Hi folks. I'm thinking of moving to Mac for good, I'm getting completely Piss*d off with Windows, version 10 is just a bloated data mining application. I don't do anything I would want to hide from anyone, but I want to choose when I share my information. That's why I don't post every breakfast, lunch and dinner on facefart. Or in fact any breakfast, lunch or dinner on facefart! I've been using my MacBook more and more recently, to the point that I've realised I can do everything I need on the Mac, except run Visual Studio and SQL server. Parallels looks like the perfect solution, but I have a few questions before I could advance my theory to realization. Am I going to come across any problems on a Mac without an optical media drive? What is the disk/memory footprint of Parallels and Windows 7? Can Windows 7 be prevented from updating to 10 under Parallels? Does VS 15 run without problems under Pro? Does SQL server run without problems? How is memory shared between OS X and Windows? I have a MacBook Pro with 16Mb memory and 500Gb SSD, will the two run together without lagging out? Is Retina a problem at all? Does Windows through Parallels handle multiple monitors ok? What happens when a Windows app (or Windows) hangs or blue screens? I would first want this setup running on the MacBook, but I will be looking at getting an iMac or Mac Pro soon, will I notice any differences? Would I be able to swap my Parallels Pro license from a laptop to a desktop? I know I could spend a few hours researching all these questions, but due to physical illness and disability I only get a couple of quality hours a day, and to be honest, I like to spend those hours doing rather than surfing. Gathering information here, all under one thread, would really really help me, so all and any information will be gratefully received and very much appreciated. And the more knowledge I gather the more I may be able to help in this forum in the future. Thanks peoples.
Hi Tull, There won't be any issue if the Mac doesn't have an optical drive. You may either use an external drive , remote disc sharing or download such files with any other format (.dmg or .iso) You can allocate a minimum of 2 GB memory to Windows 7 for a fine performance. Refer to this article for assigning memory to Windows in Parallels Desktop. This can be modified anytime. Yes, you can prevent Windows 7 from updating to Windows 10. Yes, VS 15 works seamlessly under Parallels Desktop for Mac Pro Edition. Ensure you have provided a minimum of 2 GB RAM for Windows (VS 15 requires 1.5 GB RAM) and you must have 4 GB free space in Windows Hard Disk at the minimum. SQL server is supported on Parallels Desktop for Mac and it works great. You can allocate memory to Windows virtual machine based on your requirements. For a good performance, you can assign 2 GB RAM to Window 7 in Parallels Desktop for Mac. You will not experience any lag working with Mac and Windows simultaneously. Parallels Desktop provides enhanced Retina display support for Windows virtual machines. It also works on multiple monitors without any issue. If Windows virtual machine hangs, you can reboot the frozen Windows. We also have some useful tips for you to get started with Parallels Desktop 11 for Mac.
This all sounds incredibly positive. I'm going to wait to see what happens with the Mac Pro this year, if there's a significant update I'll get one of those, otherwise I'll look at a top range iMac to bridge the gap. Either way I'll be moving over early next year. Thanks so much for the information.
Hi Tull, Glad ! to hear that. Feel free to reach out anytime if you have any questions. Thanks, Ajith M.
