There's an archived article that describes the simple procedure for creating custom Boot Camp configurations under earlier versions of Parallels Desktop. In latest version (currently 4.0 build 3810) there's a similar procedure but it's a bit more complicated.
In this scenario, the Mac's hard disk is partitioned into 3 volumes:
- Macintosh HD (HFS+, Mac OS default)
- Data (NTFS)
- Windows (NTFS, created by Boot Camp Assistant)
Instructions for setting up this partition scheme are here (3-Partitions scheme with Boot Camp and Parallels Desktop).
The output for Terminal's command "diskutil list" is as follows:
Code:
/dev/disk0
#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER
0: GUID_partition_scheme *298.1 Gi disk0
1: EFI 200.0 Mi disk0s1
2: Apple_HFS Macintosh HD 145.5 Gi disk0s2
3: Microsoft Basic Data Data 50.2 Gi disk0s3
4: Microsoft Basic Data Windows 101.9 Gi disk0s4
MacFUSE and NTFS-3G for Mac are installed in Mac OSX. They are required for read/write at the Data partition from the Mac side, but they wouldn't be neccesary if the Data partition is FAT32.
When Windows boots natively it can read and write the Data volume perfectly. However, when running the Boot Camp Windows inside a Virtual Machine the partition is detected but it cannot be accessed. Here's the procedure for allowing it.
1- Locate the file of your Boot Camp virtual machine in Finder (~/Documents/Parallels), i.e. BootCamp.pvm. Ctrl-click the file, then "Show package contents".
2- Locate a file with extension .hdd, in my case Hitachi HTS543232L9SA02.hdd. Ctrl-click this file, then "Show package contents".
3- There's a file named DiskDescriptor.xml. First, make a duplicate as backup (cmd-D), then open it with TextEdit (ctrl-click, Open with...)
The <StorageData> section has several <Storage> sub-sections. The last one should be pointing to the current Boot Camp partition:
Code:
<StorageData>
....
<Storage>
<Start>411453440</Start>
<End>625141759</End>
<Blocksize>1008</Blocksize>
<Image>
<GUID>{5fbaabe3-6958-40ff-92a7-860e329aab41}</GUID>
<Type>Bootcamp</Type>
<Flags/>
<File>[B]/dev/disk0s4[/B]</File>
</Image>
</Storage>
</StorageData>
In order to grant access to our Data partition we need to add a new <Storage> section after that one. First we need to gather some data:
Start, End:
Use the Partition Inspector application included with the rEFIt package. You don't need to install rEFIt, simply download the DMG file and run the Partition Inspector application located inside. It produces an output like this:
Code:
*** Report for internal hard disk ***
Current GPT partition table:
# Start LBA End LBA Type
1 40 409639 EFI System (FAT)
2 409640 305620663 Mac OS X HFS+
3 305882808 411191295 Basic Data
4 411453440 625141759 Basic Data
Current MBR partition table:
# A Start LBA End LBA Type
1 1 409639 ee EFI Protective
2 409640 305620663 af Mac OS X HFS+
3 305882808 411191295 07 NTFS/HPFS
4 * 411453440 625141759 07 NTFS/HPFS
...
The Data partition is number 3, so the Start and End values are 305882808 and 411191295 respectively.
File:
The Data partition is disk0s3 (see the output of "diskutil list" above). So the <File> tag for the Data partition is /dev/disk0s3
Now, back to DiskDescriptor.xml file, duplicate the last <Storage> section and change the Start, End and File values in the copied section leaving all other values unchanged. The result for the <StorageData> section will be this:
Code:
<StorageData>
....
<Storage>
<Start>411453440</Start>
<End>625141759</End>
<Blocksize>1008</Blocksize>
<Image>
<GUID>{5fbaabe3-6958-40ff-92a7-860e329aab41}</GUID>
<Type>Bootcamp</Type>
<Flags/>
<File>/dev/disk0s4</File>
</Image>
</Storage>
[COLOR="Red"] <Storage>
<Start>[B]305882808[/B]</Start>
<End>[B]411191295[/B]</End>
<Blocksize>1008</Blocksize>
<Image>
<GUID>{5fbaabe3-6958-40ff-92a7-860e329aab41}</GUID>
<Type>Bootcamp</Type>
<Flags/>
<File>[B]/dev/disk0s3[/B]</File>
</Image>
</Storage>[/COLOR]
</StorageData>
Save the file, open Parallels Desktop and start the BootCamp virtual machine. Now the Data partition will be fully available.
NOTE: For some reason, the Virtual Machine may fail to start unless the Windows volume is ejected. If you receive an error "Cannot connect to the hard disk..." then just eject the Windows volume prior to starting the Virtual Machine.