[How to] Boot your real Windows partition with Parallels on Hackintosh

[kimnicebutdim]

Does anyone know how to install the Parallels tools?

 

@gkr41: If you haven't found how to install Parallels tools yet you can do so from Actions->Install Parallels Tools in the Parallels menu bar. It mounts a CD image and uses autoplay so if you've got autoplay turned off (like I did), nothing will happen. You'll have to manually invoke it from your CD drive.

 

Hope that helps.

[conseanery]

Help! I can't seem to find anything in this (rather long) thread that pertains to my problem.

 

I'm trying to install Windows XP Pro onto my 2nd hdd from within Parallels, which is formatted as such:

disk1s1: [MBR] NTFS with Windows Vista Business

disk1s2: NTFS with no os, want to put XP here

disk1s3: ext3 with Ubuntu Linux

disk1s4: swap for Linux

 

Mac OS X 10.4.9 (uphuck 1.3) is running from disk0s1. I followed the guide in post 1 as such, having my *.pvs file like:

[iDE devices]
Disk 0:0 enabled = 1
Disk 0:0 = 1
Disk 0:0 media = 1
Disk 0:0 connected = 1
[b]Disk 0:0 image = Boot Camp;disk1s2[/b]
Disk 0:0 cylinders = 0
Disk 0:0 heads = 0
Disk 0:0 sectors = 0

The problem is that Parallels, like an idiot, is seeing my entire 2nd hdd (somehow). When I boot the vm with Parallels (I have the boot order set so my cd drive takes priority, thus boots to the XP installer) and get to the part of the XP install that asks which partition to install on, it's seeing:

C: Partition 1 [unknown]

D: Partition 2 (XP x32 HD) [NTFS]

F: Partition 3 [unknown]

G: Partition 4 [unknown]

Now, why is that a problem you ask? It freaks out when I choose D: because it can't access C:. It wants to format C: for some reason, which it shouldn't even be able to access. When I choose D: it says:

Drive C is unformatted, damaged, for formatted with a file system that is incompatable with Windows XP. To continue installing Windows XP, setup needs to format this drive.

So why is Parallels even seeing all the partitions of my 2nd hdd????? I definitely gave it access to disk1s2, so why doesn't it *just* see a "C:" that points to disk1s2??

 

As it may or may not be related (probably is), my MBR is on disk1s1. Is there cyliner info or something that I need to enter into the *.pvs file? I recall that was necessary for using VMWare with a physical partition in Linux, but I never actually got vmware to work.

 

About my machine:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+

Gigabyte nForce4 SLI mobo

SATA hdd: 2@160GB, 1@320GB

Running OSX86 10.4.9 (uphuck1.3)

Parallels Build 5160 (version 3.0)

[fracteer]

I tried parallels and did all the "tricks" to boot my native partition.

My computer has Mac OS X as the main system, in the first partition with 160GB. Windows XP is the next partition with 40GB in the same physical disk.

 

Native windows only worked in Parallels (for me) if Windows was the active partition and it was necessary to use windows selection boot.ini options and then select mac option in the mac boot loader as wel. A real pain for me...

 

This has been working fine for a while. Sometimes I wasn't able to login (native or thru parallels) due to windows issue with oembios.bin file, but this is another story...

 

Tired of all the tricks, booting menus, file corruption, etc., I gave VMWare Fusion a try.

 

So far, so good...

No more tricks, I directly boot into MAC now and run native windows smoothly.

I started testing yesterday, but I am quite sure I won't switch back to Parallels unless I can get rid of all this mentioned annoying things.

[prototype_sx]

Let me say whats worked for me. I installed macfuse and the ntfs thing that gives you ntfs read and write on a mac. After doing that and installing parallels desktop I have no problem booting from my real partition. It unmounts my ntfs drive when its booting and remounts it after boot. It unmounts when I shut down then remounts.

 

Its been fairly simple, didnt know people were having trouble. Try macfuse and see if it helps

[matiseijas]

I'm running Vista, and I just installed this and followed the guidelines posted here and I'm able to boot!!Now, when Vista starts loading I get a message saying that "Windows cannot initialize, probably due to a change in the hardware or software configuration"Followed by the following message:"State: 0xc0000225Information: Error on loading Windows. The firmware (BIOS) is not ACPI compatible"Anybody run into this? What the heck is it?I'm running Vista, and I just installed this and followed the guidelines posted here and I'm able to boot!!Now, when Vista starts loading I get a message saying that "Windows cannot initialize, probably due to a change in the hardware or software configuration"Followed by the following message:"State: 0xc0000225Information: Error on loading Windows. The firmware (BIOS) is not ACPI compatible"Anybody run into this? What the heck is it?

[Dope-Johnny]

I installed Parallels 3.0 on my hackintosh 10.4.10 by Tubgirl. My WinXp x32 partition is disk0s1. My hackintosh is disk0s2.

Even Parallels starts it stucks at "Boot from Harddrive..." I waited about 5hours but nothing happend.

 

Here is my Parallels-Config:

[system]

Boot = c

Parallels VM Name = Eigenes Boot Camp

VM Id = {aed332ef-7ca1-4fdf-a62f-5e6428b89509}

VM Description =

OS Type = 135

Memory = 512

Video Memory = 32

Memory block size = 10

Acceleration level = 2

Enable write-back disk cache = 1

VT-x support = 0

Start auto = 0

AutoShutdown = 0

Start full screen = 21

Start dashmode = 0

Start full screen warning = 1

PC Speaker enable = 1

Window Mode = 0

Multi frame = -1

Guest Tools Status = -1

Undo Disks = 0

Undo Disk Uuid = {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}

DirectX support = 0

[shared folders]

Shared folders enabled = 1

Sharing enabled = 0

Shared folders count = 0

[Windows sharing]

Windows sharing enabled = 1

AutoMount enabled = 1

[Video]

Video resolutions enabled = 1

Video resolutions count = 0

[Coherence]

Show taskbar = 1

Relocate taskbar = 0

Exclude Dock = 1

Multiple displays = 0

[iDE devices]

Disk 0:0 enabled = 1

Disk 0:0 = 1

Disk 0:0 media = 1

Disk 0:0 connected = 1

Disk 0:0 image = Boot Camp;disk0s1

Disk 0:0 cylinders = 0

Disk 0:0 heads = 0

Disk 0:0 sectors = 0

Disk 0:1 enabled = 0

Disk 0:1 = 2

Disk 1:0 enabled = 0

Disk 1:0 = 0

Disk 1:1 enabled = 0

Disk 1:1 = 0

[Floppy disks]

Floppy 0 enabled = 0

Floppy 0 = 1

[serial ports]

COM1 enabled = 0

COM1 = 0

COM2 enabled = 0

COM2 = 0

COM3 enabled = 0

COM3 = 0

COM4 enabled = 0

COM4 = 0

[Parallel ports]

LPT1 enabled = 0

LPT1 = 3

LPT2 enabled = 0

LPT2 = 0

LPT3 enabled = 0

LPT3 = 0

[sound]

Sound enabled = 1

Sound = 1

Sound connected = 1

Sound device = Standard-Audio

Mixer device = Standard-Audio

[Network]

Network enabled = 1

Network = 3

Network connected = 1

Adapter No = 0

Adapter name = Standard-Adapter

Adapter type = 4

Port = 0x00000300

IRQ = 3

MAC address = 001c42d39e6b

Network2 enabled = 0

Network2 = 0

Network3 enabled = 0

Network3 = 0

Network4 enabled = 0

Network4 = 0

Network5 enabled = 0

Network5 = 0

[usb]

USB enabled = 1

USB = 1

USB autoconnect = 2

[jglavin]

So why is Parallels even seeing all the partitions of my 2nd hdd????? I definitely gave it access to disk1s2, so why doesn't it *just* see a "C:" that points to disk1s2??

Have you tried installing XP natively on the desired partition, e.g. actually booting off the install disc, installing it, then going from there with Parallels?

[borisbadenov]

I hate to sound like a noob asking this but what is the benefit of running XP like this? I guess what I want to know is when I boot into XP, will it run "native"; I will not have to rely on Parallel drivers? Also, if I format a drive as FAT32, install XP on it, will I then be able to boot into XP through Parallels and read/write to my other NTFS drives without MacFuse? I guess what I wish to do, now that I am running Leopard with GUID & EFI is to dump Winbows once and for all.

[deadghost]

Can anyone please tell me how to edit the Info.plist file? When I try to save it I get an error.

 

LE: Nevermind, I hex-edited the image in Windows, mounted it with the Disk Utility, ignored the Integrity Check Failed error and installed it.

[weaksauce12]

Does this trick work with VMware?

[Hyper X]

I have a GUID Disk running

 

part1 EFI

part2 OSX

part3 WinXP

 

when I use this method parallels gives me a b0 error.

 

Can anyone help?

[raggedjagged]

Hyper X: I had that same error, but after several reboots into Vista and back into OSX, that problem went away. Try it.

 

Guys, have any of you experienced troubles with your Vista installation when booting Parallels into it? I have seen so many problems that have caused me to reinstall Vista entirely First I had a problem of Vista telling me that hardware has changed and I had to put in a new serial...and then after trying to fix that..I get a problem of a bluescreen during Vista's bootup.

 

Has anyone got a perfectly stable system going on here where Vista doesn't cause messups? Please share your knowledge on how to do it! I really want this working so that I can boot into Vista as less as possible. (But I still want to be able to boot into Vista for games )Appreciate your help!

[creeman]

Mine always hangs at the installing parallels tools screen, but when I start it I can see the screen where you pick which config to boot. Why does it hang??!?!?

[raggedjagged]

Guys do NOT play with this trick!!!! It will make your Windows deactivate because Windows will think that the hardware has changed and you won't be able to boot into Windows unless you REACTIVATE your copy!!! Either that or it can cause serious errors in Windows resulting in bluescreens during startup! You've been warned!!!

[wigworm]

I don't think I will try this anytime soon. Currently I have triple boot set up with XP on SATA port 0, EFI Vanilla on SATA port 1 and Vista on SATA port 2. I'm pretty happy with the way it is albeit there are times that I need to reboot to get mail from outlook, or play games in window.

 

Now, it may sway me into playing with this if window running in parallel is as fast as running native, especially 3 D performance. I'm a gamer first and foremost. MAC sucks in gaming excuse my language but I like almost everything else about MAC.

 

Off topic, I think separate hard drive makes everything easier.

[fredperes]

GUYS, GREAT NEWS!

Parallels with Custom Boot Camp configuration can boot Windows partitions on Hackintosh! Tested it right now!

This is what you need to do:

1) First of all, you need to get the latest Parallels Desktop beta (RC2) here.

2) Now, install it. If you have an AMD Processor, before install you need to open the package and edit the Info.plist line that says "GenuineIntel" writing instead "AuthenticAMD".

3) Open Parallels and choose to create a new virtual machine. It'll ask you what HD do you want to use. Choose Boot Camp.

4) Continue the setup, but do not run the Virtual Machine. When finished, close Parallels.

5) Use a Text Editor (like TextEdit or Nano, maybe nano works better) to edit your virtual machine configuration file (.pvs). Find the line that says:

"Disk 0:0 image = Boot Camp"

and replace it with this

"Disk 0:0 image = Boot Camp;diskxsy"

where diskxsy is your Windows/Linux/Other OS "Boot Camp" disk: for example, for me is disk1s1.

6) Save and exit.

7) Start up Parallels and launch the Virtual Machine. Enjoy

Sherry Haibara

 

Nice!

 

works like a charm.

[Dany Boy]

Where can i get Parallel Tools?

[disneytoy]

I'm a complete noob. I have a nice XP pro and 10.5.1 on seperate PATA drives.

 

Is it possible to image my XP Pro drive, It's small 15Gb, and use that for Parallels? It would be nice not to reinstall everything?

 

I bave a complete Acronis image.

 

Could I install a clean XP Pro and then use my back-up to restore my apps, settings files?

 

This is a HTPC. I want to use FRONTROW, but my XP is set up to deal with all my media.

 

I've been reading a ton but can't completely figure this out.

 

Peace

 

Max

[lennyb]

I posted this before, but it seems to have been deleted (possibly in the InsanelyMac v. 1.01 changeover).

 

I'm able to boot Vista from Parallels 3.0 build 5584 under Kalyway 10.5.1 and would like to find a way to

triple-boot off the Vista boot loader to also switch to XP.

 

I have: partition 1 (primary) = Vista Home Premium

partition 2 (primary) = Kalyway 10.5.1

partition 3 (extended)

volume 1: Windows XP

volume 2: Data

 

Vista, OSX, and XP Pro all load from the Vista Boot Manager on Partition 1. I have a Boot Camp.pvs file

that specifies Disk 0:0 image= Boot Camp; disk0s1;disk0s3;disk0s4

 

This allows me to boot Vista in a virtual machine, and recognizes both the XP and Data partitions. But

when I try to boot XP from the boot menu in the Virtual Machine, it doesn't work. It starts to boot

and returns an error: "Fatal Error Occurred in Virtual Machine Monitor."

 

There's not a lot of information on this error message, and I'm wondering if it appears because Parallels

just isn't smart enough to use the Windows Boot Manager to boot a second operating system from an

extended partition.

 

As an experiment, I copied the XP volume that won't boot to a primary partition on an external USB drive.

Parallels has no problem launching and running the same XP volume from a different Boot Camp .pvs file

when it's designated as a primary partition on an external drive. (I have the NTLDR, NTDETECT, and

BOOT.INI files installed on it to make it self-contained.)

[Flowero4ka]

Thank you for this info!!!

[Anjan Tek]

I've got a Leopard 10.5.2 + XP + Ubuntu Hackintosh PC (MBR partition table + EFI v8).

 

I'm using GRUB as the bootloader to choose OS at boot. Everything is set up and working OK.

 

Now, I want to use Parallels to boot the XP install that is already present on a different partition. The method on page 1 of this thread worked on another machine where I had Vista and OS X (bootloader: Darwin).

 

But now, on this machine which has grub, when I start the virtual machine from Parallels, the VM Window fills up with "GRUB GRUB GRUB.....", line after line. I then have to force stop the VM.

 

I've got Ubuntu installed on ReiserFS. Apparently, from what I've read in these forums, Darwin can't boot ReiserFS partitions. This is the reason why I'm using Grub.

 

How do I make Parallels co-exist with GRUB?

 

Or in the worst case, how do I remove grub and let Darwin take over the booting? In this case, I won't be able to boot Ubuntu, but probably, I can create a new Ubuntu VM.

 

Thanks.

 

Anjan T.

[knytet]

hi..

 

ive got parallels to boot up xp from the instructions here and the first time it even worked fine for a while, but when i rebooted to pc i needed to reinstall my grapich card drivers. Later when i tried to run parallels again it only worked for a short time and then with only 4bit colour and the lowes resolution, it crashed after a few minutes.

 

Anyone have any ideas? is it possible to run xp in parallels without messing with the drivers? anyone else have the same problem?

[tomauty]

Does this only work with one hard drive if Windows is the active partition?

[lennyb]

I can run XP under Parallels with Kalyway 10.5.1 and there's no problem with reinstalling graphics drivers. You do need to install the Parallels Tools after XP opens successfully the first time. It is definitely possible to boot XP from a primary partition on an external drive, because that's what I'm doing in a cloned BootCamp virtual machine that I set up.

 

What I'd like to be able to do is to boot XP from an extended partition on the main laptop hard disk. (See my post above.) I have Vista installed on a primary as drive C and XP installed in the Extended Partition as Drive E. I haven't been able to get Parallels to use the Vista dual boot menu to boot the second OS on the default BootCamp Virtual machine. Instead, it comes up with the "Fatal Error Occurred in Virtual Machine Monitor" message when I select XP from the boot menu -- although it will run the first OS (Vista) with no problem when I select it.

[tomauty]

DaveGee has the exact same problem as me.