Started moving from the ancient 27" iMac to my new Apple Mac Mini with the M1 architecture. I currently run Vcarve Desktop V9.5 on the iMac using Fusion VMware and a very old copy of Win XP and it works beautifully.
While I could probably copy this setup on the M1 although at this stage I don’t know if Fusion will still work. Additionally, I really want to upgrade to Vcarve V10 and as I understand, it will not run on Win XP. Being and Apple user of many years and accustomed to getting free OS upgrades I am reluctant to spending my heard earned on a Win 10 license.
CrossOver by Codeweavers seemed like an option. For those unfamiliar with this application it is a means of running Win applications on a Mac without having to install Windows (How it does that is beyond my small brain to comprehend but apparently it does work). Many Win applications run perfectly while many others lack some functionality to one degree or another while others just fail. A quick query of the CrossOver database indicated that Vcarve Pro rated 4 stars for compatibility albeit tested in 2011 - worth a try anyhow.
CrossOver loaded successfully and seemed to run as expected. Sadly, the install of Vcarve 10 seemed to be going well for the most part but then hung, repeated installs produced the same result. While in the install was in the hung state however the Vcarve screen appeared worked partially but it was really useless.
Well it was worth the try. Hope this will be of help to others. And before anyone asks. I run neither Carbide Create, Carbide Motion or any GRBL apps on my Mac M1 so I cannot verify if these work successfully, sorry folks. But, I have not yet had any ‘old’ MacOS 64 bit application fail to run successfully on the M1 using Apple’s Rosetta 2 (a seamless Intel to Apple Silicon code converter).
Chances are you will need to get Parallels or Fusion VM Ware and download Windows 10. V Carve is Windows only. I use a iMac and run Windows in bootcamp or Parallels and tested V Care a few months back. I have signed up for Carveco but when I run tin Parallels it says the graphics card isn’t up to the task but works. If I run it in bootcamp with Windows 10 it has no issue.
Any of the software out there at this point you will need to update to the latest to work with Windows 10 and Mac OS. Technology keeps moving forward.
Thanks Michael. Unfortunately the M1 does not support Bootcamp. I once tried Parallels and was not happy with it. Then I tried Fusion and have been using it for quite a few years and love its transparency.
It seems like I will have to lower my ideals and purchase Win 10 - bugger!
Good luck with Carveco. Personally I steer away from subscription only applications. Love my Mac Mini M1 (with the 4k screen). If I have any complaints it is the limited number of I/0 ports.
Just so you know, the only way to run W10 on an M1 Mac right now is a very beta version with Parallels. You have to use a beta version of W10 for ARM that you can’t actually purchase. It also does not make use of the M1’s great x86/x64 emulation and instead uses Microsoft’s which sucks. I am also not sure if 64 bit applications even run on it yet, last I checked (a while ago) they only had emulation for 32 bit x86 stuff. Until Microsoft decides to support the M1 and starts selling W10 on ARM to the general public, I would avoid this like the plague. I could be wrong on all this but my 15 minutes of Googling seems to confirm my thoughts.
I might just have to keep the old iMac/Fusion/XP/Vcarve running for a while or alternatively stoke up the old Intel Win 7 machine that’s in the cupboard.
You can install Windows 10 on your 27" iMac natively, and its a free download from microsoft to try it out. It will run indefinitely without a license but limit your ability to alter some preferences.
100% right. just use bootcamp. You cant hot swap but it is a free option. I use parallels. Cant remember how much it was, But i run vcave seamlessly on my mac with a coherence mode. Cant even tell windows in running. So the not being able to change wallpaper and what not isn’t even noticeable. But if you want totally free, Bootcamp i believe comes installed on every mac. like i said, you do have to reboot to swap between windows and os x. but on that new mac might just be a couple seconds.
I run VM Fusion 11 on my iMAC (Intel), the free as in ‘some features limited’ Win 10 Pro inside Fusion. I run Solidworks and Vectric VCarve Pro this way and don’t see any performance issues - maybe the odd occasion when looking at a long tool path recalc I wonder, but it has never been concerning. The MAC has 24GB RAM to help all this along and a 2TB SSD disk replacement. Do need to start looking towards a replacement iMAC at some point, as this one is 6yrs old now.
Thanks Gerry also Mike and Andy. My idea is to move the iMac on and repurpose it so I won’t be installing Win 10 on it although a possibility (and free) as indicated above. Hopefully either Fusion or Parallels will come up with a native M1 virtual machine in the future.
Hello Patrick. Unfortunately, a Windows 10 Intel operating system will always be an Intel operating system. As such, Fusion or Parallels will have to emulate an Intel processor on the Arm-based M1 processor in order to run the operating system. There will not be a “native virtual machine” in the truest sense of that idea, ever, for running an Intel OS on Arm.
That said, the emulation of an Intel CPU on an M1 could be spectacular. But it probably won’t be as good as running it on an Intel processor.