I read through your splendid tutorial on installing Windows XP with Apple’s Boot Camp product (see ) but that’s not for me. I don’t want to have to reboot each time I want to try something out with a Windows app on my Mac. I’ve read about something called the Parallels Desktop and am hoping you can explain how to install it and how to use it so I can run Windows in parallel with Mac OS X? I have to admit, I’ve been using Macs since the digital stone age and still get frustrated that I have to buy PCs so I can run Windows with any decent results. I’ve run Microsoft’s Virtual PC, for example, but it’s a dog and even when you have lots of patience it’s pretty difficult to work within that environment even if you have the most powerful computer and least demanding application. Further, I think that Apple’s Boot Camp program is incredibly smart and have been dual booting Macs for quite a while, though usually into different flavors of Linux or related. I even had my tri-booting Mac laptop make it to the cover of a Linux magazine!

Still, though, the idea of running Windows — or another OS — within Mac OS X through what’s called a “virtual machine” or “virtualization” solution, is too good to miss. That’s why I was thrilled when released its, a full Windows-capable virtualization package for less than $80. Just like with Apple’s Boot Camp, there are some specific requirements that you need to meet before you can use Parallels Desktop, however, chief among them the requirement that you have an Intel-based Macintosh. You’ll also want at least a few gig of free disk space and at least 1GB of memory for performance reasons. They also recommend you have the very latest version of Mac OS X, which is easily done with the Software Update capability on the Macs. Let’s Get Started!

Your first step isn’t to download the application, believe it or not, but rather to decide whether you want to get a free 15-day product key or go ahead and buy the program and get a full product key. I suggest the latter, honestly, because it’s very cool and well worth the money. Once you get the 23MB disk image, open it up and you’ll see a pretty typical set of icons: Don’t just click on the installer, however. Spend a few minutes reading through the User Guide included to double-check that everything’s compatible with your configuration. Then you’ll find that the installer is quite typical of Mac installers, with a license to accept, a hard disk to select for the installation target, and a few buttons to click. It’s so typical I’m not going to even include a screenshot here!

I run parallels on my Mac Book Pro. How to make half page flyers. I'm having the worst time trying to use media sync to move my music from my iTunes. I didn't download the Mac version, because that would render my Pocket Mac useless. Symptoms The Boot Camp option is not showing in the Parallels Desktop Wizard on a MacBook 2015. Cause Under investigation.

Once the installation is finished, it’s time to start the application, which you’ll find in a folder called “Parallels” in your Application directory. Click on the program and you’ll see a rather intimidating first screen: Don’t panic. Instead, click on the “New VM” button on the bottom left to launch the New VM Wizard. (VM = virtual machine, remember). This will help you through the steps necessary to create a new “virtual” computer that will let you install the operating system of your choice, Microsoft Windows XP. Your first decision will be to determine if you want to create a typical VM, create a custom VM, or create a blank VM: As the wizard recommends, I also encourage you to choose the default configuration.