Upgrade Lion, lose Windows

Discussion in 'General Questions' started by DarrenSwan, Feb 17, 2012.

  1. DarrenSwan

    DarrenSwan Bit poster

    Messages:
    2
    Hi there

    I have been using Parallels with Windows XP as a guest account on OSX Snow Leopard.
    I upgrade to Lion.

    Then when I tried to open Parallels, and Windows, it asked me to install Windows from scratch.

    Parallels said:

    Unable to load the Parallels driver.

    Restart your Mac and try again.

    Then went on to start a fresh Windows install from scratch, requesting Windows product keys etc.

    I can't access the Windows component of my computer.

    Please help me retrieve it if it's possible.

    Thanks so much

    Regards

    Darren
     
  2. RahulR

    RahulR Bit poster

    Messages:
    4
    Repair the installation of Windows XP
    ----------------------------------------
    The Windows XP installation CD which you use for repair, must be of the same version and service pack as guest OS installed in the virtual machine, otherwise you may corrupt your system. Please read the article http://kb.parallels.com/en/5446 How to integrate (slipstream) Windows XP Service Pack 3 in installation CD.

    For Windows XP virtual machine that uses a virtual hard disk:

    1. Open the configuration of the virtual machine.

    2. Under hardware section click the CD/DVD-ROM to open its settings.

    3. Make sure that 'Connected' option is checked and Source/CD/DVD-Rom is set to "Default CD/DVD-ROM" or Model of your CD/DVD-Rom is select in the list.

    4. Click the "Boot Order" on the left side of the Configuration Editor if it is Parallels Desktop 4.0 and then set the boot sequence to CD-ROM, Hard Disk, floppy.

    4a. Or click "Boot Order" under 'Hardware' tab if it is Parallels Desktop 5.0 and then set the boot sequence to CD-ROM, Hard Disk, floppy.

    4b. Choose the "Boot" options if Parallels Desktop 3 and then set the boot sequence to CD-ROM, Hard Disk, floppy.

    5. Click OK to close the Configuration Editor.

    6. Insert the installation disk in the Windows XP CD/DVD drive in your Mac.

    7. Start the virtual machine.

    8. Windows should ask you to press any key to boot from the CD - click in the window of the VM to capture the keyboard input and press any key.

    9. The configuration of Windows must start the Setup process, wait until it is fully loads and then press Enter (Return).

    10. Press F8 (or Fn + F8 keys on the Macbook) to accept the license agreement for Windows.

    11. Now Windows should scan your VM to install Windows - wait until the end and click R to repair the existing installation.

    13. Wait until the end of the repair. Skip new account creation as you already have one.

    14. Try restarting Windows. Reinstall Parallels Tools.

    __________________
    Macbook Pro 17 2.8Ghz; Host OS: Snow Leopard 10.6.2, 32-bit;Guest OS: Windows 7 Ultimate x64. [​IMG]
     
  3. Specimen

    Specimen Product Expert

    Messages:
    3,242
    Most likely the upgrade to Lion didn't recognize teh bootcamp partition where Windows is and deleted it.
     
  4. DarrenSwan

    DarrenSwan Bit poster

    Messages:
    2
    Thanks

    Thanks guys, I'm hoping the first answer is correct....

    Is it possible to determine if the Windows partition is still there from within Mac?

    I can't see it in finder.

    Regards

    Darren
     
    Last edited: Feb 17, 2012
  5. Specimen

    Specimen Product Expert

    Messages:
    3,242
    Use the Disk Utility.app.

    I'm sorry if my answer sounded catastrophic but if this is the case, this is in fact a known problem with some bootcamp installations when upgrading to Lion, the installer simply doesn't see it, and since it needs to create the Lion recovery partition it rewrites the boot record.

    Have you tried booting natively in bootcamp?
     
  6. YanaYana

    YanaYana

    Messages:
    1,666
    That's right about Disk Utility (Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility) you must see if any part of your hard drive still assigned to the Boot Camp partition. like here: [​IMG]
     

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