I'm using Parallels Desktop 13.1.1 under macOS 10.13.1 on a MacBook Pro, and have virtual machines installed for Windows 10 and Ubuntu.
Today I tried to install a VM for Windows XP in order to support a special-purpose USB device that doesn't work with newer versions of Windows. Based on instructions here:
https://forum.parallels.com/threads/windows-install-from-a-vhd-file.328556/
I used the described terminal command on the Mac to turn a virtualxp.vhd file from Microsoft into a Parallels .pvm file. This conversion appeared to execute correctly.
When I then launched the Windows XP virtual machine, a screen with a white background came up with this message:
A progress bar moved about 1/4 of the way across, then stayed in the same place for more than an hour.
While this was taking place, I looked at the smaller window for the Parallels Desktop menu. Here, there is a small image to the left of each virtual machine's name. The image for Windows XP shows a DOS-style startup window displaying this message:
While looking at this image, I can see that the number next to "Seconds until Windows starts" actually counts down from 30 to 0, the image goes back briefly, then it counts from 30 to 0 again, over and over.
At this point, since the install seemed to be stuck, I did a force-quit on the virtual machine and closed Parallels. When I tried to restart Parallels Desktop it returned to this Windows XP configuration screen and froze in the same place. I therefore did a force-quit again, and deleted the Windows XP .pvm file, which allowed me to start Parallels Desktop without the same install auto-launching.
Next, I used the Mac terminal command linked above to generate a new Windows XP .pvm file so that I could try to the install again. This time, before launching Windows XP, I used the Parallels Desktop options to disable file sharing between Windows XP and the Mac. Since the Mac has a couple of terabytes of storage, I thought disabling access to the Mac disk might prevent Windows XP from getting hung up in case it was doing a complete scan of available storage for some reason. However, when I then launched Windows XP to try the install again, I got the same results as the first time.
Any suggestions on anything I can try to get the Windows XP install to run correctly? Is there a suggested source for the Windows XP install file in case I want to try a fresh copy?
Today I tried to install a VM for Windows XP in order to support a special-purpose USB device that doesn't work with newer versions of Windows. Based on instructions here:
https://forum.parallels.com/threads/windows-install-from-a-vhd-file.328556/
I used the described terminal command on the Mac to turn a virtualxp.vhd file from Microsoft into a Parallels .pvm file. This conversion appeared to execute correctly.
When I then launched the Windows XP virtual machine, a screen with a white background came up with this message:
A progress bar moved about 1/4 of the way across, then stayed in the same place for more than an hour.
While this was taking place, I looked at the smaller window for the Parallels Desktop menu. Here, there is a small image to the left of each virtual machine's name. The image for Windows XP shows a DOS-style startup window displaying this message:
While looking at this image, I can see that the number next to "Seconds until Windows starts" actually counts down from 30 to 0, the image goes back briefly, then it counts from 30 to 0 again, over and over.
At this point, since the install seemed to be stuck, I did a force-quit on the virtual machine and closed Parallels. When I tried to restart Parallels Desktop it returned to this Windows XP configuration screen and froze in the same place. I therefore did a force-quit again, and deleted the Windows XP .pvm file, which allowed me to start Parallels Desktop without the same install auto-launching.
Next, I used the Mac terminal command linked above to generate a new Windows XP .pvm file so that I could try to the install again. This time, before launching Windows XP, I used the Parallels Desktop options to disable file sharing between Windows XP and the Mac. Since the Mac has a couple of terabytes of storage, I thought disabling access to the Mac disk might prevent Windows XP from getting hung up in case it was doing a complete scan of available storage for some reason. However, when I then launched Windows XP to try the install again, I got the same results as the first time.
Any suggestions on anything I can try to get the Windows XP install to run correctly? Is there a suggested source for the Windows XP install file in case I want to try a fresh copy?