I finally figured this out last week and posted it to the Parallels forum. I figured I’d cross post it here as well as many of us use VMs for testing new systems, etc.:
Sep 06, 2020 I installed the Big Sur beta and tried to run the latest version of Parallels. It brings up a message saying to restart the computer to complete the installation. Whichever option I click (restart or quit), Parallels hangs. If I do a manual restart and launch Parallels again, the same thing happens. Oct 22, 2020 Eventually, to make Parallels Desktop fully compatible with the new macOS Big Sur 11.0, Parallels Engineering has gone through years of engineering work of rebuilding Parallels Desktop and its features using the new macOS system APIs. Like, Share and SubscribeBig Thanks to Mad Dog The Link Below is to Mad Dog's Channelin.
For those who have been trying to run Big Sur as a guest OS in Parallels, this solution is clean and works:
Parallels and Big Sur. I don’t understand the language of Parallel’s newest announcement. Can I run my non ARM version of Windows 10 on my M1 Mac, or do I. Parallels today announced the release of Parallels Desktop 16.5 for Mac. The ability to run macOS Big Sur in a virtual machine is a feature that Parallels hopes to add support for in Parallels.
Parallels Desktop On Big Sur
First, I did this in Parallels 15 for Mac “home edition”. I’m running on a 2017 iMac w/ 32 GB RAM with Mojave as my system OS
Also, I saw almost every different error that people have been reporting and this method avoided all of them (so far, at least)
1. Make an installer DMG from the downloaded “Install macOS Beta” app. The technique to make one is available via Google but I used the one described here: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/649774. It’s a series of 6-7 command line strings but not too tough
2. Get the correct board_id and hw_model information about your particular Mac:
- In Terminal, on the Mac that’s running Parallels type (or copy/paste)( that’s a dash and lower case L, then the pipe character, FYI )
- copy the Mac-xxxxxxx text for use below
- then type:
- copy the hardware model string for use below
3. Create a New VM in Parallels. Don’t try upgrading a previous macOS version VM. Also, unless I state otherwise, leave settings @ their default
KB Parallels: How To Enable Nested Virtualization In ...
- click the + button or select File->new in Parallels control center
- select “Install Windows or another OS from…”, click Continue
- select the DMG you created in step #1, click Continue
- name the VM and check “Customize settings before installation” & click Continue
- Parallels will open its familiar Configuration dialog:
- click the Hardware tab:
- I set the RAM to 8GB and processors to 4 - but I was being a bit paranoid. I think processors @ 2 is probably OK
- for Graphics, I set Memory to 512MB with “Scaled” graphics - again, being a bit paranoid, not certain 512MB is required
- for the Hard Disk, open Advanced Settings, click Properties and increase the size to 128GB. Click Apply, then Close
- in Boot Order, open Advanced Settings and copy-paste the following lines: (note, Parallels failed to save these lines a couple of times until I copy-pasted them one at a time and hit return after each line - go figure. If your install fails, double-check this setting)
(replace inside the quotes with your mac model from step #2 )
(replace inside the quotes with your mac board_id from step #2)
- close the Configuration dialog and click Continue
- follow the instructions for normal installation going forward
- while it’s installing, call your parents and check in. they worry
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*** Note - do NOT install Parallels Tools at any point. This is what results in the “stuck at black screen”, the “won’t let me log in, just kicks me out” problem and probably other issues. It’s also one of the reasons why upgrading a previous macOS VM fails as it probably already has Parallels Tools installed. Like me, at this point you probably just want to get Big Sur running and can live without PT until Parallels updates it.
Many of the above steps and information was gleaned from other intrepid users posting to various forums and others and I thank you all.
regards and good luck
Steve in Seattle
(not nearly as crazy here as some have reported)