Gorman Motorsports

As Macs are becoming more and more popular, people are likely going to wonder how they can use the Traqmate Windows based software with their Macs. Thankfully Parallels Desktop or VMware will allow you to run Windows and OSX at the same time. In this article we’ll show you how you can set up your Mac to run Windows and the Traqview software. In this article we’re only going to cover Parallels Desktop for Mac and adding your video(s)with your TQM files.

A couple things you’ll need before you get started are and how the all integrate together.

1) An Apple laptop running OSX, Leopard (10.5) preferred
2) A full, licensed version of Windows XP on an installable CD.
3) A full, licensed version of Parallels Desktop for Mac 3.0

The integration between Traqview and Chasecam makes your videos very easy to add to your traqmate data.

Step 1 (Installing Parallels Desktop)
Boot your laptop into OSX as you normally would. Download Parallels Desktop for Mac here. When you download the DMG, double click on the Parallels icon and let the installer do the rest.

Step 2 (Installing Windows)
Once you’ve installed Parallels Desktop for Mac, you need to configure Parallels to share a certain amount of RAM (memory) with OSX such that Windows will run well. A general rule of thumb is allocating 1/3 of your RAM to Parallels Desktop for Mac. You can find out how much RAM you have by clicking on the Apple icon in the upper right hand corner of your screen and selecting “About This Mac”. Look for the line in the window that pops up saying “Memory”. If you have 512MB of RAM or less, we highly suggest you upgrade to minimum of 2GB. This is to help prevent Windows from running sluggish or being unresponsive.

Once you have determined how much RAM you will used, navigate to your Applications folder and then double click on the Parallels folder. Then double click on the Parallels Desktop icon. You will then be able to configure a new Virtual Machine.

Click File, New and adjust your memory to the amount you noted earlier and follow the prompts for the Windows Guest Install. Due to the complexity of Windows, we’re not going to cover installing Windows.

Once Windows is installed, make sure you install the Parallels Guest Tools as this provides specific drivers for the mouse and graphics to keep Windows fast. Make sure you get all your Microsoft updates as well.

Step 3 (Installing Traqview)
After you have a clean, updated version of Windows running navigate www.traqmate.com and download the traqview software here.

Click “Next” to set up the install location. We recommend the default location.

Click “Next” to create the shortcuts on your Desktop.

Click “Next” to add Traqview to your Start Menu.

Finally click “Finish” to run the USB pre installer

Step 4 ( Getting the data off of the DU)
Once you have the Traqview software installed and have rebooted windows, now we want to get the data off of your DU. Connect the USB cable from your DU to your Apple laptop. Note that there is a slight “second” click when plugging in the USB cable to the DU. Start the Traqview software (double click the icon on your desktop) and a window will pop up that will allow you to auto detect which port the DU is connected. Click that and it will check all the available ports that are open and find the one you’re connect to. When it’s found the correct port, connect and you should see all your laps on your DU!

So in a few easy steps you’re able to use Windows, Mac and your traqmate DU to download and view your track data. In Part II we’ll cover getting your video off your camcorder and/or chasecam and getting it sync’d with your lap data, so stay tuned!