I am evaluating Parallels for Mac with the intention of running Bootcamp Windows 9 Pro in Parallels. The issue is licensing, it is confusing and Microsoft does not offer technical support, they just want to sell as many licenses as they can. I understand that Windows 7 used to have 1 license for physical installation plus 1 virtual under the same serial number. So from what I gather, it used to be easy to license Windows 7 Bootcamp by first licensing the Bootcamp partition and then entering the same key in Parallels or Fusion. Presumably this process would activate the two licenses ( physical + virtual ) ? But now I understand Windows 8 requires two separate licenses for physical and virtual machine and presumably with two different serials. How can I then run Bootcamp and Parallels without having to re-license each time ? That is what I need clarifying here and I would be grateful if you can verify whether this is possible and how. I recently purchased Mac Mini and Windows 8 Pro upgrade. With the help of Microsoft customer support, I was able to register a clean installation of Windows 8 Pro on Bootcamp. My Bootcamp installation is now activated and works just fine. Unfortunately, when I run this Bootcamp installation under either Fusion or Parallels it requires a second activation. My fear is that if I were to buy a new COEM license as Microsoft suggests, the previous Bootcamp license could not co-exist with the new virtual license. I asked Microsoft to clarify but they were evasive on that specific issue, not really clear on the technicals of it. Now I am asking clarification from you with the view of using your product and I hope someone out there has made a similar configuration that actually works ? If so, please post instructions, the thread above with the similar issues from 2007 is way too old to be useful. This is why I am asking a direct question here. Thanks in advance !
Alternatively, I am considering buying Win 7 Pro, activating bootcamp + virtual and then upgrading with two Win 8 pro licenses. Suggestions, issues ? Thanks.
I can't activate Win7 Pro under Parallels8 using Bootcamp partition. But if I boot from bootcamp partition (not in Mac), it doesn't ask for activation. However, I even try to deactivate in Bootcamp alone and after that try to activate under Paralles. It doesn't work either.
Bootcamp plus Parallels Hi, I too want to run both bootcamp and Parallels on my new Macbook Pro retina. Did you get an answer to your question or what did you do in the end? Will I require 2 licenses or can you use the same product key to register Windows twice since it is on the same computer? Thanks, Dale. http://www.dalereardon.com.au
