I run Windows XP using Parallels, but for some reason, whenever I have an item (usually a shortcut) on my desktop that I want to remove, I can't delete it/move it to the Recycle Bin. Instead, there's a short delay, and I get a message about how I can't delete the file because it may be read-only or write-protected, and I should also make sure that the disk is not full or the file is not in use. I've checked all of these things repeatedly, and none of them are the cause, but it's quite annoying to not be able to delete these shortcuts and the like from my desktop in Windows. Is there anything I can do?
If you are using Shared Profile (see Parallels Desktop for Mac user guide from http://www.parallels.com/en/download/file/doc/Parallels_Desktop_for_Mac_User_Guide.pdf on page 112) , try to delete item from Mac OS side. If you are not using Shared profile perform disk scanning and repair on Windows http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315265 and also check permissions on shortcut from Windows
I think you meant page 211. Turns out I didn't have Shared Profile enabled, so I followed your second piece of advice about checking the disk. Nothing unusual was found in the check disk, so I looked into permissions; by default, Simple File Sharing is enabled in XP, so I had to disable that in the Control Panel (Folder Options/View/uncheck Enable Simple File Sharing). From there, I was able to see the Security tab in the File Properties, but that's where I get a bit stuck and worried. I'm especially concerned because for the two shortcuts I'm examining, one is an invalid shortcut created by a game installer, while the other one is an old shortcut created by an older version of Parallels-- "My Documents on .psf"-- although it's never worked (linking me to the My Documents folder I have on my hard drive-- NOT the My Documents folder of Windows XP, and not the OS X Documents folder). I'm wondering if successfully deleting what I think is a shortcut would actually delete the source folder. When I click on the "My Documents on .psf," it says "C:\Documents and Settings\Azurite.BLUEYESWHITEMAC\Desktop\My Documents on .psf is not accessible. Access is denied." This leads me to believe it IS a shortcut, just targeting the wrong place. But I'd rather get rid of the "shortcut" anyway, because since Parallels updated last, there's another shortcut that works better (Parallels Shared Folders). What I did was go to the Security tab, click on Advanced, and type in my username in the last box. When I click Check Names, it changes the username to the proper location/username format, and then I can click the checkboxes for the advanced/special permissions. I checked Full Control/Allow, and then I was able to delete the bad game shortcut, but now, when I click on the "My Documents on .psf" one, it lets me view the folder-- C:\Documents and Settings\Azurite.BLUEYESWHITEMAC\Desktop\My Documents on .psf is the address, and there's some kind of a shortcut to a folder (it's got a two-way pipe icon coming out from under it) that's called "target." When I click on THAT, it takes me to \\.PSF\My Documents. I'm worried that if I delete the first one (with the big long URL), I'll delete the actual folder-- or will I? Will I just be deleting the folder containing the shortcut to the actual My Documents folder, and not the folder itself?
