Oldest MacOS version in Parallels (AS)...?

[MarkC426]

Planning ahead for my eventual change to an AS Mac.
What is the oldest version of Mac OS you can install in Parallels on Apple Silicon?

Need Mojave to run iTunes.
As I have an extensive collection of CD's and Vinyl in my library I doubt it would transfer very well to Music (unless I am wrong).

I have heard people talk about retroactive, but would prefer a legit system running iTunes.

 

[Mike Boreham]

Big Sur.....which was first ARM OS used on all Silicon Macs.

 

[MarkC426]

Big Sur.....which was first ARM OS used on all Silicon Macs.

Thought this might be the case.....
I wasn't sure if parallels worked differently.

 

[galad]

The library part of Music is almost the same as iTunes, with some small UI tweaks. Try it, it might be enough.

 

[MarkC426]

The library part of Music is almost the same as iTunes, with some small UI tweaks. Try it, it might be enough.

Yep will have to try it out when I get new Mac...
It's all the album artwork etc, that worries me, has taken me forever to rip/record, and still not finished.

If all the albums etc come in intact then fine.

 

[Homy]

Monterey or newer.

KB Parallels: Install macOS virtual machine on a Mac with Apple silicon

1. It's possible to create virtual machines only.

kb.parallels.com

 

[Mike Boreham]

Monterey or newer.

KB Parallels: Install macOS virtual machine on a Mac with Apple silicon

1. It's possible to create virtual machines only.

kb.parallels.com

Thanks for correcting me. Monterey not Big Sur.

 

[Mike Boreham]

Thanks for correcting me. Monterey not Big Sur.

Just to clarify...Big Sur was first ARM OS, supplied in first gen Silicon Macs, but Parallels did not make it available to install as VM in Silicon Macs. That didn't happen until Monterey as @Homy said.

I was a bit thrown by finding this Parallels KB, dated just after release of Big Sur and Silicon Macs. It doesn't seem to say so but think it refers only to installing the Intel version of Big Sur as a VM in an Intel Mac.

 

[jdb8167]

Just to clarify...Big Sur was first ARM OS, supplied in first gen Silicon Macs, but Parallels did not make it available to install as VM in Silicon Macs. That didn't happen until Monterey as @Homy said.

I was a bit thrown by finding this Parallels KB, dated just after release of Big Sur and Silicon Macs. It doesn't seem to say so but think it refers only to installing the Intel version of Big Sur as a VM in an Intel Mac.

Parallels is using Apple’s macOS guest virtualization framework which wasn’t introduced until Monterey. It was significantly improved in Ventura.

 

[MarkC426]

Have done some googling, and it sounds like iTunes music playlists 'should' in theory migrate across to the Music app.
We will see.....😬
Album artwork may be another story, as lots are photos taken of 12" singles.

 

[chrfr]

Have done some googling, and it sounds like iTunes music playlists 'should' in theory migrate across to the Music app.
We will see.....😬
Album artwork may be another story, as lots are photos taken of 12" singles.

This should be a completely seamless migration, including artwork. I suspect you're worrying about something that's really a non-issue.

 

[haralds]

Music works fine with your own collection. I ripped my 500 or so of CDs and have over 50K tracks.

 

[Traace]

There is a Application that claims to make itunes compatible with MacOS Ventura again. I didn't test it yet and don't know if it has any limitations.

GitHub - cormiertyshawn895/Retroactive: Retroactive has been discontinued. You should transition from Retroactive to supported apps such as Music, iTunes for Windows, iMazing, Photos, Darktable, Lightroom Classic, and DaVinci Resolve.

Retroactive has been discontinued. You should transition from Retroactive to supported apps such as Music, iTunes for Windows, iMazing, Photos, Darktable, Lightroom Classic, and DaVinci Resolve. - ...

github.com

Edit: Okay you already figured out that Retroactive is a thing. I understand you dont like it.

 

[theorist9]

Just FYI, if you also are also using iTunes for Audible audiobooks, you might run into an issue with Books (which is where audiobooks go now) (makes no sense -- they're audio, so should have gone in Music; that way you could sync portable audio devices with both music & audibooks at once, the way you can with iTunes).

Anyways, I haven't been able to get Audible files running in Books. It's a DRM issue. It affects some users but not others; no one knows why. According to Audible senior tech support, the Audible engineers say this is due to an Apple bug. According to Apple senior tech support, Apple's engineers say it's an Audible bug.

 

[gank41]

Monterey or newer.

KB Parallels: Install macOS virtual machine on a Mac with Apple silicon

1. It's possible to create virtual machines only.

kb.parallels.com

From this support page on the limitations of this:

Install macOS VM of a different version​

It appears that it is currently possible to install a macOS virtual machine on Mac computer with Apple M-series Chip only of the same macOS version as that installed on the Mac.

Hence, if you wish to create a macOS virtual machine with a different macOS version, it is necessary to create it on a Mac running that version, and then transfer the resulting .macvm file to the destination Mac.

 

[jdb8167]

From this support page on the limitations of this:

Install macOS VM of a different version​

It appears that it is currently possible to install a macOS virtual machine on Mac computer with Apple M-series Chip only of the same macOS version as that installed on the Mac.

Hence, if you wish to create a macOS virtual machine with a different macOS version, it is necessary to create it on a Mac running that version, and then transfer the resulting .macvm file to the destination Mac.

I don’t think that is a limitation of the MacOS virtualization libraries but of Parallels itself. I’ve installed a Monterey VM on Ventura with my own barely usable VM app. I haven’t tried recently but I would think it still works.