Can't Connect to HDD after Migration to New Mac

Discussion in 'Windows Virtual Machine' started by MrLynn, Sep 5, 2010.

  1. MrLynn

    MrLynn Member

    Messages:
    45
    I've been running WinXP successfully in Parallels 4 on my MacBook Pro, OS 10.6.4.

    Today I transferred my files to a new iMac, using Migration Assistant.

    It looks like all my user files and applications transferred successfully. However, when I try to start the virtual machine running XP, I get this message:

    "Unable to connect Hard Disk 1. . ."

    And the Windows startup tells me "No boot device is available. . ."

    However, the winxp.hdd disk image is in the winxp folder in the Parallels folder in my user Library folder. That's exactly the same place it is in on my MacBook Pro.

    But when I click Open in Parallels, and navigate to that disk image, it is grayed out.

    So how do I get it to work?

    /Mr Lynn
     
  2. joevt

    joevt Forum Maven

    Messages:
    1,229
    Try mounting the .hdd by using Open With Parallels Mounter to inspect the contents. Eject it when you're done.

    Go to Virtual Machine -> Configure -> Hardware -> Hard Disk 1 and reselect the .hdd.
     
  3. MrLynn

    MrLynn Member

    Messages:
    45
    Thanks for the response. I tried opening with Parallels Mounter, and got this message:

    "Unable to get write access to the virtual hard disk. Do you want to open it in the read-only mode?"

    I clicked OK, and got the message that "Parallels Mounter is unable to open the virtual hard disk. . ."

    So I tried to reconfigure Hard Disk 1 by reselecting the .hdd, but it was grayed out, and nothing happened.

    According to Get Info this is an 11 GB file, so it is not just a phantom.

    What next? Is this a permissions problem? Would it help to run Repair Permissions?

    /Mr Lynn
     
  4. joevt

    joevt Forum Maven

    Messages:
    1,229
    The .hdd files are actually folders that contain files that describe the hard disk and it's contents including snapshots.

    You could check the permissions of the .hdd folders:
    ls -Rld ~/Documents/Parallels/*.pvm/*.hdd
    ls -Rl ~/Documents/Parallels/*.pvm/*.hdd

    You should have read, write, and execute access for all the folders.
    You should have read and write access to all the files.

    An .hdd file should contain at least the following files:
    DiskDescriptor.xml - Describes the hard disk. This is a text file containing xml formatted data.
    DiskDescriptor.xml.Backup - copy of DiskDescriptor.xml
    vm name-1.hdd - usually zero size
    vm name-1.hdd.0.{########-####-####-####-############}.hds - contains the contents
    Additional files are created for each snapshot. Boot Camp disks are slightly different.
     
  5. MrLynn

    MrLynn Member

    Messages:
    45
    Using Get Info I see that I have read and write access to the .hdd.

    I cannot open the HDD. When I double-click on it, I get this message:

    If I click OK, I get this:

    If I open it with Parallels Explorer, can see the NTSF Volume, and if I double-click on that, I can see the drive directory items, and all the folders are openable. Get Info gives me only size and created/modified dates, no permissions info.

    It's all there. Why can't Parallels open it?

    /Mr Lynn
     
  6. joevt

    joevt Forum Maven

    Messages:
    1,229
    Run the following commands in Terminal.app and post the result here (surround the output with [code] and [/code] to preserve the spacing).
    ls -Rld ~/Documents/Parallels/*.pvm/*.hdd
    ls -Rl ~/Documents/Parallels/*.pvm/*.hdd

    The .pvm and .hdd files are packages or bundles which means they are folders that have a flag set so you can't open them directly. To open them, right click them and select Show Package Contents.

    Use the following command to make sure some other program isn't using the files:
    lsof | grep "Documents/Parallels"

    Note: Replace Documents/Parallels in the above commands with the location of your files. If your .hdd is not inside a .pvm, then remove the /*.pvm part.
     
  7. MrLynn

    MrLynn Member

    Messages:
    45
    On my way out, but quickly:

    I have never used the Terminal, and am not comfortable doing so on a brand new computer.

    /Mr Lynn
     
  8. joevt

    joevt Forum Maven

    Messages:
    1,229
    Terminal is not dangerous if you know what the commands are going to do.

    ls is for listing files. Type "man ls" to get info on the ls command (press space to see more, press up or down to scroll, press q to exit). The man page explains that -Rld is three options: -l for List in long format, -R for Recursively list subdirectories, and -d for listing directories as plain files.
    ~ is your user folder. ~/Documents is the Documents folder in your user folder. ~/Documents/Parallels is the Parallels folder in the Documents folder in your user folder. *.pvm/ is all the folders that have a name that ends with .pvm in the Parallels folder (* is a wild card character).

    The first ls command lists the directories. The 2nd ls command lists the files in the directories. They will tell you the owner and group and permissions of each file and folder. This is faster than using Get Info in the Finder. You can select and copy output from the terminal window. You can paste commands into the terminal.

    lsof is a command that will list all open files. "|" tells the shell to pipe the output of the lsof command to the grep command. The grep command will list only lines from lsof that contain "Documents/Parallels".
     
  9. MrLynn

    MrLynn Member

    Messages:
    45
    Ah, but that's the problem. Command-line interfaces are over my head, and the dangers of typing just one wrong character intimidating.

    I really do appreciate your explanation. But Parallels is a Mac program. Surely there must be a way to get it to recognize the HDD that seems to have transferred intact without doing a lengthy investigation of the internal components of the HDD—if I have correctly understood what you are suggesting.

    I would venture to say that a majority of Parallels users would have the same difficulty I do with plunging into Terminal arcana. As they say, "It's all geek to me."

    /Mr Lynn
     
  10. joevt

    joevt Forum Maven

    Messages:
    1,229
    Duplicate the .hdd, select the duplicate, Get Info, right click the duplicate, select show package contents, select all files, Get Info, check permissions in all the Get Info windows to make sure you have read/write access. Remove the old hdd from the virtual machine configuration. Add the duplicate .hdd to the virtual machine setup.
     
  11. JillO

    JillO Bit poster

    Messages:
    9
    I have been having this problem for about 4 months, with about 12 hours of a Parallels service ticket (3-4 different sessions), an independent Mac/Windows/Parallels technician visit, a service visit for my hard drive (no issues) and multiple rebuilds of my Virtual Machine and .hdd files. I had so many .hdd files, I was confused which one was the correct copy, and had to have support just to delete the unnecessary copies. End result: still get the same message. I am trying your "permissions" fix, but my computer only gives me "Read" or "Read & Write" as my options on the .hdd file. I am running Snow Leopard OSX 10.6.4. Can you tell me why I don't have the "execute" option also?
     
  12. JillO

    JillO Bit poster

    Messages:
    9
    I tried this process and got this result:

    Last login: Tue Sep 7 16:27:04 on console
    Macintosh:~ jillosiecki$
    Macintosh:~ jillosiecki$ ls -Rld ~/Documents/Parallels/*.pvm/*.hdd
    ls: /Users/jillosiecki/Documents/Parallels/*.pvm/*.hdd: No such file or directory
    Macintosh:~ jillosiecki$ ls -Rl ~/Documents/Parallels/*.pvm/*.hdd
    ls: /Users/jillosiecki/Documents/Parallels/*.pvm/*.hdd: No such file or directory
    Macintosh:~ jillosiecki$ [

    Sorry I am not a big expert on the terminal, but this doesn't seem to be correct. Can you give me some help?

    My brother is standing at the ready with VM Wear which he is using with no problems. I am totally frustrated.
     
  13. MrLynn

    MrLynn Member

    Messages:
    45
    Hey, that worked! Woo hoo!

    And it was quick and easy!

    I don't understand it. After changing the HD Configuration to the copy HDD, and successfully launching WinXP, I went back and checked the four components of the original HDD with Get Info. They all checked out fine: read and write permission.

    So why did the copy work, and the original not work? It looks to me as though the issue was not permissions, but something else that the copy solved. Any idea what that could be?

    Whatever the reason, I'm grateful for the solution, Joe. Thanks for putting up with my bumbling.

    /Mr Lynn
     
  14. JillO

    JillO Bit poster

    Messages:
    9
    I would like to say that it worked, but my machine automatically started to go into an upgrade procedure after I deleted the old .hdd file and put in the new one. While going through the upgrade process, it stopped and told me that I would have to continue manually (?). It said to go to "My Computer" and run the "set-up.exe" from the CD. Well, I am using a downloaded version of the Parallels 5 software, and while I did purchase a backup disk, there is no "set-up.exe" file on it. It is a .dmg file, and all it will do is attempt to do the upgrade again, and get hung up in the same place. I am still frustrated, and not sure what to do. I have spent over 40 hours of work time on this problem. Is it worth it?
     
  15. JillO

    JillO Bit poster

    Messages:
    9
    More Info but still not working

    I looked further back in the directions, and decided to investigate the contents of the .hdd files. The original .hdd file that I had (the one that was not working) did not have "DiskDescriptor.xml.Backup" in it, but when I duplicated and corrected the permissions, the new copy.hdd file did have that file present. I am wondering if the file name is very important, as none of my .hdd files have the "name-1.hdd" name structure. Mine is called "winxp copy.hdd". I also cannot open this with the Parallels Mounter. It says that it is an invalid file type. That is why I am concerned about the name.
     
  16. JillO

    JillO Bit poster

    Messages:
    9
    After duplicating the .hdd , fixing the permissions, and then adding the duplicate .hdd to my virtual machine, I started the machine and it automatically started updating. It stopped on the first task, and I got this message:

    You need to manually continue the process of upgrading the "XP Pro" virtual machine.

    To continue with the upgrade, log in to your Windows virtual machine. If you have the CD autorun option enabled, the upgrade will resume automatically. Otherwise, open My Computer and run the setup.exe file located on your CD, ignoring any Windows messages. For more information on upgrading your virtual machines, visit the upgrade page on the Parallels website.

    How can I log into my virtual machine when I can't get into any virtual machine at all? When I press "start" the upgrade process begins again, and I get to the same place. I don't think that this should be upgrading, because this was all done months ago when I first installed the Parallels 5 upgrade. The machine was working for at least a little while before I got the "Unable to Connect to Hard Disk-1" message, but now I can't get in at all.
     
  17. joevt

    joevt Forum Maven

    Messages:
    1,229
    Maybe it was the location or maybe a file in the old .hdd was open or maybe the virtual machine configuration was broken or maybe a file or directory flag was wrong or maybe something else.

    Execute is the "x" you see in the permissions when you use the ls -l command. For directories, it means the directory is searchable. For files, it means the file is executable. It should be set for directories, and doesn't matter for files. All my Boot Camp .hdd's contain files that don't have the execute bit but all my virtual hard disk .hdd's contain files that do have the execute flag.
    Code:
    :~ joevt$ ls -lR /Users/joevt/Documents/Parallels/Windows\ XP.pvm/*.hdd
    
    /Users/joevt/Documents/Parallels/Windows XP.pvm/WDC WD3200JD-22KLB0 (disk2).hdd:
    total 104
    -rw-r--r--  1 joevt  staff   2119 26 Aug 02:21 DiskDescriptor.xml
    -rw-r--r--  1 joevt  staff   2119 26 Aug 02:07 DiskDescriptor.xml.Backup
    -rw-r--r--  1 joevt  staff  16896 26 Aug 02:02 PhysicalGpt.hds
    -rw-r--r--  1 joevt  staff  16896 26 Aug 02:02 PhysicalGptCopy.hds
    -rw-r--r--  1 joevt  staff    512 26 Aug 02:04 PhysicalMbr.hds
    -rw-rw-rw-  1 joevt  staff      0 26 Aug 02:02 WDC WD3200JD-22KLB0 (disk2).hdd
    
    /Users/joevt/Documents/Parallels/Windows XP.pvm/Windows XP-0.hdd:
    total 16778680
    -rwx------  1 joevt  staff        1037 21 Jul 18:03 DiskDescriptor.xml
    -rwx------  1 joevt  staff        1002 21 Jul 17:54 DiskDescriptor.xml.Backup
    -rwx------  1 joevt  staff           0 21 Jul 17:54 Windows XP-0.hdd
    -rwx------  1 joevt  staff  8590675968 22 Jul 13:21 Windows XP-0.hdd.0.{5fbaabe3-6958-40ff-92a7-860e329aab41}.hds
    
    That's because your .pvm files aren't stored in that location. You need to replace ~/Documents/Parallels/ with the location of your virtual machines. The other default location is /Users/Shared/Parallels/ (this is the default location for shared virtual machines). In Terminal, you can type the start of the command "ls -Rld " then drag the folder containing your .pvm's from the Finder and into the Terminal window where it will automatically paste the path of the folder, then you delete the space at the end and add the "/*.pvm/*.hdd " part and press enter. Note that "*.pvm/*.hdd" assumes that you have .hdd files inside the .pvm files which is not necessarily true since you could have .hdd's stored anywhere just like .pvm's. In that case you can drag each .hdd file to the terminal Window after you type the "ls -Rld " part then when you press enter, the ls command will list each .hdd that you added to the command line.

    What upgrade process? Is it talking about Parallels Tools or Windows XP? Did you have Windows XP on the .hdd working in Parallels before? It's probably talking about Parallels Tools. It can't complete the update process because it can't boot. Once you can boot then it should work ok. The Parallels Tools CD is an .iso image at /Library/Parallels/Tools/prl-tools-win.iso Parallels Desktop automatically loads it when it needs to update Parallels Tools or when you select Reinstall Parallels Tools.

    When you add a Hard Disk to a virtual machine, the default name is Virtual Machine Name-#.hdd where # increments from 0 for each new hdd. The default location of the .hdd is inside the .pvm. If you select Choose a File in the Location pop-up menu, then you can create an hdd with any name anywhere. I created one called "winxp copy.hdd" in my Parallels folder:
    Code:
    :~ joevt$ ls -lRd ~/Documents/Parallels/*.hdd ~/Documents/Parallels/*.hdd/*
    drwxr-xr-x@ 6 joevt  staff     204  8 Sep 22:01 /Users/joevt/Documents/Parallels/winxp copy.hdd
    -rw-r--r--  1 joevt  staff    1002  8 Sep 22:01 /Users/joevt/Documents/Parallels/winxp copy.hdd/DiskDescriptor.xml
    -rw-r--r--  1 joevt  staff     932  8 Sep 22:01 /Users/joevt/Documents/Parallels/winxp copy.hdd/DiskDescriptor.xml.Backup
    -rw-rw-rw-  1 joevt  staff       0  8 Sep 22:01 /Users/joevt/Documents/Parallels/winxp copy.hdd/winxp copy.hdd
    -rw-r--r--  1 joevt  staff  258048  8 Sep 22:01 /Users/joevt/Documents/Parallels/winxp copy.hdd/winxp copy.hdd.0.{5fbaabe3-6958-40ff-92a7-860e329aab41}.hds
    
    :~ joevt$ diff /Users/joevt/Documents/Parallels/winxp\ copy.hdd/DiskDescriptor.xml /Users/joevt/Documents/Parallels/winxp\ copy.hdd/DiskDescriptor.xml.Backup
    8,10c8
    <         <Miscellaneous>
    <             <CompatLevel>level2</CompatLevel>
    <         </Miscellaneous>
    ---
    >         <Miscellaneous/>
    
    :~ joevt$ cat /Users/joevt/Documents/Parallels/winxp\ copy.hdd/DiskDescriptor.xml
    <Parallels_disk_image Version="1.0" >
        <Disk_Parameters>
            <Disk_size>4195296</Disk_size>
            <Cylinders>4162</Cylinders>
            <Heads>16</Heads>
            <Sectors>63</Sectors>
            <Padding>1</Padding>
            <Miscellaneous>
                <CompatLevel>level2</CompatLevel>
            </Miscellaneous>
        </Disk_Parameters>
        <StorageData>
            <Storage>
                <Start>0</Start>
                <End>4195800</End>
                <Blocksize>504</Blocksize>
                <Image>
                    <GUID>{5fbaabe3-6958-40ff-92a7-860e329aab41}</GUID>
                    <Type>Compressed</Type>
                    <Flags/>
                    <File>winxp copy.hdd.0.{5fbaabe3-6958-40ff-92a7-860e329aab41}.hds</File>
                </Image>
            </Storage>
        </StorageData>
        <Snapshots>
            <Shot>
                <GUID>{5fbaabe3-6958-40ff-92a7-860e329aab41}</GUID>
                <ParentGUID>{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}</ParentGUID>
            </Shot>
        </Snapshots>
    </Parallels_disk_image>
    
    The Backup is a different size so I used the diff command to compare them. The Backup doesn't have the CompatLevel field - I don't know what that's for. The DiskDescriptor contains the name of the .hds file inside the .hdd so you have to make sure that file exists. I don't know if it's important that the files inside the .hdd have the same name as the .hdd. To be safe, make sure the new .hdd has the same name as the old .hdd (the easiest way to do that is copy the old .hdd to a different folder using the option key).

    If you can get the .hdd to work with Parallels Mounter then you can start using it with Parallels Desktop.
     
  18. JillO

    JillO Bit poster

    Messages:
    9
    Phew! What a mess!

    Joe, the upgrade is a Parallels upgrade, not tools or Windows. I wish I could send you a screen shot but your forum page won't let me paste it in.

    I am not sure if the location of the .hdd files is correct, but they were put where they are by the support team at Parallels.

    The Parallels team also updated my Windows files to the latest version, so that would not be updating at present, I do not believe. It was updated to Windows XP, service pack 3.

    It is not a Parallel tools update either. I always use the command in Parallels Desktop that says "Reload Parallels tools." I just did an update to the latest Parallels build 2 days ago (9376), and that loaded properly, and I was able to reload the tools at that time. I was hoping that the update would fix my "unable to connect to hard disk 1" problem, but that error came back after I updated, so I started looking at the forum and found your post. Unfortunately, now I have this bigger problem in that the virtual machine won't boot at all, I can't restart it, and it is dead.

    I am disappointed, as I have already sat on the phone for about 8-12 hours live with Parallels support remotely accessing my machine. If it is not set up properly, it was done by the "experts" who were being paid for their expertise. I told them about the article on the Parallels website about fixing the permissions, but they didn't try that, as they thought that they knew how to fix it by recreating my virtual machine, and all kinds of other stuff. I have been using Parallels since early 2007, and it has worked reasonably well. This experience has been horrible.
     
  19. joevt

    joevt Forum Maven

    Messages:
    1,229
    To add screen shots, click the Go Advanced button which gives you more options. Use Manage Attachments to upload screen shots. This opens a new window. You can drag your screen shots (.png files that you create using command-shift-4 on the Mac) to the Choose File button. Then press upload.

    It doesn't matter where you put your .hdd files. It only matters that you have read/write permission to them and their contents and that the .pvm's have the correct path to the .hdd's. Deleting and re-adding a hard disk to the .pvm will ensure that.

    Your virtual machine is dead because it can't connect to hard disk 1 because there's a problem with the Hard Disk 1 setting (deleting then re-adding would fix that) or there's a problem with the .hdd folder and files (the info from the commands I showed might help us figure out what).

    The first thing to check is the .hdd folder and files. Post the info from the commands here. Try mounting the disk with Parallels Mounter.
     
  20. JillO

    JillO Bit poster

    Messages:
    9
    Gentlemen, I appreciate your help, but can you please send me the exact code that I should copy and paste into my terminal? I am not sure that I have the magic decoder ring to translate your code into my situation. My .hdd folder is in the default location, i.e. I go to Documents, then the Parallels folder, then the .hdd file is under my virtual machine within that folder. Please see the screen shot attached for the path, names of folders, etc. If I need to change something, please specify in your instructions that I should replace x with y, and any punctuation that is needed. I will do it, but I am not confident converting the code to my own situation. And I don't know anything about the .pvm--I know I have seen that file extension, but I do not know where.

    Also, somewhere in this process, it would appear that the .hdd drive is more unhappy. It is now saying that Windows is not detected, although Windows was installed there as recently as Wednesday morning. ]

    Please send me the code to explore the drives that you are looking for.

    Jill Osiecki
     

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