So, this might be of interest to a small number of people - or absolutely no-one at all - but I thought I’d share how I run Windows applications on a Mac.
Well, I don’t. What I do is connect the Windows machine to the Mac using Microsoft Remote Desktop. The Windows PC is in the workshop (= shed) and the Mac is in my office (= spare bedroom). Most of the computer-related hardware is hard-wired into the home network, and I use a pair of powerline connectors between the house and the shed, as they use the same electrical circuit.
This means I can essentially run the Windows PC (a Surface Pro) from the Mac - with the exception of starting it up from shut down, although it will WOL (wake on LAN). This also means I can run the Surface Pro on a 27" screen.
All you really need is your Windows login and password, and won’t need a Parallels - or similar - licence.
Thanks for this tip Peter, never thought about it before. I have a new M1 Mac mini and pretty happy with it. I use Vectric Vcarve on an old Win 7 PC. Previously I ran Vcarve on the iMac under VMware Fusion and Win XP, now however this won’t work on the M1 boxes.
The only question you may or may not be able to answer is will Microsoft Remote Desktop operate satisfactorily on the old Win 7 machine. I ask this because in this article they suggest Win 10 pro for best results (whatever that means).
LOL, that’s the story of my life! You use your own!
The ‘thing’ with Parallels is it must take resources hard drive space from the host computer as it runs on it - with lots of bells and whistles, granted - but RD seems more streamlined and is free!
I run VMWare Fusion and find no problems with it - but I am familiar with VMWare as my entire computing infrastructure at work is VM’d. It does take local resources on the iMAC, but it means I don’t have to have or buy a PC just to RDP to. Windows 10/64/Pro will run in ‘limited mode’ seemingly indefinitely, provided such stuff as printing or changing desktop pictures/themes doesn’t worry you. I run CM from an old MacBook Air sitting right next to the 3XL as I don’t want any risk of delays or dropped out remote desktop just at the moment I might need to act quickly on something.
Everyone’s mileage varies - useful to see someone else’s mileage when deciding what to do.
I was lucky in that sense, as I already had a computer to use. Originally I was using a Mac Book Air (now redundant) but I’m still looking at Vectric VCarve, so would need a Windows OS to run it.
If anyone is having difficulty using RDP to log in to a Windows 10 machine (which I spent most of yesterday trying to resolve after formatting the surface Pro!), you need to be aware that you have to login in to your Windows (slave) device using a password (not your face, a PIN, finger swipe or dongle) when you first use RDP to connect to the Windows machine. This isn’t common knowledge!
