Virtual Machine For Mac

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Jul 14, 2017  Virtual Machine Apps. There are several different virtual machine programs you can choose from: VirtualBox: (Windows, Linux, Mac OS X): VirtualBox is very popular because it’s open-source and completely free. There’s no paid version of VirtualBox, so you don’t have to deal with the usual “upgrade to get more features” upsells and nags. Open VirtualBox and click on the “New” button to build a new virtual machine Name the new virtual machine “Windows 10 VM” (or something equally obvious), select “Microsoft Windows” as the type and choose “Windows 10” as the version, then choose Continue.

If you want to run Windows on your Mac there are two ways to do it. One is to partition your main drive using the built-in Bootcamp Assistant and then install Windows on the partition that doesn’t house macOS. You can then boot into whichever operating system you choose.

While that method means running Windows natively and so is optimal in terms of performance, it means you have to reboot every time you want to move between operating systems and you can’t, for example, copy and paste between macOS and Windows. If you want to run Windows and macOS side by side, you’ll need to create a Windows virtual machine for Mac.

What is a virtual machine?

A virtual machine (VM) is a computer that’s created in software and looks and feels just like a real PC. But it runs inside a Mac application. The whole virtual machine, with the operating system and all its applications, is stored inside one big file on your Mac. That means you can have multiple virtual machines on the same Mac. Once you launch it and ‘boot’ the virtual PC, Windows VM on Mac behaves like any other Windows machine, except that it’s running inside a window on your Mac.

If you have two screens connected to your Mac, you can have macOS on one and Windows on the other. Or you can use Mission Control to swipe between them. A virtual machine can share accessories like printers and external storage with your Mac, and you can copy and paste between the two operating systems. You can even set up the virtual machine to use Mac keyboard shortcuts instead of their Windows equivalents.

Can I run a virtual machine on my Mac?

As long as your Mac has an Intel processor (and it will have unless it’s more than 12 years old), in theory it can run a virtual machine. However, running a virtual machine alongside macOS needs lots of memory (at least 8GB in total, and more if you want to run more than one virtual machine) and at least two processor cores. You’ll also need at least 16-20GB of hard drive space, and that’s before you start installing applications and saving files. Most modern Macs should run any of the virtual machine applications described here without a problem.

The other thing you’ll need is a copy of Windows. Virtual machine applications don’t come with Windows installers, so you’ll need to supply your own, along with a licence key.

Best virtual machine software for Mac

There are three contenders here: Parallels Desktop, VMWare Fusion, and VirtualBox. We’ll discuss Virtual Box in the next section.

Parallels Desktop 13

The latest version of Parallels Desktop has support for features in the latest Macs, like the MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar. It also allows you to make the Windows desktop ‘invisible’ when you’re running apps, so it looks like you’re just running Windows apps in macOS. Or, if you prefer, you can shrink Windows desktop down to a thumbnail preview, so it doesn’t get in the way but you can keep an eye on what it’s doing.

Of course, virtual machines aren’t just about running Windows on your Mac. Parallels Desktop allows you to install Linux, or a different version of macOS, say a beta of the next version if you don’t want to install it on your Mac. If you’ve previously installed Windows on a Boot Camp partition, you can use that partition as a virtual machine, allowing you to boot into it from within Parallels without re-booting your Mac.

Touch Bar support includes functions in Microsoft Office apps, as well as Windows Task Bar.

When it comes to performance, Parallels Desktop is about as good as it gets for virtual machines. That means you can run most applications just fine, but demanding 3D graphics-intensive games, and other apps that place lots of demands on the CPU and GPU are still a bit of a struggle. If you want to run those in Windows, you’re still better off using Boot Camp.

May 16, 2014  Yasu for Mac is a streamlined program designed to keep your machine running smoothly by carrying out certain routine maintenance tasks. Dec 21, 2017  Hopefully, this complete YASU Mac cleaner review was enough to make a final decision. Just think about whether you need a cleaner and effective maintenance task manager in one tool. If yes, YASU will save a plenty of time by letting you implement various commands without Terminal or other tricky native utilities. Yasu for mac. May 09, 2019  Yasu allows system administrators, as well as the average user, to conveniently run various system level Unix shell scripts in order to perform maintenance routines and clear the many cache files used by OS X. Yasu was designed to be a simple, intuitive, first line of attack for a Mac that has started 'acting up.'

VMWare Fusion

The other main contender when it comes to running a virtual machine on your Mac is VMWare Fusion. It comes in two versions, Fusion 10, which costs about the same as Parallels Desktop, and Fusion 10 Pro, which is more expensive but adds feature aimed at enterprise customers, such as support for managing virtual servers.

In terms of features, there’s little to choose between Parallels Desktop and Fusion. Like its rival, Fusion allows you to choose between running Windows inside a window on your Mac (or full-screen if you prefer) and in what it calls Unity mode, where the operating system disappears and Windows apps look like they’re running natively on the Mac. That means you can run Windows and Mac apps alongside each other and switch between them seamlessly. You can also copy and paste between Mac and Windows, share peripherals, and map Mac keyboard shortcuts in Windows.

Support for OpenGL and DX10, as well as Apple’s Metal technology means that playing resource-hungry games is theoretically possible. But, as with Parallels, performance in the latest games lags behind Boot Camp and may prove frustrating.

The latest version of Fusion adds support for the MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar.

Choosing between Parallels Desktop and VMWare Fusion may be as much a matter of a preference for one or the other’s user interface. They have very similar features, and cost almost the same. Fortunately, both offer free trials — Parallels for 14 days and Fusion for 30 days — so you can download each one and try them out before making a decision on which to buy.

Best free virtual machine software for Mac

If you want to run a virtual machine on your Mac but can’t stretch to the $70 for Parallels or Fusion, there is a third option — VirtualBox. Owned by Oracle and made available as open-source software for personal or educational use, VirtualBox won’t cost you a penny if you fall into either of those two categories.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that VirtualBox, because it’s open source and free lacks all of the polish of Parallels Desktop and VMWare Fusion. While it does the basics competently, it’s much less user friendly and much less easy to use than the other two. And while there is help available online from other users, there’s no official support if you run into problems. And remember, while VirtualBox itself is free, you’ll still need to supply your own copy of Windows. Alternatively, you could use VirtualBox to run Linux on your Mac, instead of Windows.

Alternatives to a virtual machine

As we mentioned earlier, the alternative to running a virtual machine on your Mac is to partition your main drive using the built-in Boot Camp Assistant (it’s in the Utilities folder). You can then install Windows or Linux, or another version on macOS, on the other partition.

Boot Camp Assistant is very easy to use and once you’ve set it up, booting into, say, Windows, is just like using it natively on a PC. That means, of course, that you won’t be able to copy and paste between Mac and Windows, and you won’t be able to use external storage that’s formatted in APFS or Mac OS Extended, but Windows will run faster than it does on a virtual machine.

If you plan to use Boot Camp Assistant to partition your main drive, remember to back it up first. Partitioning a drive is not quite major surgery, but it definitely carries the risk of losing data.

Virtual Machine For Mac

How to make space for a virtual machine on your Mac

Depending on how many applications you plan to install on your virtual machine and what you plan to use it for, you may need tens of gigabytes of free space on your Mac. If space is tight, don’t worry, there’s plenty you can do to make room. As a first step, we recommend installing CleanMyMac X. It scans your Mac and looks for files that can be safely deleted. These include “junk” system files like cache files and other temporary files that are still hanging around, as well as language support files, and data in Photos and iTunes you may not need. Once it’s scanned your Mac and found all those files, you can delete them all with a click, or review the results of the scan and decide for yourself what you want to trash.

CleanMyMac can also uninstall files completely, getting rid of all the files that are left if you just drag and app to the Trash, and highlight large and old files that you haven’t opened for a while. Best of all, you can download it free here and give it a try. You’ll be surprised about how much space you can free up.

Virtual machines are the most convenient way of running a second operating system on your Mac. The ones we have highlighted here are the best VMs for Mac, so download one and give it a go.

Mac OS is the name that comes right after Microsoft while talking about operating system for computers. Basically both of them are designed to perform similar kind of tasks but still they are different from each other. The file formats supported by Mac are not accessible through windows. This is the reason why some techniques are developed to run macOS on windows 10 in a virtual machine by programmers. Yes it is possible with the help of some third party software that you need to install before installing Mac OS. This operating system is specifically designed for apple company computer systems and do not support any other machine.

By providing an emulated environment to the Mac OS in windows, you can easily install and run every application that is supported by Mac. All you need is a computer system that must have following capabilities:-

  • 64 bit windows
  • Duel core processor or above
  • 4 GB RAM or above

If your computer system is fulfilling all these requirements, then it is very easy to run Mac and windows in a single machine. It really seems amazing but you need to download software applications and follow the instructions to make it work. To run macOS on windows 10 in a virtual machine, here is the whole procedure:-

How to Run macOS on Windows 10 in a Virtual Machine:

Requirements:

Before installing the Mac operating system in your windows based PC, first of all you need to download a third party app that can manage all of its files. One of the best applications to perform this task is virtual box. You can easily download virtual box by clicking on this direct link without searching anywhere else. Another thing that you will need is a hacked disk image file of mountain lion. Also you will need HackBoot 1 and HackBoot 2 ISO files that are easily available on internet and occupy little bit of space.

Create a virtual machine with virtual box

First thing that you need to do is installing virtual box and customize the settings to Run macOS on Windows 10 in a Virtual Machine. Follow these steps to initiate the process:-

  • After the installation of virtual box in windows, start it and and click on new button to create a new virtual machine. Give it the name of Mac OS and set operating system as:-

“Mac OS X server” that must be 64bit.

  • After assigning the name and version, click on next button and specify the RAM that you want to give for this new virtual machine. Minimum 4GB RAM is required so that you can divide it in equal proportion for windows and Mac.

Download Virtual Machine For Mac

  • Click on the next button to create new disk in VDI format. After creating it successfully, main screen of virtual box will appear.
  • Now right click on the left side bar at OS X machine and select the settings. In the setting section, go to system option and uncheck the “Enable EFI”.
  • Below the system option, you will find storage option, click on it. Under the storage type, click on CD icon that will be empty. You will find CD/DVD drive under attributes, click on its drop down menu and “Choose a Virtual CD/DVD Disk File” Finally select the HackBoot 1 ISO and click OK. By doing this, your computer will be ready to boot.

Installation of OS X in Virtual Box

Now mount the mountain lion ISO file in the virtual drive that for installation purpose. After mounting the operating system file, follow this process:-

  • Start the virtual box application, select OS X machine in left side bar of virtual box and click on start button in tool bar.
  • By performing this, you will be directed to the hackboot screen.
  • Click on the CD icon appearing in the interface of virtual box and select “Choose a Virtual CD/DVD Disk File” From here, select hacked mountain lion ISO file from the main storage.
  • After selecting it, go to the hackboot screen and press F5 button of your keyboard that will reload the boot menu and show you:-

“OS X Install DVD”

Virtual Machine For Mac

  • Select it, press enter key and you will be directed to the installation screen of OS X within a moment.
  • Here choose the language, and accept the terms and conditions to proceed but a problem will occur that new operating system will not detect the valid hard drive for installation. To solve this problem, go to the utilities option and open disk utilities.
  • Now click on the hard drive of virtual box in the left side and click on erase tab option. Give “Macintosh HD” name to the drive and click on erase button.
  • It will format the drive that will appear in left sidebar. After the completion of process, exit the disk utility and continue the installation of operating system in normal way. Wait for about 20-30 minutes for ending the procedure.
  • After finishing thee setup, a white screen will appear with white text; here you will click on X at the upper right corner of window to exit the virtual machine.

Fix the audio and visual issues

Audio fixing

It is very important to fix the audio related issue and you can do it by using a third party software. To Run macOS on Windows 10 in a Virtual Machine with good audio quality, follow these steps:-

Free Virtual Machine For Mac Os X

  • Start the virtual box and right click on OS X in the left side bar. Go to the settings option and open the storage section.
  • Again click on the disk icon but this tome choose HackBoot 2 ISO file that you had downloaded.
  • Now click on start button to reboot again and again the hackboot menu will appear with option to boot in new virtual machine, just press enter.
  • Within a moment, the desktop of OS X will appear, here open the safari browser and visit “tonymacx86.com”. From here, download multi beast from what you will need section.
  • Now open the system preference and proceed to security option.
  • In the bottom left corner, click on the lock icon, enter password here, and set the preference of “allow applications” to “anywhere”. By doing this, you will be able to run all the applications from un-trusted developers.
  • Now launch the multi beat application that you have downloaded recently.
  • An installation type selection list will appear from where you will need to select the options that are shown in below image.

Virtual Box For Mac

  • After selection all of the options, click on continue to finish the installation.

Fixing graphics

You will see the interface will appear in very low resolution that needs to be improved for better experience. Here is the process of fixing the graphics to perfectly Run macOS on Windows 10 in a Virtual Machine:-

  • Follow this chain: – Go > Go to folder > /Extra/.
  • Double click on “org.Chameleon.boot.plist” file and add it to the bottom right before Graphics mode 1920 X 1080 X 32 Saver it and exit the text editor. Now the OS X will start with high resolution when you will open it again.