Virtual computing has grown in popularity in recent years as computer hardware and software have improved. As a Mac user, you're no longer limited to running only one copy of macOS on your device. You can also add a virtual copy of Windows (or other third-party operating systems) on your machine. Doing so comes with many advantages and a few pitfalls, as you can see below.

May 11, 2020 Creating a new virtual machine is pretty easy, over ahead to VirtualBox and open it. Once the VirtualBox opened on the main wizard click on “New”. Select the name for the virtual machine recommend is “macOS Catalina”. Specify the Virtual machine folder, Type “Mac OS X”, Version “Mac OS X (64-Bit), then click Next.
Apr 15, 2020 From the main VMware screen, select your macOS Catalina virtual machine, then right-click, and select Settings. Like VirtualBox, bump the virtual machine memory up to at least 4GB. You can allocate more if you have RAM to spare. Under Processors, edit the number of available cores to 2.
Oct 17, 2019 How to Install Mac OS on Windows PC using Virtual Machine Step One: Download Mac OS ISO Image file. As you are on a Windows PC, you don’t have access to Apple Store to download. Step Two: Download Virtual Machine for Windows. There is various free Virtual Machine software available for Windows.

Install macOS Mojave on VMware on Windows PC; However, there two ways to install macOS Mojave on VMware or VirtualBox. The first process of macOS Mojave installation done with the macOS Mojave VMDK file “Virtual Machines Disk File”.And through this article, you will learn another unique way of macOS Mojave installation with macOS Mojave ISO File. Jan 29, 2020 Like Parallels, Fusion lets you create a virtual machine through software that can run separately from your macOS installation. In this case, you can use Fusion with Windows 10 (or another operating system) through a window on your Mac desktop or in full-screen mode.

What is a virtual machine?

A virtual machine is a software-based computer that includes an operating system and apps that are supported by the host computer's physical resources. Specification and configuration files decide how much of those resources are ultimately used by the virtual machine. Among the biggest names in virtual machining for Macs are Parallels, VMWare Fusion, Apple's very own Boot Camp, and more.

Reasons to use a virtual machine

There are many reasons to use a virtual machine on your Mac, both on a temporary and permament basis.

Testing time

The most obvious reason to set up and use a virtual machine is to try out new operating systems. Each June, for example, Mac developers and enthusiasts like getting their hands on Apple's latest version of macOS. To do so, many users elect to create a virtual machine on their machine, rather than use the beta software as the computer's primary OS.

Because pre-release software is often riddled with incomplete features and sometimes bugs, this is one of the best ways to test new software without jeopardizing the overall health of your computer. When problems arise with beta software, you can delete the virtual machine and carry on with your day.

Oldies

You may also want to use a virtual machine to keep an old operating system in place to use outdated or discontinued software. Sticking with the Mac theme, there might be software titles that work on macOS High Sierra but not macOS Catalina. By keeping a copy of the former, you can continue to use the outmoded software for the foreseeable future.

Experience other platforms

Windows, Linux, and Ubuntu are three of the most significant non-macOS systems on the market. We wouldn't assume to call any of these better than macOS. However, there are scenarios where you might want to use one over our favorite. Among the reasons is being able to run apps and files unique to the other operating system.

In the case of developers, it might mean creating new content that's specific to that operating system, while leaving everyday tasks to the primary space. Regardless of the scenario, virtualization allows you to stick with only one computer, saving money and resources.

Tinker time

Depending on your job or interests, you may also want to use a virtual machine that's a clone from another machine, or a backup snapshot. The former is a great way to access the content from another machine without having to go through and installing each of those resources individually. The latter lets you access you files and apps from an earlier state without jeopardizing your computer's current set up.

You may also want a virtual machine to act as a playground where you can change system files and make tweaks without worrying about crashing your physical device.

There are pitfalls, however

It wasn't that long ago when virtualization software was designed solely for developers and other techies. As these solutions have grown easier to use, however, more casual users are taking virtual machines out for test drives. Despite this, the tools still present challenges.

Chief among these is resource allocation. As you add virtual machines to your system, you inevitably are taking digital assets away from your primary system. In doing so, storage space is affected, and you may experience performance issues. Because of this, only install virtual machines you need, and dump the ones you don't.

Additionally, make sure your computer comfortably exceeds the minimum requirements before even attempting to install a virtual machine. You can find the current requirements online.

Finally, expect the unexpected. Virtualization isn't perfect, especially when you begin adding third-party operating systems to your Mac. Also, hardware incompatibilities happen regularly under these scenarios. Therefore, make sure your virtual machine software is always current.

Getting started

You can begin using virtual software on your Mac at little or no cost. Each of the major vendors offers solutions on a free to test basis. Some like Oracle VM VirtualBox are open source and free forever! When choosing a solution, find the one that's best for your situation and enjoy it!

Do you have questions about virtualization or macOS Catalina? Let us know in the comments below.

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If you want to run Windows on your Mac there are two ways to do it. One is to partition your main drive using the built-in Bootcamp Assistant and then install Windows on the partition that doesn’t house macOS. You can then boot into whichever operating system you choose.

While that method means running Windows natively and so is optimal in terms of performance, it means you have to reboot every time you want to move between operating systems and you can’t, for example, copy and paste between macOS and Windows. If you want to run Windows and macOS side by side, you’ll need to create a Windows virtual machine for Mac.

What is a virtual machine?

A virtual machine (VM) is a computer that’s created in software and looks and feels just like a real PC. But it runs inside a Mac application. The whole virtual machine, with the operating system and all its applications, is stored inside one big file on your Mac. That means you can have multiple virtual machines on the same Mac. Once you launch it and ‘boot’ the virtual PC, Windows VM on Mac behaves like any other Windows machine, except that it’s running inside a window on your Mac.

If you have two screens connected to your Mac, you can have macOS on one and Windows on the other. Or you can use Mission Control to swipe between them. A virtual machine can share accessories like printers and external storage with your Mac, and you can copy and paste between the two operating systems. You can even set up the virtual machine to use Mac keyboard shortcuts instead of their Windows equivalents.

Can I run a virtual machine on my Mac?

As long as your Mac has an Intel processor (and it will have unless it’s more than 12 years old), in theory it can run a virtual machine. However, running a virtual machine alongside macOS needs lots of memory (at least 8GB in total, and more if you want to run more than one virtual machine) and at least two pr

Use Macos Or Windows For Virtual Machine