So, you've just purchased a Mac. You enjoy the OS X experience using VoiceOver, but you still need to use Windows because a critical piece of software does not run on Mac. Or maybe you simply want to spend some time perfecting your Mac skills before you start using it for your job. You could keep your old Windows machine and crowd your desk with two CPUs and keyboards, or two laptops. But, happily, there is a better way. It is possible to run both OS X and Windows on the same Mac. You can "Boot Camp" your machine, and choose at startup which operating system—OS X or Windows—you wish to run. I will describe Boot Camp below, but in this article I will focus on a second, and in my opinion better, way to run Windows on a Mac, and that is by creating a virtual machine using a third-party Mac application called VM Fusion.
Running Boot Camp
A few years back when I bought my first Mac Mini, I set it atop my desk, marveling at its small footprint compared to the hulking Dell PC that whooshed and beeped beneath my desk. I bought a keyboard/mouse/display splitter, and set things up so I could move back and forth between the two computers with a single button press. I was content with this configuration. Until my Dell crashed for good. That is when I decided it was time to Boot Camp my Mac Mini.
In OS X Mountain Lion and Mavericks, the Boot Camp Assistant is located in the Utilities folder in Applications. The assistant will partition and format a portion of your Mac's available disk space to accommodate the Windows operating system without affecting your Mac data, and download a set of Boot Camp drivers that will give Windows applications full access to multiple processors and multiple cores, along with USB, FireWire, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and sound output.
I used Boot Camp and a Windows 7 64 bit ISO file purchased from Microsoft to install Windows. I could also have used an installation DVD and my Mac SuperDrive. The Boot Camp application is completely accessible using VoiceOver. Unfortunately, once you reach the point where the Windows installation takes over, speech is lost. I needed sighted assistance to complete the Windows installation. There is now a way to create a talking Windows install disk, thanks to the excellent work of The Talking Windows Pre-installation Environment project which can be used to create a Boot Camp installation as demonstrated in this AppleVis Podcast.
With Windows installed I could now choose which operating system—Windows 7 or OS X Mavericks—would run at startup. I could reboot from Mavericks to Windows by changing the Startup Disk preference pane, or move in the opposite direction using the Startup Disk control panel Boot Camp places in the Windows Notifications area. You can also press and hold the Option key when you start your Mac, which calls up a boot loader, which does not speak, so you will have to learn whether to press the Left or Right Arrow key to select Windows or OS X, then press Enter to start the system running the operating system of your choice.
I found that running Windows via Boot Camp was extremely stable. In fact, I found it the most stable Windows machine I have ever owned. I suspect at least part of the reason for this is that all of the hardware and drivers come from the same computer maker. My Dell, Gateways, HPs and other previous PCs, used video cards and drivers supplied by one company, sound cards and drivers from another—a situation that is almost guaranteed to cause occasional conflicts and crashes.
I was happy with my dual-boot configuration for a few months, but as time passed and I grew more confident using the Mac, I spent more and more time sitting at my desk waiting for my Mac Mini to reboot. It was time for a different approach: a virtual machine.
What is a Virtual Machine?
Let's start with a brief definition. A virtual machine is a software computer that operates the same as a physical computer. It runs an operating system, such as Windows, which, in turn, runs various applications, such as MS Office and the Windows screen reader of your choice. Basically, a virtual machine is an application that is pretending to be a computer, and it does such a good job, Windows and the applications software that run on it do not even realize they're not running on a physical computer.
There are two popular applications that will create virtual machines on a Mac: VM Fusion and Parallels. Of the two, VM Fusion seems to be the most speech friendly, so this is the one I use and will detail in this article. I will assume that you have a good working knowledge of both the OS X and the Windows operating systems, and are at least reasonably proficient with VoiceOver and the Windows screen reader of your choice.
The Advantages of Running a Virtual Machine
Running Windows via a VM Fusion virtual machine allows you to run both Windows and OS X at the same time. You can toggle Windows in and out of full-screen mode by pressing Control + Command + F, and use your normal Windows screen reader commands (although a bit of tweaking may be required, as described later in this article). All of the standard Windows shortcut keys are also available, such as pressing the Windows key to begin a search or Alt + Tab to move through your running programs list. Press Ctrl + Command and you will toggle back to OS X with VoiceOver still running. Now, Command + Tab moves you through your list of running Mac applications, just as you have come to expect.
All of your data can be made available on both sides of this setup. So can certain features. For instance, I did not have to install my printer in Windows. When I use the Print command, the job is ported through to OS X, which sends it to my default printer. I also did not have to install Dropbox on my Windows VM. I simply add files to my Dropbox folder, which I share with my Mac, and then the Mac software takes care of all the uploading and synching.
Another useful feature is the ability to cut-and-paste between operating systems. I can copy some text, or a file name on the Windows side using Ctrl + C or Ctrl + X, then copy or paste it on the Mac side using Command + V or Command + Option + V. I find this particularly helpful when trying to decode an inaccessible webpage. If I can't access it using IE, I can copy the URL, move to the OS X, paste the address into Safari, and give the page a try there.
You are not limited to a single virtual machine. I am not quite ready to abandon Windows 7 for Windows 8.1. So I created a separate virtual machine for each, and I can choose which one to run from the Virtual Machine Library.
Perhaps the biggest advantage of running Windows in a VM is the file structure itself. In most cases VM Fusion creates a single file package that contains the entirety of your Windows installation and programs. By default it places this file package in the Documents/Virtual Machines folder, where it can easily be backed up using Time Machine or a simple copy-and-paste to a different folder. That software you just installed that utterly fouled your screen reader setup? Or maybe, despite all of your precautions, you just contracted a computer virus? No worries, simply close the machine, delete the virtual machine file, then restore it with your last backup copy, and you're good to go—no muss, no fuss.
Getting Started with VM Fusion
VM Fusion is not available from the Mac App Store. You will need to purchase and download it directly from the VW Ware website. There is also a free 30-day trial.
After installing VM Fusion you will discover four different ways to create a virtual machine. We'll take them one by one.
Launching Your Boot Camp Partition
If you are already running Windows on your Mac with a Boot Camp partition, you don't need to reinstall Windows to use VM Fusion. You can use your Boot Camp partition to run both OS X and Windows simultaneously with VM Fusion. Here's how.
- Launch VM Fusion from your Applications folder.
- Use VO + M to open the Fusion Menu Bar, select Window, then Virtual Machine Library.
- Locate the "Boot Camp" button and press Play. If the button is not there, press the "More" button and add Boot Camp to your library.
VM Fusion will prompt you for your Mac password, then prepare your virtual machine automatically. This may take a while, but eventually your VM will start, and if you have your screen reader set to auto load, it will begin speaking. You will now be running your Boot Camp version of Windows. Any new programs you install or files you change will be there the next time you reboot into your regular Boot Camp partition. Note that this method does not create a single file that you can backup, as do the other three methods described below.
Launching a Boot Camp partition is an excellent way to begin your virtual machine experience. There is some additional setup required to run Windows smoothly with speech, which we will discuss below. While you are making these settings changes you will always have the option to stop using your virtual machine and reboot and run Windows natively.
Because of the extra layer of programming, a virtual machine can run a bit slower than the same machine running Windows alone. Most users will not even notice the slight performance hit, but if you are running a processor-intensive Windows application from time to time it's nice to have the option to restart in Boot Camp and harness every bit of your Mac's power.
Importing Your Boot Camp Partition
After using the Launch Boot Camp option for a time, you may decide you no longer need your original Boot Camp partition. It's time to import your Windows installation. Selecting this option in the Virtual Machine Library instructs VM Fusion to configure and copy your entire Windows installation, programs, and data into a single extremely large file. This process can take quite a while, and there is no audible feedback until Windows starts and your screen reader begins speaking.
When you import your Windows installation you will need to re-activate both Windows and MS Office, if you have it installed. Your Boot Camp partition will still be on your machine, but programs and files will no longer be updated when you change them in VM Fusion, and if you start up the Boot Camp partition you will need to re-activate Windows, since you can only have a single copy of Windows running for each license key. At this point you may wish to consider removing your Boot Camp partition to reclaim the disk space.
Migrating an Existing PC
Perhaps you just bought a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air. You also have a Windows notebook computer set up with all of your favorite software and data files. Instead of starting from scratch you can migrate this entire computer into VM Fusion and run it as a virtual machine. The procedure involves running special software on your PC, then importing the Windows installation and data via a network connection or a USB drive. VMware offers an excellent tutorial and PDF instructions on this process.
Note that you will need to activate your migrated Windows installation with a license key, and once you do, you can no longer use your notebook without obtaining a second license key.
Creating a Virtual Machine from Disk or Image
This—using an installation disk or disk image to create a fresh new Windows installation—is the most popular way to create a Windows virtual machine. You will need a licensed copy of a Windows 7 or 8 installation disk or USB install drive, or an ISO disk image file, which you can obtain from the Microsoft Store if you purchase Windows there.
To create a virtual Windows machine, begin at the VM Fusion File menu and select New. Next, select Create a Virtual Machine. You will be presented with a table listing all of the installation disks VM Fusion can find. If your disk or image is not there, use the Use Another Disk or Image option to locate your installation media. Select Continue, then Easy Install, then Continue again.
VM Fusion will place your Mac account name in the Windows account name field, but you can change this if you like. You can optionally enter and confirm a password, along with a product key.
Confirm your language preference, and the version of Windows you wish to install, then select Proceed. An alert will pop up if you do not enter a license key, but you can bypass this message and proceed without a key and wait to activate Windows until you are up and running.
At this point you are given two choices: More Seamless or More Isolated. The More Isolated option causes VM Fusion to keep your Mac and Windows files separate. To open a Windows file in OS X you will first have to copy it to the Mac folder, and vise-versa. The More Seamless option enables your Mac to share files between OS X and Windows. You can open a .doc file you created in Windows directly from its folder location using OS X, and an RTF file you create using Text Editor will be available for review and editing in Windows. Your Windows desktop will also include an icon called VM Shared Folders, where you can access your OS X Home folder and all its subfolders for easy file management. Personally, I think the More Seamless option is the only way to go.
After making your choice, click Finish. VM Fusion will do the rest, and take you all the way to your new Windows desktop. It can take quite some time, and there are no audible progress indicators to assure you things are still moving along. However, I did find one way to tell if the Windows installation is finished.
After completing the Windows installation, VM Fusion installs a set of VM Tools that allow Windows to run considerably more smoothly inside a virtual machine. If you access the Virtual Machine menu choice and cursor down toward the bottom you will find "Install VM Tools" listed as an option. If VM Fusion has finished its job, this option will read "Reinstall VM Tools."
You are now ready to start Narrator or install your favorite screen reader.
To date I have successfully created several Windows 7 and Windows 8 virtual machines on two different Macs without sighted assistance. During one Windows 8 installation, the process seemed to hang and I could not determine what went wrong. This was easy enough to fix. I chose Force Shutdown from the Virtual Machine/Shut Down menu option, located the VM file, deleted it, and then began again.
A Few Necessary Tweaks
Along with pressing the CTRL + Command + F hotkey or activating the menu bar View/Full Screen option, there are a few other changes you will wish to make in your virtual machine settings in order to effectively run Windows with speech in a virtual machine.
Keyboard
Windows users will automatically reach for the key to the immediate left or right of the spacebar to access the Alt key, and one key to the left of the Alt key to activate the Windows key. OS X maps keys differently; when you start Windows in a virtual machine these keys are reversed. The key to the left of the spacebar is the Windows key, and one key to the left of that is the Alt key. You can change this key mapping in the Menu Bar Virtual Machine/Settings/Keyboard & Mouse option. Choose the Key Mapping option, where you can remap the Mac Command key to the Windows Alt key, and the Mac Option key to the Windows key.
While you are in the Keyboard and Mouse settings, you will probably also want to disable a few of the default key mappings. To keep a consistent experience for Mac users, VM Fusion remaps many of the Mac commands to also perform Windows tasks. Command + C, for example, will act like CTRL + C in Windows. Many of these keys interfere with screen reader hotkeys, so examine the entire table of remappings and uncheck them as needed.
File and Folder Sharing
By default VM Fusion shares your Mac Home folder and subfolders with your Windows installation. Your screen reader may require a CD/DVD drive to install. Use the Settings/Sharing controls to add other drives and folders your virtual machine can access.
Getting Help
If you're like me, you are bound to experience at least a few snags getting Windows to run on your Mac. Happily, the AppleVis website offers a wealth of information about running Windows using Boot Camp and inside a virtual machine. For example, remapping the Mac Caps Lock key to become an Insert key, which the Mac keyboard does not contain, took a bit of doing. A quick search of the AppleVis website turned up this useful AppleVis article. I also receive invaluable help and advice from subscribers to the Macvisionaries e-mail list, where I discovered many users who are far more knowledgeable than I.
Last, but certainly not least, there is the VM Fusion technical support department. Tech support is available via the company website. I have initiated any number of support requests this way, and I do not believe there has been a single time when my questions were not answered by a follow-up phone call from a knowledgeable representative who spent as much time with me as necessary to answer my questions and assist me via remote login to resolve my issues.
Summing Up
If you own a Mac, and have a copy of Windows, I see no reason not to download the 30-day trial of VM Fusion and create a virtual machine. Others who may be considering replacing their old PC with a Mac should also not fear the loss of their familiar Windows applications or their data.
I first began running Windows on my Mac out of necessity when my PC crashed for good. I then continued to run it this way because I found the Mac hardware offered an extremely powerful and stable Windows experience. Going forward, I do not anticipate running Windows any other way than inside a virtual machine. Windows and OS X and their respective screen readers each have their strongpoints, and a few weaknesses. Running both together, I now enjoy access to the best of both worlds.
Product Information
Product: VM Fusion 6
Available from: VMware
Price: $59.99
