Anyone upgraded to Parallels 4? (1 Viewer)

[DaveF]

Anyone upgraded to Parallels 4, esp with a BootCamp configuration? Worth the $40? Thanks!

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Dave,

I was considering it, until I read all the problematic feedback
on the Parallels forums. As of a week ago, there were a lot
of angry people who wanted their money back, citing all sorts
of installation problems.

Now some of that may have been straightened out at this point,
as I stopped reading the forum since.

In fact, though I use Parallels 3 on my desktop, I tried VMFUSION
on my laptop and I like it just as much. I know both these companies
are fiercely competing with each other.

I would have upgraded my Parallels (since I bought it), but the
feedback has me concerned. In addition, I don't Windows often and
when I do, it is using XP. I don't know what additional benefits a
$40 upgrade is going to give me over what I am using now with an
older operating system.

....still, I can't help but be curious. Go ahead and read the [url=

 

[JohnRice]

So, if you are using XP the 4.0 update doesn't really give any advantages?

I can't afford to have XP problems and everything is running fine, so maybe I should just stick with 3.0.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

John,

I don't know the answer to that question. The only thing I have
read from the initial feedback from those who successfully were
able to install 4.0 was improved performance. However, I don't
know if they were using Vista or XP.

My Mac does a wonderful job of running XP under Parallels. I see
none of the performance issues that I experienced when I initially
ran Vista and Parallels. I am guessing that 4.0 better enhances
issues with Vista.

I am really hoping someone here takes the dive and tries out
version 4.0. I am feeling the rush to do something as the special
upgrade price expires at the end of the month. Just not convinced
that it will run XP better than it already does.

 

[Carlo_M]

I'm in the same Waiting Game as both of you. I don't want to risk upgrading to 4 if it's going to break the system, even if it means losing the $10 early upgrade break which expires soon. I bought Parallels about a year ago when it looked like I'd be using XP considerably on my laptop. Now that I built my new desktop PC (Vista machine), I find I do most of my work on that (dual boot w/ XP) so my laptop is primarily an OSX machine.

 

[DaveF]

Thanks for the comments. I hadn't heard of the negative reports. My hope for Parallels 4 is that its new support for dual-cores would speed things up a bit, and its improved support for USB devices would solve some issues I have when I plug in my iPod or thumb drive (when Parallels is running).

Though Fusion gets great reviews, I'm already a Parallels user and prefer to upgrade to the same: costs less for an upgrade and (presumably) less risk of screwing things up in the process.

So, some reading to do to learn more.

Anyone know if the $40 upgrade price is a limited offer?

 

[JohnRice]

Well, I only use Parallels to run FedEx shipping software and the configuration app for our phone system. So, my demands are low and everything is operating just fine. I think I'll hold with Parallels 3.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Dave,

The $40 upgrade price is only till the end of the month.

 

[DaveF]

Hrmm...That's a bit annoying. But thanks for the info. I may buy it then, and take my chances.

 

[DaveF]

And now I see that Fusion is $30 for a crossgrade! $10 cheaper than Parallels 4 and commonly regarded as better (for now).

This shouldn't be a difficult decision, but the whole BootCamp / Parallels / WinXP-activation feels a bit fragile and I'm wary of breaking something. And my wife is the main user of virtualization, so I don't want to confuse her needlessly

 

[DaveF]

Pardon my conversation with myself

but I found a very helpful (and glowing) review of Parallels 4 at Information Week.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Long, but interesting read. It certainly is pushing me to upgrade
to version 4 only for the reason that it puts Windows icons in the
upper Mac system tray.

Still, I don't use Parallels often. I am not a gamer and only fire
it up when I need to use my Brother Label Maker or use PalTalk.

I have used both Parallels and VMFusion. I would give the edge
to VM as far as ease of setup.

I still have a few days to decide if I want to jump on this upgrade
offer or not.

 

[DaveF]

Parallels 4 bought and installed. It was flawless, with only one minor point of confusion. Had I not read online about the troubles some are having, I'd have done this and thought it was one of the best and easiest upgrades ever.

The only confusion I had was during the configuration of my BootCamp VM, it did a preliminary launch of Windows, and an install-new-hardware dialog appeared. However, the mouse wasn't working in this mode and the dialog wasn't accessible by keyboard. And the window was oversize, so the bottom was cut off. I fiddled for five minutes fearing I was stuck. Then, a Parallels Tools dialog appeared, a countdown finished, and it went on its merry way and the installation continued. I think that if I'd read the info Parallels gave me before this step more carefully, there would have been no confusion. And if I'd made the window fit my screen, I might have seen what was happening on the bottom.

Regardless, it took about 30 minutes, but went perfectly. My core Windows uses are working as always. My VPN connection and Remote Desktop -- a finicky pair -- work. MS Money is working normally. I have internet access.

I haven't tried the new Parallels features; it launches in the new Coherence mode and my initial reaction was this was a big improvement for those using Coherence in a serious way. I switched to fullscreen, my normal mode, and all is well.

I haven't looked at the new configuration items, to see how it works with the dual-core CPU or supports mult-monitors. I'm a modest user, so I'm in no rush.

I'm one guy. But my experience and from that of the Info Week article I'd link, I'd say if you want to upgrade, this Parallels 4 for $40 is a no-brainer.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

So, not using bootcamp, I should have no problem upgrading
from 3 to 4? I take it that all the version 3 settings are retained?

 

[Ronald Epstein]

You know what Dave? I was seconds away from purchasing the
upgrade....

...but then I took one last look at the Parallels forum and there
are just too many complaints about the software.

Additionally, people are saying bootup in XP is actually slower.

Right now I really don't use Parallels often. I would bet that in
a few months there will be another $40 upgrade offer and at that
point they will have all the bugs worked out of this.

...in the meantime please keep us posted on your experiences.

 

[DaveF]

I'll get back with any useful findings

 

[DaveF]

My attitude has changed. Stay away for now. Here's my post on the Parallels Forums:

 

[Ronald Epstein]

The recurring comments that I read about Parallels 4 is that
bootup of Windows XP is actually slower on version 4 than 3.

That was what told me to stay away.

It's obvious the developers released this upgrade too early.
The one great thing about Parallels is that their team never
stops improving their software, releasing new updates every
few weeks. Based on that I am confident they will work out
the early bugs.

 

[DaveF]

I'm looking forward to the next patch. It's not a bad or broken program, and the installation for my account alone went swimmingly. But it broke the setup on my wife's account, and getting that working was a hassle. And in working more closely, I've found that as an upgrade, there may be no benefit over PD3.

It works. I use it. It's only $40 out of pocket. But you made a good call in waiting on it.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

...and as I suspected, Parallels is still offering a $40 upgrade special
for the holidays.