Installing Windows on Parallels

Hello,
Now that i have a macbook without a disk drive, and need to install windows so i can run it on parallels, i was wondering if anyone can tell me the best way(s) to go about doing this.
I'm going to have to buy a new copy of windows, so i can get it on disk and load it via an older iMac on my network with a functioning disk drive ... if that's the best way to go about it.
Thanks for sharing!

I assume you mean no optical drive, a Mac so far has always had at least one internal disk. You can buy Windows as an ISO from Microsoft Online Store, and using a Download Manager and a product key, download the ISO to a USB and/or DVD. You can install Windows via Virtualization tools (Parallels, Fusion, VirtualBox) or Bootcamp.
Parallels web site - http://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/ - has quite a few articles on how to install Windows.

Similar Messages

Is there ANY way to install windows (for parallels) WITHOUT a superdrive?

I have Parallels (build 5600) and Win XP running fine on my iMac.
I want to run it on my MBA, too.
I have successfully installed Parallels (on a new trial license for now), and when I went to install Windows, learned that it can't be done via Remote Disk.
I'd really rather not spend $100 on an external drive JUST for this purpose.
Can I make a disk image of the windows disk?
Or connect to the imac in target disk mode (or something?!) to use THAT drive?
Or... can I somehow just copy my "virtual machine" from the imac to the MBA? Not sure if that will cause windows serial number police to freak, though...
Glancing through a quick search here, it seems it's possible to migrate the virtual machine. But what files, exactly, do I need to migrate? Just the .hdd file?
I'd prefer to do a nice clean install from the CD, but I don't know if that's possible.
Any help is appreciated!
Thanks!

Ok, I may have answered my own question.
I am copying my Virtual Machine from my imac, but it will take a long time to copy, and takes 10gb of space, so trying that is a last resort.
in the meantime I found this on the parallels site. Looks like you CAN use a disk image. I'm going to try it now- fingers crossed!
http://kb.parallels.com/en/4826
I'm using Macbook Air and cannot install Windows to Parallels Virtual Machine by means of CD/DVD drive “borrowing” feature. What should I do?
RESOLUTION
Unfortunately Macbook Air CD/DVD drive “borrowing” feature doesn’t support direct media streaming and thus cannot be used to install Windows (or any other Guest OS ) to Parallels Virtual Machine. To install a Windows VM on Macbook Air you can either create an .iso image of Windows installation disk on some other computer with CD/DVD drive and copy it to Mac or use an external CD/DVD drive that Apple offers for Macbook Air.
Please refer to this article for the instructions on how to create an .iso image for Parallels VM on Mac - http://kb.parallels.com/entry/32/458/

How to install windows 8 parallel on mac

How to install windos 8 parallel on mac.

You can install Windows natively using Boot Camp Assistant or you can install Windows in a virtual machine like Parallels, Fusion, or VirtualBox.
Boot Camp instructions are located here: http://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/
Virtual Machine instructions are located on the respective Parallels, Fusion, and VirtualBox sites.

Installing windows with parallels

Hey,
I wond to install windows on my mac with parallels buth when I put the windows installation cd in my mac and start the installation progress, the installation cd disappears out of the finder.
Can someone help me to resolve this please

I have VMWare Fusion and Oracle VirtualBox currently on my Mac, with a total of 10 different virtual machines. Never used Parallels Desktop, but the principles are similar.
You need to start Parallels up and locate a button or menu item for a New VM. It will start up a wizard that will ask you what kind of Windows you want to install and how much resources (CPU, RAM, hard disk space) you want to allocate to it. I believe that by default it will capture the CD/DVD device automatically.
Once the VM is created, it is like you created an imaginary computer for your Windows system. Now you have to install Windows on it. Put the Windows install media in the drive and start the VM on Parallels. It should "capture" the drive (the icon will disappear from the OS X desktop) and start running the installer on the VM. From thereon, it is a straightforward Windows installation. When finished, Parallels should offer to install the driver additions on Windows, so it will work and interact better with the Mac.

How to install windows for Parallels install in iMac?

I have an iMac. I have the program Parallels Destop 8 for Mac. I have a Windows XP Home Edition disk and a Windows Vista upgrade disk.
How do I install Windows?
I have tried from installing the Parallels program and it is saying there is not a version of Windows installed. DUH! That is what I am trying to do.
Please help. I am just trying to get a Creative Memories Scrapbooking program to work so that I can make my darn family albums! UGH!!!
Thanks to anyone who can help me out.

http://kb.parallels.com/en/4729
If you have further questions about setting up Parallels, you'll be most likely to get help if you ask in their forums:
http://forum.parallels.com/forumdisplay.php?f=58
Regards.

Is it dffernet to install windows through parallels and use bootcamp ?????

I've used to bootcamp install windows , Can i use parallel to use it

If Parallels will run okay with Panther then you can install Windows into it. Parallels runs like a native Apple program on your desktop. Windows runs in Parallels the same as it would in Virtual PC. If you use bootcamp then you are setting up your Mac to dual boot Windows or the Mac OS. I have tried both and Parallels is way more convenient.

Installing Windows Using Parallels

I just got a new 27" iMac and I bought Parallels 6 and Windows 7 Pro for it. I downloaded both programs. Since I downloaded Windows, I obviously don't have an installation disk (yet) and it also gives a disk image as a possible source for the installation files. I'm only installing Windows because I intend on using this computer for work. I'm having the same issue with Boot Camp Assistant. Does anybody have any ideas on how to fix this problem? Would it help to burn those files to a DVD and then putting the DVD in? The names of the Windows installation files are Win7-P-Retail-en-us-x86.exe, setup1.box, and setup2.box.
I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this question, but I've always had good help in the past. Thanks for any help that might be available!
Aaron

Hello,
Since Parallels is not an Apple product, please post questions regarding it on the Parallels forums as Apple Discussions only provide support for Apple products.
http://forums.parallels.com
Good luck..

Need help installing Windows with Parallels on Mac Mini

I downloaded the trial version of Parallels to test it out. Everything is going fine until it asks me to restart my computer. I go through the basic setup at the beginning, it asks me to enter the Windows XP product key and then asks me to insert the disk. At that point I insert the disk and click "Finish" like it asks. Now I get this message saying to hold down the power button or press the restart button. The screen seems to freeze here since I can't move the mouse or anything.
So I hold down the power button for a few seconds, and eventually the Mac Mini shuts down. I press and hold the power button again to start it back up.
Now everything is restarted but the Windows is not installed. Where did I go wrong? It seems pretty straight forward, but I'm clearly doing something wrong.

Since Parallels is not an Apple product, you should post your question on the Parallels forums: http://forums.parallels.com
You're more likely to get the response you need there, rather than on an Apple forum.

How to install Windows XP on new iMac - Bootcamp or Parallels?

Hi
I'm very new to the Mac world. I just purchased a lovely new iMac.
I would like to install my Windows XP Professional (SP3) on to my iMac.
I purchased Parallels Desktop 5 for Mac and before I do anything, I want to know what I should do first.
Do I install the Windows disk through bootcamp first and then install Parallels Desktop 5?
or
Can I bypass bootcamp all together and install Windows through Parallels?
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
amatxilinda

Parallels 6 comes out on the 14th.
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/09/09/parallelsdesktop_6_for_mac_to_launch_sept_14_with_80_newfeatures.html
If you will never want to run Windows natively, then you don't need Boot Camp. Otherwise, install first on its own partition, get it setup, then Parallels, and only then activate. Or reactivate. After you have Parallels Tools installed.
Really ought to check on Parallels forum.
http://forum.parallels.com/forumdisplay.php?&f=58
To get the hang of OS X, no matter level of expertise, even though Apple has their 101 Help and Switching, "Missing Manual for OS X" is excellent 900pg reference to get the most out of it.
http://www.apple.com/support/
http://books.slashdot.org/books/08/02/27/1551206.shtml
http://www.amazon.com/Mac-OS-Snow-Leopard-Missing/dp/0596153287/
Switching to Mac? not so useful.
http://www.amazon.com/Switching-Mac-Missing-Manual-Leopard/dp/0596804253/

Hello I have an I mac with Yosemite operating system. I installed a windows seven 64 bit on it. also i have a parallels desk top with version 10. if i run my windows without parallels my windows and my office is activated ,but if i run my parallel

Hello
I have an I mac with Yosemite operating system.
I installed a windows seven 64 bit on it.
also i have a parallels desk top with version 10.
if i run my windows without parallels my windows and my office is activated ,but if i run my parallels then my windows and my office can not be activated .
My problem is activating my windows and office through parallels desktop .
i had installed windows an parallel desktop several times ,also i installed several times parallel tools with menu bar in parallels desk top and when i am installing parallels desktop tools in any way i can see the (CTRL+ALT )
all of my application in windows works properly through parallels desktop except
activation of office and windows .
I do not no any solution for my problem , i need for helps .thanks

It is not W10, it is the Technical Preview version of W10.
Search on the Windows forums (fora for the latinist) for activation in the TP W10.

How do I install Windows on a new Mac Mini (w/o optical drive?)

The new Mac Mini does not have an optical drive and I would like to install Windows with Parallels Desktop 6
Any ideas? Can I put the iso on a USB drive or mount a NAS?
Thanks for ay help!
Enzo

You can burn an ISO of a bootable disc back to a DVD, but not to a USB device. I don't know if Parallels is able to install from an ISO, but it may install from an external drive. This is why you should read the documentation for Parallels or ask at their tech support site.

Trying to install Windows on a partition of second internal HD

Hello,
As the title mentions, I'm trying to install Windows on my iMac 11,1 in which I've swapped out the Superdrive for a SSD.
My current setup is with 10.8 boot drive + recovery partition on the SSD and an HFS+ data partition on the second drive (HDD).
What I would like is for the SSD to contain the same partitions, but for the HDD to also include a bootable Windows partition.
Two problems with this:
1. The computer won't boot from a USB drive so I can't make a proper installer (out of the legal Windows 7 .iso I have).
The two ways around this I have read about (and tried) are to use virtualization to convince the installer it's running from a CD and not an .iso and to put the install files on a separate bootable partition of the internal drive. I managed to use Parallels 8 to install Windows 7 to a second partition on the HDD (though it couldn't make some writes due to security issues), but couldn't make it bootable. I tried making a hybrid MBR (using gdisk) on the HDD before installing Windows 7 to the partition, which made it bootable, but Windows got stuck before it loaded. This leads into problem #2.
2. The HDD doesn't know how to boot itself. My suspician is that the bootloader and/or BIOS emulation code (I don't really understand how this works) doesn't exist on the HDD. I have no idea how to fix this issue.
Any help would be appreciated in getting this to work. I'm familiar with the command line, so don't be afraid I'm going to wimp out if you ask me to use it.

My understanding of how Bootcamp works is it creates a hybrid MBR that uses GPT in each section.
I tried last night to install Windows using Parallels 8 on a partition of my SSD created by the Bootcamp Assistant. However, Windows still wouldn't boot. I then tried to edit the MBR myself using gdisk, leaving me with the windows partition not even showing up in in the UI after I hold option at startup.
Here's the output from fdisk:
~ # sudo fdisk /dev/disk0
Password:
Disk: /dev/disk0          geometry: 31130/255/63 [500118192 sectors]
Signature: 0xAA55
         Starting       Ending
#: id cyl hd sec - cyl hd sec [     start -       size]
1: EE    0   0   2 - 1023 254 63 [         1 - 461055999] <Unknown ID>
*2: 07 1023 254 63 - 1023 254 63 [ 461056000 -   39061504] HPFS/QNX/AUX
3: 00    0   0   0 -    0   0   0 [         0 -          0] unused
4: 00    0   0   0 -    0   0   0 [         0 -          0] unused
~ # sudo fdisk /dev/disk1
Disk: /dev/disk1          geometry: 121601/255/63 [1953525168 sectors]
Signature: 0xAA55
         Starting       Ending
#: id cyl hd sec - cyl hd sec [     start -       size]
1: EE 1023 254 63 - 1023 254 63 [         1 - 1953525167] <Unknown ID>
2: 00    0   0   0 -    0   0   0 [         0 -          0] unused
3: 00    0   0   0 -    0   0   0 [         0 -          0] unused
4: 00    0   0   0 -    0   0   0 [         0 -          0] unused
Here's the output from gpt:
~ # sudo gpt -r -vv show disk0
gpt show: disk0: mediasize=256060514304; sectorsize=512; blocks=500118192
gpt show: disk0: Suspicious MBR at sector 0
gpt show: disk0: Pri GPT at sector 1
gpt show: disk0: Sec GPT at sector 500118191
      start       size index contents
          0          1         MBR
          1          1         Pri GPT header
          2         32         Pri GPT table
         34          6
         40     409600      1 GPT part - C12A7328-F81F-11D2-BA4B-00A0C93EC93B
     409640 460383864      2 GPT part - 48465300-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC
460793504     262496
461056000   39061504      3 GPT part - EBD0A0A2-B9E5-4433-87C0-68B6B72699C7
500117504        655
500118159         32         Sec GPT table
500118191          1         Sec GPT header
~ # sudo gpt -r -vv show disk1
Password:
gpt show: disk1: mediasize=1000204886016; sectorsize=512; blocks=1953525168
gpt show: disk1: PMBR at sector 0
gpt show: disk1: Pri GPT at sector 1
gpt show: disk1: Sec GPT at sector 1953525167
       start        size index contents
           0           1         PMBR
           1           1         Pri GPT header
           2          32         Pri GPT table
          34           6
          40      409600      1 GPT part - C12A7328-F81F-11D2-BA4B-00A0C93EC93B
      409640 1951845952      2 GPT part - 48465300-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC
1952255592     1269536      3 GPT part - 426F6F74-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC
1953525128           7
1953525135          32         Sec GPT table
1953525167           1         Sec GPT header
And diskutil:
~ # diskutil list
/dev/disk0
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *256.1 GB   disk0
   1:                        EFI                         209.7 MB   disk0s1
   2:                  Apple_HFS Jane                    235.7 GB   disk0s2
   3:       Microsoft Basic Data                         20.0 GB    disk0s3
/dev/disk1
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *1.0 TB     disk1
   1:                        EFI                         209.7 MB   disk1s1
   2:                  Apple_HFS JaneHDD                 999.3 GB   disk1s2
   3:                 Apple_Boot Recovery HD             650.0 MB   disk1s3
Any suggestions?

Can I install Windows 7 with Bootcamp without a disk

I purchased Windows 7 Home Premium when I also purchased Parallels 7. My main objective was to use the Windows partition for games that Mac doesn't have (Everquest II for example). I had no trouble installing Windows with Parallels but the games I want to play work very poorly on the virtual machine. Is there any way that I can junk Parallels and install Windows using Bootcamp? Note: Windows was downloaded from the Parallels web site. I am using a MacBook Pro with Lion, early 2011, Intel 2.2 GHz i7 processor with 4 GB memory. Another 4GB memory is in the mail but hasn't arrived yet. All software is up to date. Another question. Would upgrading to Mountain Lion solve the problem? Please, if there is anyone who knows the answer, give me instructions on how to ditch Parallels for Bootcamp. Thanks.

You can install Windows in BootCamp (it will be a fresh installation) and you can remove the existing VM installation. Windows will run faster in Boot Camp than it will in a VM (parallels is a VM).
Please note that MacBook Pro's have 2 ram slots, and they will both be occupied with a 2G chip in a standard configuraton, there will be nowhere to install the other 4G that is in the mail. Return it and order 2 x 4G chips and remove the 2 x 2G chips already fitted.

Installing windows xp to a macbook

is it even possible to install windows xp to a mac? where could I but the software? would i need some parralell software to if i wanted to be able to use mac os x and windows at say the same time? could i do this for windows vista?
thnx
john

You can use Boot Camp or Parallels -- you don't need both. If you use Boot Camp, then you choose whether you want to boot from Mac or from Windows when you boot up. If you use Parallels, you are running under Mac OS; when you open the Parallels application it then allows you to run Windows as a "virtual hard drive."
I've not used Boot Camp, but I do have Parallels. It will run a large variety of operating systems (including Windows 2003), list here: http://www.parallels.com/en/products/desktop/os/
Contrary to what someone else said, Parallels does not have you run Windows from a DVD. Once you've installed Windows through Parallels, the "virtual hard drive" that runs Windows is stored directly on your Mac hard drive. I use Parallels to run Windows 2000.

Installing Windows 7 on Mac OSX Snow Leopard 10.6.4

Before i install Windows 7 on my mac, i read a lot of posts involving driver problems with the keyboard and windows not working on the windows partition. So i was wondering what should i do to avoid this problem

applefanboy1996 wrote:
Before i install Windows 7 on my mac, i read a lot of posts involving driver problems with the keyboard and windows not working on the windows partition. So i was wondering what should i do to avoid this problem
You should head over to the Boot Camp forum, http://discussions.apple.com/category.jspa?categoryID=237 if you are going to install Windows using Boot Camp Assistant. The way to avoid problems is to read the Boot Camp installation guide and follow the instructions. I think most of the problems are due to not following instructions.
If your plan is to install Windows using Parallels, Fusion, or Virtual Box, then head over to their respective forums and once again read the instructions.
Windows installs fine on a Mac and most people do not experience problems.
Message was edited by: BobTheFisherman

Installing Windows on Parallels

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