Optimizing the Performance of Parallels on your Mac

A virtual machine is a great solution for those that need access to Windows or Windows programs on the Mac. When setting up a virtual machine its extremely important to configure the necessary resources so your Windows OS and programs will run at their very best on your Mac.

Use this step by step guide below to properly configure your virtual machine and achieve the best performance possible for ProShow on your Mac.

Note: This guide assumes you are running the latest Mac OS X (version 10.10) and Parallels (version 10) on your Mac. If you are running an older version of the Mac OS X or Parallels the steps listed below may be slightly different on your Mac.

Getting Mac System Information

1. Click the Apple icon in the top left of the screen
2. Select About this Mac from the drop down menu.
3. Select Overview at the top of the system information window.
   1. Note the total memory installed on this Mac, we will need this later.
4. Select Storage at the top of the system information window
   1. Note the available hard drive space on this Mac to make sure you have plenty of available space.

*When Parallels is running, it can be easier to work in a window instead of coherence mode*

Exiting Coherence Mode

1. Click the Parallels icon on the menu bar in the top right area of the screen
2. Select Exit Coherence to disable this mode and return to the normal windowed mode

*To adjust Parellels settings, Windows needs to be shut down*

Shutting down Windows without closing Parallels

1. Windows XP/Vista/7: Click on the Windows Start button in the bottom left of the screen.
   1. Click Shut down on the bottom right of the start menu to shut down Windows.
2. Windows 8.1: Click on the Windows Start button in the bottom left of the screen.Click on the Power icon near the top right of the screen and select Shutdown.

Accessing Parallels Settings

1. Click on the Actions menu at the top of the screen.
   1. Select Configure at the bottom of the drop down menu to open up the configuration window.

Adjusting Parallels Settings

1. In the configuration window, select the Hardware tab at the top.
   1. Change the CPU setting to half of what is available (2 processors available =  Set to 1 for Parallels; 4 processors = Set to 2 for Parallels)
   2. Change the Memory setting to half of what is available (8GB available = Set to 4GB for Parallels; 16GB = Set to 8GB for Parallels)
2. Select the Options tab at the top of the configuration window.
   1. Click the Sharing category located on the left and uncheck the Shared Profile – Share Mac user folders with Windows checkbox on the right.
   2. Note: Unchecking this option disables the ability for your virtual machine to integrate your Mac user folders into the windows file system. Instead, your Mac content will appear as a separate mapped network drive in Windows.
3. Select the Startup and Shutdown tab at the top of the configuration window.
   1. OPTIONAL: Change the Startup View setting to Window if you want to keep Parallels in Windowed mode every time you startup Windows.
4. Close the configuration window, start up your virtual machine and load Windows. The changes will take affect immediately in your Windows OS.

That’s it! You should now have a a virtual machine with enough resources to properly run Windows and any other application, including ProShow.