Will Parallels detect USB hardware?

Hello all,

I need to run a machine which requires Windows-based software. I'm considering getting Parallels Desktop for Mac but am worried that Parallels won't be able to interact with the machine through USB. Does anybody have experience with this sort of thing?

Thanks a lot,
Erik

 

When you say machine, what do you mean? My experience has been that you can either let Parallels ask which environment you want to share your usb device (windows or mac) or you can set up the system to take a given device and always attached it to the windows environment. I have used cameras, hard drives interface converters, serial ports etc etc.

 

USB devices are handled natively in Windows while running in Parallels. This means they 'talk' directly with Windows.

 

I downloaded a Parallels trial and tried to connect the microscope (which actually connects via ethernet) and the software in Windows 7, running via Parallels didn't detect the microscope. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

Well, this is a bit of moving target, Ethernet is completely different from USB isn't it?

Use Bridge Mode in the Network settings of the VM.

 

I can use an ethernet cable to connect to the internet inside Windows (VM -> Configure -> Network 1 -> Bridged Network: Ethernet) but using the same approach, the microscope still isn't recognized by the software installed Windows. Any other suggestions?

Thanks a lot!

 

No idea how that particular software or microscope works, but if it connects via ethernet there shouldn't be any problem, as long as the microscope is attached to the network (router) or directly and you are connected to the same network (LAN) with an IP address in the same subnet for both (for instance: 192.168.x.x), it should be like exactly like using a PC with Windows.

If you connect a cable directly from the ethernet port of the Mac or PC to the microscope there is no DHCP server in the middle giving out IP addresses and thus both will use self-assigned IPs which is probably why it isn't working.

Again, once the Virtual Machine is in Bridge mode, in this case there is absolutely no difference from a PC and you should follow the User Guide of the microscope as you would for a PC.

 

I'm using Parallels 8 on a Mac mini to run Windows 7 Professional. When I plug in a USB device, a Window pops up asking if I want to use that device with Mac or Windows 7. You can also hold ALT to remember your choice. It doesn't seem to matter what I choose, because the USB devices always work for me in both Mac OSX and Windows. After you install Parallels and configure Windows with it, there will be some options/settings to select. Install Parallels Tools (within the VM) and set up sharing in that Virtual Machine (part of Parallels) so that your drives are accessible in both.

If you're concerned about Parallels working and you being able to use all of your devices, then the answer is YES. Buy it, get it now. I'm a PC user... from DOS 5, Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98SE, Windows XP, and Windows 7. I'd looked at Macs but they were too expensive for me and there were none to try out... but then came Windows 8. So, I bought a Mac mini and eventually got Parallels. My plan was to "try out" OS X with a cheaper Mac mini with my own display, keyboard, mouse, etc... and then sell it and upgrade to a Macbook... I never went that far. I installed the max. ram of 16 GB (which I've never needed) and installed a second hard drive.

Anyway, I'm still primarily a PC user because of my job and the software I need at work... but at home, I'm slowing migrating toward OS X. Everything works in Parallels, it just does. It's great. Even Windows 7 runs better, faster, smoother in Parallels on my late-2012 Mac mini than it does on my work Windows PCs.

I use Parallels and I can connect to any of my USB hardware with no problems. I can copy or move files between OS X and Mac seamlessly. Everything is great.

 

This has been my experience also. Taking it one step further I migrated from a mini to a Mac Pro that I have upgraded and also have installed around 10 different os to okay with. What was my main windows computer is now virtualized. It runs much faster than it ever did as a stand alone machine that went through 5 motherboard processor upgrades over the years.

I have been using parallels since version 2 and it just gets better every time.