How to run 2 Windows Virtual Machines Simultaneously

J

jmmorrell

Bit poster
Hi. I am trying to run 2 Windows Virtual machines at the same time. I have a Windows 7 VM built and running already. I am trying to build a Windows 8 VM. I found that after I built the 2nd VM, it became difficult to boot/start the VMs.

If no VM was running, double clicking the VM on my desktop would mount the virtual disk but not start the virtual machine. I have to manually start Parallels from Applications and then click the VM in the list.
If a VM was already running, I would have to go to the Parallels Menu > File > Open to start the 2nd VM.
I noticed if the Win 7 & Win 8 VM were both running and I shut 1 of the VMs down (Win 7 > Start > Shutdown), the 2nd VM would shut down as well. Specifically shutting down the Win 7 VM while both were running would also shutdown the Win 8 VM.

Is this normal? Should I only run one VM at a time?

Thanks,

Jim
 
It is possible but to run multiple VMs (I do it daily) but you need to adjust how you use Parallels.

The first issue is normal in that it is just mounting the virtual disk. That is a feature allowing you access to the files without having to launch the VM.
To start a VM, either the first one or additional VMs, you can do it from the File>Open or use the VM list window from the Window>Virtual Machine List. I find the list window to be the easiest to manage all my VMs.
The issue with the 2nd VM shutting down when the 1st VM is brought down is because the VM is configured to quit the Parallels application on shutdown. When Parallels is told to quit, it stops any other VMs that are running. I consider this a bug. It should just close the window instead of quit if other VMs are running.

So, to fix this
Open the VM configuration, switch to the Options tab and select the Startup and Shutdown entry. Change the Start Automatically to Never and the On Shutdown to Close Window. Repeat this configuration for any other VMs.
Now when you start the Parallels application, it will just show the VM List window allowing you to pick which VM to launch.
When you shutdown the VM, it will close the window and return to the VM List window. It won't effect the other VMs and the Parallels application will remain running.

Hope this helps.
 
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