Run Multiple Operating Systems Easily with Parallels Desktop for Mac

Sometimes we have to pinch ourselves and remember we live in the 21st century. Virtual reality is becoming mainstream. We can print 3-D objects. Amazon is deploying talking robots in our homes. And we’re beaming high-definition images back from Mars.

So you’d think we’d be able to run multiple operating systems on a Mac not only with minimal effort, but also without a restart.

Fortunately, we can—the conundrum of running multiple OSes at once has been solved by Parallels, and now it’s faster than ever with Parallels Desktop for Mac.

So why would you want to run multiple operating systems on your Mac?

Let us count the reasons:

Keep business on one OS and fun on the other, with hardware partitions in between.
Dedicate one OS strictly to running a server.
Dedicate one virtual machine to games (like Kurt Schmucker does for Age of Empires).
If you’re a dev or a designer, you can test applications, programs, and websites efficiently on different OSes.
If you’re a tech support professional, you’ll be able to troubleshoot OS-specific issues on the fly.
Run a scanner or printer with an outdated driver that requires a particular OS.

And the list goes on and on.

If you’re using a different solution to run multiple operating systems, consider trying Parallels Desktop —no restart required, unmatched flexibility and performance, and a free 14-day trial.

Even better: For a limited time, we’ll throw in a free licence to Parallels Toolbox with your purchase or upgrade to Parallels Desktop. It’s the fastest, simplest, and most reliable remote-access app for mobile devices.

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Jump into the new millennium by running multiple OSes simultaneously with Parallels Desktop. Try Parallels Desktop for free for 14 days!

12 comments on “Run Multiple Operating Systems Easily with Parallels Desktop for Mac”

beth
August 12, 2015 at 12:49 am

Can you have more than one windows set up to run (even if you run only one of them at a time.)? So windows xp and windows 10 both available?
lscarpello
August 12, 2015 at 11:40 am

Hi Beth – yes! You can run one more than one VM on your Mac, and you can run more than one at once, though doing so will cause slower performance.
beth
August 12, 2015 at 12:48 pm

Thanks! Do you have to buy more than one copy of Parallels to do so? Or can you set up both Windows versions using one copy of Parallels? Sorry I should have asked this in my original question :).
lscarpello
August 12, 2015 at 2:04 pm

Hi Beth – you can run as many OSes in different virtual machines inside of one installation of Parallels Desktop – no need to purchase another license. You would only need to purchase another license if you wanted to install the program on another Mac. Hope that helps!
beth
August 12, 2015 at 10:17 pm

Thanks so much for the info!! Turns out my brother in law runs parallels and also answered a bunch of questions for me too. Sounds very flexible!
James Terlecki
December 9, 2015 at 10:45 am

I recently replaced a 2007 iMac with a new one. The new one has El Capitan on it and none of my expensive peripherals work. Some of my expensive ($500+) doesn’t work either. I want to revert to 10.8 to run this equipment. Will Parallels allow me to install two Mac OS’s?
Lindsay
December 10, 2015 at 10:14 am

Hi James – yes, you can install 10.8 as a guest OS using Parallels Desktop. Here’s more info on our supported guest OSes and system requirements: http://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/resources/
Steve Rogers
July 30, 2018 at 7:08 pm

This is awesome that we can run say Windows vista and Windows 10. Do you have any specific instructions on how to install the 2nd OS? In my case I already have Vista running on Desktop 13.
Doug N Herrington
January 10, 2020 at 8:37 am

I am trying to decide which version of Parallels would be best for me. “Officially” I need it to run Adobe Framemaker. “Unofficially” I want to run the occasional Windows game that isn’t available on the Mac. Cost is an issue for me; however, it’s important that it work.
Antonio M. Basilio
October 26, 2020 at 11:21 pm

I already installed Ubuntu in my trial Desktop Parallels in my MacBook that has a Catalina OS. If I want to install additional OS (such as Windows 10 and MacOS Sierra), would that be possible? How do I do that?
Beatrice Vogel
November 2, 2020 at 7:43 am

Hey Antonio, Sure that is definitely possible. You can run as many operating systems in VMs as you have space on your Mac or external SSD. Please follow these instructions to install a Windows 10 VM: https://www.parallels.com/blogs/install-windows-10-parallels-desktop/. Thanks