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.

How to Create New Virtual Machine to Install macOS High Sierra on VMware Workstation 14/15 Step 1. If you try to create a VM without using VM Unlocker, you will not see. Download VM Unlocker by clicking on the button at the bottom of. Wait until VMware Unlocker stops. Parallels solutions enable seamless delivery of virtual desktops and applications to any device, running Windows on a Mac, Mac management with Microsoft SCCM, and remote access to PCs and Mac computers from any device. Parallels has offices in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia.

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.

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.

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.

Virtual Box For Mac

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.

A topic that has interested many users of late is cross functionality of operating systems in purpose-built hardware and one question that I have been asked on several occasions is, “Is it possible to install Mac OS on PC?”. Whilst the short answer is yes, it is, we need to look deeper at how this can actually be done and both the pro’s and the cons of doing it. The process of cross functionality in operating systems involves using things referred to as Virtual Machines and Hackintosh.

A Virtual Machine is a computer program that acts like a genuine computer would be expected to. The program can be run as a window as any other program would be. In essence, It is a computer within another computer. The end game of the Virtual Machine is to give the user the full experience of if they were using the actual operating system itself. These types of programs are usually ring-fenced. This means that the data and software in the program is unable to interact with the machine it is installed on. This generally means software can be used on machines it wasn’t originally intended to be used on and virtually prevents the risk of transmitting viruses and affecting its host hardware. Several of these virtual machines can be run at the same time on the same computer. What you will usually find is there will be an overseeing piece of software that facilitates this. Specific examples of a Virtual Machine could be either VirtualBox or VMware. So now we have a basic knowledge of what a Virtual Machine is and how it works. Let’s move on to Hackintosh.

In simple terms, Hackintosh is the name given to the action of installing Mac OS on PC. So instead of installing Windows, you would install Mac. Whilst running Mac OS on a traditional PC is not supported by creators Apple, with the proper hardware and user knowledge, it can be done. The term “Hackintosh” itself implies that the software needs to be patched in order to run efficiently and correctly. Naturally, some parts of the hardware would need to be altered in some cases as well. Now that we have a brief understanding of both Virtual Machines and Hackintosh, let us go over the pro’s and the cons of both.

macOS Mojave on Virtual Machine

• It is generally easy to install macOS on a PC. The user just needs to download a VMware Image (VMDK) or VirtualBox Image (VDI) and run the program.

• Virtual machines are designed to work with all types of hardware, making them universally accessible.

• Any piece of hardware with a working internet connection (LAN) is able to run a virtual machine.

• Support is available in a variety of languages making it accessible to people who would usually be classed as technologically uneducated, all around the world.

• With the way that Virtual Machines work, you are able to work efficiently, running different operating systems in side by side windows. For example, you could be running macOS and Ubuntu, simultaneously.

• Share your Windows file or hard disk in easily using the “drag and drop” function.

• Installing the operating system is simple and straightforward and there are often user guides available.

• Virtual Machines are easy to maintain. Regular updates are supplied by developers allowing users to upgrade their operating software with ease.

• VirtualBox and VMware Player are both available free of charge, making them an even more attractive option to users.

• If the user is running several virtual machines simultaneously, this can contribute to an unstable CPU performance.

• Virtual Machines do not support genuine graphics cards. Virtual Machines are not designed to fully support the user’s Camera, Bluetooth.

• The user usually requires a high CPU and RAM to run a single Virtual machine, let alone several at once.

• You will find that your computers audio is not utilising its peak performance when using a Virtual Machine.

• Even when functioning at less than its intended efficiency. It is still more efficient than running Windows 10 for example. You can expect a vast reduction in hardware related crashes and you will find the operating system generally handles better.

• You can enjoy almost fully customisation of your computer. For example, if you don’t want to use the traditional ATI graphics card used by Mac, you could use Nvidia instead.

• Use of a Dual-Boot system. You can utilise both Windows and macOS on a Hackintosh machine.

Ubuntu Virtual Machine For Mac

• It enables a “Try before you buy” culture. If you are someone who has always been hesitant in using apple products. Building a Hackintosh machine is the ideal way to experience Apples operating software before committing to buying it. If you don’t enjoy it, you can simply change it back to a standard PC with virtually zero consequences.

• You are essentially stuck with the parts that you have. The parts that you are currently using are all tested to work together and any attempt to upgrade or change any parts can break your system.

• It is not for beginners. You really need some sort of experience in building computers before you attempt to build a machine using Hackintosh as not all parts work.

• Strange foreign errors. It is important to remember that macOS was never intended to run on a PC. This can lead to frequent and unexplained errors. This again leads us back to the point that Apple support cannot help you with this.

• It is a very tricky set up process compared to that of a PC. You will need to download numerous drivers and add-ons that can easily go wrong if you are inexperienced in this field.

To summarise, although theoretically, it is possible to install Mac OS on PC, I would strongly suggest that those of us that truly love Apples OS, that you invest in a Mac Mini.

A Mac Mini is essentially a very small computer created by Apple that is capable of connecting to almost any standard computer screen. Originally introduced in 2005, the Mac Mini was targeted at consumers switching from traditional PC’s over to Mac. In my opinion it is the ideal computer for anyone who is looking to make the switch from a traditional PC over to Mac but is conscious of their budget.

It features the full Apple software that many of us have come to know and love and comes with the massive benefit of the wonderful Apple customer support we discussed earlier. Users can generally get their hands on a Mac Mini for around $500. The standard cost of a regular PC. Apple recently updated the Mac Mini for 2018. The Mac Mini hadn’t been refreshed since 2014 prior to this and now boasts the 8th generation CPU and a massive 64GB of memory. It’s new eco friendly design is a welcome addition to Apple lovers worldwide and is available to purchase from many mainstream retailers, as well as the official Apple store.