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Avenger

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 20, 2007
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Any issues with running Parallels and Windows 11 ARM on a Mac Studio M1 Max? I assume if I bought Parallels, I would assign 16GB to it for the VM. Does Windows 11 run well? Thanks.
 
check out the Parallels forum @ https://forum.parallels.com/forums/parallels-desktop-for-apple-silicon-m1-mac.788/. There are significant numbers of postings of people with issues (though there is a lot of duplication and strop) but also a lot of answers and tips.

It's still early days for virtualisation on Apple Silicon, it's got a long way to go before it's as mature and feature rich as on Intel, but it does work.

The biggest problem at present is that you can't buy Win11 ARM, you have to use the Windows Insider preview version though it will activate with an Win10/11 Intel key.

Personally, I've not had any problems with it on either my M1 Mini or on my Studio Ultra but I don't really use it for anything (but it does fly). People have had numerous issues with games, USB dongles and some applications not installing or running (IIS and MS SQL seem to be the two big complaints but I have vague memories of reading that both have now been sorted).

As time goes by, it's getting better but fundamentally, until MS allow Win11 ARM to be purchased, it'll remain as Beta software with all the potential bugs etc that can mean using it in a production environment is risky.

Parallels do offer a time limited free trial. I'd suggest you give that a go before spending any money, depending on your needs, it may work fine, it may not.
 
Mine used to work well, but I’m now getting an error message in Windows that the the pc doesn’t have tpm 2.0 installed and it won’t update.
 
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check out the Parallels forum @ https://forum.parallels.com/forums/parallels-desktop-for-apple-silicon-m1-mac.788/. There are significant numbers of postings of people with issues (though there is a lot of duplication and strop) but also a lot of answers and tips.

It's still early days for virtualisation on Apple Silicon, it's got a long way to go before it's as mature and feature rich as on Intel, but it does work.

The biggest problem at present is that you can't buy Win11 ARM, you have to use the Windows Insider preview version though it will activate with an Win10/11 Intel key.

Personally, I've not had any problems with it on either my M1 Mini or on my Studio Ultra but I don't really use it for anything (but it does fly). People have had numerous issues with games, USB dongles and some applications not installing or running (IIS and MS SQL seem to be the two big complaints but I have vague memories of reading that both have now been sorted).

As time goes by, it's getting better but fundamentally, until MS allow Win11 ARM to be purchased, it'll remain as Beta software with all the potential bugs etc that can mean using it in a production environment is risky.

Parallels do offer a time limited free trial. I'd suggest you give that a go before spending any money, depending on your needs, it may work fine, it may not.
From what I understand, after a recent parallels update, you do get a non-insider version of Windows 11 (downloaded from within parallels). Multiple people have confirmed but I don’t have links at hand. I have to think if I will get sufficient use out of it before buying. Parallels seems to have gimped the standard version so you can only allocate 8GB RAM to the virtual machine. You have to buy the more expensive pro version to allocate more which is natural given the amount of RAM on the studio. Do you know if the android 11 emulation built into Windows 11 works under Parallels?
 
From what I understand, after a recent parallels update, you do get a non-insider version of Windows 11 (downloaded from within parallels). Multiple people have confirmed but I don’t have links at hand. I have to think if I will get sufficient use out of it before buying. Parallels seems to have gimped the standard version so you can only allocate 8GB RAM to the virtual machine. You have to buy the more expensive pro version to allocate more which is natural given the amount of RAM on the studio. Do you know if the android 11 emulation built into Windows 11 works under Parallels?

No, sorry, I've no idea if the android emulation works, I've no need for it.

I do subscribe to the Pro version. I don't think £40/year is excessive for full virtualisation (just tested the Win11 download from within Parallels and it works like a charm... installs Win 11 Home but will change versions depending on the activation code you enter), 5 clients worth of Parallels Access and the Toolbox (some tools of which have become indispensable for me). It means I don't need to worry about upgrades and whether it's worth the money to do so, and like just now, can use 32Gb of RAM if and when the whim takes me.
 
Been using it for a week and have had a good experience with it so far. Haven't done anything fancy. Just a few basic games and applications. Runs better than I expected.
 
Got Windows 11 Pro running on it without any issues, same as its running ok on my MacBook Pro.

Like others have said, the installation wizard works well now so just buy a product key and away you go.
 
I've got Windows 11 running on Parallels with no issues. Running it right now in fact. When you install Parallels, it automatically installs Windows 11 but it's an unlicensed version so there will be a watermark. I don't know if it stops working at some point but I went ahead and just bought a license for it and the watermark went away. It was super easy to install and start using. I'm used to VMware where it prompts you to allocate the amount of RAM.

Parallels didn't ask but looks like it allocated 6gb RAM, which I'm going to change right now to 8. I'll buy the Pro version of Parallels on my Studio so I can allocate more RAM there. I'm using an Air with only 16gb total.
 
In the hardware tab of the guests config, add the "TPM Chip" device and Windows will be happy again.
I tried that but then got an error message about encryption.Deleted that version and started again using the Parallels download of Win11 (last time I used the the Microsoft insider download). All is working fine again.
 
Going to watch this thread. Long time PC user (ironically switched to Windows for work many years ago) who is considering a Mac Studio.

Do we think the bozos-that-be will ever do the licensing for ARM Windows on Boot Camp?
 
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Is there a reliable place to buy a Windows 11 Pro key inexpensively?

AS for Parallels 17 Pro, if you search google under shopping for Parallels 17 Pro, you can find the download version for a little cheaper. The best I see is $79.99 for a year of Pro.
 
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theunitysoft.com
Thanks! Is there any benefit to buying a Windows 11 Pro key over a Windows 10 Pro key? I think Windows 11 is a free upgrade if I am not mistaken. The Windows 10 Pro key is less expensive.
 
Thanks! Is there any benefit to buying a Windows 11 Pro key over a Windows 10 Pro key? I think Windows 11 is a free upgrade if I am not mistaken. The Windows 10 Pro key is less expensive.
Not sure about that, trouble is you can't get a Windows 10 arm version any more. Even the download from the Microsoft insider site is Win11 as is the download in the Parallels app. It's touch and go whether the Win10 pro key would work as you are not really upgrading.
 
Parallels and Win 11 work great so far. Used the auto free download when you install parallels. Very easy and all you are paying for is parallels
 
Can we assume the Parallels developers had immediate access to a Mac Studio? Those things are pretty delayed...
 
Thanks! Is there any benefit to buying a Windows 11 Pro key over a Windows 10 Pro key? I think Windows 11 is a free upgrade if I am not mistaken. The Windows 10 Pro key is less expensive.

Remote Desktop, Hyper-V virtualisation, Group Policy and BitLocker encryption are the only things I can think of off the top of my head. You can upgrade to Pro within Windows itself if you later decide that you want it, so try Home and see how you get on.
 
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Thanks! Is there any benefit to buying a Windows 11 Pro key over a Windows 10 Pro key? I think Windows 11 is a free upgrade if I am not mistaken. The Windows 10 Pro key is less expensive.
unitysoft are offering 15% discount at the moment if you are still interested.
 
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Why would they need to? Parallels is already proven to work on all the M1 chips

Well no it isn't because the Studiio uses new chips. The Ultra is actually 2 Mx chips, and that platform might create some issues, as per this reviewer:


OBVIOUSLY there can be compatibility issues even within iterations of the same architecture.
 
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