Just purchased or are you thinking about buying the new Mac Mini M2 2023 model? Though your new Mac is powered and runs macOS Ventura, what happens if you want to run Windows on your system? After all, despite MacOS being home to creative apps like iMovie and Final Cut, Windows runs great apps and services that you might not be able to access on your Mac.

Well, the good news is that if you're used to Windows, you can, in fact, run Windows on your new Mac Mini M2 2023. However, running Windows on your new Mac Mini takes a bit of extra work as it's going to have to be done through virtualization. Unlike older Mac Mini models powered by Intel CPUs and featuring Apple's Boot Camp software, the newer Mac Mini models with Apple Silicon do not have this feature to let you run Windows natively in place of macOS. This is because Microsoft does not license the specific Arm-based version of Windows 11 for Apple to use on Apple Silicon Macs.

You'll have to use a paid app like Parallels to virtualize and run Windows on your Mac instead. You'll also need to provide your own Windows license, too. We'll get into that for you in this guide.

How to run Windows on a Mac Mini M2 2023 with Parallels

Running Windows on a Mac Mini M1

The easiest way to run Windows on a Mac Mini M2 2023 is by downloading Parallels and installing the latest version of Windows, which is currently Windows 11. You get a 14-day free trial of the service, but after that, you'll have to pay for the license. It's $130 for a one-time purchase or $8.33 for a monthly fee. This is on top of the license for activating Windows 11, which is a separate cost you need to account for. It's $139 for Windows 11 Home and $199 for Windows 11 Pro.

Paying monthly for Parallels adds up to $100 for 12 months, and gets you free upgrades to newer versions, as well as remote access to your Mac from any device or browser. We suggest starting with the free trial first, which will eventually ask you for payment after the 14 days are up. Here's what to do.

  1. Head to the Parallels website, and choose the Download Free Trial option.
  2. Click Download Free Trial
  3. You'll be redirected to the trial center
  4. Click Download Parallels Desktop
    Installing Parallels from the website.
  5. Go to your Downloads folder in the Finder. Double-click the Install Parallels Desktop file to launch it
  6. In the popup window, double-click the Install Parallels Desktop icon
    Launching Parallels
  7. Choose Open in the window that pops up and accept the terms
  8. Allow Parallels to download. It should take about 3 minutes.
  9. Enter your password to begin the installation process.
  10. The installation assistant will pop up. Select the option to Get Windows 11 from Microsoft.
    Installing Windows 11 on a Mac with Parallels
  11. Click Continue and then Install Windows. You can choose which edition of Windows you want with the Choose Edition... button
  12. Click Install Windows and wait while Windows 11 downloads and installs. Depending on your internet speed, this can take anywhere from a few minutes to more than 30 minutes.
    Waiting for Windows to install in Parallels
  13. When finished, you'll see an Installation Complete screen. Click anywhere on that area to continue.
  14. In the pop-up window, choose to Try free for 14 days and follow the steps on your screen to sign up for a Parallels account. You'll be redirected to your web browser.
  15. Once signed up, go back to the Parallels app and click Continue Trial and make sure you're logged in with the account you created.
    The Parallels Desktop Trial page
  16. Accept the licensing terms for Windows, and you'll be booted into a virtual version of Windows 11!
    Windows 11 on a M1 Mac Mini

That's all there is for installing Windows on your Mac Mini M2, 2023. Ensure that Windows is activated by going to Settings > System> and clicking the Activate Now link. Once that is done, head to the next section where we'll get into some things you can and can't do with your new Windows 11 installation on your Mac Mini.

What Parallels can and can't do when it comes to running Windows on a Mac

The about Windows page on a M1 Mac Mini

So yes, going back to the original question, you can run Windows on your Mac Mini M2 2023. Overall, running Windows on an Apple Silicon Mac like the Mac Mini M2 2023 through Parallels should be a great experience. You can enjoy most of the things you normally would on a Windows PC, especially when it comes to productivity. You can even take Parallels full screen by using Shift + Command + F ​​​​​​and attempt to use Windows in place of macOS.

However, you'll have to keep in mind that you'll still be running Windows through a virtual machine. This means that more demanding tasks on Windows, like gaming and video editing won't run the best on your Mac Mini. Parallels is best used for productivity tasks, and not CPU or GPU-intensive things. ​

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    Parallels Desktop

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