No longer able to open my VM

M

Mark

Member
No longer able to open my VM with 3006

I'm using 3036 and have been since it was released. Everything was fine, until this morning. After rebooting, I tried to open my VM and got an error message saying "Virtual machine Windows XP cannot be opened since it is already used in another Parallels Desktop window. " However, there is no other Parallels Desktop window.

In the past, I used to get a message saying that the VM was locked by was easily able to override it. There's no option for this now. How can I open it? Thanks!
 
Last edited:
Mark said:
I'm using 3036 and have been since it was released. Everything was fine, until this morning. After rebooting, I tried to open my VM and got an error message saying "Virtual machine Windows XP cannot be opened since it is already used in another Parallels Desktop window. " However, there is no other Parallels Desktop window.

In the past, I used to get a message saying that the VM was locked by was easily able to override it. There's no option for this now. How can I open it? Thanks!
Click to expand...

Tsk tsk. If you'd bother reading this forum, you'd have have realized this issue has been discussed to death. See for example

http://forums.parallels.com/thread6264.html

P.S.

Just kidding -- I couldn't pass up the opportunity to sound like a self-righteous prod :)
 
Thanks! I actually tried searching for strings from the dialog but search didn't turn up any results.
 
Mark said:
Thanks! I actually tried searching for strings from the dialog but search didn't turn up any results.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the search feature on this forum is pretty abysmal. Also, given the high amount of traffic here, I think it makes sense to break the PD4Mac forum up into more focused areas. As it is, newbies like you & I are bound to come across snotty remarks from the seasoned regulars when we ask a question that's been asked a hundred times before. I'm talking from experience here :)
 
believe we been posting this issue before and time to time I get this error but seems to fingure out some how.. it will come back..

if you open parallels and get the error.. try select other VM if you have it.. close the parallels and check out if VM you want to use is still lock.

I found that by doing this, I was able to get back in... some bug in the app
 
jmizoguchi said:
believe we been posting this issue before and time to time I get this error but seems to fingure out some how.. it will come back..

if you open parallels and get the error.. try select other VM if you have it.. close the parallels and check out if VM you want to use is still lock.

I found that by doing this, I was able to get back in... some bug in the app
Click to expand...
Yes, this is old.

Parallels creates a hidden file in the VM directory when a VM starts, to indicate that it is in use, so that you can't start it again with another instance of Parallels. This is useful.

If you do a normal shutdown, the lock file is deleted. If shutdown is not normal, the lock file remains.

Parallels should change its behavior in two ways:

1) The lock file should NOT be hidden.

2) The override option should be put back in the warning dialog.

In the unlikely event that someone opens a second instance of an already running VM and ignores the warning, I really wouldn't worry about their getting the consequences they deserve, especially if they don't have a backup. It's sort of like a traffic light. If you ignore a red light, you might get away with it, you might get a ticket, or you might get killed. Stopping at the light is YOUR responsibility, not the auto manufacturer's, and the consequences of getting it wrong are yours.

It is impossible to idiot proof a product. As soon as you do, the world comes along with a better idiot. It's a losing proposition.
 
I was able to fix this quite easily by deleting the .lock file in the VM directory. It would be good for Parallels to offer a way to do this, as it used to, because it does get confused some times.
 
"If you do a normal shutdown, the lock file is deleted. If shutdown is not normal, the lock file remains."

I shut down "normally" every time I use parallels but i'm getting the lock problem every day! it's a nuisance but with hidden files shown it's easy enough to delete the lock. BUT.... shouldn't be having this problem - does the latest beta address this issue?
 
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