Is it really not possible to run Intel based MacOS VMs in Parallels M1 Host?

Discussion in 'Parallels Desktop on a Mac with Apple silicon' started by AlexAlexAlex, Nov 14, 2021.

  1. AlexAlexAlex

    AlexAlexAlex Junior Member

    Messages:
    11
    I have the habit of saving my old computers as a VM image and running those in Parallels if I need to get something from them.
    I bought of the new Macbook Pros and I am discovering that I can not run my old VMs in Parallels.
    I am very disappointed.
    Will it be possible eventually to run Intel based MacOS images in M1 Parallels Host? With some sort of translation layer maybe?
    Thank you
     
  2. MichaelH63

    MichaelH63 Most valuable person

    Messages:
    838
    Yes, it is really not possible to run them as a VM. For that the host and guest system need to run on the same CPU architecture.
    Rosetta 2 would be the translation layer you're thinking of, but Apple always said that it doesn't work with VMs.
    You can try QEMU which is an emulator, but the performance will be much worse than running a VM.

    While you can't run the Intel VMs on M1, you can copy them over to M1 and get access to the data you need. https://kb.parallels.com/en/125344
     
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  3. AlexAlexAlex

    AlexAlexAlex Junior Member

    Messages:
    11
    Thank you for the response. While that's not what I wanted to hear, I appreciate the help. Cheers
     

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