You can choose how to start and shut down the virtual machine using Startup and Shutdown settings.

To access Startup and Shutdown settings:

1. Do one of the following:

   • Click the Parallels Desktop icon in the menu bar and choose Configure.

   • If the Parallels Desktop menu bar is visible at the top of the screen, choose Actions > Configure.

2. Click Options and select Startup and Shutdown.

Set to Start and Shut Down the Virtual Machine Manually

If you want to always start and shut down the virtual machine manually, select Start up and shut down manually.

Configure the Virtual Machine to Start Automatically

If you want to make the virtual machine start automatically when the Mac starts, select Always ready in the background.

Specify More Details on How to Start and Shut Down the Virtual Machine Automatically

If you want to specify not only how the virtual machine starts or shuts down but also the view mode and what happens on closing the virtual machine window, select Custom and do the following:

Set Whether Windows Starts Automatically

Choose one of the following from the Start Automatically menu:

• Never: Windows never starts automatically.

• When a window opens: Windows starts automatically when you open it from the Control Center.

• When Parallels Desktop starts: Windows starts automatically when you start Parallels Desktop.

• When the user logs in: Windows starts automatically when the macOS user logs in to macOS on the Mac startup.

Set the Startup View

This setting affects the view mode, in which Windows starts when you start the virtual machine or a guest OS application.

• From the Startup View menu, choose Coherence, Window, Full Screen, Picture in Picture, Headless, or Same as last time.

Set What Happens When You Shut Windows Down

Choose one of the following from the On VM Shutdown menu:

• Keep the window open: If Windows is set to appear in a separate window, the window stays open when you stop or shut down Windows.

• Close window: If Windows is set to appear in a separate window, the window closes when you stop or shut down Windows.

• Quit Parallels Desktop: Parallels Desktop quits when you stop or shut down Windows.

Set What Happens When You Close the Parallels Desktop Window

These settings affect what happens only when Windows is set to appear in a separate window.

From the On Window Close menu, choose Suspend, Shut Down, Force to stop, Keep running in the background, or Ask me what to do.

Pause Windows When No Applications are Open

Select Pause Windows after and specify a period of inactivity, after which Windows will be automatically paused. Pausing Windows when there are no open applications allows you to save your Mac's CPU resources.

When you're finished using Windows applications, you can leave Windows running in the background as you work with your Mac applications. Or you may want to stop Windows from running so more of your computer's resources are available for your Mac applications. There are a few ways to stop Windows. You can:

• Suspend Windows

• Pause Windows

• Shut down Windows

• Stop Windows

Suspend Windows

Suspending Windows conveniently freezes all running Windows applications and settings in their current state.

Do one of the following:

• Quit Parallels Desktop.

• Click the Parallels Desktop icon in the menu bar and choose Actions > Suspend.

• If the Parallels Desktop menu bar is visible at the top of the screen, choose Actions > Suspend.

The next time you start Windows or open a Windows application, you resume your progress from exactly where you left off.

When Windows is suspended, you can safely quit Parallels Desktop and resume your progress later.

Pause Windows

You can temporarily pause from using Windows and free your computer's resources, such as RAM and processor cycles, to be used by your Mac applications by doing one of the following:

• Click the Parallels Desktop icon in the menu bar and choose Actions > Pause.

• If the Parallels Desktop menu bar is visible at the top of the screen, choose Actions > Pause.

To resume using Windows after pausing it, do one of the following:

• Click the Parallels Desktop icon in the menu bar and choose Actions > Resume.

• If the Parallels Desktop menu bar is visible at the top of the screen, choose Actions > Resume.

If you quit Parallels Desktop while Windows is paused, you're prompted to either Suspend or Stop Windows first.

Shut Down Windows

Shutting down Windows in Parallels Desktop is just like shutting down Windows on a PC. All Windows applications close, giving you the opportunity to save your progress if necessary, and Windows stops running.

To shut down Windows, do one of the following.

• Click the Parallels Desktop icon in the menu bar and choose Actions > Shut Down.

• If the Parallels Desktop menu bar is visible at the top of the screen, choose Actions > Shut Down.

Stop Windows

To stop Windows and all open Windows applications immediately, do one of the following:

• Click the Parallels Desktop icon in the menu bar and choose Actions > Stop.

• If the Parallels Desktop menu bar is visible at the top of the screen, choose Actions > Stop.