Upgrade from Desktop 4 to 8

I have been putting off upgrading and finally it looks like I have to. Where can I find how to upgrade from Desktop 4 to Desktop 8 which I just purchased. I can only find that for 4 and 5 it is not possible to upgrade automatically. How do I upgrade and not loose my Microsoft Windows XP and my files.

 

Hi

Unfortunately there is no upgrade from Parallels 4 to 8 knowledgebase article http://kb.parallels.com/en/114588

But if you purchased a full version you are fine and can install it following these instructions from the knowledgebase: http://kb.parallels.com/en/114623 Parallels identifies the prior version and will uninstall without deleting your .pvm files.
Before any upgrade I alway make a backup copy of my .pvm file.

 

If you can make an image of your Windows XP machine, from within Windows too then that may be a good idea too, then even if something goes wrong you can restore the image that way, just another backup.