You can even put Windows programs on your macOS desktop or pin them to Dock. In Coherence mode the virtual machine will run in the background, while Windows programs can run alongside your Mac apps. You can open Windows in a separate window (including a full screen mode), or you can turn on Coherence mode. The app will configure everything for you, even download Windows or utilize the one you already downloaded via Boot Camp. Parallels Desktop is very intuitive and easy-to-use for regular computer users. Install Windows on a Mac With Parallels Desktop However, when you run a virtual machine, your computer’s resources are split between the two operating systems, so everything may run slower than usual.

With virtual machines you run both macOS and Windows at the same time, which is handy if you want to open a single Windows program alongside your Mac applications. Windows will “think” it’s running on a real computer, when it is running inside an app. Virtual machines allow you to install and open Windows in a window on your Mac desktop. Option 2: Run Windows on a Macbook Without BootCamp, Using a Virtual Machine That is not a problem when using virtual machines. Another possible drawback is fact that Windows and macOS use different file systems, and you will not be able to open Mac files on Windows or vice versa unless you install specific third-party drives for it. On the other hand, only one operating system will be able to run at the same time, so you will have to reboot between them depending on which apps you need to run at the moment. That’s why dual-booting is ideal for running resource-intensive programs like video-editing software or high-end games. If you install Windows via Boot Camp, Windows will have all of your Macbook’s resources and can run programs with the maximum possible performance.

Mac’s Boot Camp Assistant will help you install Windows, partition the startup drive and install necessary drivers. Option 1: Download Windows on a Mac With BootCampīoot Camp comes with your Macbook for free, and it allows you to install Windows alongside macOS, so you can choose which of them to boot on startup. This articles gives a quick overview of each method so you can consider their pros and cons and decide which one is the best in your situation.

Use Wine to try and “rewrite” the app for macOS.

Use virtualization software ( Parallels Desktop, VMware Fusion, VirtualBox) to install Windows on a Mac virtually, so Windows can be opened inside an app.

Use Boot Camp to install Windows alongside macOS as a secondary operating system.

If you want to open Windows software that is not available for macOS on a Mac, there are three ways to do it:

Open windows apps on mac