Difference between revisions of "Parallels"

Latest revision as of 10:39, 24 March 2023

Parallels - use this link to support AppleGamingWiki. The code APPLEWIKI10 gives a 10% discount.

Parallels is a virtualisation software which can virtualize an operating system such as Windows 11 ARM on macOS.

On November 10, 2020, a free version of Parallels 16 was made available in the form of a Technical Preview which allows users to install Windows 10 ARM Insider Preview onto M1 Macs, and some games became playable such as Half-Life 2 and Fallout 2.
On April 14, 2021, Parallels released version 16.5 which offered increased support for M1 Macs, and made a license requirement and also offered a 14 day free trial.
On August 10, 2021, Parallels released version 17 with improved performance.

Install Windows 11 on M1 Mac through Parallels

You can now download the Windows 11 ARM VHDX image on the Windows Insider Preview Page.

Dev channel

At first, the initial build of Windows 10 ARM Insider Preview only supports applications which are native to ARM, and many applications will be 'greyed out' or the 'install button' won't be enabled, or there is a 'side-by-side configuration is incorrect' error message. This is due to the fact that x64 applications were not supported.

On December 10, 2020, Microsoft released Windows 10 Inside Preview Build 21277 which enabled x64 emulation, which substantially increased the compatibility of games PC games such as Grand Theft Auto V and Far Cry 3.^[1]

Enable Dev channel^[2]

Open your installed Parallels installation
Click Start and then type 'Insider'
Click Windows Insider Program
Click Link to a Windows Insider account
Go to Diagnostics & Feedback settings and turn on optional diagnostic data
Click on 'Beta Channel (Recommended)' to switch Insider settings
Switch to 'Dev Channel'
Click on Windows Update
Check for updates
A download of a newer build should be available, click Download and install

Gaming optimisations

Many of these optimisations come from this reddit post and will dramatically increase gaming performance, for example stuttering on Overwatch.^[3]

It is recommended to create a Parallels 'Snapshot' before applying any further customisations, especially the Powershell changes.

Essential start

Allocate 50% of the CPU cores (for M1 this means 4 cores total) and 50% of the RAM (for 8GB Mac allocate 4GB, for 16GB Mac allocate 8 GB), the virtual machine guest operating system can only make use of 50% of the resources of the host computer
Install ParkControl into Windows and disable everything and enable Bitsum Dynamic Boost
Open Task Manager - press Ctrl+⇧ Shift+Esc, More details, click the Startup tab and ensure all launchers are disabled
Open Device Manager - press Start and then type Device Manager, open System devices and find Parallels Memory Controller and uninstall (this can be reversed by reinstalling Parallels Tools)

Chris Tech script

Currently using any part of this script will cause internet access to be disabled, we are looking for a fix.

Use Chris Titus Tech debloat script to disable services and make Windows use fewer resources:

Press ⊞ Win and then type Powershell, then right-click onn Powershell and click Run as administrator
Paste in Chris' command: iex ((New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://git.io/JJ8R4'))

Select:

Essential Tweaks
Action Center
Background Apps
Cortana
OneDrive
Visual FX
Windows Search
Security - Low
Windows Update - Security Updates Only

u/Elegant_Cantaloupe_8 method

Follow first 4 steps of #Essential start

Disable visual effects - press Start and then type Advanced System Settings, then under Performance click Visual Effects and select Best Performance and apply - (optional) select Advanced tab and under Virtual Memory click change, uncheck automatic paging and select No Paging File and Set - this may affect games differently
Disable Defender - go to Windows Defender settings and disable Tamper Protection, then click Start and type Local Grop Policy, go to Administrative Templates, Windows Components, Microsoft Defender Antvirus, Enable "Turn off Microsoft Defender Antivirus" and reboot
If Defender is disabled then consider isolating Windows from the macOS host - on the Mac open Parallels, Control Center, click settings of the virtual machine, click Security and enable Isolate Windows from Mac

Warning: this script disables GUI - it will be very difficult to re-enable services again. Not recommended unless you know how to tinker with Windows services and Powershell intimately. Please make a new snapshot in Parallels Control Center so that changes can be easily reverted.

Powershell - press ⊞ Win and type Powershell, then right-lick and click Run as administrator, type the script set-executionpolicy unrestricted and enter
Download the stripwindows.ps1 script. This script is designed to run Overwatch automatically after Parllels is run, and it also disables GUI and other Window services.
Once the file is downloaded into the Desktop, you can run the command from Powershell cd ~/Desktop and then .\stripwindows.ps1 - this will restart the virtual machine and then automatically launch Overwatch if it has been installed in the default directory.

Issues fixed

Flickering textures or invisible objects

Enable video.untrimmed_dynamic_cbuffers=1^[4]
Shut down virtual machine Click on Control Center, go to the virtual machine settings and then click "Hardware > Boot Order > Advanced Settings > Boot flags" Paste the following text in the "Boot flags" field: `video.untrimmed_dynamic_cbuffers=1` Run the game

This fix affects several games including:

References

↑ Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21277 - last accessed on 2021-04-01
↑ Parallels Advanced Gaming Setup M1 Apple Silicon - Windows 21277 x64 Emulation, DirectX, Controllers - last accessed on 2020-12-26
↑ Windows 10 ARM Lite for Overwatch - Guide/Script : macgaming - last accessed on 2021-06-22
↑ Certain Games that I launch in Parallels have invisible objects and objects that flicker - last accessed on 2021-05-16

[1] Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21277 - last accessed on 2021-04-01

[2] Parallels Advanced Gaming Setup M1 Apple Silicon - Windows 21277 x64 Emulation, DirectX, Controllers - last accessed on 2020-12-26

[3] Windows 10 ARM Lite for Overwatch - Guide/Script : macgaming - last accessed on 2021-06-22

[4] Certain Games that I launch in Parallels have invisible objects and objects that flicker - last accessed on 2021-05-16

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Store link|Parallels}} - use this link to support AppleGamingWiki and also use the code <code>Y27-1ZG-QHE</code> for 10% off.
+{{Store link|Parallels}} - use this link to support AppleGamingWiki. The code <code>APPLEWIKI10</code> gives a 10% discount.
-Parallels is a virtualisation software which can virtualize an operating system such as Windows 10 ARM on macOS. On November 10, 2020, a free version of Parallels 16 was made available in the form of a [https://www.parallels.com/blogs/parallels-desktop-apple-silicon-mac/ Technical Preview] which allows users to install [https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windowsinsiderpreviewARM64 Windows 10 ARM Insider Preview] onto M1 Macs, and some games became playable such as [[Half-Life 2]] and [[Fallout 2]].
+Parallels is a virtualisation software which can virtualize an operating system such as Windows 11 ARM on macOS.
-On April 14, 20201, Parallels released version 16.5 which offered increased support for M1 Macs, and made a license requirement and also offered a 14 day free trial.
+*On November 10, 2020, a free version of Parallels 16 was made available in the form of a [https://www.parallels.com/blogs/parallels-desktop-apple-silicon-mac/ Technical Preview] which allows users to install [https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windowsinsiderpreviewARM64 Windows 10 ARM Insider Preview] onto M1 Macs, and some games became playable such as [[Half-Life 2]] and [[Fallout 2]].
+*On April 14, 2021, Parallels released version 16.5 which offered increased support for M1 Macs, and made a license requirement and also offered a 14 day free trial.
+*On August 10, 2021, Parallels released version 17 with improved performance.
-==Install Windows 10 ARM on Parallels==
+==Install Windows 11 on M1 Mac through Parallels==
-*{{Store link|Parallels}} is a commercially paid product, but the Technical Preview is currently free to try.
+You can now download the Windows 11 ARM VHDX image on the [https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windowsinsiderpreviewARM64 Windows Insider Preview Page].
-{{Fixbox|description=Windows 10 ARM installation instructions|ref=<ref>{{Refurl|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCwIN4Zqduc|title=Parallels WORKS on M1 Mac Tutorial - Windows 10 Gaming Test on Apple Silicon ARM - YouTube|date=2020-12-18|snippet=}}</ref>|fix=
-#Visit [https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windowsinsiderpreviewARM64 Windows 10 ARM Insider Preview]
-#Sign up with a Microsoft account
-#Download the latest Windows Insider build
-#Download and install [https://www.parallels.com/blogs/parallels-desktop-apple-silicon-mac/ Parallels Technical Preview]
-#When asked for a VHDX file, point to the Windows 10 ARM Insider Preview build already downloaded
-}}
-==x64 emulation==
+==Dev channel==
-The initial download of Windows 10 ARM Insider Preview only supports applications which are native to ARM, and many applications will be 'greyed out' or the 'install button' won't be enabled, or there is a 'side-by-side configuration is incorrect' error message. This is due to the fact that x64 applications were not supported.
+At first, the initial build of Windows 10 ARM Insider Preview only supports applications which are native to ARM, and many applications will be 'greyed out' or the 'install button' won't be enabled, or there is a 'side-by-side configuration is incorrect' error message. This is due to the fact that x64 applications were not supported.
-On December 10, 2020, Microsoft released Windows 10 Inside Preview Build 21277 which enabled x64 emulation, which substantially increased the compatibility of games PC games such as [[Grand Theft Auto V]] and [[FarCry 3]].<ref>{{Refurl|url=https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2020/12/10/announcing-windows-10-insider-preview-build-21277/|title=Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21277|date=2021-04-01}}</ref>
+On December 10, 2020, Microsoft released Windows 10 Inside Preview Build 21277 which enabled x64 emulation, which substantially increased the compatibility of games PC games such as [[Grand Theft Auto V]] and [[Far Cry 3]].<ref>{{Refurl|url=https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2020/12/10/announcing-windows-10-insider-preview-build-21277/|title=Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21277|date=2021-04-01}}</ref>
 {{Fixbox|description=Enable Dev channel|ref=<ref>{{Refurl|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1X-3p34Hb7o|title=Parallels Advanced Gaming Setup M1 Apple Silicon - Windows 21277 x64 Emulation, DirectX, Controllers|date=2020-12-26|snippet=}}</ref>|fix=
@@ Line 34: / Line 29: @@
 ==Gaming optimisations==
-{{ii}} Many of these optimisations come from this reddit post and will dramatically increase gaming performance, for example stuttering on [[Overwatch]].<ref>{{Refurl|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/macgaming/comments/o4nq3g/windows_10_arm_lite_for_overwatch_guidescript/|title=Windows 10 ARM Lite for Overwatch - Guide/Script : macgaming|date=2021-06-22|snippet=}}</ref>
+{{ii}} Many of these optimisations come from this reddit post and will dramatically increase gaming performance, for example stuttering on [[Overwatch]].<ref>
+{{Refurl|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/macgaming/comments/o4nq3g/windows_10_arm_lite_for_overwatch_guidescript/|title=Windows 10 ARM Lite for Overwatch - Guide/Script : macgaming|date=2021-06-22|snippet=}}</ref>
+{{ii}} It is recommended to create a Parallels 'Snapshot' before applying any further customisations, especially the Powershell changes.
+===Essential start===
 *Allocate 50% of the CPU cores (for M1 this means 4 cores total) and 50% of the RAM (for 8GB Mac allocate 4GB, for 16GB Mac allocate 8 GB), the virtual machine guest operating system can only make use of 50% of the resources of the host computer
 *Install [https://bitsum.com/parkcontrol/ ParkControl] into Windows and disable everything and enable Bitsum Dynamic Boost
-*Open Task Manager - press {{Key|Ctrl|Shift|Esc}}, More details, click the Startup tab and ensure any unnecessary launchers and are disabled
+*Open Task Manager - press {{Key|Ctrl|Shift|Esc}}, More details, click the Startup tab and ensure all launchers are disabled
-*Open Device Manager - press Start and then type Device Manager, open System devices and find Parallels Memory Controller and uninstall
+*Open Device Manager - press Start and then type Device Manager, open System devices and find Parallels Memory Controller and uninstall (this can be reversed by reinstalling Parallels Tools)
+====Chris Tech script====
+{{--}} Currently using any part of this script will cause internet access to be disabled, we are looking for a fix.
+<div style="opacity:0.25">
+Use [https://christitus.com/debloat-windows-10-2020/ Chris Titus Tech debloat script] to disable services and make Windows use fewer resources:
+*Press {{Key|Win}} and then type Powershell, then right-click onn Powershell and click Run as administrator
+*Paste in Chris' command: <code>iex ((New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://git.io/JJ8R4'))</code>
+Select:
+*Essential Tweaks
+*Action Center
+*Background Apps
+*Cortana
+*OneDrive
+*Visual FX
+*Windows Search
+*Security - Low
+*Windows Update - Security Updates Only
+</div>
+===u/Elegant_Cantaloupe_8 method===
+{{ii}} Follow first 4 steps of [[#Essential start]]
 *Disable visual effects - press Start and then type Advanced System Settings, then under Performance click Visual Effects and select Best Performance and apply - (optional) select Advanced tab and under Virtual Memory click change, uncheck automatic paging and select No Paging File and Set - this may affect games differently
-*Disable Defender - go to Windows Defender settings and disable Tamper Protection, then click Start and type Local Grop Policy, go to Administrative Templates, Windows Components, Microsoft Defender Antvirus, "Turn off Microsoft Defender Antivirus" apple and reboot
+*Disable Defender - go to Windows Defender settings and disable Tamper Protection, then click Start and type Local Grop Policy, go to Administrative Templates, Windows Components, Microsoft Defender Antvirus, Enable "Turn off Microsoft Defender Antivirus" and reboot
 *If Defender is disabled then consider isolating Windows from the macOS host - on the Mac open Parallels, Control Center, click settings of the virtual machine, click Security and enable Isolate Windows from Mac
-*Powershell - click Start and type Powershell, type the scription <code>set-executionpolicy unrestricted</code> and enter
-Once above steps are completed you can now use Powershell script to disable services.
-===Powershell optimisation scripts===
-{{ii}} Warning: disabling services may make it very difficult to re-enable services again. Not recommended unless you know how to tinker with Windows services and Powershell intimately.
-Download the [https://github.com/yue0707/Windows10ARMScripts/blob/main/stripwindows.ps1 stripwindows.ps1 script]. This script is designed to run Overwatch automatically after Parllels is run, and it also disables GUI and other Window services. Once the file is downloaded into the Desktop, you can run the command from Powershell <code>cd ~/Desktop</code> and then <code>.\stripwindows.ps1</code> - this will restart the virtual machine and then automatically launch Overwatch if it has been installed in the default directory.
-Alternatively you can customise the script so that it does not remove the GUI or automatically launch the game. For example you can create a new script using Notepad which omits the 2nd to last 'Themes' line and then save the file as <code>stripwindows.ps1</code> on the Desktop using this code:
+{{ii}} Warning: this script disables GUI - it will be very difficult to re-enable services again. Not recommended unless you know how to tinker with Windows services and Powershell intimately. Please make a new snapshot in Parallels Control Center so that changes can be easily reverted.
+*Powershell - press {{Key|Win}} and type Powershell, then right-lick and click Run as administrator, type the script <code>set-executionpolicy unrestricted</code> and enter
-<pre>
+*Download the [https://github.com/yue0707/Windows10ARMScripts/blob/main/stripwindows.ps1 stripwindows.ps1 script]. This script is designed to run Overwatch automatically after Parllels is run, and it also disables GUI and other Window services.
-Set-Service -StartupType Disabled -Name "DiagTrack"
+*Once the file is downloaded into the Desktop, you can run the command from Powershell <code>cd ~/Desktop</code> and then <code>.\stripwindows.ps1</code> - this will restart the virtual machine and then automatically launch Overwatch if it has been installed in the default directory.
-Set-Service -StartupType Disabled -Name "DusmSvc"
-Set-Service -StartupType Disabled -Name "LanmanWorkstation"
-Set-Service -StartupType Disabled -Name "WSearch"
-Set-Service -StartupType Disabled -Name "WpnService"
-Set-Service -StartupType Disabled -Name "LicenseManager"
-Set-Service -StartupType Disabled -Name "EventLog"
-Set-Service -StartupType Disabled -Name "TokenBroker"
-Set-Service -StartupType Disabled -Name "UsoSvc"
-Set-Service -StartupType Disabled -Name "TabletInputService"
-Set-Service -StartupType Disabled -Name "DPS"
-Set-Service -StartupType Disabled -Name "iphlpsvc"
-Set-Service -StartupType Disabled -Name "NcbService"
-Set-Service -StartupType Disabled -Name "Spooler"
-Set-Service -StartupType Disabled -Name "PcaSvc"
-Set-Service -StartupType Disabled -Name "LanmanServer"
-Set-Service -StartupType Disabled -Name "SysMain"
-Set-Service -StartupType Disabled -Name "lmhosts"
-shutdown /r /t 0
-</pre>
-Then launch using Powershell <code>~/Desktop</code> and then <code>.\stripwindows.ps1</code>
 ==Issues fixed==
@@ Line 85: / Line 77: @@
 }}
 This fix affects several games including:
+*[[Infraspace]]
+*[[Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom]]
+*[[Outer Wilds]]
 *[[Raft]]
+*[[Risk of Rain 2]]
+*[[Shadow Warrior]]
+*[[The Long Dark]]
+*[[V Rising]]
 *[[Valheim]]
-*[[Shadow Warrior]]
 {{References}}
 [[Category:Software]] [[Category:Methods]]