paralells, vmware fusion vs free virtual software

[Sossity]

I have been reading about how paralells desktop 7 will not run in maveriks, and one needs to upgrade to version 9.

This feels like a ripoff to have to keep buying this software over and over for each mac OS change.

Does vmware fusion work the same way? does one have to keep buying upgrades to work with each new version of mac os?

are there any equally free vm software for the mac? are they reliable and as good as paralells?

If installed the free versions, can I transfer my windows installations over to the free vm software? or would I have to buy new copies of windows as well?

 

[snorkelman]

Mavericks compatibility:

Parallels you can run Ver 8 or V9 under mavericks

VMWare fusion you can run version 5 or 6 under mavericks


Upgrade eligibility:

Parallels version 7 and version 8 qualify for upgrade pricing to PD9

VMWare Fusion versions 4 and 5 qualify for upgrade pricing to VMF6


Upgrade pricing:

in UK think there's about a fiver difference one way or the other in terms of upgrade price

So pretty much of a muchness in terms of upgrade requirements for each and likewise in terms of upgrade licence costs.


cost free alternative

Virtual Box is worth considering if you're new to VMs but if you're already used to Parallels or VMware fusion then you might find it a bit of a step backwards - more hands on, less feature rich (particularly in terms of OS integration with OSX) and not at same level in terms of graphics performance

I personally parted company with it around time of rMBP release - could live with other aspects of it but just wasn't up to snuff for handling rMBP retina resolutions


migrating existing windows virtual/physical machines

Installing a basic fresh Windows XP or Windows 7 would be best way to give Virtual Box a try (you always got the 30 days Windows evaluation period to burn through so no need to go using your windows licence key when you're only trying it out)


if you get on OK with it and really really need to migrate an existing VM or physical machine to a virtual box image, then yes a lot of the time its possible; but you can end up with a fair bit of rolling your sleeves up, some tearing of hair and no 100 percent guarantee of success.

That said if you always make sure you're using a copy of an existing Parallels or VMWare fusion virtual machine disk image (rather than mangling the only copy of it you have) then all that giving it a try is going to cost you is time. There should be plenty of guides on google.