Parallels 3188: Win XP very unstable

Hi there!

A couple of days ago I bought Parallels (build 3188) to run Windows XP Professional on my 24" iMac with the 2,16Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 2GB of memory. I run it on Mac OSX 10.4.9 (8P2137). The problem is that I can't get a stable Windows environment!

I followed the OS Installation Assistant and chose Windows Express (recommended). I proceeded to installing Windows XP Professional from an original CD and every thime the installation freezes, spontaniously reboots or simply gets in a loop. I tried it 6 times and the last time I finally managed to get a working Win XP Professional environment, despite the 2x reboot while setting up...

Now, my Windows environment has also rebooted 2 times, the USB is not working (inside Windows there are no drivers installed for the USB controller and I can't get any installed either). I tried installing Xp Home Edition, but with the same results. I also tried installing from an ISO file and I tried another Xp Professional disc. After two evenings of installing Windows and pulling my hair out, I gave up...

Can anybody help me with this?

 

Oh boy. That sounds ROUGH! I hope you still have some hair left.

Ok, let's start from the top... Is Parallels tools installed?

!!CAUTION!!
Back-up Before Proceeding​

Have you tried re-installing OS X and then installing Parallels first after applying all of the OS X updates?

Alternatively, re-installing OS X, applying OS X updates. Then get BootCamp up and running... Then, go install Parallels and point it at the BootCamp partition. See what stability is like. If it is good, install the rest of your apps.

Also, if you want to upload your crashreporter.log and any panic.log you might have that might assist us.

 

No, not anymore. This evening I started with a complete reinstall of Parallels, so I first deleted every scrap of data I could find (also the semi-working Win XP Pro partition), rebooted, downloaded Parallels and reinstallled it. I created a full 32Gb partition (not a variable one, but a full). Still the same problems, but now I can't install Windows in Parallels anymore: I can't get the installation completed, as many times as I try.

[quote[Have you tried re-installing OS X and then installing Parallels first after applying all of the OS X updates? [/quote]

Actually, I am too afraid to do that, since OSX is working perfectly and running Windows is not that big a priority to me to risc losing my OSX installation over it. I do have the latest version with the latest software updates.

 

Hmm... Strange... This is unusual. I would say it is worth a try to use a BootCamp partition.

I see. I am just wondering if something is messed up on the OS X level... But, I bet if BootCamp works, we can guess that OS X is screwy... If BootCamp doesn't work than you have a hardware issue.

 

reinstall tools

very probably tools are not installed properly . Please reinstall them !

 

small is beautiful trywith less ram to windows

500 mb is enouigh for me out of 2 gb

Hugh W

 

Thanks, but I tried that both.

My first installations were with the standard 512Mb. I tried more to see if that made a difference.

The Tools I have installed several times when I had a working partition, without succes.

At this moment, I can't get a working Windows partition anymore, since I can't seem to complete one succesful Windows XP installation without it crashing, rebooting every time or freezing...

 

Today I tried to install a Windows 98 partition, but that also turned into a complete disaster...

So do I have to conclude that the current version of Parallels is not working on my iMac?

 

Intel iMac

My intel imac will not run boot camp and parallels runs poorly. I have all updates

 

i have an intel mac that will not run boot camp and runs parallels badly. I have all updates

 

^What is the problem with bootcamp? Thats normally as solid a a rock..
Have you tried uninstalling BC repairing disk permissions then reinstalling?

chrisj303

 

I would second Chrisj303's question about what your problems actually are... BC 'always works', that is why I have it in our office.

 

I dare not begin to install Bootcamp, that'll probably ruin my good working OSX partition with the recent luck I have trying Windows on my iMac...

I also posted a bug report with Parallels, but no reply on that yet besides an automatic message. On all the Mac forums I come, people don't have an answer for this problem.

Looks like this was a poorly spent $80,- ...

 

I have a similar setup to you (MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo, 10.4.9) and Parallels Desktop 3188 runs fine with XP Pro SP2.

You say that Mac OS X is running fine, but I assume that you have tried the basics, i.e., repairing Permissions and running Repair Disk in Disk Utility (also possibly running DiskWarrior) then running the 10.4.9 Combo Updater? I also assume you have done things like restarted the Mac OS after installing Parallels and Parallels Tools?

David

 

I am having the same problem trying to install Windows XP under Parallels 3188. It crashes or restarts frequently during the installation process. After about 5-10 tries, it finally limps along enough to get to a working OS install, but it's really rocky until that point.

The only workaround I have found is to use the original, old, retail release of Parallels. That one is much more solid for XP installation, at least for me.

I have had the poor XP installation experience on two machines - a MacBook and Mac Mini, all fully updated.

On the MacBook, the 3188 was a completely fresh install - Parallels had never been installed on that machine before.

 

I seem to have Windows XP working on my iMac now, but unfortunately not with Parallels.

I tried everything with Parallels, but I could not get it to work. I filed a bug report twice, but other than an automated reply, I did not get any reply at all.

Some time ago I downloaded VMware Fusion and that seems to do the job perfectly! It installed instantly without any problems and also the Windows XP Home installation went without a glitch. USB & internet runs 100% so I can run Windows. Just too bad I could not get it running with Parallels (that I bought for $80) and I did get it working with VMware Fusion, which was free...

 

I also have been unable to install Windows XP SP 2 using v3188 of Parallels, each time I tried it did get a little bit further, but it required that I trashed the VM after each failure. I got there after attempt number 5, I tried all 3 installation options and finally settled on custom and changed the memory allocation from 512 to 256. Then it seemed to go all the way through. This is on a MacBook Pro 2.0 Ghz with 2gb of Ram and 100 gb HD (44 gb free).

I had Parallels before, but only today needed to install Windows XP.

 

Today I tried the trial version of the new Parallels, but with the same results: crash after crash when installing Windows.

I think I will stick with VMWare...

 

Hi Cenobyte

we have had similar experiences with build 3188. Once we reverted back to the previous 1970 build all our problems went away.

So I would recommend to you to find a 1970 build and give it a try. You might be in for a surprise.

 

Cenobyte

Which version was the trial version you downloaded?

I spent days trying to get 3188 to work. Same experience as you pretty much. This is with a Mac Pro dual quad cores 3GHz. 8G memory, 30 inch display.

I got pretty far by turning off the VT-x support and setting the Acceleration level to normal, but I still did not get past installing SP3.

Finally I re-installed from my CD which was version 3186. After that I had absolutly no problems.

If you can't find an older version I could post 3186 for you on my ftp server. I --think-- that is okay with Parallels as they allow download anyway. Let me know if you want that via e-mail and I will give you details.