What is the proper way to shut down the virtual machine when using Parallels Desktop 6 on OS X? A. Shut down by shutting down the Windows XP or Vista first, and then quitting Parallels Desktop? B. Quitting Parallels Desktop before shutting down the virtual machine? C. Shut down OS X without bothering to do A or B? D. It does not matter how you do it?
I always use method A. It's clean and keeps both OS's happy. The other methods cause issues on my system.
If you shut down Parallels before shutting down Windows, this is a bit like shutting a PC down by depressing the power button, and often times you may get a message telling you that Windows crashed during the previous shut down. It's best to shut down Windows first, then shut down Parallels.
If you use the Suspend option instead of Stop, then there shouldn't be any damage when you quit Parallels without shutting down the virtual machine. Don't use Stop if you can Shutdown.
