Installing Windows on Mac. Effective Ways to Uninstall Parallels on Mac Uninstall parallels
Prerequisites: Mac Pro 4.1 circa 2009, specs:
- OS X El Capitan Version 10.11.3 (just updated last weekend)
- SN – H09440CK20H
- 2 – 2.93 GHz Quad-core Intel Xenon processors
- 32 GB RAM
- 2 – 1 TB HD
- 1 – MacPro Raid Map
The last user of the machine had Parallels 3 running on it and it may ruin the machine. I don't need or need Parallels and want to remove it and its partition completely. Looks like someone tried to uninstall Parallels in the past, reset the partition size and delete some files - kind of dirty.
I ran Disk Utility – First Aid to see what it showed:
You can see that Parallels has some problems.
Commenters have noted that the images look too small, but I think the main takeaway is that First Aid on the Parallels volume fails.
Additionally, the following screenshot shows what's left in the Parallels section:
Which only shows an empty Backup folder and some inaccessible virtual machines since Snow Leopard.
How can I get rid of Parallels, its partition and everything previously associated with it (hopefully not doing a full machine wipe, but I'll do that if necessary)?
Additional things I tried... I tried using Disk Utility to Erase a Parallels volume. This gives me the error:
Unmounting a disk
Failed to unmount the drive.
The operation failed...
Doing the same task on an APPLE RAID Card Media which has Parallels gives me the same error.
Clicking the Unmount button in Disk Utility doesn't seem to do anything, no message at all.
Right-click on the "Parallels" drive that appears on my desktop and select "Eject" Parallels generates the following error message:
The Parallels "disk" was not ejected due to the use of one or more programs.
You can try to eject the drive again or click Force Eject to eject it immediately.
I have not yet tried the Force Eject Parallels "disk" Parallels that shows up on my desktop. Thoughts?
- (Optional 🙂 back up the contents of the "Backup" volume. If the volume is empty, do nothing.
- Boot into recovery mode by pressing cmd R.
- Open terminal from menu -> Utilities
- Type diskutil list to get an overview.
- Determine the sequence of partitions on the RAID.
Close Terminal and open Disk Utility
If the sequence (1: EFI) is 2: Parallels – 3: Untitled – 4: Backup or select the superior Apple RAID device, Erase and remake the RAID drive if you Not want to save "Backup" or select the superior Apple RAID device, click "Partition", select the "Untitled" partition on the new overlay, and click the "-" button to combine "Parallels" and "Untitled" if you want to keep "Backup". In the latter case, select the extended Parallels partition and click Erase to create a new HFS+ file system and rename the volume.
If the sequence is different, consider the following rule: If you select section x (with x ≠ 1 or 2) and click the "-" button, the section will be merged with section (x-1) and only the contents of section (x-1).
Quit Disk Utility and reboot into your main system.
Remove all remnants of Parallels 3.0 as stated in user 3439894's comment: How to completely remove Parallels Desktop 3?.
Once you have decided uninstall Parallels on Mac You may encounter several unexpected problems Most people think that just like other apps, you can easily uninstall this app from your Mac, but as it turns out, the opposite is true.
Parallels Desktop for Mac is a widely used virtualization software that allows Mac users with Intel processors to run Windows, Linux, or other virtual machines. Unfortunately, there are some problems that you will encounter if you decide to uninstall Parallels on Mac:
- The app continues to run in the background or cannot be closed.
- The application cannot be moved to the Trash because it is currently in use.
- Application components cannot be completely removed from your Mac.
If you no longer use the application or simply want to free up disk space, you should take a closer look methods to safely remove Parallels on Mac .
What is Parallels Desktop for Mac?
Parallels Desktop for Mac is simply desktop virtualization software that allows Microsoft Windows, Linux operating systems, and applications to run smoothly on Mac. The software assimilates the guest operating system (OS) into Mac OS, allowing you to simulate the operation of your own OS.
Users of this application can choose whether to use Mac and guest applications alongside Mac OS or as a separate guest virtual desktop. For example, users can open a Windows-based application such as Windows Media Player or Internet Explorer from the Mac Finder utility.
In the same way, you can drag folders, documents, and other components from Windows Explorer to the Finder or vice versa. You can also switch between Windows and Mac OS without restarting your computer and choose which operating system they want with specific applications to use.
For Mac there are 3 modes to choose from:
How to Remove Parallels Using iMyMac Mac Cleaner
It is a highly effective tool that cleans and optimizes your device. If you want to clean up apps and their associated files effectively, you need this tool. It only takes a few clicks to free up hard drive space, optimize your system, and provide better privacy.
Since you want to uninstall Parallels on Mac, this is an easy solution to uninstall the app from your device. Mac Cleaner is a comprehensive and powerful software that provides Mac users with all the tools they need.
Let us focus on your main task - uninstalling Parallels on Mac. For this task, we will take a close look at Uninstaller. This tool can help you completely remove Parallels Desktop and its related files from your device.
Just follow these steps to uninstall the app correctly:
· Step 1: Open the removal tool
Open iMyMac Mac Cleaner. In the main interface, you will see the overall system status of your Mac. On the left side of the interface you can find Uninstaller. Click on Uninstaller.
· Step 2: Perform a scan
After opening the Uninstaller interface, click on the “Scan” button to begin the scanning process. After scanning, you will see the amount of memory used by the applications installed on your Mac. If necessary, click Rescan if you want to double check the target app information on your device.
· Step 3. Review installed applications
Click the View button and go to the Parallels Desktop page. All apps that are currently installed on your device are listed in the left column.
· Step 4: Search for Parallels Desktop
Browse through the list of applications until you find Parallels Desktop, or simply enter the name in the search bar. Click on Parallels Desktop and the files or folders in the application will expand on the right screen.
· Step 5: Clear the application
Locate the folders or files you want to clean up in Parallels Desktop. Simply select the "Select All" option to clear all files in the application. Double check that all the files you want to delete are selected. Click on the "Clear" button at the bottom right to complete this step. Click "Confirm" to remove Parallels on Mac and wait for the process to complete.
How to manually remove Parallels on Mac
Uninstalling Parallels Desktop Application
If you are going to uninstall Parallels on Mac manually, there are certain steps that you must follow carefully.
- Step 1. Close the parallels. Click on the toolbar > click on the Parallels icon > click on "Exit Parallels Desktop". Another option to close an application is to use Activity Monitor to ensure that you have closed all Parallels-related processes.
- Step 2: Go to your Applications folder and move Parallels to the Trash.
- Step 3: Empty the Trash and reboot your device.
These steps are officially recommended by the Parallels website. If you still have doubts whether there are any remaining files, you should take a closer look. Typically, apps store their leftovers in a “hidden library folder.” When it comes to Parallels, its support files are kept in its personal package. You can find them if you click "Show Parallels Package Contents" before uninstalling.
Removing remaining Parallels Desktop files
Most Mac applications are software that can be easily removed using a manual approach. However, some create components such as cache, settings and support files in different system directories during initial setup and daily use.
If you want to completely uninstall Parallels on Mac, it is important to remove all associated components that are scattered throughout the system. You must follow these steps to clear all remaining files:
- Step 1: Open Finder > click Go in the menu bar > select Go to Folder
- Step 2: Enter the top-level library path on your hard drive “/Library” > press Enter.
- Step 3: Locate the folders or files containing the name of the target application or provider in the following location and delete the corresponding items:
- /Library
- /Library/caches
- /Library/Preferences
- / Library / Application Support
- /Library/LaunchAgents
- /Library/LaunchDaemons/
- /Library/PreferencePanes
- /Library/StartupItems
You have to be careful about the items you are going to remove. Please be aware that removing the wrong items from the library may damage or harm other applications or even the system.
Since it can be time-consuming to go through each folder and find what's left, you can use Finder's Search to find any related files.
- Open the user library in your home folder: ~/Library.
- Enter the target application or its provider in the search field > click on library.
- Check for eligible items > right-click and select Move to Trash.
If there are still files that you cannot identify or find, simply perform a web search on the application components. For advanced users, the Terminal (located in the /Utility folder) can be used to view the contents of the target directory and delete it.
Once all related items have been moved to the Trash, empty the Trash. Please note that this action is irreversible and all contents of the Trash will be deleted.
- Right-click the Trash icon in the Dock
- Select "Empty Trash" and click "OK" in the pop-up dialog box.
- An alternative is to empty the Trash by selecting Empty Trash in Finder.
If you can't empty the Trash, simply restart your device and try again. After restarting your device, you have removed Parallels Desktop from your Mac.
This is a wrapper
iMyMac Mac Cleaner is a must-have application that can remove Parallels on Mac easily and effortlessly. Whether you want to free up space on your Mac or want to no longer use an app, this uninstall method is guaranteed to completely remove the app along with all its associated components from your device.
We have been familiar with the Parallels Desktop solution for about 7 years now. Paradoxically, the need to work with Windows (for some Linux) on a Mac still remains. Every year, with each new version, Parallels developers try to make it faster than the previous one, but questions about how much memory a virtual machine consumes and how to make the guest operating system work as fast as the native one do not seem to disappear (and will not disappear) until hardware capabilities allow you to run Windows and Mac OS X simultaneously, leaving more free resources for applications).
The editors of MacDigger found 5 useful hints of the latest versions that will help remove possible “brakes” of the virtual machine and get the most out of your Apple assistant. All of them are dedicated to unloading memory and increasing speed. We will omit obvious advice (for example, take a more modern Mac with four (or even eight - memory is cheap these days) GB of RAM or switch to the latest 9th version of Parallels, in which the developers promise a performance increase of up to 40%). Because anyone can buy newer hardware and software, but what can be done that is not so obvious?
Method 1: Useful Settings
For example, from the Parallels Desktop menu, select Preferences, then Advanced. Disable the option to send detailed log messages there. This feature should be enabled only if you have some problems related to the operation of the virtual machine, and you communicate with Parallels technical support about this. Collecting detailed logs consumes more resources.
Now let's play with the performance and power consumption settings. In the Virtual Machine menu, select sequentially: Configure, Options, Optimization. In the Performance section, select Faster Virtual Machine and check the boxes next to Enable Adaptive Hypervisor and Tune Windows for Speed. The Faster Virtual Machine and Enable Adaptive Hypervisor options prioritize virtual machine processes over OS X processes. Tune Windows for speed speeds up Windows startup and optimizes the performance of applications in the virtual machine.
If you don't plan to unplug your Mac anytime soon, you can also select Better Performance in the Power section instead of Longer Battery Life. If you are the proud owner of a MacBook Pro with two graphics chips, then, in addition to taking general energy-saving measures, this option will force the Mac to switch to the integrated graphics chip - which is less powerful but consumes significantly less battery power. For all changed settings to take effect, you will need to completely restart Parallels Desktop.
Next, what eats up a lot of resources? That's right, video and 3D graphics. Therefore, you can reduce the amount of video memory allocated to the virtual machine. By default, its value is 256 MB. For office work and even for 2D graphics (for example, Photoshop) this is overkill. In the Virtual Machine menu, select Configure, then Hardware, and in the Video section, reduce the Video memory value to 128 MB. There you can also select the 3D acceleration mode, or disable it altogether (especially useful for those who don’t have a very new Mac).
What else can you do? For example, try disabling access to Windows folders from OS X. This can be done in the Sharing section of the Options tab.
But all these are trifles, and now about the important thing - about independently regulating the number of processors and memory that can be assigned to a virtual machine. By default, everyone’s virtual machine settings have 1 processor and 1 GB of memory, and by default, many are itching to add more of everything. At the same time, users forget that virtual processors and memory do not behave exactly the same as “iron” ones, “more memory” will not always mean “flies faster,” and an overdose can sometimes simply do harm.
In fact, in most cases, the best performance will be if you leave one processor per virtual machine. Multiple processors may only be needed if you are running multiple applications, each of which involves processing large amounts of data, such as scientific computing or online trading systems. In this case, the minimum assigned memory must correspond to the minimum that is recommended in the system requirements for your guest OS (they are usually posted on the website of its developer).
If you are not sure that the default settings will save the father of Russian democracy in your applications, then you need to test everything first. Let's say you have a Windows virtual machine and usually work with Microsoft Office Suite, FireFox and a couple of other applications. Start your Windows under default settings and several application files with which you usually work, say, open several messages in Microsoft Outlook, 3 Microsoft Word documents, a couple of Microsoft Excel files, 10 tabs in Firefox and IE to the heap, a PowerPoint presentation and more a couple of applications - and work with them a little. Right-click on the Windows taskbar and launch Task Manager. Switch to the Applications tab and check how much of what is currently in use.
You can usually see that everything running consumes about 80% of the memory and less than 1% of the processor, which means that the default setting is enough for everything to work decently. However, if you use something flash, this may not be enough (we'll talk about flash in the hint below).
If the indicators are not encouraging, then turn off Windows through the Start button. After the OS is finished, go to the top menu of Virtual Machine, select Configure, then General. Here, with a small margin, we set the RAM value shown by the Windows Task Manager with a small margin, say, 15%. We recommend adding no more than 256-512 MB at a time. As a result: compared to even the default settings, the amount of memory will decrease. The saved amount of fast (as opposed to the hard disk) memory will remain in Mac OS X. The “host” will not slow down, which means the virtual machine will also work faster.
Method 2: use unused
According to developer statistics, users do not have much free disk space (8% have less than 10 GB). The Reclaim feature checks, finds and allows you to work with unused disk space in a virtual machine. For example, at one time they occupied part of the disk space with a virtual machine, the space remained allocated, but is no longer needed. In this case, you can return it from the virtual machine back to the Mac. To do this, you need to open the virtual machine menu, select Configure, then General. Under the Reclaim... button, disk space will be indicated that can be used again. Click Reclaim... and confirm. The function works in versions 8 and 9.
Method 3: snapshots
People who use snapshots often forget to delete them. People who forget to delete snapshots often forget how much disk space they are eating up.
Snapshots are unnecessary for the average user, but large quantities of them (especially if the mode for automatically creating them while the virtual machine is running) are produced by fellow developers in guest OSes and those who like to install or reconfigure something like that (so that you can always roll back). If you don't need any of this, it's best to check if SmartGuard's automatic snapshot creation mode is enabled (and turn it off) in the Backup section of the Options tab. And if you need snapshots and are useful, but from time to time, then you can select the following Custom option there, then you can limit the frequency and maximum number of snapshots stored (by default, the maximum is 100 pieces, when 101 appears, the oldest one is deleted ). The Notify me before snapshot creation option will allow you to reject the creation of an unnecessary snapshot and inform about its creation.
True, you’ll forget it later anyway, so here’s how to delete a snapshot:
- Launch Parallels Desktop.
- In the Parallels Virtual Machines list, select the virtual machine in which you want to delete snapshots.
- Click the virtual machine menu and select Manage Snapshots.
- Select unnecessary snapshots and click Delete.
Everything mentioned is for versions 6 to 8, and also from version 8 in Parallels Desktop it is possible to delete snapshots even if there is less disk space than the snapshot size.
Method 4: managing gluttonous applications
Firstly, “slowdown” may well occur due to the use of certain antiviruses. Try to use only those antivirus programs that Parallels Desktop offers - they were chosen based on the fact that they work optimally in a virtual machine. In the 9th version of Parallels Desktop, by the way, there is now a rather convenient security wizard, where all operations with all available anti-virus programs can be done in one window. If your antivirus is not on the list, try turning it off temporarily and look at the indicators.
Secondly, there are serious complaints about Adobe Flash, which uncontrollably eats up memory, especially if you actively surf the Internet, and there are a lot of Flash banners there. Operating system memory is allocated for the browser. The cache becomes full and the data is flushed to the hard drive in the swap file. If you have a minimized (rather than closed) browser hanging for a long time, then a huge amount of data accumulates in the “swap”.
Therefore, look at the Swap used parameter in Activity Monitor. If the amount of data there grows and has clearly become more than 1 GB, it is likely that some application is not releasing its memory.
Prevention is very simple - periodically close the entire browser using Cmd+Q, and in general, use this function more often.
Method 5: SSD, and again SSD
According to the developers, 30% of Parallels Desktop users already use Macs with SSDs and they have not received any complaints about the gluttony of the product. The fact is that Parallels Desktop uses multi-threaded I/O operations when working with a hard drive, which gives a particularly noticeable performance boost on Macs with SSDs. In addition, information about the type of disk is provided to the guest OS, so that it can use its own mechanisms to optimize the experience with the SSD.
Two operating systems on one computer are convenient and useful. Especially when it comes to Apple PCs. Are you used to working in a Windows environment, but is there a possibility? There is only one significant difficulty here. Most likely, you will encounter misunderstanding from Apple loyalists. You can overcome the rest without much difficulty. Installing Windows on a MacBook has become so trivial that it is well described in the manufacturers' official sources. We will look at the process from a different perspective, tailored to you and your tasks.
How to install Windows on a MacBook without uninstalling Mac OS.
You can install a second OS on an Apple laptop in two different ways - as a base system along with macOS or as built into it. The first method allows you to allocate all computer resources for your needs, since the first system will not be active. It is adapted for entertainment. Are you missing native Windows games? Or maybe you want to test a powerful graphics package? Then he's for you.
The second way is virtualization. This is launching a new OS inside an existing one. This way you can install not only Windows, but also Linux and other systems. The method is well suited for testing simple programs and office work. Let's consider each method, its advantages and disadvantages.
To get started, you must have an image of the Windows 10 operating system prepared. We will look at the installation using its example. Make sure there is enough free disk space for installation (at least 25 GB).
Virtualization
Virtualization is a phenomenon where two operating environments are isolated from each other, but use the same hardware resources. Moreover, one of the environments is most often subordinate to the other. We use a virtual machine from Apple called Parallels Desktop. It ensures good integration of the new system into the base one.
If Windows is no longer needed
It's easy to remove an OS that was running on a virtual machine. It is enough to erase the car in a special menu. First, make sure that you no longer need the guest system data. The system will delete all information located on the virtual partition, and it will be erased from the real MacBook disk.
It is a little more difficult to remove a fully installed Windows:
conclusions
We learned how to install everyone's favorite OS on a MacBook and dealt with the difficulties that may arise. And for those who decided to return to the circles of macOS fans (this time forever) - we talked about removing the system from the computer.
Do you have any questions? Or maybe you want to hold a holivar on the theme “Windows vs MacOS”? There is room for any authoritative opinion in the comments.
Having trouble when trying to ? Not sure whether you have fully removed all the app components from your computer? If you have doubts about removing Parallels Desktop for Mac, check out this post for solutions.
Parallels Desktop for Mac is a popular virtualization software that allows Macintosh computers with Intel processors to run Windows, Linux and other virtual machines. Here are some problems you may encounter when uninstall Parallels Desktop:
> Parallels Desktop keeps running on background or cannot be quit;
> Parallels Desktop cannot be moved to the Trash because it is in use;
> Parallels Desktop components cannot be completely deleted from your Mac…
Looking for an effective solution to uninstall Parallels Desktop without hassle?We highly suggest you to remove Parallels Desktop by using a dedicated uninstaller.
How to Uninstall Parallels Desktop Effortlessly?
Osx Uninstaller is a lightweight yet high-efficient tool designed to help Mac users to remove any problematic, stubborn or malicious apps. To uninstall Parallels Desktop along with all its traces, you just need to follow 3 simple steps: launch > select > uninstall. Now watch the video clip to know how it works to quickly delete an app.
Here are the simple steps you can take to completely remove Parallels Desktop:
- 1. Quit Parallels Desktop if it is running, and then launch Osx Uninstaller.
- 2. Select Parallels Desktop, and then click Run Analysis to start scanning.
- 3. Review the app components that are scanned out from your system, click Complete Uninstall and then Yes in the pop-up dialog box to perform a thorough uninstall.
- 4. Once the removal is complete, click Back to Interface button to re-scan your Mac.
As can be seen in the video demonstration, Osx Uninstaller takes less than one minute to totally uninstall Parallels Desktop. There is no need to worry about the leftovers that may occupy large disk space if you adopt this option to remove Parallels Desktop. A reputable uninstaller guarantees a clean uninstall and save you much trouble.
How Can I Remove Parallels Desktop Manually?
An all-in-one uninstaller will save you a lot of time and avoid possible issues in the app removal task. Yet if you persist to uninstall Parallels Desktop without using this handy tool, you could follow the proper steps listed below to complete the task.
Note that you should be logged into the Mac with an administrator account, and you might be asked for the password again during the uninstall process.
Part 1: Quit & Uninstall Parallels Desktop
First of all, if Parallels Desktop is currently running, you need to shut down your virtual machines (Parallels Desktop > Actions > Shut Down), and then quit Parallels Desktop by clicking Parallels Desktop icon in Menu Bar and choose Quit Parallels Desktop.
If the app is not responding, launch Activity Monitor to force quit it there.
Now, here’s how you can uninstall Parallels Desktop from the /Applications folder:
- Open up Finder from the Dock, and click Applications on the sidebar.
- Locate Parallels Desktop, right click its icon and choose Move to Trash.
- When prompted, enter the current admin account password to allow this change.
- Head to Finder menu, choose Empty Trash, and then reboot your Mac.
What about the virtual machines created by Parallels Desktop? The uninstall steps listed above does not affect your virtual machines. If you don’t want to keep the virtual machines and related data on your Mac, you can delete them before you uninstall Parallels Desktop. Here’s how you can do to remove virtual machines:
- Right click on Parallels Desktop icon in Dock and choose Control Center.
- Right click on the virtual machine in the list and choose Remove option.
- Click Move to Trash to erase the data completely from this virtual machine.
Part 2. Delete Parallels Desktop Leftovers
Most Mac apps are bundle software that can be easily removed by the aforementioned method. Yet some of them will create components like preference, cache and support files in different system directories during the first setup and daily usage. If you want to completely get rid of Parallels Desktop, it is necessary to delete all related components scattered around the system. Here’s how to clear up the app remnants:
- Open the Finder, click the “Go” from the Menu Bar, and select Go to Folder…
- Type the path of the top level Library on hard disk: /Library, and hit Enter key.
- Search for the files or folders which contains the name of target app or the vendor in the following locations and delete the matched items: /Library, /Library/Caches, /Library/Preferences, /Library/Application Support, /Library/LaunchAgents, /Library/LaunchDaemons, /Library/PreferencePanes, /Library/StartupItems
Warming : deleting the wrong items from Library could do harm to your other apps or even system, so make sure to be very careful what you try to delete. Meanwhile, it could be time-wasting going through each folder and searching for app leftovers. Luckily, you can make use of the Search in Finder to hunt down associated files.
- Go ahead to open up the user library inside home folder: ~/Library.
- Type the name of target app or its vendor in the Search Bar, and click on Library.
- Identify the matched items, right click on them and choose Move to Trash option.
If there are still some files you fail to locate or identify, do a web search about the app components. Besides, advanced users can utilize the Terminal (located in /Utilities folder) to list the contents of the directory in question and then delete offending items.
Final Step: Empty the Trash
After moving all associated items to the Trash, you can carry out the last step – emptying the trash. Notice: the act is irrevocable, and everything in the Trash will be deleted immediately, so be very cautious when you are performing this part.
- Right click on the Trash icon in the dock.
- Choose Empty Trash and click OK in the pop-up dialog.
- Alternatively, empty the Trash by choosing Empty Trash under Finder menu.
- In any case you cannot empty the Trash, reboot your Mac and try it again.
Now, you can check if you have successfully remove Parallels Desktop thoroughly.
In this post we list mainly two options to help you uninstall Parallels Desktop for Mac. Which method do you prefer to adopt? Or say, which one is more efficient and handy? Welcome to leave your comment or suggestion here to help us improve this post.