Can't pass work from Mac to Win XP Guest

T

TobyT

Hunter
I've been having mouse-related problems (slowness, refusal to respond, etc., NOT due to old batteries) when all of a sudden yesterday I lost the ability to copy from the Mac side onto the Windows guest. After a restart this morning, I also can't pass word processing work from the Windows XP guest to the Mac for attachment to email.

I am running Parallels 6.0.12092, XP Pro SP2. I have not upgraded Parallels because I do not plan now or ever to upgrade the guest OS. In the past, I've experienced issues with OS upgrades which have been rewritten to work with later versions of Windows. Consequently, I've been reluctant to apply any newer versions of Parallels 6.

However, I am completely dead in the water after this latest problem. I use the mac side for all internet-related work; the guest holds all my "working" software (wp, database, spreadsheet, etc., programs). I have to be able to pass from one side to the other regularly.

This may have begun in November when I suddenly found that a pdf-formatted file was not passed over from XP to the mac properly (the report featured entries in RED; the passed-through copy was all in black). No amount of work resolved the problem. Now . . . . I can't pass anything. As a result, I now fear the problem is with Parallels whereas earlier I was troubleshooting the originating software. Please suggest something.
TobyT
 
Reinstalled PTools

After a reinstallation of Parallels Tools, I was able to pass material from the guest to the Mac. I can also copy/paste from the mac to the guest. However, the pdf-formatted file (with red font) still will NOT transfer intact.

What makes Parallels Tools stop working periodically? It's been a long time since I had to reinstall it, but this has happened during the three years I've been using it.

Does anybody know WHY the pdf file won't transfer intact? Or have suggestions about my Logitech infra-red mouse (with new batteries) which starts off fine, then refuses to work properly?
TobyT
 
The pdf files are created by WordPerfect X3 for transferral to the Mac side. I've used this application successfully since 2009. The last time the report ran successfully was November 9. Even since my return from a research trip, I've been unable to move the report successfully from the Windows guest to the Mac (I lose all color entries during the move). In other words, after verifying that the file is okay on the Windows side where I can see the red typeface when used (doubleclicking opens the file, but it shows up on the Mac side so I assume Adobe Reader opens it ); when I open it on the Mac side using the same doubleclick and Adobe Reader, all the type is solid black. This is a critical work-in-progress report so I really need it to work properly.

The mouse (Logitech infra-red) has worked perfectly for years. When it started acting up two days ago, I replaced the batteries which did NOT help. The problems: point and clicking does not open files; placing the cursor for any action fails; or, even stranger, when highlighting a segment of type for deletion/copying, the selection does not remain still, but skitters around. Worse still, upon occasion, portion(s) of highlighted copy is/are deleted. Eventually, yesterday, whereas the mouse worked at highlighting to copy on the Mac side, the highlighted material was NOT pasted on the Windows side. However, since re-installing PTools, this has worked.

I've run thorough anti-malware scans (nothing). I've checked to see what's running in the background (nothing unusual). I've tried another mouse (same problem). I've gone through the mouse's setup to see if anything had changed; it hadn't. So far today, I haven't experienced the same depth of problem, but I've hardly been using the computer today.
TobyT
 
Hi TobyT,

The build of Parallels Desktop 6 you're running is not up-to-date. The latest build is 12094, please update via Help>Check for Updates and see if it corrects the issue.
 
Why?

I looked at the documentation for the most current Parallels upgrade. Everything listed as being "fixed" is software I do not own or ever plan on owning. I am not running Lion, but will continue running Snow Leopard. I don't care about Boot Camp. I have no issue with bug fixes, but don't understand why I would want to add an upgrade which allegedly affects nothing resident on my system. I tried to find earlier upgrades that might be acceptable, but couldn't navigate to anyplace where they were available.

In fact, every time an upgrade to Parallels 6 is announced, I study its documentation. Everything seems to be about Lion or programs/functions I don't want or need. I don't play games, "do" social media, etc. Perhaps the issue is that Parallels upgrade documentation is too limited in scope. I learned the hard way to NEVER under any circumstances upgrade the Windows OS without reading EVERY single line of their documentation and then waiting 3 months to wait out the inevitable problems it caused (this included many critical updates which broke other programs constantly) - all of which is why I got off the Windows merry-go-round.

Here's the thing: an OS that is optimized to run on later Mac versions may not play nicely with my Mac OS 10.6.8. I've been burned too many times in the past to be very interested in getting burned again when a OS upgrade screws up other programs. All I want to do is run my Windows XP Pro OS optimally and research/email on the Mac side. Oh, I also do photographic work on the Mac side (the Windows version of PhotoShop Elements is a pain).

So, I require convincing that there are unnamed bug fixes on any upgrade before I'm going to risk installing it.

By the way, my mouse/cursor has been behaving just fine despite a heavy editing session this morning. So, perhaps the Tool reinstall solved the entire problem.
TobyT
 
The reason why I asked you to update to the latest build was mainly because it would automatically reinstall Parallels Tools, which you did already manually. Glad to hear everything works fine again!
 
No Help From Parallels

I requested help with respect to a problem passing a pdf file created in WordPerfect over to the Mac side on Dec 31. I had two problems in that post, I solved the mouse issue. The other has NEVER been fixed, despite sending a problem report to Parallels.

I have not been able to properly copy a critical pdf file created in black and red font from my Windows guest onto the Mac since November 19! Prior to that I had no problem doing so several times a week. From that point, the report had only black type every time I open it after copying. If the report doesn't have both colors of type (to differentiate key items), it's useless to me. The report is fine on the Windows XP guest, but unusable on the Mac side. I'm running 10.6.8 . . . . we've already covered that it is not up-to-date, but until Parallels provides a better explanation of EXACTLY what is contained in a so-called update, I am not willing to install it. I have no intention of upgrading XP Pro EVER. It seems as if all the upgrades since 10.6.8 address issues with Vista, Windows 7 or 8 which I will never, ever be running. I've learned the hard way not to update something unless I know exactly what it's going to do . . I've broken too many programs applying Windows security updates to not have learned this hard lesson.

But . . here I am unable to do something as simple as copy a file from Windows and have it display properly on the Mac side. I can create pdf files which contain colored jpeg files and copy them onto the Mac with no problem. If that works, why can't I copy a simple pdf text file with has black and red type?
TobyT
 
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