It is then possible to simulate a Windows PC on a Mac, and run Windows programs in it. The virtual machine is a software simulation of a real machine. Virtualization refers to running an entire operating system in a virtual machine.

The advantage, however, is that it is relatively fast to get going with it so it may be worth trying out to see if the program you want to run is supported before trying a more involved method.

The WINE process can also take quite a bit of CPU time. The shortcoming of this method is a limited selection of available programs, and potential quirks in running some of them because they are not running in their native environment. You can try it out and see if your program can run through it, and if you are satisfied you can choose to buy it. It just might work.Īs an alternative solution there is a pay-for Crossover package which offers a potentially more polished experience. This is a way to try out installing those Windows programs which aren’t on PlayOnMac’s install list. exe files, and will try to help you install the program. PlayOnMac will be automatically associated with all Windows. If the program installs successfully it will be listed in the main PlayOnMac window where you can select it and click “Run” on the toolbar to launch it.Īnother way to try running Windows programs with PlayOnMac is to simply download a Windows executable and try running it. To install a Windows program using PlayOnMac just click on the Install button in the toolbar, navigate through the lists of available programs, select one, and click install. Likely the best among them is PlayOnMac which comes as a standard Mac app and features an easy to use interface with which you can browse and install compatible Windows applications. There is a full list of those available on this wiki page. That’s where third party WINE distributions come in. While it is possible to build WINE on Mac an official pre-built binary package is not available, and building it yourself is probably exceedingly difficult.

The most well known emulator is WINE, which is a humorous acronym for “WINE Is Not an Emulator”. EmulationĮmulation refers to simulating the basic portions of the Windows environment necessary to run some Windows programs on a non-Windows system. One is emulation, and another is virtualization. There are two basic ways to run Windows programs on a Mac.

Windows programs which don’t have a dedicated version for Mac OS X cannot be ran on Mac directly, but they can be ran with the help of a special tool.

Run windows programs on mac free