Robot and Macbook M1 with virtual windows

[t9vivi00]

Hi! 

So I couldn't resist and I bought this MacBook Pro (2020) with M1 chip. I downloaded virtual windows from parallels. Everything worked well and I downloaded Autocad, Revit and Robot Structural Analysis 2022. I tested all three of them and everything worked perfectly. After a week I tried to open the robot again and it didn't start. The program's yellow themed starting picuters pop ups, but after that nothing happens.. Autocad and Revit still works perfectly and I don't have any issues with them. I have uninstalled and reinstalled the robot several times, but it's always the same problem. Also I tried to install earlier versions of robot but it was always the same problem. I'm hopeless do anyone have some kind of clue what shall I do or is there anything to do at all. 

[up200402722]

I have the same problem with my MacBook Pro with the M1 Pro chip, but, for me, after the supposedly successful installation, Robot does not start at all. All I get is the splash screen and then nothing.

With the M1 chips, I believe we're pretty much stuck with the possibility of running this software through a virtual machine, so I'm also wondering if anyone at Autodesk can help us out with this. As Apple moves towards using its own silicon in the future, a whole lot of users like us will have the same issue.

[t9vivi00]

So after several months I have studied this problem and I have been in touch with Parallels. After tens of emails the problem have not been solved. Parallels advised with good instructions how to approach solving this problem, but nothing didn't work out. They told me this problem needs ''coding level'' inspection. Latest reply form Parallels was that they will be touch after the problem is solved and this was in June. I'm not sure if this problem is Parallels fault or Autodesk's but hopefully the problem will be solved. Like you said in future this maybe bigger problem.. 

[up200402722]

If the issue really has to do with the Apple M1 chip's architecture, then it may well be that this will have to be solved through a joint effort between Parallels and the engineering software folks. I just don't know if it's worth waiting. Best of luck, mate!

[toantrungthach]

Hi Sir! Did you fix it?

[zeeblake]

No news related to this issue?

[zeeblake]

Maybe the problem is not the virtualization, but that Robot has issues when running on Windows 11 for ARM using the Microsoft translation layer? The strange thing is that this doesn't seem to affect Revit and AutoCAD, according to the OP.

[umut.akparlar]

I also have apple devices and using boot camp and VMIs, but a regular windows 11 notebook provide much better results. I don't think there will be a permanent fix for it due to OS limitations. My humble recommendation to apple users who are engineers just switch to a mediocre gaming laptop with ok graphics card then you will be fine with less expensive more compatible machine. 

[zeeblake]

Thank you for your reply, but that's not an option. The point here is not PC vs Mac, but Intel Mac vs M1/M2 Mac. I've been using Robot on Mac for more than 5 years now, on Intel Macs with VMware virtual machines, and the performance was perfect for my structures (yes, even the 3D view was smooth). From what M1/M2 users report, there seems to be an issue when running on ARM, which affects Robot, while other Autodesk products run fine.

[austenFOLD]

We've asked this question again recently of Autodesk and they haven't come up with any solution.

For the moment we've decided the easiest way to get around this problem is to run a virtual machine within Microsoft Azure - it's a fairly low cost solution that can bridge the gap until Autodesk decide it's a big enough problem to fix (shrug).

[up200402722]

Worst is that some of the software doesn't even run on a virtual machine.

[m_chatzis]

Any solutions to this?

[zeeblake]

While I can understand that running in a VM is not a priority, it's been almost 3 years now, and this issue has not been addressed after 3 new Robot releases. In our classrooms, many students use Windows or Intel Macs, but a number of them use M1-M4 Macs, and for this reason we plan to stop using Robot as the tool in our classes. During these years, students have been installing Robot 2022, which is the last version that can run with M1-M4 in a VM, but this is a hassle for us and for our students, and we are going to move to other alternatives that can run in a M1-M4 Mac VM with no problem. I don't understand why this problem has never been addressed. Autodesk supports M1-M4 Macs virtualization in many products, including Revit, and I don't get why Autodesk cannot afford to tell a Robot developer to debug this issue, which I'm sure will be easy to fix. It's nonsense. One thing is not being a priority. But 3 years... come on!!

[m_chatzis]

Agreed with Zeeblake above. 

- ETABS / SAP2000 from CSI - Computers and Structures, Inc. work well on M1

- STAAD.Pro (Bentley Systems) works well on M1

- Tekla Structural Designer (Trimble) works well on M1

- Sofistik works well on M1

- SCIA Engineer works well on M1

Way too many options to sit back and wait for Autodesk to fix this.

[joyhakjoy]

Confirmed it works perfectly Robot Structural Analysis with Windows 11 & Parallel on M1-M4 with Sequoia.

You can email me 👉 maxilotus17@gmail.com if you think you need assistance regarding the issue.

Thanks.

[zeeblake]

What Robot version are you installing, @joyhakjoy ? I have heard that 2022 is the last that works on M1-M4.

[zeeblake]

UPDATE: RSA 2026 has just been released. I installed it on a Mac Studio M4 Max (running the latest Sequoia) with VMware Fusion 13.6 and it seems to work! There's a caveat, though: When you use the 3D view, it will crash unless you previously go to general preferences, and in the OpenGL view settings, set the acceleration slider down to the minimum possible value. By doing that, I've been able to model a complete steel structure, adding loads, simulating wind, and calculating it (but I didn't have time to go into steel design, though).

By the way, there's something I did different to previous installs of Robot in this Mac: I started Robot as soon as the installer let me (you know that in recent versions of Robot, the installer lets you launch Robot before the installation finishes --I did that, the window for the license appeared, I entered my credentials, and then Robot 2026 started, to my great surprise). Just before 2026 was released, I tried to install 2025. It didn't work (it quits just after the splash screen appears), but I didn't launch it until the installer finished completely. I'm saying this because I don't know if the "early launch" was what made 2026 work, or if it's that this version actually works on ARM after 3 versions in a row that didn't work.