Sage 50 CA setup on a M1 MacBook Pro using Parallels to run Windows 11

3 minute read time.

Its' been some time since our 2016 blog on how to get Sage 50 to work on a MAC. Over the next weeks, we'll review some of the most popular options for virtual Microsoft Windows Systems.  Virtualization software mimics the hardware of a PC which enables MACs to run PC-based software like Sage 50. Below, you'll find a breakdown of getting Sage 50 CA version 2022 to work on an M1 MacBook Pro from late 2020 which was setup by installing Parallels version 17 to run Windows 11. The internet connection download speed was 631Mbps which allowed the total set up process to take just over 30 minutes which included research time. Incredibly impressive compared to virtual machine (VM) setup back in 2016.

STEP 1: Installing Parallels onto an M1 MacBook Pro

Software that provides hardware virtualization for intel based processors on MACs recently saw the release of Parallels 17, designed to allow M1-based MACs to run Windows-based software. The new Parallels 17 officially lets you run Windows 11 on your Mac. Although, Sage 50 CA software will not be tested and officially supported on Windows 11 until the 2023 version; Windows 11 was used with the Sage 50 CA 2022 version of the software for the purpose of our test.

Additional information on the M1 experience may be found in this article.

In the GIF below, you view the process of installing Parallels onto a M1 based MacBook Pro computer.

 

STEP 2: Installing Windows 11 on ARM (M1 MacBook Pro) via Parallels

In order to show you how to install the latest Windows 11 operating system on an M1 MacBook Pro, I've joined the Windows Insider Program and downloaded the installation file for Windows 11.

Once the download and Windows 11 install file is launched, Parallels will prompt to run the file and you'll view the below screens confirming the loading of Windows.

Additional info:

With Windows 11 on ARM Insider Preview builds, you can create 64-bit ARM (ARM64) VMs in Hyper-V on Windows 11 ARM-based PCs. Creating ARM64 VMs is not supported on x64 hardware.

ARM64 VMs are only supported on devices that meet the pre-requisites:

  • Windows 11 ARM-based PCs with a Microsoft SQ1, Microsoft SQ2, Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx, or Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 processor
  • Hyper-V enabled (instructions) which only comes on Window 10 and 11 pro versions.

Visit Windows on ARM developer center at  http://aka.ms/winonarm for more details and documentation.

STEP 3: Download and install of Sage 50 CA on Parallels running Windows 11

The KB 47873 (see here for FR) on how to install Sage 50 CA, can be followed for a step by step walk through of the screens shown below.

 Warning️Note that in the below, there is a prompt to install three .NET Windows components. This is required for successful install of Sage 50 CA and usually involves restarting the Windows operating system which may require you to relaunch the Sage 50 CA install file.

 

STEP 4: Sage 50 CA performance on Parallels running Windows 11

Below, we preview running Sage 50 CA on Parallels 17 running Windows 11 on an M1 Macbook Pro.

Overall, the flow was smooth in a variety of screens including vendor payment processing and journal entry creation.

Results

As you have seen, this test was a success! Best of all it only took about 30 minutes in total to set up in full and this was on the fly. The documentation is very well laid out and with the M1 MacBook Pro's robust blazing fast hardware the install process went quickly. Installing Parallels plus the Windows 11 operating system went as fast as installing Sage 50 CA itself!

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