Review by MagnumMan

I bought Parallels for Mac because of previous problems with other similar program, VM Ware. In all fairness, the VM product was a beta so I should have guessed it would be buggy, but even the non beta version had its fair share of bugs.

Although VM Ware loaded XP home without a hitch, using the program was fraught with difficulties. First, it was slow as molasses in January. I’m not taking just a little slow, I’m talking ‘go to lunch and maybe it’ll be finished’ slow.

Secondly, it was prone to mouse failure. Although it would recognize my mouse, it was always at least 2 inches off the mark. If I wanted to click a box I finally learned to position my mouse at least 2 inches below the intended button and then click.

Finally, VM Ware allows for the import of an existing Boot Camp partition (see below) but the process is slow and one slight misstep spells doom. For the novice, it’s intimidating.

Then I went to Boot Camp, which is Apple’s built in Windows capable utility. It worked without a hitch but you had to reboot to either OS X or Windows and hold the option key to get a boot menu. Of note, Boot Camp runs Windows natively, that is, at the same speed as a regular Windows machine. Fact is, it runs quicker on a Mac! All you have to do is go to the Boot Camp utility (under Utilities in the HD icon) and it walks you through it.

I got Parallels because I was tired of rebooting my computer to get to Windows. I use Quicken 2008 quite a bit and Quicken for Mac really bites so I do have to use Windows. With Parallels I don’t have to reboot.

How difficult is it to access the Boot Camp partition with Parallels? Well for starters, it takes about as long as reading this sentence. Once you install Windows into Boot Camp you then install Parallels in Mac. Upon opening Parallels the first time it’ll ask you if you want to import the Boot Camp partition with Windows on it. Click yes and you’ll get a desktop icon that states ‘My Boot Camp’. After a few minutes of tweaking you’ll have Windows running on your Mac desktop.

Of course, it’s not all fun and games. For example, you’ll get a warning that your Windows serial number is no longer any good because of significant hardware changes on your computer. Not a problem. I called the Microsoft toll free number and they issued me a new serial number when I told them what happened. Also, until Parallels recognizes and installs your mouse in the window, you’ll have to revert to the old ALT routine (the underlined Y in Yes means you have to press the Y key to enter the command. Making things weird is that you sometimes have to hit the ALT or CTRL key, sometimes you don’t. Go figure).

Also, you must learn to read instructions. Your mouse cursor will be stuck in the Parallels window that appears. It will seem you can’t get it out of the box. Read the bottom of the box and it’ll tell you to hit CTRL and ALT to get the cursor out of the box and back to Mac. It you go to full screen mode, you’ll have to remember to key in ALT and ENTER to access the Mac screen again (it merely minimizes the window that has XP or Vista in it).

By the way, the default memory allocated to Parallels is 512 MB. Some may find this a tick slow and you can increase it to half of your available RAM if you desire (I have 4 GB so I could go to 2). I found 512 to be just about right, but Vista will require at least 1 GB.

If done properly, Windows will act just as fast in Parallels on Mac as it does in Boot Camp. I could detect no discernible difference, but there are a couple things to remember:nn1. If Windows is open in Parallels, shut it down as you would any Windows machine. Shutting it down by closing the window may make it crash.n2. Maximize the window for best performance. If you use the default window size things get really crowded very quickly.n3. Don’t think you can get away using a hacked or cloned version of Windows. Parallels demands a serial number before it will load Windows, unless you import it from Boot Camp and then Windows asks for a serial number. Either way, you’re out of luck if you attempt to use a fraudulent copy.

For the price I paid (about $20 when I bought my Mac) you really can’t lose with Parallels. It works as intended and actually runs Windows better than a Windows machine.