advice,

    lw
     
  2. dkp

    dkp Forum Maven

    Messages:
    1,367
    I suggest you download the release candidate, print out the on-line manuals, and study them carefully. Then download the Bootcamp product from Apple (also beta - not even release candidate status). Study the Bootcamp documentation and make certain you understand the concepts. You will be building a complex multi-way environment with tools that are completely new to you and if you are not versed in the language it will be and remain confusing for you.

    You will have a system that can boot up in either OS X or Windows. That is Bootcamp providing the service. When booted into OS X you can also run Windows concurrently, and that is Parallels providing the service.

    Parallels will also be using your existing Windows installation, and you need to know that this brings some surprises to Windows. Because Parallels emulates the hardware, Windows will see it has been relocated when it starts in that environment and will require you activate it just as you did when installing it in Bootcamp. Hopefully this is the last time you'll have to do that.

    If you use Bootcamp to boot into Windows, Parallels is out of the picture as is OS X.

    Once all this is running you need to understand that Windows booted from Bootcamp will have far more capabilities than Windows running in Parallels. That is the nature of virtual machines. In Parallels you will not have access to 3D video, Fireware devices, and some software is just not compatible with virtual environments.

    Networking in Parallels is very different than networking when booting from Bootcamp. Don't think that what works in one will be successful in the other environment. It is almost a left brain/right brain activity. Just be aware of the environment you are in and use methods appropriate for that environment.

    Done wrong, this process can destroy all your data in OS X and in Windows. Make plenty of backups as you go through this. Put all your downloaded installation software on CD or DVD so you can recover it quickly if it's needed. It does you no good to have it on a hard drive you cannot access.

    So what can you expect? Problems, certainly. Some will be show up because this is all very new stuff, and even production code will have bugs. Some will be because you have three vendors providing software, and two of them have not done much to make this a sure thing. Parallels has the burden of integrating everything, and Microsoft and Apple are not on the hook to make any of this easier for you. Some problems will be self-inflicted because you misunderstood something, expected something to be that is not, or did something that even you recognized was a mistake as soon as you hit the Enter key. Just be sure you know whose butt to kick when something has gone kerfluffle.

    Success - you really can expect it! Relish it, because it will mean you have created in your home this very complex environment that just a few years ago would have required years of experience and thousands of dollars to achieve. Don't lose sight of the limitations of virtual machines, work within the system capabilities, and you will have the best possible experience with these very fine, integrated products.

    But to answer your question, there's no significant reason to wait for a released version as it will be only slightly less buggy than the beta/RC versions.
     
    Last edited: Feb 18, 2007
  3. Stevamundo

    Stevamundo Pro

    Messages:
    407
    I'd would say that Parallels is about a week away from their final version of 2.5.

    Yes I know there's a lot of people are still having problems with 3170. However I really think that Parallels ought to be solely concentrating on 2.5 stability now. Sorry bootcamp users but I don't think that Parallels bootcamp technology isn't quite here yet from what I seen over the last four months in here. No, I don't use bootcamp fortunately but unless Parallels has a breakthrough in their bootcamp technology this week, they ought to wait until 3.0 to perfect bootcamp.

    So, I'd wait a week or so to see if Parallels FINALLY gets done with version 2.5.
     
  4. The Duelist

    The Duelist Member

    Messages:
    28
    A New MacBook Is The Perfect Time To Configure Parallels & BootCamp

    Hi Walker,

    I Think Now Is The Perfect Time To Configure Your New MacBook
    With Both BootCamp & Parallels.

    I Now Have My MacBook Pro Running This Configuration With All MacBook Hardware
    (Wireless, USB, Bluetooth, iSight) Running OK Under Both BootCamp & Parallels.

    I was Unsucessful at First with the Betas (No Keyboard/Mouse),
    But Have Had No Problems Since the RCs.
    Configuring BootCamp & Parallels On A New MacBook Allowed Me to Perform Clean Installs
    (of BootCamp & Parallels) Without Loss of Data (Only Time).

    Once You Have A VM That Works,
    Each Update Of Parallels Looks To Run Your Existing VM.
    You Shouldn't Have to Rebuild Your VM.

    Hope This Helps
    The Duelist
     
  5. marc.heusser

    marc.heusser Junior Member

    Messages:
    19
    Just go ahead

    Short answer: No need to wait. It works well for most things.

    You'll use Parallels for everthing that does not need fast 3D graphics (this typically excludes games, and flight simulators etc) - for 3D use BootCamp to start Windows natively.

    Hope that helps.
     
    Last edited: Feb 18, 2007
  6. marc.heusser

    marc.heusser Junior Member

    Messages:
    19
    RC3 works well

    And by the way: I did not find any trouble with the newest release candidate (RC3 3170).
     
    Last edited: Feb 18, 2007
  7. Stevamundo

    Stevamundo Pro

    Messages:
    407
    Me either. ā€œIā€ for one am pretty happy with 3170.

    However unfortunately a lot of people are still having trouble with it.
     
  8. James Bond 007

    James Bond 007 Hunter

    Messages:
    159
    If you want to use Parallels in a production environment, then of course you should wait until the final release of 2.5. As others have said it probably won't be long before the release build of 2.5 is released.

    [​IMG]
     
  9. JDub

    JDub Member

    Messages:
    31
    I have one last thing to add - Make sure you buy it from the website and not via one of the boxed copies at retail stores such as Apple, etc. Only website bought copies can use the betas.
     
  10. chrisj303

    chrisj303 Member

    Messages:
    72
    Me neither!, I installed 3170- after a frankly HORRID experiance with earlier betas (3050/94), which resulted in me going back to 1970.
    Release 3170, for me works flawlessly. I only use Parallels to run my bootcamp partition, which it does perfectly, it worked first time and has never crashed in any way. TBH i forget most of the time that it is a Beta as it is so stable.
    I am running 2Ghz C2D with 2Gb Ram by the way, and my Bootcamp partition is formatted to FAT32.
    I find it strange that people are having so many different issues even when running on identical hardware. I would be happy to give full run down of my setup to anyone if it might help!

    chrisj303
     
  11. darkone

    darkone Forum Maven

    Messages:
    804
    is this your first mac ?

    if so, wait 4 weeks.. use the mac.. get used to OSX then decide if you REALLY need windows at all...
    Dont do your mac a disservice by installing windows on it, just because its "what you know best".
    You only need parallels if there is something you really cant do in OSX.
     
  12. Walker

    Walker Bit poster

    Messages:
    4
    Thanks for all the replies. Some of you really took time to help me out here and I really appreciate it.

    As DKP suggested, I read the manuals and downloaded the RC3 version of Parallels. I'm happy to report that I'm running parallels (from my boot camp partition) with great success. I did have a few hiccups in the installation, but it turned out I had a faulty ram chip which caused kernel panics. Once I got the ram squared away, everything has been running smoothly.

    I'm a seasoned Mac user who felt very odd installing windows on my computer. Glad Parallels has made this so easy.

    lw
     
  13. MarkHolbrook

    MarkHolbrook Pro

    Messages:
    350
    I have successfully used the beta candidates for production stuff with no issues. I'm just careful to backup and make sure critical files are not kept on my VM.

    I'm not using bootcamp and stuff. I prefer the VM disk file as I can easily back it up and move it where ever I want it to be.

    Since your macbook is new and you haven't filled it with valuable data yet now is the time to do this.

    M
     

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