Installing Winsteps - Facets - Ministep - Minifac on a Mac or Linux

40+ active users have told me about installing Winsteps on Mac or Linux computers.

Winsteps requires Windows to be installed on the Mac or Linux first.
Then you will need to purchase and download the Windows version of Winsteps or Facets

Macs 2020-current

VMware Fusion

www.vmware.com/products/fusion/fusion-evaluation.html
We're very happy VMWFusion users for different applications that require to run under Windows. https://www.vmware.com/products/fusion/fusion-evaluation.html.html Each time there was an important upgrade with Mac OS, we had to renew our Parallels license. We don't have this experience with VMWare Fusion.
Thank you: Benedicte Lescrauwaet

I use VMWare Fusion to run Windows on my Mac. Have been using Winsteps and Facets successfully that way.
Thank you: Lenin Grajo

For many years, over 10 maybe 15 I have used VM Fusion to load a virtual Windows session in my Mac. Fusion costs under 100.00 and you need a licensed version of Windows. This solution path runs the full Windows OS in a Mac window. In many cases windows apps run faster. This is also how I use SAS too. Winsteps has never complained and my solutions are exactly the same as my students who run Ministeps on Windows machines. One last thought Re: Fusion, this App allows dual mounted drives so I can drag and drop files from one OS to the other.
Thank you: Brooks Applegate

I use VMWare Fusion to create a Windows based OS on my Mac. Way back in the day, I tried Bootcamp and other partition software and it's really not a good way to go. VMWare is pretty seamless and enables me to work on my Mac and Window simultaneously.
https://www.vmware.com/products/fusion.html
After installing Fusion, then install the Windows operating system. It doesn't come with an OS because Fusion can run any OS you want. Then install Winsteps and Facets because your Mac now operates like a PC in the Fusion app. Once installed, your PC desktop will always reflect your Mac Desktop. I do save and run my control files and data from my Mac desktop because GW firewalls are annoying but I know other Mac users who run their control files straight from their organization servers. I do install Microsoft Office on the PC side because having Winsteps open PC Excel is a little more seamless but I didn't always do that. I used to just output the file and open it in Excel on the Mac side. I run Winsteps and Facets quite happily on my MacBook Pro (which is about 5 years old now) but that said, it runs faster and smoother on my iMac which is about 6 years old. Just to say you don't need the latest and greatest Mac for it to run smoothly. I have found VMWare support services to be excellent if anything goes wrong (which since about version 8 is hardly ever). Bottom line for me is use Virtual Machine app not a partition app.
Thank you: Trudy Mallinson

Parallels

May 2024: I am using Winsteps 5.7.2 and Facets 4.1.6 on my Mac via the Parallels Window virtual machine and they both work just fine. Jon Twing,

kb.parallels.com/125375
Install Parallels. You will then be able to install Winsteps on the ARM version of Windows running in virtualization on Apple Silicon. That means that Winsteps is running in x86 emulation on an emulated ARM chip that is running on an Apple Silicon ARM chip. That probably sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen, but thus far, I have had zero issues with it. The Apple CPUs are so fast that I don't notice any slowdown at all. In fact, Facets feels snappier on my bottom-of-the-line Apple Silicon Mac (MacBook Air with the M1 chip) running through two layers of emulation than it does running in a fully-hardware-supported guest OS VM running on my 3.2GHz, 6-core, Intel i7 Mac Mini.
Thank you: Aaron Olaf Batty

Yes, I use Mac for all my work. For using Winsteps I use Parallels to emulate Windows. I don't exactly love it because it makes my machine go somewhat slower (two operating systems at the same time) but it gets the work done. As soon as I am done with Winsteps I just turn Parallels off and that's it. Obviously, I would prefer to have a Mac-native version of Winsteps (maybe in the future?) but using Parallels works fine and it is not that difficult to get going.
Thank you: Michael Baker

I run Parallels, which allows me two modes of running Windows. 1) an integrated mode where the Windows and IOS appear as if it is one machine. I find this crash a lot and confuses me completely. 2) non-integrated mode where windows run on one window and IOS on a different window. this works really well, especially if you have two screens. Parallels is just a bit expensive. About twice as expensive as Winsteps and it is an annual license.
Thank you: Roelien Herholdt

I installed Winsteps to ARM version of Windows 10 on Parallels Desktop ver.16, so I use M1 Mac, it works well.
Thank you: Yamamoto Taisei

Yes, I use Mac for all my work. For using Winsteps I use Parallels to emulate Windows. I don't exactly love it because it makes my machine go somewhat slower (two operative systems at the same time) but it gets the work done. As soon as I am done with Winsteps I just get Parallels off and that's it. Obviously, I would prefer to have a Mac-native version of Winsteps (maybe in the future?) but using Parallels works fine and it is not that difficult to get going.
Thank you: Kepa Balparda

The option that has worked the best for me is Parallels [rather than VMware]. I can keep a virtual machine for windows running in its own window, and easily open that window to use any windows-based programs, including easily transferring files between systems. Unless you have a corporate or enterprise license, you'd have to pay a license or subscription fee for VMware or Parallels.
Thank you: Matthew Wilcox

Installing Winsteps on my Mac was very easy:
1. Download Windows as iso file
2. Download/install Parallels per instruction, it will ask where your windows file is. Also getting windows could be tedious due to activation keys etc
3. Check that Windows works try doing some simple things like dir at the command prompt
4. Figure out how to get to your Mac files from within Windows - this is not immediately obvious. Look in the >>>windows <<< file system.
5. Locate or locate your Winsteps / Facets + get password. From within Windows run this .exe file simply by clicking on it
6. If all is well, after some fuss, Winsteps starts per usual and given that you know how to get to your Mac files from within windows, things work exactly the same
7. Pin Winsteps/Facets to your bottom task bar for easy reference.
Thank you: Rense Lange

I used Parallels to run Windows on my MacBook and Winsteps worked well.
Thank you: Chih-Hung Chang

Crossover

www.codeweavers.com/crossover
You have to select the Windows 10 64 bits bottle.
Thank you: José Luis Ramìrez

I installed Winsteps recently on a Mac using Crossover. I've previously had success with Parallels also, but I recently changes computers to a Macbook with the M1 processor and chose Crossover since it did not require a separate Windows license as well. The only issue that I had was that I was initially trying to install into a 32-bit Windows "bottle" in Crossover. Once I chose to create a Windows 10 64-bit bottle, everything worked as expected and has been running smoothly.
Thank you: Jason T. Abbitt

I was able to install Winsteps on MacBook Pro M1 2020 using CrossOver software. It translates Windows code to MacOS code. It's paid software, but it's very convenient.
Thank you: Denis Federiakin

I installed Winsteps on a Mac M1 using Crossover. I followed the instructions on the Crossover website and the installation was quick and easy. Performing basic calculations is easy, although the results can be seen in Windows Notepad. The Winsteps modules that require R statistics or Excel can only be used if they are installed in the same bottle in Crossover, otherwise they cannot be found. Similarly, Notepad++ can be installed and used. However, I have not installed these due to storage space constraints (alone Excel cannot be installed, only with the whole Office). Moreover, even Crossover is not cheap by Hungarian standards (even with educational discounts).
Thank you: Jozsef Kontra

Windows Remote Desktop

support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/how-to-use-remote-desktop
I installed the free Microsoft Remote Desktop application on my Mac M1 to run Winsteps on a separate Windows PC or laptop. So technically you can work with Winsteps on the Mac machine (similar to using Crossover), but Winsteps runs on another machine in a Windows environment as usual. For me this was the cheapest solution, although I need another Windows machine, but in this case I can do more than just the basic calculations on the Mac, and I save on storage space a lot and the cost of Crossover.
Thank you: Jozsef Kontra

I found switching between operating systems on the Mac was slow and confusing, so I just run Winsteps and Facets on a separate Windows laptop.
Thank you: William Lang

Previously I installed Winsteps on a VMware virtual machine running Windows 10. I have since purchased an inexpensive Windows computer running Windows 11.
Thank you: Robert Millard

My Academic Research department runs all Macs and when we need to use a Windows-only program such as Winsteps or Facets we use a Windows server that our IT department has set up for us. We then use Microsoft Remote Desktop to log in to the server. It's a bit clunky but it works.
Thank you: Joel DiGirolamo

Macs between 2006 and 2020

Wine

winebottler.kronenberg.org/
on pre-Catalina (32-bit allowed) Macs.
Thank you: Ella Gorman

Boot Camp

May 2024: I used Bootcamp on my MacBook then downloaded Winsteps. It was relatively straightforward. It's not super fun switching back to iOS, but it actually works. Kind of nice being able to use both iOS and Windows on one machine. I haven't used Winsteps yet but it does open. Johnna

support.apple.com/en-au/boot-camp
Boot Camp is an Apple package that allows you to partition your hard drive and install Windows (again, you need install media and a license) on part of it. This allows you to boot your Mac into Windows the same as any Windows PC. After booting, you use it like any other Windows installation. It is also possible to set up a Boot Camp partition and then use Virtual Machine software to load and run it when booted into macOS.
Thank you: Aaron Olaf Batty

Windows virtual machine

www.vmware.com/products/fusion/fusion-evaluation.html
Purchase Parallels or VMware Fusion (or use VirtualBox for free) and a Windows license (if you don't already have one) and make a virtual machine running Windows. With Parallels or Fusion, you can even use Winsteps as though it were a program on your Mac. It will run in a Windows window on your Mac just as if it were a Mac application.
Thank you: Aaron Olaf Batty

Parallels

kb.parallels.com/125375
Yes I have installed Winsteps on a Mac using Parallels with Windows and it works fine. I use Parallels on a 2012 Mac Pro, running Windows (currently W11) and installed Winsteps as one would on any Windows computer.
Thank you: Peter Hagell

I used Parallels with Windows and Winsteps. It worked very well.
Thank you: Deborah Schnipke

Virtual Box

www.macupdate.com/app/mac/24801/virtualbox
My windows apps run faultlessly with it.
Thank you: David Maree

Linux

I installed it on a Linux computer. I used the winsteps program through Oracle VM virtualbox. It worked very well for the purpose I wanted, running a Rasch-residual-based Principal Components Analysis - PCAR.
Daniel Mariani

Acknowledgements

Thank you to many others who also emailed me about your experiences with Winsteps, Macs and Linux. I appreciate your willingness to help others.

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