Running Windows on the Mac the Virtual Way - How to Run Windows on a Mac. Running Windows on the Mac the Virtual Way. Virtualization is a software technique that creates a machine or machines within a machine. It's commonly used to create multiple server instances on one physical server computer. But Mac users can use the same technique to run an instance of Windows inside their Mac OS. The most popular software that lets them do this is Parallels. Parallels Desktop is the easiest to set up and use of your options, but our networking analyst, Samara Lynn, recommends PCMag's virtualization software Editors' Choice, VMware Fusion for power users, since it offers more advanced control, performance, and customization. Both products are available as free trial software. Since these programs offer step- by- step wizards to get going, we won't provide steps below. To get started with either program, you plug in your Windows installer media. Using Parallels. Parallels offers two basic modes, one in which Windows apps appear in their own window as though they were Mac apps (called "Coherence mode"), and another in which Windows gets its own desktop window where all Windows apps appear and run. The software offers several options for creating a virtual machine: install Windows, install an OS from DVD or image file, migrate Windows from a PC, or use Windows from Boot Camp. Download the latest drivers for your Asus N53SV to keep your Computer up-to-date. Additional options include downloading Ubuntu and installing OS X Lion using the recovery partition. You cannot install Windows with Parallels without a valid Windows key—entering that key kicks off an installation wizard. The wizard asks how you want to integrate Windows programs, which saves you from having to configure after installation. This Parallels knowledge base article shows all the steps for setting it up. Windows programs integrate well with the Mac environment in Parallels. With Windows 8 on the Mac OS in Coherence mode, Windows apps can be placed on the Launchpad and an app will run in its own window on the Mac desktop. The other option keeps Windows desktops and programs in one Window, but lets you drag and drop objects, and perform cut- and- paste between the host OS X desktop and the virtual Windows desktop. Using VMWare Fusion. You start with this virtualization software by inserting your Windows installation disc and then running the VMware Fusion program. The New Virtual Machine Assistant will try to identify which Windows version is on your install disk, and then walk you through the process of creating a virtual machine suitable for it. You'll probably want to assign more memory than the program suggests. You may also consider other minor modifications, if for example you want to run your virtual copy of Windows with two processors instead of one (it's probably not necessary except for advanced graphics software) or you want to fine- tune Windows' access either to your default OS X printer or any other printer you've installed in OS X. When the Assistant is done, Windows will install itself on your new virtual hard disk. When the installation is complete, the VMware Tools utility should install automatically on your Windows system, but you can use the Virtual Machine menu to install it manually. VMware Tools lets you drag files between the OS X and Windows desktops and use the clipboard to copy and paste between your OS X and Windows systems. Experiment with VMware Fusion's full- screen mode and its Unity mode (equivalent to Parallels' Coherence mode), which runs a Windows application in a separate window on your OS X desktop while hiding the rest of Windows. When you run a Windows application in Unity mode, its icon appears on your OS X dock, and you can keep the icon in your dock for quick access to the application later. One feature of a virtualized Windows setup is that you can suspend a Windows session, shut down VMware Fusion, and turn off your Mac; later, when you restart your Mac and Fusion, you can resume your Windows session where you left off. It works a lot like hibernation on a native Windows machine, except that you can keep running OS X while Windows is sleeping. Suspending a session is easy. You'll find a big Suspend button on the VMware Fusion toolbar, and you can also choose Suspend from the top- line menu.
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