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Access Bluetooth devices in Windows on Mac

Users of Parallels Desktop for Mac find a number of advantages apply to booting Windows in a virtualized environment that is integrated with OS X. The shared access to hard drives, keyboards, networking, displays etc. does not unfortunately extend to your Mac's built-in Bluetooth. When I reviewed a Bluetooth-based GPS data logger recently I wanted to compare the Mac tools to their Windows equivalents. A small investment in a Bluetooth USB adapter was all that was required to make this possible.

You could, of course, use Apple's Boot Camp and start your Mac up in Windows which—with Apple-supplied Bluetooth drivers for XP—makes your built-in hardware available. I would have done this, but my Boot Camp partition is unavailable as a boot drive in FireWire Target Disk Mode (it's a long story).

After a bit of searching I discovered a solution hidden away in the Parallels Forum:

  1. Turn off built-in Bluetooth on the Mac;

  2. Start Parallels and insert the CD to install drivers for a Bluetooth USB adapter you purchased earlier (mine cost £12);

  3. Plug in the adapter when prompted, and wait for it to be recognized;

    bioneuralnet-usb-bt.jpg

  4. When the installation is complete, turn on your external Bluetooth device and pair it;

    bioneuralnet-bt.jpg

  5. After pairing you should be able to access any Bluetooth services supported by the device.

    bioneuralnet-logger.jpg

If you forget to turn off built-in Bluetooth on the Mac you'll encounter this message as OS X tries to appropriate the adapter:

bioneuralnet-parallels.jpg

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