Hi there, I'm currently running Windows 10 in Parallels Bootcamp mode and it works great. I'll soon be setting up a machine for a new hire and was wondering if there's a difference in performance between Bootcamp mode and running Windows in a regular virtual machine. Performance is great in Bootcamp mode but I wasn't sure if that was due to the mode or virtualization instructions, etc. I'm pretty much a virtual machine rookie so any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, Jason
Hey @JasonL2 Firstly, we are glad that you like the product. The major difference in running a virtual machine from boot camp and running a virtual machine from the Mac hard disk is the limitations of boot camp based virtual machine. For example, you cannot pause, take snapshots or compress the virtual machines based on boot camp. If you are looking to setup the Windows for the first time, you could try installing it directly on the Mac side of the computer. Or, you could simple import the boot camp partition to the Mac hardisk and check the difference in the performance on your existing Mac. This is because the installed Windows applications also play major role in deciding the performance.
Unfortunately I don't have enough space on any of my drives to import it. Primarily the apps I'm using are Visual Studio 2015, SQL Server 2014 (for development), and sometimes Word and Excel.
The applications you run works fine in both boot camp and direct virtual machines. If you wish to fully utilise the feature of Parallels Desktop, you can go for the direct virtual machine on Mac hard disk. You could also check this blog post for running virtual machines from external storage drives.
Hi kyawthumin. You mean after importing the Boot Camp Windows into Parallels as a standalone virtual machine? Yes, you can, once you ensure the newly-created virtual machine works and a snapshot is taken.