# Pitfalls and Parameters of Parallels?



## Dr T (May 16, 2009)

I have invested in Parallels (latest version 6) in order to install Windoze in order to use a free application called Linguist's Toolbox from SIL International. SIL used to offer this for Macintosh up til OS 9, then they seem to have given up once OS 10 came along.

Toolbox itself is not very demanding.It's just plain text stuff. I have both Windows XP and 7 as I don't know which is more better for this application, sorry, "program".

But I digress.

Are there any Parallels users on this list who have tips they could share? Coherence? What is that all about? Suspend? This is not a high-wire circus act I am trying to use, it's just a simple database application that most sadly requires Windoze...


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## screature (May 14, 2007)

What Mac do you have? If it is a relatively current model it will run Windows 7 fine if it is an older less powerful model with not much RAM and a weak GPU XP is the better choice.


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## Guest (Mar 25, 2011)

These questions are probably better asked in the help and troubleshooting area as opposed this area.


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## Dr T (May 16, 2009)

screature said:


> What Mac do you have? If it is a relatively current model it will run Windows 7 fine if it is an older less powerful model with not much RAM and a weak GPU XP is the better choice.


Sorry, I shoulda mentioned, this is for use on 3 Macintoshes that are one week to one year old, with 4 to 8 gigs of RAM. Parallels and Windows were installed at time of purchase and have been upgraded since to the latest versions.

Parallels and Windows seem to be operational, it's just that Parallels is a bit baffling.

But I see that I have posted my request for assistance in the wrong place. So I must move it.


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## ChilBear (Mar 20, 2005)

Coherence makes the running Windows 7 (or XP) OS act just like a Mac program. The Start menu is parked in the Dock and other than not seeing the W7 OS window everything runs from the Dock via the Start menu.

As for Suspend, you are "freezing" the W7 OS at a certain point and on restart of Parallels, it resumes. I have found that this is not desirable and the full shut down will yield a more stable W7 experience. The key is to allow Parallels to have enough RAM allocated (about 1.5 gb) and it will be good. If your program is a RAM hog then allocate more as once Parallels starts, the max RAM is not dynamic to the open W7 OS.


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## Dr T (May 16, 2009)

ChilBear said:


> ...The key is to allow Parallels to have enough RAM allocated (about 1.5 gb) and it will be good. If your program is a RAM hog then allocate more as once Parallels starts, the max RAM is not dynamic to the open W7 OS.


The program is not a memory hog, but I would like to check and make sure that I allow Parallels enough RAM. The computers in use have 4 to 8 gigs of RAM, so this should be easy. TIt used to be easy to change the RAM allocation for a given application pre-OS X, but I suddenly realize I do not know how to do it in OS 10.6.7... And Apple Support reads: "Mac OS X does not display the memory allocation and usage levels of individual applications in the About This Mac Window. Mac OS X automatically manages memory allocation and usage. This is different from earlier versions of Mac OS."


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## Dr T (May 16, 2009)

ChilBear said:


> .. As for Suspend, you are "freezing" the W7 OS at a certain point and on restart of Parallels, it resumes. I have found that this is not desirable and the full shut down will yield a more stable W7 experience. ....


Is the Parallels "Stop" option the same as what you call full shut down?


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## ChilBear (Mar 20, 2005)

I would suggest "Suspend" and "Stop" from the Parallels menu to be the same - stop a program, whereas "Suspend" will remember the state the OS was in at the time. Neither are good choices IMO and from my experience.

On RAM, the program requirements in Mac OS X is dynamic and the OS handles the memory requests from the programs - Parallels is a Static memory - you need to "reserve" enough prior to Parallels program launch so satisfy any programs that will operate within Parallels (Windows 7 plus programs). As I mentioned I have mine set at 1.5 GB and it works fine. I only run a Accounting program and the occasional Powerpoint so it is an easy solution for these Windows only programs.


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## Dr T (May 16, 2009)

ChilBear said:


> I would suggest "Suspend" and "Stop" from the Parallels menu to be the same...
> 
> ... Parallels is a Static memory - you need to "reserve" enough prior to Parallels program launch so satisfy any programs that will operate within Parallels (Windows 7 plus programs). As I mentioned I have mine set at 1.5 GB and it works fine.....



Thanks for your help with this.

1. Recommended way to quit

After a few attempts, I found that sometimes another option turns up in Parallels, "Shut Down". Maybe that is the one you recommend? It seems to require that first you quit the actual Windoze application. (I forget what they call 'quit' in Windowezian.)

2. Reserving memory

I still have not found a way to set the memory for Parallels at 1.5 gigs. How do you do that?


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## crawford (Oct 8, 2005)

I haven't used the most recent version of Parallels, but last time I checked, it's a setting in Parallels (as opposed to an OS X setting). Going by memory, you'll want to go to the Parallels menu bar, select Virtual Machine and choose "configure". You should be able to select memory allocation from there. Remember to do this before you start running Windows. Hopefully this hasn't changed in more recent versions.


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## Dr T (May 16, 2009)

crawford said:


> I haven't used the most recent version of Parallels, but last time I checked, it's a setting in Parallels (as opposed to an OS X setting). Going by memory, you'll want to go to the Parallels menu bar, select Virtual Machine and choose "configure". You should be able to select memory allocation from there. Remember to do this before you start running Windows. Hopefully this hasn't changed in more recent versions.


Thanks for this. I just tried it and it works. 

I found "Configure". It shows up in the Virtual machine menu, but only when Windows is shut down (I have both XP and 7 on this computer I am at, and only the one you want to configure has to be shut down, the other one can be suspended) and only if you have selected a virtual machine (=version of Windoze or whatever), but not started it. 

"Configure" is the last item in the Virtual Machine menu, and it's easy way to change the setting. This computer had Windows XP at 512K and Windows 7 at 1 meg - I increased both to 2 gigs. This Macintosh has 8 gigs of ram, so I figured I could be generous. Plus I would only ever use one of the Windoze platforms at any given time.


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## crawford (Oct 8, 2005)

Glad it worked!


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