Parallels Desktop is brilliant

Ever since fusion started going downhill since the acquisition of Broadcom, I started thinking of switching, finally took the plunge, and yes, it might not be the most accessible and require OCR at the start, but once you get windows installed, no need for OCR pretty much. Needless to say, I am not looking back.

Just to run windows on it? 😏

I would certainly use the mac to spell check. I would only use windows for playing windows audio games.

I only use windows to play audiogames and games which aren't available on the mac, but my job and everything else? I do it on the mac.

I suppose I could once again make compromises in order to run Doze on the Apple Silicon Mac, by using Parallels. But, yes, I'd not be madly in love with the idea, because I do think the UI isn't as convenient to use. But if it's really the only way, might have to. On my Intel iMac the first choice remains BootCamp, obviously.

you don't need to touch the UI if you don't want to. Other than installing windows, if you don't want to have to touch the UI again you don't have to, as you can customise keyboard shortcuts etc from the windows vm itself. Of course, if your up to mucking about in the UI, you will need ocr for some of the settings screens, well one in particular, that beeing the keyboard shortcuts for the vm, but even then you only need vocr to focus you on the table of keyboard shortcuts after which your voiceover commands to navigate the table will work as normal to uncheck and check the default keyboard shortcuts.

Sorry for the poster if I am hijacking the post. I donwloaded the app from the App Store and I am getting nothing in the first screen, VoiceOver says: kToolbarTitleLabelItemId text. Not sure what this means! Also when I use VOCR to get the screen it says Nothing Found.

So I get that parallels is probably the best option for virtualization as of now, but financially supporting a company that makes zero effort with regards to accessibility kind of rubs me the wrong way. Don't get me wrong - if I get to a point where I need to, I'd be hypocritical and bite the bullet, but I do think it wouldn't hurt to write them, especially if you're an existing customer, and tell them how you feel about the present state of their UI.

parallels work with M4 or M5 mac book pro?
and can we install windows 11 in there?
and after that can we use screen reader like NVDA?

Yes, you can run it on all m sereis macs.

Regarding the setup screen and VOCR. VOCR seems a bit flaky, or it's simply not finding the window open. There should be a guide around I put together on this topic.

I find that restarting voiceover sometimes helps. Also worth checking with a VO f1 twice to get into any windows that might have popped up for new permissions. Be patient, it does work, it's just frustrating.

Regarding the rpinciple thing, if it's either buying a grands worth of windows machine or struggling a little with set up, I'll do the set up. I admire principles, but I want to get stuff done. We can set it up, it's not ideal, but I'm not going to deny myself something because people are people. And, who knows, the more of us who use parallels and send in requests, the more reason they have to improve accessibility.

only downside is there is the normal vm lag, it gotten much better over the years though, but the only reason I I don't use a vm with my mac rn is storage, if you want to run both macos and windows get at least 1TB, 500GB sounds fine until it isn't, it somehow flys away before you could blink.

can we install steam on windows in Parallels Desktop ?

Yes you can, but it's not got direct X 12 support so the latest titles and AAA games won't run. There will also be a limitation based on GPU.

As for simpler games, should be no issue, depending on what you're looking to run.

Do such games run on VMWare? I'm asking because if they do that's probably the only real advantage VMWare has over Parallels at this point. If I could afford it and the accessibility kinks were ironed out, I would transition to Parallels right now.

According to Google, Parallels has the best support for direct decks and 3-D rendering. You won't be able to play every AAA game out there, but you will get better results with the ones you can play over other VMs.

Not to throw this thread off, but DirectX 12 is available through Wine and using such packages as Crossover. This comes with downsides, though. I managed to install Diablo IV on my M2 MBA, and it appeared to run fine. The issue was that it needed the screen reader built into Windows to be usable, and as it was, it was running natively on Mac OS which meant the accessibility wasn't available and, as I understand it, not many, if any, of the AAA games with spoken menus, etc., bundle the screen reader in the main package, rather relying on Windows libraries.

My advice, if you want to use AAA games, is to get yourself a console and then, if you like, run it remotely through your Mac. I use OneCast for my Xbox and XCloud and PS Remote Play for my PS5. Both work very well with the PS Dual Sense controller.

I know we don't tend to talk about games too much on here, but it would be interesting to know what people do run on Windows, and I could do some digging to see if I can get them running on Mac.

Far as Parallels goes, though, I think you're looking at audio games and older mainstream games, which, of course, don’t tend to have much accessibility built in.

I'm not sure what's happening with Parallels and DirectX 12. If that comes, that will open things up a lot, but it doesn't seem to be very forthcoming.

Remote play from a console might be your best bet for gaming on the Mac.
@Oliver,
While I cannot speak for other Windows users, I play Xbox titles on my Windows 11 laptop, either via GamePass, or via 'Play Anywhere' titles.

I installed parallels and windows 11 and it is working great! Just a question, how do i check the windows preferences to make sure it has the correct ran and allowed disc space? Also how do i create an NVDA key or do I need sharp keys for this? Thanks,

Just to say, most of the xbox windows games, or that is the newer versions, don't run in Parallels. Again, I think it is direct X related but I'm not really clued up on that. All I know is Forza Motorsport does not work.

But that's bac back to the point of playing remotely with consoles in Mac OS using OneCast for XBox and PS Remote Play for Playstation.

Afternoon all,
I restarted the mac and VM and have no sound in windows 11 at all even though i had sound the first time i set up windows. How do i fix this? I am using it in full screen mode. Also in the menu bar I do not see the usual options under windows such as suspend, resume, restart. Any ideas?

Hi for those that have the spell check bug in Safari have you filed feedbacks with screen recordings showing the issue?

From what I read, the preference is not saving is a bug specific to parallels 26. I think someone recommended to download version 20, save your preferences, and then go back to parallel 26 with your preferences saved.

Yes, I'm assuming you're using the stand alone version? Preferences persist in the appstore version.

Also, for those who do use the app store version and have configured the keyboard to work exactly the same as a windows keyboard and turned on keyboard passthrough to the VM to always, so you can use alt/command tab, to hop out of parallels you don't actually have to go to the dock, all you do is hit control option and then the next keystrokes go to your mac. Just a little thing, but helpful.

Also, a couple of extra shortcuts I set up in parallels preferences: command + l > Control + l (muscle memory for getting into the address bar in a browser. And command semi-colon to alt F7 for spell check.

You can use the mac app store version if you have the stand alone subscription, you just can't use it the other way around. IE, you can get the subscription through the mac store and then use the stand alone version.

This is an interesting one. When i open windows apps or games like task manager, file explorer, and an audio game all of them appear when i command tab between apps. So instead of VO saying Finder, Mail, Messages and then going back to finder it says; Finder, Parallels, windows 11, task manager, messages, file explorer. Is this normal behavior? I could be wrong but I do not remember this happening in the previous version. I am using version 26.

Yes, it’s normal behavior, it’s just the mode you have set. By default, coherence mode is turned on, that’s why you see things like task manager, and other Windows apps when command tabbing. You can turn that off in settings of the virtual machine.

I couldn't seem to turn coherence off. I wanted just one window, like the mac app store version, but I'm not sure if it's possible. Focus gets a bit funky too when I command tab on to the windows app it seems to slide off and drop back into finder. I think the stand alone version, though it does have some good extra features, is just too buggy for me. I much prefer the tidiness of using the mac appstore version. Just feels neater and, as it is a closed environment, I do feel like I'm actualy using a windows machine rather than something on a mac. It's the closest I'm going to get to boot camp.. *Sobs*... Why, boot camp... Why!

Is the pro version worth it if i have the standard m1 mac with 16 gb ram?

as far as I understand it, the main benefit of pro is that you can allocate more ram than 8 GB which, in your case, wouldn't be worth doing anyway, not without making mac OS sluggish and, because it's running on Mac OS, Parallels too. I've got the 24 gb MBA so I did go for pro which I think works out about £10 more expensive per year, and set it to 16 GB. It was the reason I upgraded my computer. It does feel snappier than 8 GB assigned on my MBA m2 but there is also an M4 now driving things so it could be that too.

Sorry for the long winded response.

TLDR: Pro is only worth it if you have more than 8 GB to spare for ram.

Hi!
Is any of us parallels users here also experiencing audio stuttering and buffering on windows?
I am running my windows via parallels on an m1 max Mac Book Pro, have allocated 32 gb of ram to windows and 6 processor cores. Rather often, the audio from windows stutererereerererererers a lot, making the whole system practically very hard to use in daily work.
Has anyone experienced this or found a reliable fix?
I've done the obvious, aka updating every bit in the chain, restarting everything. Connecting an external soundcard to windows directly results in the audio not buffering, but dropping out and completely disappearing for around 10 seconds occasionally.
Since nobody is talking about this, I assume you don't experience such stutters?

Indeed. Getting it several times per hour, often several times during 5 minutes or so, and thats considerably limiting my work and usecase. So far, Parallels support has also been wonderfully silent on this :)

Just checking you're running Parallels Pro to take advantage of that whopping amount of ram. The standard version only uses 8 GB.

Also, is this all audio, or just NVDA/Jaws/Narrator?

I have noticed NVDA drop out a couple of times but I was assuming it's because I'm using some dodgy plug in to use the Narrator neural voices. Thinking about it, I still think that's the case as restarting NVDA, the correct sounds play, and it seems to sort it. I did notice in a game I play, Mist World, there was some stuttering, but I think that's more likely down to crappy servers which the games run on somewhere in China.

It good if it's general audio that is suffering as it sounds like a problem that can be wide spread. If it's just screen readers, that's less helpful as Parallels support are rather obtuse.

Yes, its Parallels pro, as the regular one caps the resources you can allocate. The issue is applied to the whole guest OS input and output, so there is definitely something wrong in the parallels audio stack.

Hi,
can someone make a Podcast to get setup with Parallels and get up and running?
It would be appreciated.
Thanks

I brought that subject up some time ago, and a few people immediately jumped me, one of whom with personal attacks even, so that's how defensive some blind people can get about their choice to economically support software whose developers have actively demonstrated to not care about accessibility for over a decade now. That coupled with the irony in lots of ridiculous praise mixed with complaints about keyboard settings not saving or stuttering audio is at the very least comedy in the making, especially when the only feature that Parallels actually has going for it is configuring and enabling the unattended mode of the Windows installer, which apparently is worth at least $60 per year for those people.

I don't think it’s screenreader based, as i'm using NVDA without any studdering or audio dropping out. To be fair though; I only use elequense as my NVDA voice and since others have mentioned using the natural sounding voices, this could very well be the culprit, at least that's what its sounding like, if I had to guess. My mac is a m3 pro, with the m3max chip, 14 or so cores, don't remember off the top of my head, and 36 gigs of ram. And yes; i'm using Parallels standard, so 8 gigs of ram, and i'm not getting studdering; which is why I say likely natural sounding voices are the likely culprit here; to those who are getting this; what screen reader and voice are you using? And to those that aren't getting this; same question. The only other possibility that comes to mind is its a bug with parallels 26 that only affects if you made your vm on version 26 instead of a earlier version but again; I don't think that's the case.

So as per the comment above, one needs a $4000 machine with at least a $60 yearly inaccessible software subscription to even get close to the experience provided by a $120 machine. Totally reasonable!

I'm not historically a Windows user, so I am not sure what the foibles of Windows, irrespective of hardware, are. I mean, I have to restart VoiceOver several times a day when it gets a bit stupid. I'm not sure if that is the same with NVDA. My issue might just be NVDA getting a bit funky, as general audio seems to work okay.

I wonder if there is some issue with Mac OS competing with Parallels for audio. Do people have VoiceOver running at the same time, for example?

You’re taking this completely out of context — and honestly, that’s a bad-faith jab if I’ve ever seen one. My comment wasn’t about bragging or hardware cost; it was about isolating variables to figure out why some people experience audio stuttering in Parallels and others don’t. Another user with a 32-gig M1 setup — a system that costs about the same and was mentioned well before I even commented — reported the same issue. So clearly, this isn’t a “$4000 computer” thing. It happens across both cheaper and more expensive Macs.

The point I was making is that it mite, per what other users are saying about using natural voices; come down to voice processing,or possibly how Parallels 26 handles newly created VMs, or something of the sort but Hardware cost has zero relevance to that. You’re twisting a technical discussion into a moral or economic one, which doesn’t make sense in this context.

And let’s be real — you didn’t say a word when someone else mentioned their $4000 setup, but the moment I chime in, suddenly it turns into a lecture about “blind people defending inaccessible software.” That says a lot about intent. You even dragged this into another thread previously, claiming you’d been “personally attacked” for bringing it up which, let’s be clear, didn’t happen. But if twisting that narrative helps you sleep at night, that’s on you, not me; and yeah that was clearly meant to be a jab at me, don't think I didn't notice it.

Maybe next time, read what people are actually saying before throwing around sarcastic comments. I’m trying to troubleshoot based on observed behavior and system variables, because there has to be a reason why some get it and others don’t — maybe a particular setting, like being in coherence mode versus not, for example. But the whole “oh yeah, you have to buy a $4000 Mac to not have these problems!” take? That completely misses the point of the discussion. Big difference.

I do, but I have heard of others who don't have it on when using the vm. Its on a case by case basis, but i've never had any problems if voiceover is simultaneously running with the vm.

I am using eloquence as well.
Based on your replies, I've gathered that this is something unique with my system. Have to wait for Parallels support to take a peek at this, and if they fail, I might see a windows reinstall in my future.
Will keep this thread updated in case someone else runs int othat issue.

If it comes to the cost vs effectiveness, there is probably a reason people here combine Mac and Windows. I can't vouch for others, but I did invest into the hardware because Apples hardware is rock solid, and works flawlessly. My work involves quite a bit of audio processing, where the MacOs brilliant audio stack shines. Running local language models and transcribers is also a breeze. Not to mention the quality of life features such as Airdrop, iMessage, FaceTime ETC.
Sadly, the MacOs software side, with VoiceOver, as we all know is less than ideal. Depending on what you do, it just isn't sufficient in several cases.
Regarding supporting inaccessible software, similar argument could be made against MacOs and VoiceOver, where apple has brought nearly zero meaningful updates to the screen reader in years. interestingly, people keep buying macs and using VoiceOver.
SO, as long as it works, let everybody use what they want.