Installing Windows 8.1 or 7?

Hello all,

Thankfully moving over from a PC to an iMac which is en route, so just want to get things ready for when it arrives.

My questions are about using Parallels 10 on the Mac. I have a Dell which has Windows 8.1 on it and I am currently creating an ISO of it in order to install it on the Mac [I know, I have to, I have no choice]. My question is do you guys think it's better to install Windows 7 instead, which I also have? I mean, Windows 8 seemed to crash a lot on my Dell and I'm wondering if it will do the same on the iMac which will drive me crazy, although I'm thinking I bet it will run better on the iMac than it did on the Dell! Is Windows 7 less resource hungry? I want the least amount of 'Windows' that I can put on there, and the faster lighter version, I'm already doing this out of necessity.

Also I have Microsoft Office 2013 for the PC but ONLY want to install Word on Parallels, is that possible? Basically, I want to keep the Mac as PC free as I can.

Also, if you have any other tips or steps that I should make sure to take when installing and setting up Parallels for the first time, I'd be grateful.

Thanks.

 

Hi Hightime,

In Parallels Desktop, you can install multiple Windows Virtual machine as long as you have enough hard-disk. Both Windows 7 and 8.1 are stable in Parallels Desktop, you can install Windows 8.1 OS as Virtual Machine as it is the latest version of Windows OS. Please make sure that your Mac specifications full fill the Windows 8.1 system requirement : http://windows.microsoft.com/en-IN/windows-8/system-requirements and also please refer to http://kb.parallels.com/122662 for Parallels Desktop 10 for Mac system requirements.

 

That is more of a personal choice as to which Windows version you install, just remember though that MS is dropping support for Windows 7 very soon and Windows 8 in the near future as Windows 10 will be released around the fall of next year. The resources in Windows 8.1 have been toned down to work on low end Tablet PCs. You can run Windows 8.1 on a 1g machine now with almost any dual core processor.

You can also install your Parallels Virtual Machine onto a USB hard drive. If you are getting a newer iMac with a USB 3.0 drive their will be almost no difference in speed of the VM stored there (as long as USB HD is USB 3.0 too). I have even tried using a USB 3.0 thumb drive to install Windows and other OSes on and it works very well.