How to run Windows programs on a Mac. Launching your favorite Windows applications on Mac

The number of applications supported by the macOS operating system is growing every day. However, some software products only run on Windows. There are various ways to run this kind of software on a Mac. The most obvious one involves installing a virtual machine with the creation of a new partition on the disk to install a full-fledged Windows.

But if you only need one Windows program, then you do not need to install a full-fledged operating system on your computer. MacDigger suggests turning to one of two utilities to solve this problem.

WineBottler

This is not to say that WineBottler can boast of support for all Windows applications, but there are over 23,000 titles in the program's database. With a high probability, among those that she knows and understands, you are most likely to find what you need. Moreover, the advantage of WineBottler is that it is distributed completely free of charge.

WineBottler does not launch Windows for its work, but packages applications so that they can run in OS X. All this happens using a special component. To find out if the application you are looking for is on the list of compatible ones, we recommend that you go through. There is sorting and a convenient search here.

You can download WineBottler for Mac on the developers website. The latest version of WineBottler is compatible with OS X El Capitan and macOS Sierra.

CrossOver

The CrossOver software emulator is considered the best option for running Windows programs on macOS. A big plus of the program is the support of the Russian language. Therefore, Russian users will not have any difficulties in using it.

CrossOver is developed by CodeWeavers based on the source codes of a free analogue. Moreover, he himself is a commercial product. Product creators add their own patches as well as graphical configuration utilities. The company has hired several Wine developers and is returning some of its work to a free project.

CrossOver differs from WineBottler in a narrower focus: it is aimed at supporting the most demanded office, graphics and other applications. At the same time, compatibility with this software is thoroughly tested and debugged, so that its work is usually more stable than that of a free analogue.

The cost is $ 40-60. There is also a version of CrossOver Games built to run popular Windows games on the Mac.

M ak is beautiful from all sides. Usually they fall in love with him at first sight. However, we have to admit that programs on Windows have undeniable advantages: prevalence and general acceptance. It is for this reason that Mac users periodically (less and less, fortunately) are forced to contrive and come up with ways to run programs that only run on Windows.

Some services (bank clients and other sites that work with EDS) only support (! Sic) Internet Explorer, you may be sent a file in some prehistoric format that can only be opened by a Windows program that does not have a Mac version. Anyway, such situations arise. And further in the article, we will consider all the ways to resolve such situations and summarize in a way that is suitable for almost everyone and always.

1. Virtual machines

Virtual machines allow you to run an entire operating system inside another operating system. There are three large virtual machines on MacOS:, and. The latter has already been discussed in a recent article about.

It's safe to say that if you're ready to shell out, Parallels is the best of the three. Especially for beginners. You don't need to configure anything during installation (and you don't even need to download Windows) - the program will do everything by itself. Parallels supports the so-called Coherence mode, which launches Windows in a Mac's window. Moreover, regular Win-applications can be docked. And run win files directly from Finder. In this case, files and applications are highlighted with the Parallels logo.

I must say that I personally use Parallels. I will not talk about VMware for the reason that when choosing a virtual machine for myself, I realized that "Parallels" are currently head and shoulders above VMware and there is generally no particular choice among virtual machines.

The only negative is, of course, the price. The program has only paid versions and the cheapest (home) will cost you (at the time of this writing) 3.990 ₽

At the same time, the same VirtualBox is free. But to install it you will have to strain a little. In addition, the result will not look as beautiful in VB as in Parallels, because the latter was made specifically for Mac, and VB is a cross-platform program. If you are ready to get confused and save money, then about installing Windows 8 in VirtualBox.

If you have doubts (and there is not much time), then put on the 14-day trial version of "Parallels" and during this time decide whether it is worth your money. If there is definitely no money for paid programs, then VirtualBox is the best choice. For VirtualBox, at the same time look at articles about and, in fact,. Recall that Win10 can now be installed simply and without activation (with a little uncritical functional limitation).

2. Boot Camp

While virtual machines allow you to run Win inside a running macOS, Boot Camp allows you to install Windows directly on the Mac itself. Also known as “dual boot”, Boot Camp allows you to have a Mac and Windows on the same hard drive.

MacOS requires Boot Camp Assistant and this wizard will guide you through the entire installation process. What is the installation itself: an additional (bootable) partition will be created on the hard disk, where Windows will be located and you can then boot the computer from it.

How to install Windows 10 via Boot Camp Assistant

You will need:

• USB flash drive or external hard drive of 8 GB or more (information on them will disappear, so do not use a USB flash drive with your dissertation)
• The poppy must be plugged into a power outlet. It won't be very cool if it turns off in the middle of the process.
• Windows 10 license required
• Connected internet

1. Download Windows ISO

Microsoft offers Windows ISO files for free download on its official website.

Be sure to read the list of minimum hardware requirements. If your poppy doesn't match them, then don't even try. After reading the minimum requirements, select the version ( Windows 10) press the button “ Confirm“.

Then select the language of the product (for example, Russian), again press the button “ Confirm“. After that, your system will be checked for compatibility and if successful, you will see download links on the screen.

Choose the version with your processor bit (in my case x64) and download the ISO file with Windows.

2. Plug in the USB flash drive

Disconnect all USB devices from your computer during installation. Insert the prepared USB flash drive or external hard drive.

3. Run Boot Camp Assistant

MacOS X has a built-in BCA (Boot Camp Assistant) and it does everything on its own, so you don't need any third-party utilities. To launch BCA, open Spotlight (there is a magnifying glass icon in the upper right corner of the screen, click on it), and there enter Boot Camp Assistant... Select a program Boot Camp Assistant.

4. Select the type of installation

Select the first item “ Create Windows 7 or newer installation disc“. The second checkbox ( Download the latest Windows Support Software from Apple), in theory, will be checked by default and cannot be turned off. But the third item can be enabled or disabled by default. Turn off third point ( Install Windows 7 or newer). Then click “ Continue“.

5. Burn Windows to a USB flash drive

Select the Windows ISO file you downloaded in the first step.
Make sure that you have selected a prepared USB flash drive as the installation disk.

Please note that the flash drive will be formatted in the process and all data on it will be lost.

Click “ Continue“. Another window will appear, are you sure you want to continue, because the flash drive will be formatted and the data will disappear. If you are sure, press “ Continue“.

If you are performing the operation on a MacBook, do not close the lid of the laptop. This will put the poppy to sleep and abort the recording process.

After everything is over, you will see the message “Windows has been saved”. Click “ Exit“, Unmount and disconnect the USB stick.

Congratulations, you have a windows stick for mac.

Launching the installer from a USB flash drive

In order to boot from a USB disk, you need to hold down the Mac about booting ALT(a boot menu will appear, where you need to select a USB flash drive). Or when loading a Mac, hold down C, then the computer will immediately boot from the flash drive.

After you boot from the USB stick,.

So, this was a small lyrical digression on the topic of installing Windows 10 with a second system on a computer. Now let's get back to where we started: is it worth it and who will it suit.

The main disadvantage of this whole dual-boot venture is that you cannot run Win- and Mac-programs in parallel. Every time you switch between systems, you need to reboot and select the OS. This has its advantages, of course, and it is more system performance, because Windows can use all the resources of your Mac.

3. Wine

Both solutions above (virtual machines and boot camp) include the installation of a full-fledged Windows with all the attendant nuances. Wine is something else. It is a "gasket" that allows you to run Win programs on MacOS and Linux. In this regard, Wine is a much easier solution than installing Windows, especially if you need to use 1-2 popular programs. But, as is often the case, trade-offs have a range of limitations and pitfalls.

That's the problem: Wine does not work with all programs. Some start up and work fine, others might throw an error while running, and still others won't start at all. First, you can check the compatibility of the programs and search there for the applications that you need.

And one more problem lies in the fact that this is not quite a "boxed solution" and finishing it can cause a complete embarrassment for new users.

The second problem can be simplified slightly. For this, the WineBottler program has been created, and we'll talk about it.

Choose stable version, download the DMG file.

After opening the DMG file, drag Wine and WineBottler to Applications (just like you do when installing any other software from outside the App Store).

After installation, run WineBottler and you will see a list of programs that you can install on the fly, for example, Internet Explorer.

In order to run other Windows programs through Wine, download the executable files of these programs (.EXE) and run them as follows: right-click and Open -> Wine... Yes, I repeat once again that not all programs will work through Wine.

Below is a vidos about WineBottler in broken English, in principle, everything is clear in it without translation 😉

Wine is great when you need to work with 1-2 programs that are guaranteed to be compatible. If the list of programs is wide and changes regularly, then you should choose a different way to work with them.

CrossOver

CrossOver is a paid solution that is also based on Wine.

The application offers a high-quality interface that allows you to simply enter the name of the required Windows program and it will be found and launched. Since this is commercial software, you can count on the help of a support in the event that something goes wrong with you or you need support for some program that is not on the list.

But compared to the options above, CrossOver is a solid trade-off and won't suit most users. Again, if you need to run various programs, it is much easier to do this using a virtual machine. If performance is important to you (for example, in games), then it is better to use Boot Camp. In general, with a price tag of $ 40, you can recommend this option for highly specialized use.

Remote access

If none of the above options suits you, then why not try to deal with the problem in a different way? If you have another computer on which Windows is installed, then you can use remote access to work on it from your Mac.

TeamViewer is a free and powerful remote access tool. By the way, there was about remote access.

All you need to do is choose a communication method, install it on both computers (Win and Mac), log into your account on both machines, check the boxes with “simple login” on Win. And then you can connect to your Windows computer at any time.

Depending on, you may experience some delays and slowdowns in your work. Yes, and also, the lack of cross-support for hotkeys is a little annoying. You try to switch the language on the Mac in the usual way, and instead of changing the language, all sorts of windows pop up. But on the other hand, if you need relatively fast (and free) access to Windows, then this option may suit you!

As good as Mac OS is, it is inferior to Windows in one important thing - in the amount and variety of software. Sometimes there are situations when, well, you cannot do without some terribly specific program, for which there are no analogues in our beloved OS. What should a faithful poppy-breeder do in this situation?

First of all, do not get upset and not afraid, because there are at least three ways to solve this problem. Let's break them down one by one.

Boot Camp

Apple is renowned for its attention to users for a reason, which is why Mac OS X has a built-in program that makes it easy and quick to install Windows on your Mac. Yes, exactly install and it is Windows. In this case, the operating system from Microsoft will be "next" to your Mac OS (or maybe completely replace it - but this is an extreme option for ardent haters of the apple operating system) and in order to gain access to it you will have to restart your computer.

This method is not very convenient if you only need to briefly launch Windows programs or work with several applications at the same time, only one of which is not made for Mac OS. But this method will allow you to get the maximum performance from your computer or laptop and therefore is ideal for running resource-intensive applications. Such as, for example, games.

In order to use this method, you will need a little: only the windows disk. Installation is as simple and straightforward as possible: you need to run Boot Camp Assistant, which is located at , after which you will be prompted to set the amount of disk space that you will give to Windows. Then you will be asked to insert the Windows CD into your drive and you will proceed with the usual installation of this operating system. I am glad that Boot Camp Assistant will download and install all the necessary drivers by itself. After that, you will only need to reboot and now, you are already working in the good old (or not so good) Windows.

Pros:

• All applications will start.
• Maximum productivity

Minuses:

• Need to reboot

Virtual Box - virtual machine

A virtual machine is a computer inside a computer. It is created (it is correct to say "emulated") using special software. This method is good in that it does not require reboots, however, it also has certain pitfalls: your computer will have to simultaneously maintain the operability of two operating systems, so the speed of both can be noticeably slowed down.

There are several virtual machines for Mac OS X. These are paid VMware Fusion, Parallels Desktop and free Virtual Box. In fact, there are more of them, but these three are the main ones.

The process of installing Windows for any of the listed programs is roughly similar. We will consider the option with a free Virtual Box. First, let's create a new virtual machine. To do this, you need to start Virtual Box and click the New button. Next, you need to enter the name of the virtual machine and indicate which OS you want to install there. After that, on one of the screens you will be asked to set the amount of RAM that you want to give up to be torn apart by the guest system. Another slippery point can be specifying the maximum size of the data file that your virtual machine will use - this file will be its hard disk.

After the configuration is completed, we will see the created virtual machine in the main program window. In order to install Windows there, you need to start it for the first time. Then, using a convenient wizard, indicate where the installation will be from (both a disk with a recorded OS and a disk image on a hard drive will do). Then you can install Windows in the same way as on a regular computer.

Pros:

• No need to reboot
• All programs work

Minuses:

• On weak machines, the simultaneous operation of two operating systems can cause "brakes" on both

Wine

This method consists in the fact that a special emulator program launches a Windows application inside itself and "translates" the commands that it sends to the OS into a language understandable for Mac OS X, and translates the responses received from it into a language understandable to the program.

This approach does not require reboots or full-fledged Windows installation and works faster than the option with virtual machines - it would seem that it is free from the drawbacks that are relevant for the first two methods. However, not everything is so rosy. Unfortunately, not all programs will work correctly with this approach: some may not even start, and some may glitch during operation. Nevertheless, emulator programs are constantly improving, expanding the list of supported applications. Therefore, if the program you need is not too complicated, then you can safely try to run it in the emulator.

The two most common Windows emulation programs are CrossOver and Wine. The first is paid, and the second is distributed free of charge and migrated to us thanks to the roots of Mac OS X, which grow from Unix.

Installing Wine

We'll use the free option again. To install, we need Xcode (you can download it from the Mac App Store for free) and the Mac Ports program, which can be downloaded from the Internet for free, as well as a terminal that is already installed on your system and is located at / Programs / Utilities /.

Once you've installed XCode and MacPorts, open a terminal and type:

sudo port install wine-devel

which will install the latest version of Wine on your Mac (you will need to enter your password). Please be patient, the installation process can take quite a long time.

After the installation is over, you can safely use this program. In order to run the exe file, you need to open the terminal, write in it

wine (leave a space after this word and don't press enter)

after that drag the file from the finder window to the terminal window (the path to the file will be inserted there) and press enter. It is important not to close the terminal window until you are finished with your program.

Pros:

• Decent speed of programs
• No need to reboot

Minuses:

• Not all programs will work properly

It may well happen that you need to run a Windows application in Mac OS X, for example WebMoney Keeper Classic. And such a launch is quite real. :) Using the following methods, you can run Windows programs on Mac computers.

There are 5 ways:

• Bootcamp
• Parallels
• VMWare Fusion
• Virtual box

The main idea behind this method is that you will use Boot Camp to create a new partition on your Mac's hard drive, install Windows there. You will have to restart your computer to switch between Windows and Mac OS X. If this is a problem for you, then you should pay attention to paid applications that allow you to run Windows and Mac OS X at the same time, such as Parallels, Virtual Box and VMWare.

Benefits of installing Windows using Apple BootCamp:

• maximum performance is the best choice if you want to play computer toys;
• maximum compatibility - your Mac becomes a full-fledged pc-computer with Windows on board. It will be possible to run absolutely all programs and games that should work in Windows;
• independence of the installed Windows from the Mac OS X operating system;
• the ability to use Windows installed in this way to load it into a virtual machine using the Parallels, Virtual Box and Vmware applications.

Disadvantages of installing Windows using Apple BootCamp:

• the need to restart the computer in order to start working in another operating system (the bootable system can be selected by holding down the Alt key while booting, but you can also set the system to boot "by default"). However, this disadvantage is eliminated by the ability to use the installed Windows in a virtual machine;
• Data inaccessibility in Windows - Windows cannot read hard disk partitions in the format used by Mac OS X (HFS + format). On the other hand, if you use the NTFS file system format for a Windows partition, it will be read-only on Mac OS. However, both read and write operations are possible with FAT32 partitions (but FAT32 can only be used for hard disk partitions smaller than 32GB). In order for the mac-partition to become available in Windows, you need to install the appropriate third-party programs, for example - MacDrive.

Parallels Desktop, Vmware Fusion, Virtual Box

This method makes it possible to run a wide range of operating systems, including several versions of Windows: from 3.1 to 2000 with XP, as well as several versions of Linux, at a very good speed, and without restarting the computer.

All three programs have similar functionality, allowing you to create virtual machines without leaving Mac OS X. Part of your processor power and RAM will be allocated for the virtual machine.

Advantages of using virtual machines:

• joint work of Mac-applications and Windows-applications;
• there is no need to restart your computer to run the required windows program. At the same time, there is such an opportunity if Windows installed using Apple BootCamp was used to create a virtual machine;
• easy access to files in both operating systems.

Disadvantages of using virtual machines:

• performance is lower compared to using Windows as the main operating system, since it is necessary to simultaneously run 2 operating systems at once: Mac OS X and Windows. It should be noted that Macs are quite powerful computers in themselves, so using virtual machines for applications that are not demanding on resources is quite comfortable - you will even forget that you are working in two operating systems at the same time, everything works so smoothly and clearly. Heavy modern games, for example, cannot normally be played this way. If only in the games of the past generation;
• continuation about games and applications that need direct access to hardware: not all of them will work normally in this mode. This is due to the fact that the virtual machine provides access only to virtual hardware, which can lead to some incompatibilities that affect the operation of applications;
• dependence on "native" Mac OS X: for example, if the main system of Mac OS X hangs during the operation of a virtual machine, this can lead to data loss in running Windows.

CrossOver can run some Windows applications without the need for the Windows operating system itself. Programs run directly in Mac OS X.

Since it does not use Windows and does not need to buy Windows, the total cost of using this program is much less than that of virtual machines. CrossOver also does not use processor bandwidth and does not require a lot of RAM.

Advantages of using CrossOver to run windows applications:

• there is no need to have a Windows installation distribution kit;
• better performance compared to using virtual machines.

Disadvantages of using CrossOver to run windows applications:

• the application you need just might not start with CrossOver;
• there may be problems with fonts in the windows-application (however, these problems are easily solved).

In most cases, OS X users are satisfied with the existing software suite for this system. What to do when the required application is developed exclusively for the more popular Windows system? There are several ways to run a Windows program on a Mac under OS X.

There are three such ways in total:

BootCamp

Boot Camp is a software program included with Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard that allows you to install and use a compatible version of Microsoft Windows on an Intel-based Mac. (Apple)

Apple introduced BootCamp in 2006, following the Mac transition to Intel processors. For the sake of historical justice, we note that it was possible to run Windows applications on a Macintosh before: for this, an expensive expansion card was installed on the Macintosh. For obvious reasons, this solution was not popular.

Before creating an additional partition on your Mac hard drive, use Time Machine to back up your computer's contents, then launch BootCamp Assistant (found in Applications - Utilities) and follow the instructions.

The solution is not perfect, but the main thing is that the Mac turns into a Windows computer. This means that the system from Microsoft will run at maximum speed.

Disadvantages of BootCamp:

1. A hard restart of the Mac is required to start Windows. Press and hold the Option (Alt) key during startup to select an operating system (OS X or Windows).
2. Partitions (logical drives) created in Windows are not visible in OS X and vice versa. Why? Windows does not understand the HFS + file system that OS X runs with, and the latter does not work with NTFS by default. With additional utilities like Tuxera NTFS, you can add NTFS (read and write) compatibility to OS X.
3. BootCamp only installs specific versions of Windows. So, only Windows 8 with all its inconveniences.

BootCamp is fine when you don't need to boot two operating systems at the same time and you need maximum performance. For example, it can be useful for gamers: after working in OS X, they rebooted the computer and launched their favorite game in the Windows environment.

Windows emulator

The method is good only for running one or two programs for Windows in the OS X environment. This provides a fairly high performance and there is no need to install an additional system.

Using Wineskin and CrossOver, you can try to run software that is incompatible with OS X. Just try, since such a number does not always pass: even if successful, stability problems may arise.

Novice users may encounter problems, since certain knowledge is required to work with the emulator. Nothing complicated, the information is easy to find on the Web, but given the fact that there are other ways, this method cannot be called elegant.

Virtual machine

Virtual machine(VM, from the English. virtual machine) Is a software and / or hardware system that emulates the hardware of a certain platform (in our case, OS X) and executes programs for the target platform (Windows). (Wikipedia)

Best solution when you need two systems at the same time, or need to switch frequently between them. For example, for developers. When you start Windows in a virtual machine, you do not need to restart your Mac, and files from different partitions can simply be dragged with the mouse from one window to another. In addition to Windows, you can install any modern operating system in a virtual machine, with the exception of outright exotic.

To deploy an operating system (one or more) that are not supported by the Mac, a virtual machine (program) must be installed on OS X. There are plenty of similar programs: Parallels Desktop, Vmware Fusion and Virtual Box. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, but in any case, there is plenty to choose from.

I would also like to mention the Virtual Box from Oracle. This program has one important advantage - it is free, while competitors cost a lot of money: Parallels Desktop - from $ 79; VMware Fusion - from $ 150. A free virtual machine has performance problems and even frequent lags are inevitable. Virtual Box is an excellent solution if Windows is needed only for a couple of undemanding utilities.

After creating a virtual machine (installing the program and configuring the machine), you can start installing the system. It is important that you can do this directly from a bootable USB flash drive connected to a virtual machine via a virtual USB port. Also, Windows can be installed from an ISO image.

Disadvantages of virtual machines:

1. Limited performance - Virtual machines squeeze out a fraction of the Mac's hardware power.
2. When an external device is connected to a Mac, it is not available in the virtual machine (it can be connected in a separate menu).

What to choose?

The answer to this question depends on your needs. If you only need a single application, using BootCamp is impractical because you need to restart your computer. In this case, it is easier to start Windows in the emulator. A virtual machine allows you to install and switch between operating systems easily - ideal for developers building cross-platform applications.

Well, if you need high performance (for gamers), then BootCamp is ideal.

P.S .: Some virtual machines are capable of running Windows installed using BootCamp.