Hey guys, I've got Windows 7 installed as a straight VM. The positives of doing it this way are manifold: I can copy files back and forth between the two, I can copy/paste between the two...all of it. The negatives are that you can't boot straight to windows if you ever needed to, and I would suppose that it would be more severe if the VM is pointing back to an actual HD partition and not just a spot in outer space, essentially. So, my question is 4-fold: 1) Is it possible to "convert" a straight VM to a "boot camp" VM without having to start from scratch? 2) If no, what's the best way to get all the files and settings from the straight VM to bootcamp? 3) What kind of settings, or even third party software would be required to make it so that I can keep with the free file exchange that I have now between OSX and the straight VM? 4) Even if I can do it, in your estimation, is it worth the work? Please let me know, guys! Thanks and God Bless! -J
I was thinking of doing the exact opposite! I'm using BootCamp partition right now for Win7, but I found I never boot directly to Windows. I believe performance is better without BootCamp (disk I/O), not sure why, just my own experience. Also, going back to VM will enable more reliable suspend / resume of the VM, ability to shrink it, and recover some unused disk space and make it usable again. Just not sure on the process of how to do the switch. Thoughts?
What version of Parallels Desktop are you using ? In PD7 it is possible to suspend BootCamp VMs, also there is the option to "Import BootCamp VM" to regular VM.
