OpenSUSE will not install on Parallels 20 on Mac Studio

Hello everyone, sorry to bother. Just bought a Mac mini (still waiting for it) on which I would like to install Parallels (still have to buy it!) to virtualize a linux opensuse leap 15.0 machine. I have some old data visualization software that does not work anymore on leap 15.6, which I am currently using. At the moment, I have a dual boot configuration (15.0 and 15.6) working on an Intel based linux machine. In the future, I am also planning to create a windows virtual machine but this is not such a pressing need for the moment. My question is ... did I choose the right machine? Secondly, any specific hint to install an older, not anymore supported, opensuse version? Sorry for the naive question!

 

Dear Marco,
You certainly choose the right machine. I recently read that the Mac Mini with M4 is fast as hell. I read reports where people bought the cheapest version and upgraded it with third-party hard disk and memory modules. So, good choice. However, as you know, it comes with Apple Silicon M4, and Parallels does not support running virtual machines created on an x86 computer! So, forget to grab your old virtual Linux (like,e.g., OpenSuse 11.3 or 42.3) and install it on the new Mac Mini with Apple Silicon. Parallels will not execute it, though you can access the virtual hard disk of the old Linux in Parallels on the new Mac Mini but Parallels does not allow you to have more than 5 virtual hard disks installed! I recently read that the Parallels business version (which I have) allows running an x86 image, but it is heavily experimental and very slow, and success seems unguaranteed. Indeed, I did not try it myself. Perhaps someone else here did and can report about it.
Also, installing an older Linux, which was developed/compiled for x86 CPUs, will not install on ARM64-type computers. You need an ARM64-based Linux like OpenSuse 15.6 Leap for ARM64 computers. Another possibility would be to allow Rosetta in Parallels Options. This allows the execution of an x86-based binary program on an ARM64 Linux. However, this worked for me only for programs that do not require a shared library (as the shared Libs are all compiled for ARM64). This is because when you install ARM64-based Linux, there is no parallel world available with all the x86 shared libs installed (and I did not figure out how to do that so as to keep both worlds with their shared libs 100% separate -- it might be possible though). So, if the program you need to run is your private homegrown software, or you have the source code available, you may be able to compile it as a static version using compiler options (so that it does not require shared libs). If you manage this, you can run it in OpenSuse 15.6 Leap by enabling the Rosetta Mode in the Parallels options. Although there are notes in Parallels that execution might be slower if you enable Rosetta Mode, I did not recognize differences in having it enabled/disabled. Best wishes and good luck.

 

Hi Marco,
I just migrated from a MacBook Pro M1 to a MiniMac M4.
OpenSUSE 15.6 (arm) runs without problems as well as Windows11 (arm) in Parallels; also Parallels-Tools are automically installing again.
I just checked: OpenSUSE 15.0 is available as aarch64 image, thus able to run in Parallels on your MiniMac.
I would suggest to install to independent VMs one 15.6 and one 15.0. Should run simultaneously with bright performance.
Regarding x86-package lists (both 15.0 and 15.6) to be transferred to the aarch64 installations, I could offer some help if needed.
Frank

 

Just to add some information, opensuse leap 15.0 was released in 2018. The software I am using was working on opensuse distributions before leap (42 something, if I remember) and stopped working properly with leap 15.1. Probably any other linux distribution (ubuntu fedora etc.) is gonna work for my software, in their 2017/2018 version. So the problem is actually how to install an old, not anymore supported, linux distribution (not necessarily opensuse, I mean). Any advice is welcome.

 

One option is to use docker (https://stackoverflow.com/questions...n-old-binary-on-modern-gnu-linux-distribution) - create an OS15.0 container inside 15.6 VM and run the old app in that container.
Alternatively, you could try using Portable Linux Executable Directory (https://github.com/alex-free/pled) to capture all dependencies of the old programs on an OS15.0 system and then transfer the results to OS15.6.