My windows 7 vm won't start. What now

I don't use snapshots (ouch). I just get a black screen. I am using Lion on my iMac. As I do a reset in the Parallels environment, I see the initial microsoft logo as if windows is going to install, but then nothing. Just a black window. Once I click on the area inside the window, I lose mouse control.

If I reinstall windows, will I lose everything?

Is there anything I can do?

Thanks,
Jim

 

Do you have any copy of your .pvm file? It can be from time Machine, CCC, or just simply copying it from the hard drive to an external drive?

 

I have the same problem... and I do not have a backup of the pvm file. Am I stuck having to reinstall from scratch / lose the VM?

 

That would be the best thing to do. Make sure you have all Mac updates installed then install a clean Parallels and then Windows. I have no problems with my installation by doing everything clean and restarting my laptop after each step of the way.

 

Are you saying to use the same *.pvm file, but reinstall the Parallels software?
Yeah, that would probably work. At the same time, first trying to repair Windows (boot from Windows CD, choose repair) might work as well... if I can find my W7 DVD's.

 

I don't understand. You first said you didn't have a copy of the .pvm so you want to reinstall only the windows part. The .pvm includes Parallels AND everything in it so it includes the Windows programs.

Is your Parallels program working ok? If it is then you only have to reinstall Windows but if you're going to do that you might as well start from scratch and this way you make sure that your original Parallels installation wasn't the reason your Windows program went bad to begin with.

 

My apologies for the confusion. I do not have a *backup* pvm file.

According to Parallels support, if the pvm file can still be mounted with the Parallels mounter (which mine can), then probably youcan just run a Windows Repair (boot from the Windows disc and run Repair).

I haven't been able to try it yet, so we'll see.

 

No problem now I understand your situation. Let us know the outcome after you run the Windows Repair.

 

If turning on your PC doesn't bring you into Windows, try booting from a Windows 7 DVD or a recovery disc.

Boot from a Windows 7 System Repair Disc, and you'll find tools to heal an unbootable PC.You may already have the DVD. If Windows 7 didn't come with your computer but you installed it yourself, you have the disc. If you don't have it, you can borrow someone else's disc.

Alternatively you can borrow someone else's Windows 7 computer and use it to create a System Repair Disc (you can also do this on your own PC before it has a problem). To create the disc, click Start, type system repair, select Create a System Repair Disc, and follow the prompts.

If your computer won't boot from the CD, go into its setup screen and change the boot order so that the optical or CD/DVD drive comes before the hard drive. I can't tell you exactly how to do this since it differs from one PC to another. When you first turn on the computer, look for an on-screen message telling you to press a particular key 'for setup'.

If your PC fails before you can enter setup or boot from a CD, you have a hardware problem. If you're not comfortable working inside a PC, take it to a professional.

But let's assume that the CD boots. When it does, follow the prompts. Likely the utility will tell you very soon that there's a problem, and it will ask if you want to fix the problem. You do.

If it doesn't ask you, or if the disc can't fix the issue, you'll see a menu with various options. Startup Repair and System Restore are both worth trying.