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If things go wrong or conflicts arise with other software, one can diagnose, delete the virtual machine and start over. Or, as in the example I’ll give, take a snapshot of the guest macOS and return to a previous state. Another extreme example would be experimental security work in a dicey internet environment.
If the guest OS becomes infected with malware, it’s easy to just delete the guest OS without affecting the host Mac. Background In this example, I’ll be using the following environment:. macOS 10.13.4 High Sierra. Parallels Desktop (PD) for Mac is now at version 13. It costs $80 per year, and there’s student pricing at $40. It’s not hard to install, and it acts pretty much like any other application on your /Applications folder.
Also, I recommend temporarily turning Time Machine off until you’re all done with the process below. That’s because the VM install places heavy load on your CPU. I won’t go into the details of the installation in this how-to.
It’s really easy. There is one caveat, however. If you have a smallish SSD that you boot from, say, 128 or 256 GB, you could end up creating more virtual machines later that will use up a lot of file space on the boot drive. In the PD preferences, I’ve elected to keep all my VMs on an external hard disk that has terrabytes of free space. See also: A Working Example After you have Parallels Desktop installed, follow these steps in PD. File New.
In the “Create New” window, click on the big, gray right arrow until you see: “Install macSO 10.13.4 Using the Recovery Partition.” Click it. Create a new VM Your Mac’s Recovery Partition has a factory fresh version of macOS, and that’s what will be used to build your new virtual machine in PD. The installation will go exactly as if you were installing a new version of macOS on any Mac. This will take awhile; be patient. Also, you’ll need to know your Apple ID and password. If you have Two Factor Authentication enabled (2FA), have your trusted device handy so you can enter the 6-digit code needed to proceed. As always, the user and passcode you define at install time is the administrator.
Later, after the VM is running, you can, if desired, create unprivileged user accounts. Note that this instance of macOS, because it’s tied to your Apple ID, will be able to see your iCloud settings, notifications, software update notifications, and so on. MacOS Snapshots Immediately after your macOS desktop comes up, go to PD’s Action menu and take a snapshot of the OS. This way, you can always return to that OS state if something goes wrong later.
Parallels Desktop 14 for Mac makes it easier than ever to get back space on your Mac! Get up to 20 GB back with new disk usage optimization. Automatically reorganize your virtual disk to increase limits for optimal storage savings. Parallels Desktop for Mac – Installation and Setup. This tutorial explains how to install Parallels Desktop for Mac and setup of a Windows XP virtual machine. Getting Started. You will need: 1. A complete, fully licensed copy of Parallels Desktop for Mac. You can either buy a copy directly from Parallels, Inc.
![Disk Disk](/uploads/1/2/5/3/125356774/450431230.png)
So why am I suggesting that you do things the 'hard' way, and use the Custom install option? Well, the Windows Express option does most of the work for you, which takes the fun, or at least the challenge, out of it. The Windows Express option also doesn't let you directly configure many settings, including type of network, memory, disk space, and other parameters. The Custom install method gives you access to all of these configuration options, yet it's still simple to use. Using the OS Installation Assistant. Shared Networking.
This option takes advantage of your Mac's built-in ability to share a network connection with other computers. This built-in function is similar to Windows ICS (Internet Connection Sharing).
Bridged Ethernet. This is the option I recommend. It takes advantage of your Mac's ability to respond to more than one IP address on its Ethernet or wireless connection port. In essence, one IP address will be used for your Mac, and a separate IP address will be assigned to the Windows virtual machine. This makes the Windows virtual machine appear as if it's just another computer on your home or office network. Host-only Networking. This option lets the Windows virtual machine access your Mac and nothing else.
This is the minimum level of networking necessary for your Mac and the Windows virtual machine to share files. Networking is not required. This one is pretty self-explanatory. But remember: even if you don’t have a network or an Internet connection, you may still want to use the Host-only Networking option instead, so you can share files between OS X and Windows. Select the Networking Option to use.