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'Parallels Transporter' Eases Migration From Windows to Mac

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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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parallels_transporter.jpg
Virtualization software firm Parallels today announced the debut of Parallels Transporter, a new Mac OS X application to help users transition from Windows-based machines to Mac OS X.
The Parallels Transporter app is designed for Mac users who may not need to run Windows on their Mac at all; it is a simple way to bring everything you need from your PC together on your Mac without wasting your valuable time or incurring the expense of hiring a technology service to do the work:

- Parallels Transporter Agent collects data on your PC and uses your wireless network or an external storage device to transfer it to Parallels Transporter on your Mac.
- Parallels Transporter on your Mac receives data from the Parallels Transporter Agent and copies it to the appropriate locations on your Mac. The files stored in your Windows home directory are copied to the corresponding folders on your Mac so they can be accessed and used with compatible Mac programs. Internet bookmarks are copied to Safari or any other default web browser in Mac OS X.
Click to expand...
Parallels Transporter also moves Windows-only programs and files into a virtual machine located on the destination Mac. While the software does not include the ability to run the virtual machine, users can decide later to purchase the full Parallels virtualization software to access the data.

Parallels Transporter is available through the Mac App Store for an introductory price of $0.99, a very significant discount off of the regular price of $39.99.

Article Link: 'Parallels Transporter' Eases Migration From Windows to Mac
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2011/05/18/parallels-transporter-eases-migration-from-windows-to-mac/
vjl323

vjl323

macrumors 6502
Sep 7, 2005
282
220
Western North Carolina
VMware has had this for many years

I've used this feature dozens of times via VMware's free app that lets one convert a real Windows PC into a virtual one for use in VMware Fusion or their Windows/Linux vm products. It's about time Parallels finally caught up, but having been burned by their software numerous times, I'm sticking with the stable VMware Fusion for my Mac. :)
 
T

thejman1993

macrumors newbie
May 18, 2011
1
0
how much ram???

i'm gonna be getting a new macbook pro and if i can spend the money i was gonna get 8gb of ram but if i get parallels how many gb do i use? and i am just getting parallels so i can run office for school and stuff.
 
johncarync

johncarync

macrumors regular
Aug 2, 2005
245
227
Cary, NC
thejman1993 said:
i'm gonna be getting a new macbook pro and if i can spend the money i was gonna get 8gb of ram but if i get parallels how many gb do i use? and i am just getting parallels so i can run office for school and stuff.
Click to expand...

I had Parallels with 4GB on my MacBook Pro and it was noticeably slow. I upgraded to 8GB and speed is now very acceptable. The biggest wait times are experienced when opening virtual machines (about 23 seconds) and closing/suspending them (about 6 seconds). I don't believe that more RAM will help with that process...probably a faster drive or SSD would be necessary to speed up opening/closing.
 
D

djrobsd

macrumors 6502a
May 2, 2008
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25
thejman1993 said:
i'm gonna be getting a new macbook pro and if i can spend the money i was gonna get 8gb of ram but if i get parallels how many gb do i use? and i am just getting parallels so i can run office for school and stuff.
Click to expand...

I've ran Parallels on 2 gigs, no problem. 4 is usually sufficient, 8 might be overkill unless you're going to have 20 windows open at once in both OS'. OSX does an excellent job of managing memory, as does Parallels. It only takes memory when it's needed and frees it back up for other processes to use when it's not being used.
 
macpeach55

macpeach55

macrumors 6502
Aug 26, 2010
473
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Germany, & the Rest of the known World
thejman1993 said:
i'm gonna be getting a new macbook pro and if i can spend the money i was gonna get 8gb of ram but if i get parallels how many gb do i use? and i am just getting parallels so i can run office for school and stuff.
Click to expand...

I just went up to 8GB on my late 2008 MBP, and the difference is tremendous when running Windows via Parallels - the Mac hardly feels the extra OS.
But, if it is just for Office, get Office 2011 for Mac instead - it works great & you'll have a lot more free Disk Space!
 
M

mingoglia

macrumors 6502
Dec 10, 2009
486
69
This is great marketing for them. This gets the user that just spent a ton of cash on his Mac and doesn't feel like shelling out additional cash for vmware or parallels, but still wants to know if they decide in the future to purchase (in this case) Parallels that their virtual machine will be saved. Allows a user to plop down $.99, then give them the option of buying Parallels when they decide to.
 
Y

yustas

macrumors 6502
Dec 11, 2009
426
222
I am new to Macs and I am not sure I understand what it does. Say I have a Dell system running Windows XP. Will it transfer Windows XP, all installed software and data from my Dell to my new Mac?
 
B

batchtaster

macrumors 65816
Mar 3, 2008
1,031
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yustas said:
I am new to Macs and I am not sure I understand what it does. Say I have a Dell system running Windows XP. Will it transfer Windows XP, all installed software and data from my Dell to my new Mac?
Click to expand...

No. It finds your data and files (music, bookmarks, cookies, Word documents, etc) on your Windows computer, transfers them to the Mac (performing any necessary conversions), so that you can use them on your Mac in Mac apps like Safari and Word 2011. So you can then throw your Dell off a bridge and into the cold, icy wet tomb, where it belongs.

Transferring Windows XP wholesale would be a Bad Idea. Firstly, it's probably not legal particularly if Windows XP is an OEM copy that came with your Dell rather than you buying a boxed package; secondly there will be issues using Dell drivers with Apple hardware; and third, if you've had it a while, it's probably somewhat "dirty" - particularly the registry - and you'd be far better off doing a fresh install and starting from a clean slate.
 
iRobby

iRobby

macrumors 6502a
Mar 22, 2011
994
6
Fort Myers, FL USA
as I have stated in other posts I'll be going from a 2005 Dell to a 2011 27" iMac this summer. Reading this article it sounds like all my answers have been answered with data transfer especially my music.

I'll have to do some research as to how good the program works.

I do have one question though the article mentions the app is bought off Mac App Store and put on the iMac. So what do you install on the PC so the information is taken off the PC? and where you get it?
 
EatSleepMac

EatSleepMac

macrumors newbie
May 16, 2011
20
0
New York
sweet

With the amount of people ditching Windows and heading to Mac these days its good to see something that can make the transition a little simpler.
 
talmy

talmy

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Oct 26, 2009
4,726
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Oregon
Parallels Transporter has been part of the Parallels product package for years. What's new here is the unbundling to a $0.99 Mac App Store app.
 
Phil A.

Phil A.

Moderator emeritus
Apr 2, 2006
5,799
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Shropshire, UK
batchtaster said:
Transferring Windows XP wholesale would be a Bad Idea. Firstly, it's probably not legal particularly if Windows XP is an OEM copy that came with your Dell rather than you buying a boxed package; secondly there will be issues using Dell drivers with Apple hardware; and third, if you've had it a while, it's probably somewhat "dirty" - particularly the registry - and you'd be far better off doing a fresh install and starting from a clean slate.
Click to expand...

Interestingly, VMWare have a utility that does exactly that (and it looks like Transporter also has that option from reading the description) - it takes an existing physical machine and creates a virtual one out of it that you can then run within VMWare Fusion. The newly created VM will require re-activation due to the migration of the hardware to VMware's virtualised hardware, but it works really, really well
 
Y

yustas

macrumors 6502
Dec 11, 2009
426
222
Phil A. said:
Interestingly, VMWare have a utility that does exactly that (and it looks like Transporter also has that option from reading the description) - it takes an existing physical machine and creates a virtual one out of it that you can then run within VMWare Fusion. The newly created VM will require re-activation due to the migration of the hardware to VMware's virtualised hardware, but it works really, really well
Click to expand...

So Parallels does transfer everything including the XP? That would be awesome.
 
kgtenacious

kgtenacious

macrumors regular
Jun 15, 2010
109
76
Ok, so let me get this straight: Parallels Transporter costs $0.99 on the app store, they claim it's suggested retail price is $39.99 - and all it's really just a $40 advertisement for Parallels?
 
B

batchtaster

macrumors 65816
Mar 3, 2008
1,031
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Phil A. said:
Interestingly, VMWare have a utility that does exactly that (and it looks like Transporter also has that option from reading the description) - it takes an existing physical machine and creates a virtual one out of it that you can then run within VMWare Fusion. The newly created VM will require re-activation due to the migration of the hardware to VMware's virtualised hardware, but it works really, really well
Click to expand...

They probably shouldn't, then.

yustas said:
So Parallels does transfer everything including the XP? That would be awesome.
Click to expand...

No, it does not. For the reasons I already said, and the fact it's a move-to-Mac utility, not move-Windows-to-Mac.
 
talmy

talmy

macrumors 601
Oct 26, 2009
4,726
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Oregon
kgtenacious said:
Ok, so let me get this straight: Parallels Transporter costs $0.99 on the app store, they claim it's suggested retail price is $39.99 - and all it's really just a $40 advertisement for Parallels?
Click to expand...

You got it! :)

Parallels Transporter has been around for years. They have just now unbundled it. Seems like a good sales pitch for Parallels, but Parallels has always been available as a 30-day free trial for those willing to investigate.
 
iSee

iSee

macrumors 68040
Oct 25, 2004
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vjl323 said:
I've used this feature dozens of times via VMware's free app that lets one convert a real Windows PC into a virtual one for use in VMware Fusion or their Windows/Linux vm products. It's about time Parallels finally caught up, but having been burned by their software numerous times, I'm sticking with the stable VMware Fusion for my Mac. :)
Click to expand...

You should probably read what this actually does before commenting on it.
 
talmy

talmy

macrumors 601
Oct 26, 2009
4,726
332
Oregon
Yep you are confused!

Parallels Transporter doesn't undermine sales of Parallels since Transporter doesn't offer the virtualization. And regarding needing Windows, there are plenty of people needing to run Windows-only applications yet desiring to own a Mac. I'm one of them! If it weren't for the switch to Intel processors I'd never have been able to switch from my Dell workstation to an iMac.
 
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