Best Way to Install XP for both Parallels and Bootcamp?

B

beagley

Member
I've read through the manual and paged through the forums, but I can't find a definitive answer:

What is the *best* way to install XP for use under BOTH Parallels AND Bootcamp?

Sometimes I will need to use one, sometimes I will need to use the other. I want maximum performance under both. What should I do?

My current theory:
1. Follow Bootcamp Installation instructions at Apple,
2. Install Parallels and follow the manual's instructions for creating a virtual machine from the Bootcamp partition.

But I can't find anything in the manual that says that's the BEST way to do it. Here's the real issue: Will Parallels be SLOWER if it is looking at a Bootcamp install instead of doing things its own way?

Is there any procedure or configuration tips I should follow to ensure that I get the most out of my machine in both environments, or do I have to pick a preference for one or the other? Would I see the BEST speed if I installed XP twice, once for Parallels and once for Bootcamp?
 
Your steps are correct

1. Follow Bootcamp Installation instructions at Apple,
2. Install Parallels and follow the manual's instructions for creating a virtual machine from the Bootcamp partition.
 
It IS possible, that's what Boot Camp compatibility in Parallels means, means it uses the Boot Camp partition instead of a virtual disk (not just at the same time, but I'm sure you didn't meant to be running both at the same time, you would need two machines and an external drive, I think that's what John understood(?)).
 
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Indeed. I'm not trying to run them both atthe same time. It's just that while I like the convenience of Parallels for certain tasks, for others I need to be running just Windows XP so that it gets the whole machine. However, I think I've found the source of my problem here:
<a href="http://kb.parallels.com/en/5447">http://kb.parallels.com/en/5447<a>. I had installed bootcamp and it was running fine, then I installed parallels using that partition and it was running fine. I then did all the windows updates from within parallels, and then when I tried to reboot into windows via bootcamp, it bluescreened exactly as described in that KB article. I'm now in the process of fixing the problems. I wish someone had thought to include the warning of "don't do windows updates in parallels when you are using a boot camp partition" in the manual, however.
 
John, you should've at least said something like "No, Parallels Desktop for Mac cannot be installed on an NTFS partition". That would've made it clear what was not possible, and what was your interpretation of bnagy's question. If I hadn't answer on this thread bnagy would get the idea that he couldn't use his Boot Camp partition in Parallels.
 
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I'm not talking about the MacOS App Parallels, but rather the guest OS partition. Specifically:

HD1:
Part1: OS X Journaled FS:

Part2: NTFS:
 
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