I just got a M3 Max and I can’t use it

[Hopscotcher]

The company that makes this software are morons. I refuse to deal with companies that don't update their software for modern standards. You could always run the software in a Windows cloud server that you can access from your Mac.

 

[JustAnExpat]

It seems like important information about your problem is being dripped out in peicemeal, and I don't like it because I can't help you.

Please tell us the following:
1. What exactly is this software program?
2. What version of Windows is it designed for?
3. What version of Windows were you running it in?
4. What type of virtualization environment were you running (Parallels or VMWare Fusion)?
5. Are there any dongles or physical hardware that needs to be connected to operate this equipment (like a RS232 to USB adapter) ?

My gut feeling is that this piece of hardware is using a unique connector that's not being emulated/ virtualized completely by VMware/ Parallels, and therefore won't work on your machine.

Without more information, any answer you'll receive is just a guess and I feel is just wasting everyone's time.

 

[jonblatho]

It’s x86 software, it’s not gonna run. Maybe if it was 64 but it could run on Windows 11 on ARM.

I can speak from experience that x86 software can run — albeit not always perfectly or performantly — on Apple silicon-based Macs. Wine is the answer there.

At work we have this app we used to make for Windows and Mac but discontinued back in 2014. 32-bit only; updating to support x86_64 is non-trivial and not a good use of our limited resources, so we dropped macOS completely with the Catalina release. However, we still use it for a few things internally (while we work on properly replacing it piecemeal) and have to get increasingly creative to keep it running on modern systems. We’ve had generally good luck with Wine on both modern Intel-based macOS and Apple silicon, but as I alluded to, ymmv.

ETA: No, we are almost definitely not the ******* developers that OP is referring to.

 

[rubenrp]

Some added twists are this software requires a sentinel usb dongle to work. I have got that part to work but worry about getting it going with some of these other emulators. The instrument also is capable of tons of things but only the ones you pay for are unlocked and the software somehow passes this information to the instrument.

What you describe is (unfortunately) not unusual - and the dongle further limits your options. Rather than buying a full separate laptop/desktop, I would instead suggest a single-use small Win 11 Pro box that is inexpensive, compact and portable, and can be hooked up directly to your Mac as a headless appliance and controlled via Microsoft Remote Desktop. One possibility (out of many) in the MiniPC space would be a palm-sized box like this one:
https://store.minisforum.com/collections/all-product/products/minisforum-em680
This should give you a nice speedup over your laptop (about 25%, I'd estimate), and allow you to use your new Mac for everything else. Minisforum boxes have worked well for me - but, of course, there are many other options/companies in this space.

 

[Jumpthesnark]

It seems my options are either stick with my old 2019 MBP or switch over to a windows laptop.

Also you can buy the fastest used Intel Mac you can find to replace your 2019 MBP if/when it dies. That won't solve the ridiculous amount of copy-pasting you say you're doing, and how long it takes to do those data sets, but it's another option.

 

[bergert]

I don't understand why your software doesn't work on Windows for ARM with Microsoft's own x86 emulation. It's Microsoft's own version of Rosetta. As long as you're using Windows 11 ARM then it should work. The main thing that didn't work before was Visual Studio based stuff but that's now supported although you main need to do some manual workarounds for installed dependencies. My only guess would be if it's particularly old software that's only 16-bit as that's the only stuff that isn't supported. If that's the case then QEMU would likely be your best option as it's not going to be computationally intensive software anyway. I set this kind of thing up years ago for my father in law who still needed to use some old niche engineering software called Hevacomp. He had a perpetual licence for an old version that did everything he needed it to do.

1) Fusion is updated for ARM with v13 only. At the time there was only Parallels - which is what I'm using with M1.
The old (Intel macOS) Fusion app will not work (I was using Fusion myself).

2) you cannot import your old (Windows x86) vitual machine, because Windows-x86 will not run on any ARM computer. You need to Install a new OS running Windows 11 for ARM.

W11-ARM has the Intel (x32 and x86) emulation built in, and then you can install your legacy app just as you would do on any PC. I am using it on M1 to run a legacy app for home automation - with plug-ins and network/USB device access.

3) On my M1-Max, the old Windows app runs as fast (emulated) as on my old Trashcan MacPro (Intel Xeon). I am using a ACR39-USB Windows security device. Important: if the Windows application is x86 (Intel); you must install the x86 driver; with the ARM driver the device will only be visible for ARM applications.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

What you describe is (unfortunately) not unusual - and the dongle further limits your options. Rather than buying a full separate laptop/desktop, I would instead suggest a single-use small Win 11 Pro box that is inexpensive, compact and portable, and can be hooked up directly to your Mac as a headless appliance and controlled via Microsoft Remote Desktop. One possibility (out of many) in the MiniPC space would be a palm-sized box like this one:
https://store.minisforum.com/collections/all-product/products/minisforum-em680
This should give you a nice speedup over your laptop (about 25%, I'd estimate), and allow you to use your new Mac for everything else. Minisforum boxes have worked well for me - but, of course, there are many other options/companies in this space.

Nah. Although your solution is elegant, OP clearly needs power, 64+ GB RAM, etc.; not a mini. My guess is that a really strong PC box might substantially improve his work.

 

[kitKAC]

1) Fusion is not updated for ARM, you need to use Parallels - which is updated for M1.
The old (Intel macOS) Fusion app will not work.

 

[JustAnExpat]

1) Fusion is not updated for ARM, you need to use Parallels - which is updated for M1.
The old (Intel macOS) Fusion app will not work.

Fusion has been updated for ARM. I'll be surprised if it works for him

 

[Ace McLoud]

So if the 2019 MBP is the end of the line which it appears it is this is a major fork In the road for me. For one if my MBP craps out I can’t just go buy a new one, and with Apple switching to the silicon chips it won’t be long before they phase out support for the intel Macs. Who knows how much time I have left but I wont be able to use this computer forever.

When I am at work I am staring at my computer all day long. I don’t ever touch my phone. I answer all my text messages on my computer. I use notes extensively with employees providing me information via shared notes from their phones that I see on my computer. I have find my open all the time to see where people are on the job site.On the personal side I use photos extensively. I have spent countless hours organizing in excess of 100k family photos dating back to scanned in ones from the 90s. I use Final Cut Pro and Compressor a lot. I use an iPad and iPhone and really like how everything is synced between them and my laptop.

it seems there would be so much I would lose switching to windows. Having two computers doesn’t seem too feasible either. I have windows running full screen on my Mac and swipe to switch back and forth between it and my Mac desktop. I do this back and forth hundreds if not thousands of times a day.

Edit: Never mind, saw that you're using this in a truck.

Get a Windows desktop machine that is powerful enough to run your Software, put it in a closet for space/noise reasons and connect to it via Remote Desktop.

That way you can do your other tasks on the Mac and swipe over to use your program.

If that program really needs some processing power a desktop PC might be a better choice anyway, as you'll get more power for less money and with less throttling.

 

[msackey]

We still don't know what OP is really running for reasons I find utterly ridiculous, but whatever.

I imagine privacy and that makes sense.

This is specialized software from a testy company that OP depends on. There’s reason to desire some privacy when discussing this software.

 

[JustAnExpat]

I imagine privacy and that makes sense.

This is specialized software from a testy company that OP depends on. There’s reason to desire some privacy when discussing this software.

Fair enough, I think. I know some of those tiny niche software developers are very thin-skinned. However, there's no reason not to provide other information that could be helpful.

 

[leman]

I feel your pain, OP. I’m only too familiar with this kind of low effort, low quality software where the vendors only motivation is to lock you into their instrument and make your life miserable. And since it’s a specialized tool it’s not like you have any choice. I suppose there is also no option of exporting the data in a windows PC and then using your Mac to crunch it, right?

Your best bet is probably building a dedicated desktop box just to run this thing. It can be controlled remotely, and you can choose hardware that will run the reports as quickly as possible (e.g. if the software supports multi-core). Would be probably the most cost-efficient solution as well. Generally, when you deal with this kind of legacy software crap it’s best to control the environment as much as you can, so I’d have this box only run the tool and nothing else. Just consider it a part of the instrument. Good luck and I hope you find a setup that gives you the best usability!

 

[JustAnExpat]

I feel your pain, OP. I’m only too familiar with this kind of low effort, low quality software where the vendors only motivation is to lock you into their instrument and make your life miserable. And since it’s a specialized tool it’s not like you have any choice. I suppose there is also no option of exporting the data in a windows PC and then using your Mac to crunch it, right?

Your best bet is probably building a dedicated desktop box just to run this thing. It can be controlled remotely, and you can choose hardware that will run the reports as quickly as possible (e.g. if the software supports multi-core). Would be probably the most cost-efficient solution as well. Generally, when you deal with this kind of legacy software crap it’s best to control the environment as much as you can, so I’d have this box only run the tool and nothing else. Just consider it a part of the instrument. Good luck and I hope you find a setup that gives you the best usability!

I am familiar with some surveying equipment, and if this is one of the many surveying equipment vendors that are known for having ultra thin skin, a desktop box won't work. I think the poster is going out to remote locations, connecting his device to a laptop computer, the device captures data, which he then processes. A desktop computer won't be able to work 🙁

 

[leman]

I am familiar with some surveying equipment, and if this is one of the many surveying equipment vendors that are known for having ultra thin skin, a desktop box won't work. I think the poster is going out to remote locations, connecting his device to a laptop computer, the device captures data, which he then processes. A desktop computer won't be able to work 🙁

Ah, I see, yes, that’s annoying…

 

[gpat]

You may look into UTM emulation rather than VMWare or Parallels.
It emulates x86 as opposed to virtualizing Windows on ARM, so it may do the trick.
You will have lower performance, but I guess that your application is not resource intensive.

 

[JustAnExpat]

You may look into UTM emulation rather than VMWare or Parallels.
It emulates x86 as opposed to virtualizing Windows on ARM, so it may do the trick.
You will have lower performance, but I guess that your application is not resource intensive.

Does UTM also emulate the low laying hardware as well?

 

[gpat]

Does UTM also emulate the low laying hardware as well?

It's QEMU, so yes.
You can emulate an x86 or even a PPC for running Mac OS 9 or 68k for ancient software.
It should be fine as long as his software doesn't leverage some very specific CPU instructions, or needs GPU acceleration, but if it's so dated, it really shouldn't.

 

[teh_hunterer]

I don't understand why some users do not research enough before complaining that what they purchased is useless or not up to their use case...

A software designed for x86 will not work on ARM architecture unless the software developer created multiple versions for multiple platforms...

That's not true at all.

Ummm. Lesson learned, if you need a windows only program, get a computer that runs windows.

That's not good advice. Most software can be emulated just fine in Windows ARM on Parallels. This particular software doesn't, but it's an outlier.

Of course the old Windws software will not work on Apple Silicon. Anyone here could have told you that.

Anyone claiming that without knowing what software it was would most likely be wrong. All kinds of Windows programs run perfectly fine in Parallels.

 

[Reached]

I would also get a windows box with a TON of ram, you could even consider going with something like 256GB (it's dirt cheap nowadays). Then connect to it with remote desktop 🙂

Let me know if you need help figuring out what hardware to choose.

 

[Reached]

I am familiar with some surveying equipment, and if this is one of the many surveying equipment vendors that are known for having ultra thin skin, a desktop box won't work. I think the poster is going out to remote locations, connecting his device to a laptop computer, the device captures data, which he then processes. A desktop computer won't be able to work 🙁

I would also get a windows box with a TON of ram, you could even consider going with something like 256GB (it's dirt cheap nowadays). Then connect to it with remote desktop 🙂

Let me know if you need help figuring out what hardware to choose.

Nevermind, I see that the remote option is not really an option after all.

Honestly sounds to me like getting a windows laptop with a ton of ram might be the best option, maybe a Lenovo Thinkpad?

I do realize that ditching Mac OS sucks, but if the software developers are not willing to make their 12.000$ software available on Apple Silicon, then I'm not sure there is a way around it :/

 

[Darren.h]

Keep your M3 Max Laptop.
Build your own PC with a much newer Intel Chip that will Smoke your i9 16 inch 2019 MacBook. I have one. It gets ver hot and it's not that fast.

You can buy a current Gen Intel i7 the will smoke that i9 in the 2019 MacBook Pro cheap.

Pick all your parts from Newegg.com and have some fun and build your own custom PC that will las a long time.

 

[JustAnExpat]

Keep your M3 Max Laptop.
Build your own PC with a much newer Intel Chip that will Smoke your i9 16 inch 2019 MacBook. I have one. It gets ver hot and it's not that fast.

You can buy a current Gen Intel i7 the will smoke that i9 in the 2019 MacBook Pro cheap.

Pick all your parts from Newegg.com and have some fun and build your own custom PC that will las a long time.

I think I know the type of software the OP is using. This software needs a laptop computer, not a desktop. He's going into the field with an instrument attached to a laptop computer collecting data 🙁 He can't use a desktop for this instrument. They are very common in Surveying and Oil and Gas industries (among others).

 

[chrfr]

1) Fusion is not updated for ARM, you need to use Parallels - which is updated for M1.
The old (Intel macOS) Fusion app will not work.

This is incorrect. Fusion has supported Apple Silicon with the release of Fusion 13.0 in 2022. Fusion 13.5 was just recently released and refines the process of getting arm64 Windows and adds features.

 

[MacGizmo]

This thread is getting absurd – aside from the nitpicking "I gotta correct you" crowd that haunts nearly all threads here.