sometimes i just want to run windows quicken from within OSX...other times i would like to play battlefield 2 and boot into windows. its wastefull to have 2 full XP installs for this purpose. it would be nice if we could point parallels to use the Windows formatted drive as the workstation HD. thanks, alan
On the other hand having portable XP installation located in expanding image is very helpful. You can backup it by just copying 1 file, you can archive it, burn it to DVD, put it on FTP - many possibilities. Much more comfortable than using real partition.
I would think that the fact that a native install includes drivers that directly access hardware such as the ATI video card, sound chip, network, and other devices will prevent Parallels from using the native install. Parallels has a software layer emulating video, sound, network, etc.
Well, it would keep Parallels from *using* the native (Boot Camp) install, but Parallels should be able to access it as D:, at least. This is one of those features they say will be in the final version, but isn't in the beta yet.
This is not an insurmountable problem. Windows XP has hardware profiles that would basically allow you to select the Parallels drivers for virtualization, and the native drivers for standalone booting. Not that I want to post links to a competitor's site, but VMware dicusses how this can be done with their VM.
