Running a 32-bit Application on an M1/M2 Mac

[krs]

I still have a couple of important files that require a proprietary 32-bit application to run and where that appliation will never be updated to a 64-bit version.
Poking around the net I came across these two options to run a 32-bit application on the latest Macs.

How to run 32-bit apps and games on Mac OS Big Sur and M1 Macs - BugsFighter

From this tutorial you will learn how to run 32-bit apps and games on Mac OS Big Sur and M1 Macs. Run Windows apps and games on Mac.

www.bugsfighter.com

I wonder if anyone has actually tried that and how well it works.

My needs are for two proprietary 32-bit applications which are used to open and search a complete collection of magazines dating back to the 1970's, so no videos or anything processor intensive.

 

[Raz0rEdge]

The methods suggested, VMs and Dual Boot are tried and true methods that work fine.

 

[krs]

The methods suggested, VMs and Dual Boot are tried and true methods that work fine.

Thanks Ashwin, can you comment on this?

How to Run 32-Bit Apps & Games on Sonoma, Ventura, Monterey, Big Sur, Steam & M1/M2/M3 Macs

macOS Sonoma, Ventura, Monterey, Big Sur, Catalina and Apple Silicon M1, M2 and M3 Macs do not run 32-bit apps or games. Apple dropped support for 32-bit

machow2.com

The way I read the article, this author claims the 32-bit application has to be able to run on Windows 10 ARM or Windows 11 ARM to work with Parallels on a M1/M2 Mac.

 

[ferrarr]

The methods suggested, VMs and Dual Boot are tried and true methods that work fine.

On M1 & M2 Macs?

 

[MacInWin]

The first link did not discuss M1 Macs at all. The second says it can be done in Parallels, with Win 10 or Win 11. However, it also said the Win had to be for ARM processors. There is an unsupported version of Win (whatever) for ARM, but it is not supported by Microsoft in any way, shape or form. So, you can try it, but if it doesn't work, you have no support anywhere. And Parallels isn't free, so it will be an investment with no guarantee of success.

 

[krs]

The first link did not discuss M1 Macs at all.

M1 Macs is right in the title and also mentioned in the introduction.
I don't see anything in the article that says the information doesn't apply to M1 Macs.

 

[MacInWin]

Yes, it's in he title and mentioned in the intro. But no detail on HOW to pull off that miracle. The second link does have a link in the article to another article on how to install Windows 11 for ARM under Parallels. But note, if your application is an Intel application under Windows, it may or may not run under Windows 11 for ARM. So, again, if you want to spend the money to see if it works, it's your choice. Just don't be surprised if it doesn't. If this app is super critical to you, you might be better served with an el-cheapo PC to run that app when you need/want it. You can then transfer the results from the PC to the Mac however you want. I had to run that way for a while for a specialized label printer that never was updated beyond version 1.0 for Mac and which never worked.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

If there is a Windows version of the app that will suffice, you might be able to use Wineskin. I can give it a whirl myself if you’d like. Just need to know what apps are involved.

 

[krs]

Yes, it's in he title and mentioned in the intro. But no detail on HOW to pull off that miracle.

I have never used Parallels and don't know any technical details about it (thus this thread), but since Parallels is compatible with an M1 Mac and an run x86 applications, one doesn't need a Windows ARM compatible application and I would also expect a Mac with an Intel CPU to potentially runin that environment.

Parallels Desktop for Mac with Apple M1 chip

Best way to run Windows on Mac - Parallels Product Blog - Run Windows, Linux, and more on your Mac. Helpful tips and tricks, Apple macOS and Mirosoft Windows news

www.parallels.com

 

[krs]

If there is a Windows version of the app that will suffice, you might be able to use Wineskin. I can give it a whirl myself if you’d like. Just need to know what apps are involved.

There is a Windows version, but the applications (Mac & Windows) and the data are on two DVD's. AllI have riht now is the Mac application and data installed on the Mini where I use it almost every day.
I will dig out the DVD and my USB DVD player and see if I can just copy the Windows application.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

The methods suggested, VMs and Dual Boot are tried and true methods that work fine.

Dual booting will be useless on an M1 Mac for running 32-bit apps. You can't install Mojave on them.

 

[krs]

Dual booting will be useless on an M1 Mac for running 32-bit apps. You can't install Mojave on them.

Install Mojave on what? What is them?

The idea is to install Mojave on Parallels.

KB Parallels: Install macOS Mojave virtual machine with Parallels Desktop

kb.parallels.com

Parallels will run on M1 Macs.

S

 

[pm-r]

Hmmm... All totally confusing to me...





- Patrick
=======

 

[Lifeisabeach]

Install Mojave on what? What is them?

"Them" would be the M1 Macs I called out in my first sentence. Really, we should be using "Apple Silicon" since this M1 is just the first generation of these chips. The problem applies to M2 also.

The idea is to install Mojave on Parallels.

KB Parallels: Install macOS Mojave virtual machine with Parallels Desktop

kb.parallels.com

Parallels will run on M1 Macs

Parallels will run on an Apple Silicon Mac. Mojave is Intel ONLY. For Parallels to run Mojave as a VM on an Apple Silicon Mac, it would have to emulate Intel hardware. It can't do that because it is not an emulator. It can only virtualize an OS that can run natively on that same hardware.

 

[Raz0rEdge]

I was primarily responding to the VM option and running Big Sur on the M1 as detailed in the article. You can also dual boot two versions of Mac.

Bottom line @krs, if these apps are important to you, grab an older Mac, run Mojave on it and use that.

 

[krs]

Bottom line @krs, if these apps are important to you, grab an older Mac, run Mojave on it and use that.

I may not have any choice.
The first application (with no 64-bit version ever) is used to research 31 years of a specific magazine- something I can't loose access to.

I dug down a bit in the folders related to that and eventually found that the actual application is listed by the Mac as a "Unix Executable"
I assume that makes no difference re the 32 vs 64-bit issue.
In the Macsystem report the appliation is identified as "No" in the "64-bit Intel"column.

 

[Raz0rEdge]

All Mac apps are eventually just a single executable app, the rest of the package contents are the related files for that application. The application has to be specifically modified to be 64-bit compatible by the developer. There's nothing a user can do to it.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

I mentioned the difference with virtualization vs emulation earlier. I should point out that right now there is an emulator that can virtualize Windows or Linux for Intel. That'd be UTM. Now... I did try this once with Windows and while it did technically work, it was painfuly slow. However as hardware gets faster, and this virtualization software improves, this could get to be much less of an issue. UTM doesn't offer a pre-configured way to emulate macOS for Intel... just Windows, Linux, or "Other". In some brief reading, it doesn't appear to be possible to do macOS at this time, at least not short of creating a "hackintoshed" disk image.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

I've run into another possible emulation solution. If that 32-bit Mac app is a Universal binary that can run on OS X for Intel or PowerPC, then apparently it is possible to emulate the PowerPC version of Leopard on Apple Silicon using QEMU. There's a video on YouTube demonstrating it, but I'll leave it at that since this presumably requires violating the license agreement. If you have a legit copy, maybe not, but anywho...

 

[pm-r]

apparently it is possible to emulate the PowerPC version of Leopard on Apple Silicon using QEMU.

I guess it's nice that some developers are working on various emulations for those that need it, but in this case it sounds like the easiest route for krs to take is just stay using the Mac machine they are currently using. At least one can say: "It just works"!!! A lot more than any of the latest Mac machines can do. ;-)



- Patrick
=======