Parallels Forums - View Single Post - Creating Custom BootCamp Configurations

Feb 1, 2007, 02:43 PM #1
STim Parallels Team Join: Mar 2006 Posts: 801	Creating Custom BootCamp Configurations Creating Parallels Custom Boot Camp configuration may be helpful in case Parallels Desktop is not able to determine what partition must be considered as a default "Boot Camp" partition. It may happen, for example, if Parallels has found more than one matching partition. "Custom Boot Camp" configuration also allows the user to use several partitions in one virtual machine. A "Custom Boot Camp" configuration is created with the help of Parallels Desktop GUI (OS Installation Assistant or Add Hardware Assistant) and manual editing of the VM configuration (.pvs) file. With either assistant create a virtual machine with the required number of virtual disks then edit the configuration file. The following fragment of a configuration file (.pvs) contains two hard disks definitions in the IDE devices section (the virtual machine has two virtual disks): Code: [IDE devices] Disk 0:0 enabled = 1 Disk 0:0 = 1 Disk 0:0 media = 0 Disk 0:0 connected = 1 Disk 0:0 image = disk.hdd Disk 0:0 cylinders = 65016 Disk 0:0 heads = 16 Disk 0:0 sectors = 63 Disk 0:1 enabled = 1 Disk 0:1 = 1 Disk 0:1 media = 0 Disk 0:1 connected = 1 Disk 0:1 image = disk2.hdd Disk 0:1 cylinders = 65016 Disk 0:1 heads = 16 Disk 0:1 sectors = 63 Disk 1:0 enabled = 0 Disk 1:0 = 0 Disk 1:1 enabled = 0 Disk 1:1 =0 To replace a standard virtual disk definition by definition of a “Custom Boot Camp disk” do the following: * change the media value to ‘1’ * replace the image value ‘disk.hdd’by a string in the following format: Boot Camp;diskNsA;diskNsB;diskNsC and so on, where DiskNsY is the BSD name of a disk partition to be used in context of a “Custom Boot Camp disk”. NOTE: To learn the BSD name of a partition use, for example, the console command "mount" WARNING: Do not use partitions from different physical disks in one “Custom Boot Camp" disk. (Parallels displays an error message) WARNING: Do not use the same partition in two "Custom Boot Camp" disks in one configuration file (Parallels displays an error message) For example, we want to convert both of the virtual disks to "Custom Boot Camp disks". We want the first "Custom Boot Camp disk" to include the partition disk0s3 from disk0, the second - two partitions from disk1: disk1s1 and disk1s2. After editing, the fragment will look like the one below: Code: [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;disk0s3 Disk 0:0 cylinders = 65016 Disk 0:0 heads = 16 Disk 0:0 sectors = 63 Disk 0:1 enabled = 1 Disk 0:1 = 1 Disk 0:1 media = 1 Disk 0:1 connected = 1 Disk 0:1 image = Boot Camp;disk1s1;disk1s2 Disk 0:1 cylinders = 65016 Disk 0:1 heads = 16 Disk 0:1 sectors = 63 Disk 1:0 enabled = 0 Disk 1:0 = 0 Disk 1:1 enabled = 0 Disk 1:1 = 0 NOTE: IDE channel (0:0, 0:1, 1:0 and 1:1) has NOTHING with Boot Camp configuration. It just lets the Virtual Machine know which virtual IDE channel to connect the virtual HDD to. Do not change it!

Feb 1, 2007, 02:43 PM

STim
Parallels Team

Join: Mar 2006
Posts: 801

Creating Custom BootCamp Configurations

Creating Parallels Custom Boot Camp configuration may be helpful in case Parallels Desktop is not able to determine what partition must be considered as a default "Boot Camp" partition. It may happen, for example, if Parallels has found more than one matching partition. "Custom Boot Camp" configuration also allows the user to use several partitions in one virtual machine.

A "Custom Boot Camp" configuration is created with the help of Parallels Desktop GUI (OS Installation Assistant or Add Hardware Assistant) and manual editing of the VM configuration (*.pvs) file. With either assistant create a virtual machine with the required number of virtual disks then edit the configuration file.

The following fragment of a configuration file (*.pvs) contains two hard disks definitions in the IDE devices section (the virtual machine has two virtual disks):

Code:

[IDE devices]

Disk 0:0 enabled = 1
Disk 0:0 = 1
Disk 0:0 media = 0
Disk 0:0 connected = 1
Disk 0:0 image = disk.hdd
Disk 0:0 cylinders = 65016
Disk 0:0 heads = 16
Disk 0:0 sectors = 63
Disk 0:1 enabled = 1
Disk 0:1 = 1
Disk 0:1 media = 0
Disk 0:1 connected = 1
Disk 0:1 image = disk2.hdd
Disk 0:1 cylinders = 65016
Disk 0:1 heads = 16
Disk 0:1 sectors = 63
Disk 1:0 enabled = 0
Disk 1:0 = 0
Disk 1:1 enabled = 0
Disk 1:1 =0

To replace a standard virtual disk definition by definition of a “Custom Boot Camp disk” do the following:
* change the media value to ‘1’
* replace the image value ‘disk.hdd’by a string in the following format:

Boot Camp;diskNsA;diskNsB;diskNsC and so on, where DiskNsY is the BSD name of a disk partition to be used in context of a “Custom Boot Camp disk”.

NOTE: To learn the BSD name of a partition use, for example, the console command "mount"
WARNING: Do not use partitions from different physical disks in one “Custom Boot Camp" disk. (Parallels displays an error message)
WARNING: Do not use the same partition in two "Custom Boot Camp" disks in one configuration file (Parallels displays an error message)

For example, we want to convert both of the virtual disks to "Custom Boot Camp disks". We want the first "Custom Boot Camp disk" to include the partition disk0s3 from disk0, the second - two partitions from disk1: disk1s1 and disk1s2. After editing, the fragment will look like the one below:

Code:

[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;disk0s3
Disk 0:0 cylinders = 65016
Disk 0:0 heads = 16
Disk 0:0 sectors = 63
Disk 0:1 enabled = 1
Disk 0:1 = 1
Disk 0:1 media = 1
Disk 0:1 connected = 1
Disk 0:1 image = Boot Camp;disk1s1;disk1s2
Disk 0:1 cylinders = 65016
Disk 0:1 heads = 16
Disk 0:1 sectors = 63
Disk 1:0 enabled = 0
Disk 1:0 = 0
Disk 1:1 enabled = 0
Disk 1:1 = 0

NOTE: IDE channel (0:0, 0:1, 1:0 and 1:1) has NOTHING with Boot Camp configuration. It just lets the Virtual Machine know which virtual IDE channel to connect the virtual HDD to. Do not change it!