Can parallels be used as a true near native boot camp alternative?

[darkus]

Ok I didn’t know how to word the title of the thread, but what I mean is is like to fake a native boot camp windows install as much as possible, which to me would mean:

1. When a user turns on the Mac (and logs into a user account) paralells ahould automatically launch in full screen. It sounds like this is possible in the settings?
2. When you chose to shutdown inside of windows, the whole computer should shutdown, not just close parallels and being you back to macOS. Can this be done?
3. Parallels should be setup so that the user cannot actually quit paralells (atleaat cannot easily do it, maybe some strange set of keyboard shortcut could get you out; otherwise there should be no easy way out). Can this be done?
4. No macOS top or bottom bars should ever appear while inside parallels

Aside from turning on the computer and logging in and then maybe seeing macOS while parallels automatically boots up, the person should never see macOS or thing about it.

 

[bobcomer]

1. Probably.
2. Not easily if it can be done. It would take some kind of remote shutdown command to do it and I really don't know that part of Mac OS
3. No.
4. No. In full screen mode it looks like it's a windows PC, but just hovering the mouse pointer at the top wiill bring down the Mac Menu bar.

A real PC would be cheaper.

 

[Boyd01]

I use Parallels pretty heavily with a 32gb Windows 10 virtual machine on my 2018/64gb Intel Mini and am very happy with it. Just to echo what @bobcomer has said...

1. This is no problem, and it's how I have it configured on my Mac. You just choose "full screen" from the Parallels View menu when you first setup the VM.

2. No, I can't think of a way to do this (and most people would find it undesirable IMO).

3. When you are inside the VM, it's just like a "real" Windows computer in full-screen mode. You would need to go back to MacOS in order to quit Parallels - but see #4

4. In full-screen mode, if you move the mouse pointer all the way to the top of the screen and let it sit there for a second or two, a MacOS Parallels menubar appears. You can quit parallels from that menu, as well as change other things. You do have to make a pretty deliberate move to the top of the screen for this, but sometimes it happens if you bump the mouse and leave it at the top of the screen.

Sounds like Parallels might not be the solution you want. FWIW, my comments are all based on the Intel version of Parallels, I've never used the Apple Silicon version.

 

[darkus]

Thanks for the feedback fellas. This was super helpful.

You are correct, it won’t be the solution for me.

Boot camp would be the only way. shame amount the demise of it. Hate to throw money into the PC world