Mouse pointer issues XP HW on is ok HW off not

I have XP pro and Parallels 5 I am trying out.
I have one piece of software I run and they recommend that I go to trouble shooting and turn the hardware acceleration down to nothing.
When I do this the mouse pointer changes and is restricted inside of Parallels VM window and and changes shape and speed. My application runs alot smoother.
If I turn the Hardware acceleration slider back up and apply the mosue pointer changes back so it works inside and outside of the parrallels VM window, picks up mouse pointer speed and the shape changes back again.

Any ideas on why this is the way it works and is there a way to have the HW acceleration off and my mouse pointer working as it should

cheers

 

Hello,

Please uninstall and reinstall Parallels Tools :
1.Boot Windows in Safe Mode by hitting F8 (Fn+F8) during its boot screen.
2.Go to My Computer > C Drive > Program Files > Parallels folder and delete the Parallels Tools folder.
3.Click the Windows Start menu > Run and type 'regedit'. Press OK.
4.In Registry Editor, go to ''My Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Parallels' and delete the 'Parallels Tools' entry.
5.Restart Windows
6.Now you can re-install Parallels Tools from the Parallels Desktop menubar when Windows is running .

 

Thanks
FN F8 doesnt work on a Mac Laptop to enter safe mode. It does something to do with spaces in OSX .
So whats the right key combo to get to safe mode then if FN + F8 doesnt work

thanks