I need help but I don't even know where to start

[JustinaH]

In 2007 I purchased an iMac and Parallels along with it as I was moving from a PC. I attempted to install Parallels, created a partition, etc. But I understood almost nothing of the documentation though I always read manuals and usually understand them fairly well. Most of what I read in the V3 manual was gobbledegook to me and eventually I gave up. The software was never used though I very much wanted it.

Now I have a MacBook Pro. with 4 Gb of RAM and a 300Gb hard disk. I received an email offering me an upgrade to version 4 of Parallels and thought, "I'm sure by now they'll have made it easier to understand and implement. I'll go for it." So I purchased the upgrade, and was quite surprised when I discovered I had to have V 3 operational before I could install and activate V4.

As before, I sat down to read the manual. It still makes no sense to me whatsoever. Then I came here to the forum and it's just as bad. I don't know what questions to ask. I don't understand all the tools and whether or not I need them. Do I have Bootcamp? I don't know. Do I need it? I thought the point of the Parallels software was that one didn't need Bootcamp, or to understand all this virtual machine stuff. At this point, I've spent a lot of money and have NO CLUE as to how to get Windows XP running on my mac. I've read about how great VM is, but I already have V3 (and now, 4) and don't want (and can't afford) still another piece of software.

What do you all recommend I do at this point? Is it impossible to create a "turnkey" system to do what Parallels does without having to understand all the underpinnings? I feel like I'm being told that I can't drive a car without understanding how to build and install an internal combustion engine. Shall I ask for my money back from this company and give up on running XP? Is that even an option?

I read in one of the stickies (by Eru) that I'm not entitled to support. I'm not? I pay $100 for an application that is supposed to help me and I'm not entitled to support with getting it up and running? I think that writing documentation that assumes NO previous experience with the practice or jargon of virtual machines would be an essential part of good software. I'm not trolling around and casting blame; I'm just expressing my dissatisfaction with my inability to use a product for which I paid good money thinking that there is usually an unwritten agreement about being able to use it.

 

[ajay]

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[ajay]

I may be off base here, but I think your problem may be that you purchased the Parallels "upgrade" version of the VM rather than a stand alone version. If I'm not missing the boat, the upgrade version is just that, a path to upgrade to the current version from v3.0. I helped a friend a couple of months back install v4.0 from scratch (not an upgrade) on a MacBook Pro and it was quite easy. As I recall, we had the Parallels software available and a fresh WinXP disc with activation/authentication key. The whole process took about 45 minutes and we guided every step of the way with prompts. More importantly, no problems. Perhaps you can touch bases with Parallels and inform them you ordered incorrectly. It's worth a try.

 

[HonzaI]

Hello Justina,

there are very few pieces of software, which can be made totally user proof. As someone who authored some software myself, trying to make it user friendly is really difficult - because there are many users and many of them even do not speak English. And those who do, may not speak the same English as the authors do, as you found out.

Actually, I suspect you should not read the manual. There are default options, which should produce usable system for you. Just keep the default values, and you should be OK.

In your case here is list of steps to do:
1. Install version 3.0. Simply pop in the Mac the Parallels disk, run the installer and provide your version 3.0 serial number.
2. Reboot mac (I think it is necessary in this case).
3. Install version 4.0. Again, simply pop in the disk you have and run installer. Provide the upgrade serial number. I think you have to reboot again, do not remember.
4. Run Parallels and they will walk you through creating new virtual machine and installation of the "guest" operating system. That is the system you want to run inside Parallels (=Windows). (note: Mac is called "host")
5. There are some helpful predefined configurations for WindowsXp and may be Vista by now. Take advantage of that. These configurations are nearly idiot proof. I know that, I used them.
Just comment: You WILL need Windows full version installation CD/DVD with serial number. Parallels do not come with Windows OS.

Under most circumstances (may be 99%???) you should end up with properly functioning Parallels and Windows system. As I said, if you do not get creative it should work. Some of basic suggestions to my users is: Default values are there because I thought about them for long time. Unless you know better, use them. If you do not know what the term means, you do not know better.