View Full Version : Parallels 4--Is it worth the $49.99 Upgrade
Well, I got the email tonight. Upgrade for $49.99. Here is what they promise:
Get Easy access to all your applications and data while enjoying the complete Mac experience
Modality view mod: Track activities of multiple VMs simultaneously
Smart Connect: remembers your USB device connection preferences
SmartMount: automatically mount removable media for access across different OSs
Experience the Fastest speed for all applications with the latest performance acceleration technologies: Up to 50% performance enhancement
and support for 8-way SMP, 8 GB RAM and 64-bit OSs
Adaptive Hypervisor: automatically optimizes performance for Windows program or Mac application in focus
3D graphics: Accelerate Windows games and 3D graphics with support for DirectX 9.0 and OpenGL 2.0
They speed alone is probably worth it but I am curious of others' opinions.
It's actually on sale for $39.99 right now.
I upgraded last week and haven't been able to use my VM since. I've been going back and forth with Parallels tech support for a few days. Evidently 4.0 handles the VM differently than 3.0 did (probably something to do with the speed boost) so the VM has to be converted. Basically all hell broke loose during this process. I'm not exactly sure what caused it (and Tech Support doesn't seem to either) but it has something to do with Parallels Tools install. In an email they sent me tonight they have released a "hot fix" that should fix my issues, so I'll give it a try tomorrow. I was sure to backup my 3.0 VM in a few different places before trying to upgrade and it looks like it'll pay off.
My two cents so far. I'll let you know how the "hot fix" goes tomorrow.
Please do keep us posted on that jdcfsu... I am working on a project right now in XP, Visual Studio and based out of Parallels 3.0 and was considering the upgrade..
Bearing in mind I have to get this out this week I won't be going anywhere near 4.0 until I know it's 100% sound when it comes to converting up..
colivigan
2008-11-24, 23:20
Anyone tried VirtualBox (http://www.virtualbox.org/)recently on OS X?
I just put it on my Dell laptop today and installed an Ubuntu VM, seems pretty slick. The price is definitely right.
I don't have an Intel Mac (yet), so haven't been able to try it with a Mac host.
For only $40 I'm going to have to bite. I was thinking about giving Fusion a shot, but I'm satisfied with Parallels for my needs and these improvements seem worthy enough to help me stay with them. :)
Anyone tried VirtualBox (http://www.virtualbox.org/)recently on OS X?
I just put it on my Dell laptop today and installed an Ubuntu VM, seems pretty slick. The price is definitely right.
I don't have an Intel Mac (yet), so haven't been able to try it with a Mac host.
VirtualBox is pretty bad under OS X, from what I've seen so far. It runs great in Windows and Linux, but I got bad performance on my "spare" MacBook Pro at work.
I installed the "hot fix" earlier today and deleted the first attempted upgraded VM from the other day and moved a copy of my backup in (again, back up on your own, don't use Parallels built in backup system). The first one failed again. Something about Parallels Tools on the VM is going absolutely crazy. It seems to uninstall fine, but the reinstall still has problems. It asks for files on the Windows disk (which is virtualized by Parallels) that aren't there and then pops up a bunch of errors and the next thing you know it's back to the beginning of the conversion again.
I've read a few Twitter posts about uninstalling Parallels Tools before the installing 4.0 helps, but unfortunately I can't re-download an old version of the software and once 4.0 is installed it clears 3.0 out. So if you're wanting to upgrade before this mess is figured out, you might want to do it that way.
I'm going through the process again so I can get a screen shot of what happens to send back to my tech support guy. I'll post back when I know more.
Sounds like I should wait then . . .
My upgrade to 4.0 today went well on my "play" VM (XP Pro). It erred on the completion and said I needed to manually run the conversion but it was already running the converted VM and installing Parallels Tools. I'm having trouble with one program in the VM, but I'm not sure what the problem is or if it's even related to the upgrade.
I too backed it up myself on another HDD so there would be no contamination of my VM. I'm going to back up my "real" VM and install it tonight. I've already backed it up and will be looking forward to these results. :)
Yeah, as much as I'd hate t say it; if you really need your VM you might wait for the first bug fixes.
No response from my lengthy email from yesterday so I guess it'll have to wait until after the long weekend. I'll post back when I hear something good.
The latest suggestion from the Parallels team was to open the Parallels Tools Windows ISO (which is stored in the Mac>Library>Parallels>Tools folder) and then copy the actual setup.exe to a thumbdrive, load the thumbdrive in the VM, copy the exe over and then run it from the VM. The interesting thing is that resulted in the exact same issue as before; Parallels Tools is looking for a file on the Windows CD, etc. etc. This time I just decided to put the Windows CD in and see what happens. It worked. Parallels Tools installed fine and all of the drivers installed. I can now use Parallels the way I should be able to.
All that said, I'm wondering if the trouble I faced was a result of a strange install of Windows or a fault of the Parallels Tools file. I do know that the "hot fix" did make the upgrade process a lot easier and aside from this issue with Parallels Tools it would have been pretty smooth. Perhaps my issue is a worse case scenario, but I wouldn't recommend updating until you have a few hours (or days) to devote to it and make sure the process goes they way it should.
Thanks for the updates... I am very keen to try this out..
If / when I do I will obviously make a backup, and keep 3 available.
I may even just do a fresh install of Windows. and then copy stuff over.
... must get back to Rivet City now ....
VirtualBox is pretty bad under OS X, from what I've seen so far. It runs great in Windows and Linux, but I got bad performance on my "spare" MacBook Pro at work.I've just installed Ubuntu on it and so far things are going well, though I did have to fiddle a *little*. I've never used VMWare or Parallels so I can't compare it to either of those, but I'm just using it to mess around and do my computer science work. However, with 2 gigs of RAM it's a little sluggish, and slows down the Mac side as well. With a 4GB kit running for about $50, I might upgrade.
What's the verdict. . .time to upgrade?
I haven't had any issues since I finally got it working so you are probably in the clear. Just remember to make your own backup copies before hand.
Apparently the later builds have fixed a lot of the upgrade issues..
But they do recommend making a new VM and re-installing, as upgrading is *not* perfect, and can take a very long time.. 3hrs+ for some VMs.
Ars have just done a review for those that are interested..
http://arstechnica.com/reviews/apps/parallels-4-review.ars/1
3D is not that much better, and from what I have read Coherance clutters your screen with yet more crap.. However, the mini-VM windows sound cool.
Just remember to make your own backup copies before hand.
Whats best way to do that? Copy the entire file?
But they do recommend making a new VM and re-installing, as upgrading is *not* perfect, and can take a very long time.. 3hrs+ for some VMs.
That sounds like a lot of work but how do I do that?
That's what I do. (re. Backup)
EDIT: Well, start from scratch and make a new VM, rather than letting Parallels upgrade for you.
3D is not that much better, and from what I have read Coherance clutters your screen with yet more crap.. However, the mini-VM windows sound cool.
Yeah, for some reason they thought it'd be a good idea to put the Windows status tray icons in your menu bar. It's easily turned off in the preferences.
Whats best way to do that? Copy the entire file?
Yeah, I just copied the Parallels VM folder (it was in my Documents folder) into a folder I have that Time Machine doesn't back up (the VM folder is roughly 6 GB). Once I was fully up and running in P4 I trashed the folder.
That sounds like a lot of work but how do I do that?
For me, the 3 hours were spent hoping the thing would work. There's only about 3 minutes of interaction with the thing while it's trying to do it's work.
For what it's worth, I haven't yet had a chance to try out the 3D or dual screen mode. Though I have noticed that the fans on my MacBook don't go nuts every time I turn Parallels on anymore. So as far as performance upgrades, I guess it worked.
torifile
2008-12-17, 21:30
My iMac is usable with Parallels just running the background in another space. Watching the CPU monitor doesn't show a whole lot of usage when idle. So far, I'm very impressed with it. No graphically heavy stuff but XP in Parallels is much better than I've ever seen it.
Worth the upgrade to me. I haven't had any issues since getting the initial upgrade and I've upgraded another VM without any issues at all. So worth it for me and my family. :)
I upgraded last night. Took about 3.5 hours. Seems to have installed fine and also seems faster.
Stupid question but where is the icon (name and location) to drag to OS X dock?
Parallels Desktop in the Applications folder.
Parallels Desktop in the Applications folder.
Thing is when I launch that it brings up a menu with like three choices (almost like I never upgraded.)
Thing is when I launch that it brings up a menu with like three choices (almost like I never upgraded.)
Did that to me for awhile. I had to turn that screen off, there's a check box somewhere on it. Pick the one that says start using Parallels or something like that.
Did that to me for awhile. I had to turn that screen off, there's a check box somewhere on it. Pick the one that says start using Parallels or something like that.
Ah, yes. . . the little check box. Missed that.:lol: :lol: :lol: Thanks!
Bump!
So, what does everyone think these days, is Parallels 4 really 50% faster and worth the upgrade?
I read online elsewhere (sorry don't remember the link) that the claim of 50% faster comes from making use of Intel instructions available on newer chips. If this is correct, does that mean I won't see any improvements on my MacBook (1st generation, 1.83ghz Core Duo - not Core 2 Duo).
I was trying to install Kubuntu 8.10 and found out that it is unsupported (and doesn't work) on Parallels 3 which I have. Granted, I could use an earlier Linux version which is why I'm not really sure whether to upgrade or not.
If the upgrade is worth more than just the ability to run Kubuntu 8.10 I will probably upgrade. If not, I will hold off and just run Debian 4 or something.
Parallels 4 clearly doesn't use as many resources as the prior versions did -- this is on a MacBook. I can tell by the fact the fans don't go crazy every time I pull it up. Though the "snapshot" manager sucks system resources like crazy and makes it just about impossible to do anything on the machine while it's running.
Parallels 4 is a great upgrade from 3 IMO.
Not to derail this topic, but the fact that parallels (as opposed to vmware or the aforementioned virtualbox) is a mac only product a positive aspect of development, as in more dedicated in resources?
Not to derail this topic, but the fact that parallels (as opposed to vmware or the aforementioned virtualbox) is a mac only product
…it's not. ;)
Oh nuts, I feel silly, again.
Well, Parallels was on the Mac first, if that counts for anything. VM Ware caught up quickly, though, and some people prefer it. I've not used it, though. I used Parallels before VM Ware came out, and I've had no good reason to switch.
I've tried both, and stuck with Parallels, because there is no good reason to switch! ;)
I've tried both, and stuck with Parallels, because there is no good reason to switch! ;)
+1 Started with Parallels, tried VM and just did not think it was significantly better.
Can I get someone to mirror a update package for Parallels 4? My registration fails every time and I can't get it to update. Maybe if I manually update I will be able to from here out.
It activated, just won't register. I submitted a support request and have been ignored to this point. Thanks. :)
Can I get someone to mirror a update package for Parallels 4? My registration fails every time and I can't get it to update. Maybe if I manually update I will be able to from here out.
It activated, just won't register. I submitted a support request and have been ignored to this point. Thanks. :)
PM'd ya.
Thanks guys for the mirror.
It didn't help with the registration issue though. I thought it would sort it out with an update but no, I still stuck with this and have to force quit the app because it put the splash screens on top of all other windows regardless of anything you want. :\
http://turtle2472.com/an/register.png
veryamusing
2009-05-28, 11:54
turtle2472:
I know you already have a license, but if you were considering buying MacUpdate's bundle, Parallels 4 is included.
:)
Parallels is great, I use it every day. Well worth the $49, but why not get it and a helluva lot more in this deal?
http://www.mupromo.com/deal/852/5801/bundle
Thanks, but I really do own it already and don't need another license for it. I just wanted it to work right. I guess I'll uninstall and reinstall to see if that fixes this little glitch.
Am I the only one who can't get it to register?
PKIDelirium
2009-05-28, 18:53
Damn, $49 and also includes RipIt that I've been looking at? I'll probably jump on that just for the sake of convenience.
That's a hell of a deal. It's cheaper to buy this bundle than to upgrade to TechTool Pro 5 alone. Might as well pick it up. :)
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