Shut Down or Suspend Windows

When you're finished using Windows programs, 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 programs and settings in their current state.

Do one of the following:

• Click the Parallels icon in the menu bar and choose Actions > Suspend.
• Click Actions in the Parallels Desktop menu bar at the top of the screen and choose Suspend.

The next time you start Windows, 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 icon in the menu bar and choose Actions > Pause.
• Click Actions in the Parallels Desktop menu bar at the top of the screen and choose Pause.

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

• Click the Parallels icon in the menu bar and choose Actions > Resume.
• Click Actions in the Parallels Desktop menu bar at the top of the screen and choose Resume.

Shut Down Windows

Shutting down Windows in Parallels Desktop is just like shutting down Windows on a PC. All Windows programs 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 icon in the menu bar and choose Actions > Shut Down.
• Click Actions in the Parallels Desktop menu bar at the top of the screen and choose Shut Down.

Stop Windows

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

• Click the Parallels icon in the menu bar and choose Actions > Stop.
• Click Actions in the Parallels Desktop menu bar at the top of the screen and choose Stop.

Important: When you stop Windows this way, none of your data or progress is saved.