I have updated parallels on the mac side, it is telling me to be sure and update the parallels toolbox in windows. When i try to do that it is asking me for the disk. I have my parallels disk but i am assuming the disk is old files and i am supposed to be loading newer files. any help on this?
try deselecting shared devices and re-booting before re-installing Parallels Tools This worked for me. I also have the same info in a different format on the entry that references MY COMPUTER a few items below yours. The key to seeing if this is fixed is to closely monitor Windows Task Manager. Not knowing exactly how an Apple keyboard maps to a Windows one, I used the Send Keys option which is located at the bottom of the Configuration drop down menu. I sent the control - alt - delete key sequence. If you do not have Parallels Tools installed, then you will have to unlock the keyboard. The sequence will be listed on the bottom of the VM as you boot. On the Windows Task Manager, the second tab, Processes is key to monitoring the situation. At the bottom is CPU Usage. If it is very high, then you have a problem. If it is, then look for the heading CPU at the top of the processes (Image Name). It will probably say 00. If that is the case, click on the CPU heading. I had to click twice to get the high utilization processes at the top. What do you see? In my case, Prl_cc.exe and System.exe betwen them took 100% of the CPU. My guess is that they were both fighting to see who owned the drives. When I deleted Parallels Tools from the Add / Del programs option of Control Panel, I checked again and CPU utilization was almost nil. That told me there was an issue with Prl_cc.exe which is Parallels Tools. Since Parallels Tools is gone, you have a keyboard that is limited to the VM machine so to do anything you will have to unlock it. At that point, try to go to Devices on the Parallels Menu bar and uncheck Shared Devices. Open up My Computer. Do you get the devices pretty quickly? This should be your guage as when Parallels Tools are working correctly, you should get this type of performance and have access to the shared drive as well as a mouse that scrolls between all windows. Then reboot. If you cannot unlock the keyboard, then reboot and unlock it so that you can uncheck shared devices. Do the control - alt - delete again and look at performance in Windows Task Manager. Is cpu utilization still very low ( I saw a range of 4 to 15%. Remember, moving your mouse around can jack up cpu, so hands off the mouse and get a good reading). If CPU is low, then things are okay. If it is high, then you have a different problem. At that point, I would reboot again and check one more the CPU utilization. If it is still low, then re-install Parallels Tools. If you can, leave Windows Task Manager up. If you can't, then bring it up after teh install. What is CPU utilization? Is it low? Look at the running processes. What is taking up the CPU? What is the utilization for Prl_cc.exe? If it is low, then you are on the right track. Next test your My Computer. You may get the flashlight for a few seconds. Does it come up quickly? If so, then check internet explorer or whatever you use to access the internet. Did it perform ok? If so, reboot and see if everything is running quickly. Don't forget to bring up Windows Task Manager as a sanity check. My experience was that performance was almost identical between No Parallels Tools and Parallels Tools when the system was performing correctly.
