All T, TI, CI, and TLM students need to have access to the Windows OS. The majority of TLM faculty use Apple computers, but they’re also Window users, since there are several tools that work only on Windows. In the past, we have recommended VirtualBox, but now there are two great options to get Windows working on a Mac: VMWare and Parallels (Microsoft recommends Parallels). If you’ve been an Apple user for many years, you may fondly recall Bootcamp, which allowed you to reboot your computer and choose whether you wanted to run MacOS or Windows. Basecamp is no longer supported on Macs that are powered by Apple Silicon processors.
As a side note, Middlebury Mac students can get access to Setapp, which gives you access to hundreds of awesome Mac applications such as CleanMyMac, Downie, Permute, BetterZip, and Paste. It’s available for $64.72 through the Middlebury OnTheHub store.
VMware
VMware is the free option, and it works pretty well. I actually use it on several systems, even though I use Parallels on my primary machine. With VMware, you do need to jump through some registration hoops to get a VMware license, but it’s probably worth it since it’s free! The whole process is way easier than it used to be—VMware can now download Windows 11 directly! Here’s a great tutorial for how to get Windows up and running:
Parallels
If you want to use Parallels, if your @middlebury.edu email is working, you can purchase Parallels from OnTheHub for $49.99 per year. Once you have Parallels installed, all you have to do is create your first virtual computer and you can download Windows 11 directly through Parallels without having to download it from Microsoft. Watch the video below and then see below for some additional settings you should change before you use your Windows VM.
If you want to use Parallels, there are a few default configuration settings we recommend, as there are some quirks with some of the Windows applications we’ll ask you to install. Make sure your Windows isn’t booted (shutdown from the Start menu) and go into the configuration (the gear icon in the Control Center, or in the Actions menu):
Go into the “Sharing” pane and make sure you disable “Mirror Mac and Windows user folders” (this creates the most problems), and then select “Share custom Mac folders with Window” and “Share Mac volumes with Windows.” On the Share Windows” tab, “Access Windows folders from Mac” can be disabled or enabled.
In the “Applications” pane, we recommend that you do not “Share Windows applications with Mac.” This is a neat feature, but it really makes things confusing! We recommend keeping Windows in a window. We definitely don’t recommend enabling “Share Mac applications with Windows.
And finally, if you have trouble with Windows applications, either application text being really big or really small, you might need to change the settings in the “Hardware” section, ”Graphics” pane.
