Missing Network Adapter

I installed Parallels 6 on a 2007 MacBook Pro (2007) and am unable to access a network (or the internet). the installation was done as follows:

1. Installed Parallels 6 (downloaded the trial version);
2. Created a virtual machine I named Windows XP;
3. Installed Windows XP;
4. Installed Windows 7 Home Premium;
5. After installation was complete I tried to access the internet and received a message that there is no network adapter;
6. Checking the Windows device manager, I see 3 yellow triangles for ethernet, etc.
7. I renamed the virtual machine "Windows 7" and restarted the VM;
8. I continue to receive the same error message;
9. I am unable to get any support from Parallels as I don't have a valid activation code (I guess trial versions don't come with any support);
10. Hard to know whether to buy the full version of this product if I can't get the network adapter installed and cant get support because I haven't bought it yet.

Can anyone provide a step by step solution to this problem?

Thanks,

J

 

I installed a BootCamp partition first to make sure I had all the drivers for the hardware.
I have not tried installing to just the VM... the VM may "supply" different virtual hardware than the real hardware. For example my HP Ink Jet is supported via a Color Laser driver in the VM.
By doing the BootCamp first I let Parallels convert the real hardware to virtual (not sure what virtual network adapter I got...)

More to the point may be, get XP working fully before upgrading to W7. That way the network driver is already known perhaps.
Other idea is install a W7 directly and skip XP (if you can; I don't know what the licensing issues are. Seems that W7 comes with a XP license like Vista, so you might be covered, I don't know.)

 

THanks for the reply. I had Windows installed in bootcamp for years, but found it to be a less than optimal configuration as you can't move files between the partitions, hence the move to Parallels. I have the product working on my 2009 iMac, although to be honest, I seem to remember a similar program.

I can't recall whether the netwrok adapter was functioning under XP on this install because I immediately proceeded with the W7 upgrade. Installing W7 from scratch isn't an option for me because I have the upgrade version of W7.

Perhaps someone who has had this problem can comment, or someone from the Parallels team.

Thanks for your post.

 

Installing MSWindows to a new platform is always a trial, even on the best hardware. It has always required many trips to the web to download drivers for Mother board "chip set" drivers and LAN drivers. I don't know what "mother board" the VM represents or what brand of LAN hardware, but you may find drivers for these on line; however...
I did several right-click on the yellow ! triangles to force MSWindows to scan the Mac Install CDs for more drivers after the initial install...
You might try that -- or you might have already done it several times...

I just think that, if you get a successful BootCamp install, then all VMFusion or Parallels has to do is translate the then-known hardware into a more VM friendly one and install the correct driver for you. That's all.

Best of luck and best regards.

 

I had the same problem upgrading to Windows 7. Couldn't connect to the internet after installing the Windows 7 upgrade. I normally use ethernet with cable with my Mac, although I can go wirelessly as well.
On the Parallels menubar using the drop-downs, I went into "virtual machine, configure, hardware, network , chose the bridged network option, then used default".
Everything then worked just fine.

 

Solution

Actually I worked this out. I shut down the virtual machine and form the top menu bar reinstalled the Parallels Tools. Upon reboot, the network adapter was installed and I was able to connect to the internet and my network at work.

I just have to figure out how to see all of the network now as opposed to "user psf on X:" and "folder on psf Z:", where user is my user name and folder is the name of the share on our network.

I purchase a key to the product last night at the Apple Store, so I have 90 days with support to work these problems out. If I can't do so I can return the product.

I think Parallels would do better to offer limited support to trial users. If the frustration level is too high trying to get the system set up on a prospective purchaser's computer, I can see people giving up and trying the competitor's product. There is no reason to not offer this initial support as a user can just do what I have done, buy the product, try it for 90 days and if you are not satisfied, just return it for a full refund.