Creating Custom BootCamp Configurations

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Creating Parallels Custom Boot Camp configuration may be helpful in case Parallels Desktop is not able to determine what partition must be considered as a default "Boot Camp" partition. It may happen, for example, if Parallels has found more than one matching partition. "Custom Boot Camp" configuration also allows the user to use several partitions in one virtual machine.

A "Custom Boot Camp" configuration is created with the help of Parallels Desktop GUI (OS Installation Assistant or Add Hardware Assistant) and manual editing of the VM configuration (*.pvs) file. With either assistant create a virtual machine with the required number of virtual disks then edit the configuration file.

The following fragment of a configuration file (*.pvs) contains two hard disks definitions in the IDE devices section (the virtual machine has two virtual disks):

Code: 
[IDE devices]

Disk 0:0 enabled = 1
Disk 0:0 = 1
Disk 0:0 media = 0
Disk 0:0 connected = 1
Disk 0:0 image = disk.hdd
Disk 0:0 cylinders = 65016
Disk 0:0 heads = 16
Disk 0:0 sectors = 63
Disk 0:1 enabled = 1
Disk 0:1 = 1
Disk 0:1 media = 0
Disk 0:1 connected = 1
Disk 0:1 image = disk2.hdd
Disk 0:1 cylinders = 65016
Disk 0:1 heads = 16
Disk 0:1 sectors = 63
Disk 1:0 enabled = 0
Disk 1:0 = 0
Disk 1:1 enabled = 0
Disk 1:1 =0

To replace a standard virtual disk definition by definition of a “Custom Boot Camp disk†do the following:
* change the media value to ‘1’
* replace the image value ‘disk.hdd’by a string in the following format:

Boot Camp;diskNsA;diskNsB;diskNsC and so on, where DiskNsY is the BSD name of a disk partition to be used in context of a “Custom Boot Camp diskâ€.

NOTE: To learn the BSD name of a partition use, for example, the console command "mount"
WARNING: Do not use partitions from different physical disks in one “Custom Boot Camp" disk. (Parallels displays an error message)
WARNING: Do not use the same partition in two "Custom Boot Camp" disks in one configuration file (Parallels displays an error message)

For example, we want to convert both of the virtual disks to "Custom Boot Camp disks". We want the first "Custom Boot Camp disk" to include the partition disk0s3 from disk0, the second - two partitions from disk1: disk1s1 and disk1s2. After editing, the fragment will look like the one below:

Code: 
[IDE devices]

Disk 0:0 enabled = 1
Disk 0:0 = 1
Disk 0:0 media = 1
Disk 0:0 connected = 1
Disk 0:0 image = Boot Camp;disk0s3
Disk 0:0 cylinders = 65016
Disk 0:0 heads = 16
Disk 0:0 sectors = 63
Disk 0:1 enabled = 1
Disk 0:1 = 1
Disk 0:1 media = 1
Disk 0:1 connected = 1
Disk 0:1 image = Boot Camp;disk1s1;disk1s2
Disk 0:1 cylinders = 65016
Disk 0:1 heads = 16
Disk 0:1 sectors = 63
Disk 1:0 enabled = 0
Disk 1:0 = 0
Disk 1:1 enabled = 0
Disk 1:1 = 0

NOTE: IDE channel (0:0, 0:1, 1:0 and 1:1) has NOTHING with Boot Camp configuration. It just lets the Virtual Machine know which virtual IDE channel to connect the virtual HDD to. Do not change it!
 
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I'm getting the same error as well.
When I go to load the VM the partition disappears from the desktop for a split second, then reappears and pops me the message again. Though, I am trying to do it with Vista, so I'm betting that's where my problem is since I can use a different partition, a FAT32 partition, as a real drive with my XP VM I know its not a problem loading partitions, it is specific to my Vista partition.

Though, any thoughts, tips, hacks will be gladly explored.

I should also note that my NFTS Vista partition can't be unmounted without being done with a sudo via the command line. I only show as having read permissions on the partition. I thought NTFS was read only due to licensing limitations, not due to permissions... or is permissions part of how the licensing is kept in check? I dunno, I just thought it was weird that I needed admin privileges to unmount the partition.
 
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Boot Camp partition won't boot natively now!

OK...

So, I installed Parallels 2.5 and configured it to use my Boot Camp partition, which works fine.

However, now that partition will not boot natively any more! It hang when I try to boot. I can boot Windows XP in safe mode without a problem, but not normally. It boots fine under Parallels when I am running OS X.

Has anybody else seen this problem? I am led to believe that Parallels has installed some drivers (or something) which now interferes with the Windows partition to boot natively.

Help!

- J
 
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Parallels deletes my changes in configuration file (*.pvs)

Hi everybody,

I still have problems with more than one partition. :(
For example, when I attach external HDD I'm getting error message: "More than one Windows partitions are found ..."

My Configuration file was:

[IDE devices]
Disk 0:0 enabled = 1
Disk 0:0 = 1
Disk 0:0 media = 1
Disk 0:0 connected = 1
Disk 0:0 image = Boot Camp
Disk 0:0 cylinders = 0
Disk 0:0 heads = 0
Disk 0:0 sectors = 0
Disk 0:1 enabled = 1
Disk 0:1 = 2
Disk 0:1 media = 1
Disk 0:1 connected = 1
Disk 0:1 image = Default CD/DVD-ROM
Disk 1:0 enabled = 1
Disk 1:0 = 1
Disk 1:0 media = 0
Disk 1:0 connected = 1
Disk 1:0 image = disk Exchange.hdd
Disk 1:0 cylinders = 3184
Disk 1:0 heads = 16
Disk 1:0 sectors = 63
Disk 1:1 enabled = 0
Disk 1:1 = 0


I found partition where is my Windows XP SP2 installation but when change my configuration to:



[IDE devices]
Disk 0:0 enabled = 1
Disk 0:0 = 1
Disk 0:0 media = 1
Disk 0:0 connected = 1
Disk 0:0 image = Boot Camp;disk0s3
Disk 0:0 cylinders = 0
Disk 0:0 heads = 0
Disk 0:0 sectors = 0
Disk 0:1 enabled = 1
Disk 0:1 = 2
Disk 0:1 media = 1
Disk 0:1 connected = 1
Disk 0:1 image = Default CD/DVD-ROM
Disk 1:0 enabled = 1
Disk 1:0 = 1
Disk 1:0 media = 0
Disk 1:0 connected = 1
Disk 1:0 image = disk Exchange.hdd
Disk 1:0 cylinders = 3184
Disk 1:0 heads = 16
Disk 1:0 sectors = 63
Disk 1:1 enabled = 0
Disk 1:1 = 0

But when I try to start my virtual machine, it still replays same errom message, and when I go back to configuration file, I see it is restored to original one, without partition name

Does anybody konws what is wrong?
 
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I found problem: I should totally quiy Parallels while I am editing configuration file because it cashes content of file at startup.

I created partition for Linux and for Windows using console application diskutil and Parallels work great. Older version just reported me that I didn't created Windows partion with Boot Camp, arghhhh :mad:

You can use diskutil to find out which partition Windows is on using:

diskutil list disk0

if your windows partition is on disk0

Answer: configuration files are stored in user's Document directory in Parallels directory, and than in directory coresponding to chosen Parallels VM. You shoud use TextEdit for editing it or some console editor.
 
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Hey

I have an external drive with 2 partitions: FAT32 and HFS+. I want to use the FAT32 as the boot partition for Windows. I can boot into my Windows 2000 install CD with:

Disk 0:0 image = Boot Camp;disk1s2

and it picks up the two partitions however it says that the FAT32 partition is unformatted or corrupt... dang... does anyone know what's happening here?

Thanks!
kLy
 
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