Parallels 4.0 upgrade failing: autochk

I've been using Parallels 3.0 with my Boot Camp partition with no trouble. Upgrading to 4.0 is not working. Here's what happens:

At the end of step 1 of the upgrade, I'm told I need to manually continue the upgrade by starting my Windows VM. I click OK.

Windows XP begins to boot, and then goes BSOD. It says: autochk program not found - skipping AUTOCHECK

Then the VM restarts, and is stuck in this reboot loop forever.

Any ideas? (Yes, I've checked the troubleshooter, and I can't find anything in there that addresses this problem.)

Thanks!

- Mr. Grue

 

It looks that problem is coming from PD3,
Please perform steps from http://kb.parallels.com/en/5447
on Windows side and delete VM folder in Documents/Parallels, start Parallels Desktop it will create new Boot Camp VM, after all operations

 

Ok, I can do that, though I should mention I'm already running XP SP3 and BootCamp 2.1.

- Mr. Grue

 

I understand, but error is exactly the same and repair is necessary I suppose in this case

 

I can't create an SP3 slipstream disk because I can't boot into XP at all anymore, even through Boot Camp. I have WinClone backups of the XP partition that I know work, but when I restore any of them I get the same "autochk" error.

Since restoring the contents of the partition doesn't fix it, I'm guessing it's something wrong with the partition itself. I've read posts elsewhere that say some of the data in the partition table may have been messed up. (What is Parallels doing to the partition table?)

Does anyone know of any OS X tools I can use to fix the partition table?

 

Same here

I'm having the same problem. It appears that SP3 and Bootcamp are causing problems again. Perhaps it would be best if the upgrade instructions included info on how to "remove Parallels Desktop Information" from the hard disk image at the outset? That was the fix for preventing this problem under PD3 when attempting the update to SP3.

I actually looked for the Advanced button but couldn't find it.

 

I have the same problem. I cannot even boot into just bootcamp. Is there a fix? Can I downgrade back to 3.0? Anything?

 

Please click one of the Quick Reply icons in the posts above to activate Quick Reply.

 

Same problem here. How do you uninstall this and get back to 3.0?

 

It looks that problem is coming from PD3,
Please perform steps from http://kb.parallels.com/en/5447
on Windows side and delete VM folder in Documents/Parallels, start Parallels Desktop it will create new Boot Camp VM, after all operations

 

Is there a quick fix of viewing my partition from the Mac side and deleted that folder?

 

John, I know you mean well by posting that response (again), but as I mentioned earlier I can't make an SP3 disk like your instructions tell me to because I can't boot into XP at all. Not through Boot Camp, not through Parallels.

Also, as I mentioned before, I tried restoring my XP partition from a WinClone backup and then booting through Boot Camp... and it STILL doesn't work. Which means Parallels messed something up in the partition description for the XP partition.

My plan now is to outright remove the Boot Camp partition, reboot, rebuild the partition, and go from there. Unfortunately, I can't do it today because I have actual work to do.

This is a pretty nasty situation. It looks like there are threads in these forums that go way back about this issue. If Parallels (the company) knows that that Windows can get itself into this state, don't you think that Parallels (the software) should check for that state before barrelling ahead and making the Windows install invalid?

- Mr. Grue

 

I need a fix, ASAP please. This is very important as many important files are in that partition.

 

John, I've been using the most recent version of Parallels since it was in Beta on an almost daily basis, and running off of my Boot Camp partition since the first Parallells build was made available that allowed me to do so. I upgrade my Windows XP, Boot Camp, and Parallels software early and often. I've never had any problems.

I upgraded today to version 4.0, and for the first time I find myself unable to boot into Windows XP at all, not through Boot Camp directly and not through Parallels. I booted into Windows last night through the most recent version Parallels Desktop 3.x. This afternoon, I upgraded Parallels to 4.0, and I get the autochk restart loop -- nothing else has changed besides the Parallels install.

While I can understand that changing versions of Windows XP and Boot Camp can cause havoc for Parallels Desktop users, I will not accept the solution that you link to as viable. You cannot issue an upgrade, charge for it, and then refer users suddenly having problems to a lengthy set of instructions stemming from previous issues, especially when they take hours to complete. If you can't come up with a better solution, I'm switching to another product, and I'll never look back. Because if I'm going to spend hours repairing this problem, I'm going to start fresh with another product.

 

I completely agree. I have uninstalled 4.0 and reinstalled the latest 3.x and restored from the backup i created during the 4.0 install. This at least booted into windows with no problems. As we speak I am prompted for the re-install of parallels tools. I guess this is temporary "fix" for this issue to continue work, etc.

I still would like a fix so I can use 4.0 i will give it a few days before I request a refund.

Thanks,

Erick

 

same here, too

Same problem here, too. After upgrading to 4.0, I can not boot into WinXP from Parallels and BootCamp. Downgrading to 3.0 solved the problem for now.

 

Same here.
Hope we get an easier fix than described earlier. I do not have the time for such a lengthy procedure and am afraid to lose info.

 

Similar problem, not connected to Autochk.

Hi.

Yesterday I started this thread: http://forum.parallels.com/showthread.php?t=31245, since my problem is not related to an Autochk error... A friendly reader referred to this thread. I did the whole SP3-repair-procedure prior to installing PD4.0... And I just get a BSOD without any messages about Autochk.exe missing, etc.

Is this still the same issue?


Thanks!
Andrew

 

I successfully reverted back to 3.0. but i still could not boot straight into windows using just boot camp. I uninstalled SP3 via Parallels. Turned off the VM. Cleared Parallels Data from the partition (Click Harddisk, Advanced Tab, then Clear, this is in 3.0 not 4.0). Restarted my machine straight into windows using boot camp with no errors. I then installed the 2.1 Boot Camp update, then SP3, then opened parallels again. I am working in Boot Camp and in Parallels with no problems. I have yet to attempt the 4.0 Upgrade Process again....

 

John,

This solutions indicates there is a spot in "Advanced" that will let you clear Parallels info from the hard drive. I cannot seem to find this in PD4. Can you please advise what to do? Downgrading to 3.0 is really not on my list to do if possible.

Thanks, Jay