Leopard and Parallels

Hello,

I read some of the information on here about Leopard and parallels but none of it helped my situation.

I installed leopard.
Then I tried to open parallels and I got an error message that said that it couldn't open.
Then I uninstalled Parallels and reinstalled.
After reinstalling sometimes I get the error message, but other times I get

The virtual Hard Disk 1 image file /Users/jillholsclaw/Desktop/winxp.hdd could not be found

as my error message. This seems serious. I have XP has an iso file only, and I don't want to install it again because XP shouldn't have disappeared with my upgrade to leopard.

Please help me soon! I need XP on my mac to take my final exams (law school) and I don't need the stress of my computer not working!

Thanks!

 

Lawstudent,

Have you installed the 10.5.1 Leopard Update? That seems to fix some problems. I would try installing the update. Uninstall Parallels. Restart computer. Reinstall Parallels. Unless you've got a boot camp VM that got trashed somehow, your original VM should still be there. You shouldn't have to reinstall windows. Some issues are caused by parallels not uninstalling completely. You can follow the procedures outlined in the Known Issues and Workarounds thread that is here somewhere to manually uninstall it if that is the case.

 

Hello,

Lawstudent, do you mean that it happens not every time?

Perform the following procedure:
1. Find your Parallels hard disk file whose name ends in .hdd. Usually it is located in the Macintosh HD/Users/YourUserName/Library/Parallels/ or Macintosh HD/Users/YourUserName/Documents/Parallels/ folder. You can use Finder to find the .hdd file.
2. Right-click the file (or control-click if you have a one button mouse) and choose Open Package Contents from the pop-up menu.
3. In the window that opens, you should see the lock file - it ends in .lck. Just drag it out of the package window to your desktop (don't touch anything else).
4. Close the package window and you should be able to start up Parallels with no issues. Once you've verified Parallels starts up OK, you can trash the .lck file.

Best regards,
Alicia.

 

More help

Hi,

Ok I tried to find the file that you suggested, but it apparently doesn't exist on my computer.

When I am able to open parallels then I get two options.
My Bootcamp: which it says it can't open because bootcamp isn't installed.
and
Microsoft Windows XP which it says that it can't open either because it "quit unexpectedly" or because of the missing hard disk 1 which was in my original post.

I tried to install bootcamp, but it didn't work....

I don't want to reinstall windows and I am regretting getting Leopard.

Thanks for anymore help you can give me. If this doesn't work it there a 1800 number I can call?

 

Do you mean you can't find an .lck file?

Best regards,
Alicia.

 

Yes, I don't have the .lck file. I just get PDF's that give me instructions about parallels.

 

There can't be PDFs
Are you sure you open the right folder and choose the right point in a right-click menu? Could you please attach a screenshot of the last window that you open?

Best regards,
Alicia.

 

I am right clicking on the folder and I don't have an option to open the package contents. I just opened the folder and it took me to a folder called explorer and then a folder called temp and then the temp folder didn't have anything in it.

 

Is there a 1800 number I can call so that I can get this resolved? Thanks!

 

Lawstudent, use spotlight to search for a ".hdd" file. When you find this open it in the finder and right click on it as instructed.

 

Back up.

I believe that Parallels is not yet certified to run under Leopard. Leopard was just released a few days ago, it already has a major update (10.5.1) and, according to a number of folks on the Apple support forum, Leopard wireless support is still not working very well. I have been trying to get Leopard and Parallels to behave, but Parallels isn't working for me yet. I don't have anything on the critical path that requires it to work for me right away, however. Your situation is different.

I strongly recommend that you restore Tiger on your machine and use that with Parallels to pass your exams.

Never update a machine immediately before a major event like exams or a release, unless you need fix a blocking bug. The risk you take to destabilize the machine for a few days is significant.

 

It might be too late now, but this problem is perfect for iChat screen sharing. I have Leopard, for example, and I would be happy to connect to law student's machine and help him out. As more of us get Leopard, this might be a good way to help each other.

Chris

 

Hello,

Lawstudent, however, have you tried to perform this? I mean find .hdd with a spotlight and open the package.
An as for the phone call - information about it is here.

Best regards,
Alicia.

 

Hi,

Ok I tried to find the .hdd file and I don't have it. I tried all of the suggestions to find it and I don't think I have it.

The law school exams aren't until the 7th of December...so I have some time to figure it out.

I am going to go to my school's help desk today to see if they can figure it out.

Also, I think its ridiculous that you have to pay for a phone call. This is inadequate customer support in my opinion, especially since I paid 70 dollars for this program and now it doens't work. Great.

Thanks for the help though from everyone who posted suggestions, I appreciate it!

 

Hello,

it seems that your .hdd is gone, unfortunately. You'll have to create a new one.

Best regards,
Alicia.

 

Lawstudent - use a finder session and explore your Mac HD under devices. Look for Previous Systems. This is where Leopard puts previous OS components and some of your home directory. Look around in there to see if any of your missing stuff is there. No guarantees - it all depends upon how you updated to Leopard.