Question
Parallels Desktop 10 For Mac
Parallels Desktop 11 for Mac is virtualization software that enables users to use OS X El Capitan and Windows 10 side by side without rebooting, including full support for Windows and Mac apps. Parallels today announced an update to Parallels Desktop 10 for Mac, the company's software for running non-Apple operating systems safely on a Mac.The new update brings 'experimental support' for. If you have already installed Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, or Windows 7 on your Mac using Boot Camp, you can set Parallels Desktop to run Windows from the Boot Camp Partition or import Windows and your data from Boot Camp into Parallels Desktop as a new virtual machine.
- If you want to run Windows in a virtual machine to play games that you can’t play on a Mac, then you’ll want to use Parallels Desktop 7. In my testing, it handily outperformed Fusion.
- I have an iMac with the quad core i7 CPU which shows up in Mac OS X as an eight core CPU (thanks to Hyper Threading, I think). Parallels Desktop allows me to assign 1-8 cores to the Windows VM that I'm running.
- If you have already installed Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, or Windows 7 on your Mac using Boot Camp, you can set Parallels Desktop to run Windows from the Boot Camp Partition or import Windows and your data from Boot Camp into Parallels Desktop as a new virtual machine.
I want to upgrade my Windows virtual machine to Windows 10. How do I do that?
Windows 10 For Mac Parallels
Before you proceed
In January 2020 Windows 7 will reach the end of extended support (no more security patches).
Please note that only the following versions of Windows are supported for the upgrade to Windows 10:
- Windows 7 SP1
- Windows 8.1 Update
For more information please refer to Microsoft Support: Windows 10 Specifications, Windows 10 Upgrade FAQ.
Also make sure that you are running the latest update of Parallels Desktop for Mac.
NOTE: Windows 10 free upgrade policy from Microsoft ended on July 29, 2016. You may purchase a Windows 10 license from Microsoft at:
Instructions
To upgrade your Windows virtual machine to Windows 10 please follow the upgrade path given below.
Step 1
- Even though Parallels Desktop automatically detects whether 32-bit or 64-bit Windows version is installed in the virtual machine, you can check which one you've got by clicking on Start menu > right clicking on Computer > Properties.
- Choose one of the links below depending on Windows version shown in computer's properties.
Download Tool Now (32-bit version)
Download Tool Now (64-bit version)
NOTE: for installing 64-bit version of Windows 10 please make sure your virtual machine has at least 2GB of RAM assigned. To check virtual machine's RAM please open configuration menu > Hardware > CPU & Memory.
To increase the memory you would need to shut down your virtual machine.
Also make sure that you have at least 10GB of free space available on the virtual hard disk for the upgrade. You can check the amount of a free space in File Explorer of your Windows VM (C: partition). To add more free space please visit KB 113972.
Step 2
Mac Windows Download
- If you have Parallels Desktop Sharing Tools enabled, you can run the downloaded file from the Mac's Downloads folder.
- Run MediaCreationTool.exe and follow the on-screen instructions to upgrade Windows.
- Once the upgrade has finished you can shut Windows down and rename it.