In its day, Windows® XP was a great operating system. I ran it for many years on my main work computer. It was considerably better than some of its successors: even though I worked at Microsoft® when Windows Vista was released, I never moved to Vista. And don’t even get me started on the debacle that was Windows 8—“a schizophrenic productivity killer,” wrote David Pogue. So, in the overall OS rating game, Windows XP was a winner.

However, Microsoft dropped support for Window XP on April 8, 2014. This means no security updates or technical support for Windows XP, and PCs running Windows XP after this date are vulnerable to viruses and malware. So I can’t recommend running Windows XP on a PC connected to the Internet.

Parallels Desktop 10 for Mac is the world's easiest, fastest, and most powerful solution for running Windows applications on a Mac - without rebooting. Install Windows or move your PC documents, files and applications on to your Mac in few easy steps. Parallels Desktop for Mac enables you to run Windows, Linux, and more side-by-side with Mac OS X on any Intel-powered Mac, without rebooting. With Parallels' award-winning virtualization technology, you can run Mac OS X and your favorite Windows applications at the same time.

Parallels Desktop for Mac Pro Edition is the easiest and most powerful solution for developers, power users, and other demanding pros looking to increase productivity. Enhanced memory (64 GB RAM) and processing power (16 vCPU) for improved performance. 1-year subscription for one Mac. Subscription can be canceled at any time. Parallels Inc., a global leader in cross-platform solutions, makes it simple for customers to use and access the applications and files they need on any device or operating system. We help businesses and individuals securely and productively use their favorite devices and preferred technology, whether it’s Windows®, Mac®, iOS, AndroidTM, Chromebook, Linux, Raspberry Pi or the Cloud. Parallels Desktop version 10.10 or later 10.11 or later 10.12 or later 10.13 or later 10.14 or later 10.15 or later 11.0 or later. Parallels Desktop 16 Parallels Desktop 15. Parallels Desktop 14. Parallels Desktop.

But what if you just have to run Windows XP?

Maybe you use an application that only runs on Windows XP, and the application developer has gone out of business. Maybe you have an internal, line-of-business Windows XP application that you just can’t live without, but there is no time or money to get it updated. (Don’t think these are actual scenarios? The US Navy is paying millions to Microsoft for support of Windows XP, so this does happen. And tech observers are stating that XP will be around for years.)

Don’t have millions to pay for XP support? Just run Windows XP in an isolated virtual machine.

While by default, a VM is connected to the Internet and has tight integration with your Mac®, you can turn these both off with just a couple of mouse clicks and get an isolated VM.

Even though your Windows XP VM is isolated, you can still move files into and out of it with a USB thumb drive, as you can see in this short video:

So, how can you create a Windows XP VM? There are two ways:

1.Install from scratch: If you have an XP installation CD and you can hook a CD drive to your Mac, then creating a brand new Windows XP VM is easy. (Don’t even remember what an installation CD looks like? Figure 1 will jog your memory.)

Figure 1. Windows XP installation CD and packaging

This Parallels Knowledge Base article will help you go through the VM creation process. Remember to configure the VM with no network connection even before you begin installation. Windows XP can be infected with malware during the installation process.

2.Migrate a hardware PC into a VM: If you have access to a PC with Windows XP, you can use the migration feature in Parallels Desktop for Mac to create a VM. This Parallels Knowledge Base article will help you get started with the migration. The migration process will copy everything on that PC into the VM, so be sure that there are no viruses or other malware on that PC.

Parallels Desktop 16 For Mac

If you really, really need to run Windows XP, an isolated VM in Parallels Desktop provides a very cost-effective solution.

Try Parallels Desktop for free for 14 days!

The system requirements and supported guest operation systems (OSes) for Parallels Desktop 16 for Mac are fully detailed below. We encourage every potential or existing user to explore the requirements prior to downloading or purchasing Parallels® Desktop. Users may be pleasantly surprised at the incredible performance of Windows, Linux, and other popular OSes on their Mac with Parallels Desktop.

Supported Apple Mac hardware configurations:

Check your Mac hardware to ensure you can run Parallels Desktop without experiencing compatibility issues. Our team would love to make sure every user gets the most out of Parallels Desktop and the virtual machines (VMs) they create.

Important Note: Internet connection is required for product activation, updates and select future features.

Supported guest operating systems that can be created as Parallels Desktop virtual machines:

• Windows 10
• Windows 8.1
• Windows 8
• Windows Server 2019
• Windows Server 2016
• Windows Server 2012 R2
• Windows 7 (SP0-SP1)
• Windows Server 2008 R2 (SP0-SP2)
• Windows Vista Home, Business, Ultimate and Enterprise (SP0-SP2)
• Windows Server 2003 R2 (SP0-SP2)
• Windows XP (SP0-SP3)
• Windows 2000 Professional SP4
• Windows 2000 Server SP4
• Boot2Docker
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 8, 7 and 6
• CentOS Linux 8, 7 and 6
• Fedora Linux 32, 31, 30 and 29
• Ubuntu 20.04, 19.04, 18.04 LTS and 16.04 LTS
• Debian GNU/Linux 9 and 8
• Debian GNU/Linux 19
• SUSE Linux Enterprise 15
• openSUSE Linux 15.1 and 15
• Linux Mint 20, 19 and 18
• Kali 2019 and 2018
• Elementary OS 5.0
• Manjaro 18
• Mageia 7 and 6
• Gentoo Linux **
• Solaris 11 and 10 **
• openBSD 6 **
• FreeBSD 12 and 11 **
• openVZ 7
• eComStation 2 and 1.2 **
• ReactOS 0.4 **
• Android OS*
• macOS Big Sur 11.0 (when released)
• macOS Catalina 10.15
• macOS Mojave 10.14.x
• macOS High Sierra 10.13.x
• macOS Sierra 10.12.x
• OS X El Capitan 10.11.x
• OS X Yosemite 10.10.x
• OS X Mavericks 10.9.x
• OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.x
• OS X Lion 10.7.x
• OS X Lion Server 10.7.x
• Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server 10.6.x
• Mac OS X Leopard Server 10.5.x
• and many more…***

*Only the version downloaded with the Parallels Desktop Installation Assistant

**Parallels Tools are not available for this operating system

Parallels Desktop For Mac Download

Note: Parallels Desktop emulates PC hardware, so operating systems that are not present in this list can work as well. We encourage users to download a free 14-day trial of Parallels Desktop first to install the OS of your choice. If it doesn’t work and you believe it should be supported, let us know at Parallels Forum.

Parallels Tools for Linux requires X Window System version 1.15-1.20 and Linux Kernel version 2.6.29-5.1.

Moving your PC?

Below are the Windows PC system requirements to move a PC to your Mac and use it as a Parallels Desktop VM (using Parallels Transporter Agent):

• 700 MHz (or higher) x86 or x64 processor (Intel or AMD)
• 256 MB of RAM
• 50 MB of available hard disk space for installation of Parallels Transporter Agent
• Ethernet or WiFi network adapter for migrating over network
• External USB drive for migrating via external disk
• Supported Windows: Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000*

*To migrate Windows Vista or older, Transporter Agent from Parallels Desktop 13 should be used.

We sincerely hope this resource helps you navigate your experience with Parallels Desktop. Since 2006, Parallels has delivered excellence by being the #1 choice of Mac users to run Windows on Mac without rebooting. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need help. The Parallels support team can be contacted on Facebook or Twitter, 24/7.