VMWare Fusion and Parallels

Daryl L · 04-27-2008, 02:32 PM

I just got Parallels in the MacUpdate bundle. Thinking of tinkering with Ubuntu and XP in a virtual machine (I'm bored

). Why do you like your choice of the two? I'll have questions as I go.

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DaveF · 04-27-2008, 04:22 PM

When I bought Parallels, last summer, the information I found indicated Fusion wasn't nearly as useful. I think the current version that everyone raves about hadn't been released.

Parallels seems to be a robust solution. With the updates for Leopard, it seems to have matured further. My uses of it are pretty minor these days -- my wife uses it most for running MS Money to do our finances.

Is Fusion better? I have no experience there. But I can recommend Parallels without hesitation, as it does the job well.

Ronald Epstein · 04-27-2008, 05:01 PM

Quote:

But I can recommend Parallels without hesitation, as it does the job well.

I second that. Parallels is a remarkable piece of software.

Parker Clack · 04-27-2008, 11:22 PM

From my limited exposure to it I think Parallels is a great program.

Daryl L · 04-28-2008, 12:40 PM

Hehehe Parker, you just got your iMac a couple days ago and your already kicking the tires on Parallels? I really hope your enjoying OS X. After 13 years of Windows and 5 years of DOS before that this past year on OS X has me wishing I switched sooner. It has such a smooth and polished feel to it. OS X's file/folder structure and operation simplicity leaves me in awe and feeling like a kid on Christmas day every day.

Daryl L · 04-28-2008, 12:42 PM

Thanks for the comments all. Here's a few questions about Fusion and Parallels.

1. I use a wireless router (passworded) and airport to access the internet, no ethernet cable. Can I run WinXP or Ubuntu in Parallels or Fusion and never allow WinXP or Ubuntu access to the internet?

2. If YES is the answer to the above question will this allow me to avoid having to use a Firewall, AV or Malware software in the WinXP or Ubuntu virtual machine as long as I never access the internet from the WinXP or Ubuntu VM?

3. Will I have both read and write access to my MBP's Superdrive from the WinXP or Ubuntu VM in either Parallels or Fusion?

4. I read this on the Fusion site

Quote:

Resume where you left off
Use the Suspend feature in VMware to freeze the exact state of your virtual machine so that you can quickly resume work without restarting Windows and opening all your applications.

Can this also be done in Parallels also?

5. On the Fusion site they list Ubuntu Linux 6.10 as the latest Ubuntu version supported. Does anybody know if that info just hasn't been updated and that Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Desktop Edition can be used or not?

6. I might have one or two WinXP apps that are self contained .exe files that doesn't require installation. Can those be run in the WinXP VM as well?

7. Is moving files between OS X and the WinXP or Ubuntu VM possible and if so simple?

Probably more to ask as I think of them.

DaveF · 04-28-2008, 02:32 PM

1-5) No experience. I assume you can disable the networking drivers in WinXP so it can't see the network. You might be able to do it through the settings in Parallels as well.

6) Certainly. It's Windows. It runs Windows apps.

7) Yes. In Parallels, I can drag/drop files in and out of Parallels. You I think the copy/paste buffers transfers too. I have Parallels with BootCamp, so I have to use FAT32 formatting on the BootCamp partition to allow OS X to write to it (it can't write to an NTFS partition).

Daryl L · 04-29-2008, 06:20 PM

I installed Parallels today and downloaded Ubuntu 8.04 Desktop LTS and installed it straight from the downloaded iso file. Pretty nifty. Still got to order WinXP now.

BrianShort · 04-29-2008, 06:41 PM

Do you need separate partitions for XP and Linux when you install them using Parallels? The HD on my mac is only 160GB, and I am also wondering how big of a partition I'll need to devote to each. I haven't really yet found a reason I NEED either of them (even XP), but I figure I'll at least install XP at some point, now that SP3 is available.

Daryl L · 04-29-2008, 06:55 PM

From the video tutorials I watched from Parallels site Documents page and what I did today you don't partition your mac drive (unless using boot camp). Parallels automaticely allocates ~33gb per virtual machine max but only uses the amount needed up to that (unless you choose to use it all or more during the OS install.

Daryl L · 04-30-2008, 02:23 PM

Well, I installed WinXP SP1 from my old Dell laptops OS reinstall disc. Had to call the phone number to get it activated right (the internet activation kept failing). It's running pretty good. It's only using 1.68GB according to the folders Info. Ubunbtu 8.04 is using 2.47GB of space. I had no idea or had not read that Kaspersky Internet Security came with Parallels until I read in the "Parallels Desktop for Mac Quick Start Guide" about installing it after Windows is installed on page 19. KIS kept failing it's modules though until it updated and rebooted XP.

Another question. Can I take a Virtual Appliance like any of the Linux ones HERE and get Parallels to import them to use?

Daryl L · 05-01-2008, 03:01 PM

Hehehe, now with Parallels I can use Irfanview again. Love this little app. No Mac equivalent.