Parallels

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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 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, 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.

Install Windows 10 ARM on Parallels

Windows 10 ARM installation instructions
Visit Windows 10 ARM Insider Preview Sign up with a Microsoft account Download the latest Windows Insider build Download and install Parallels When asked for a VHDX file, point to the Windows 10 ARM Insider Preview build already downloaded

x64 emulation

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.

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.

Enable Dev channel

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.

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

Simple method

• 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)

Manual method debloat

Follow the first 4 steps of the #Simple method (50% CPU and RAM, ParkControl, Startup launchers disabled, uninstall Parallels Memory Controller) and then do the following:

• 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.
• Then launch using Powershell ~/Desktop and then .\stripwindows.ps1

Issues fixed

Flickering textures or invisible objects

Enable video.untrimmed_dynamic_cbuffers=1
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:

• Raft
• Valheim
• Shadow Warrior