Parallels 6 / Ubuntu 10.04 - How to install Parallels Tools

R

RobbT

Junior Member
Hello,

I wouldn't be surprised if this is a Linux thingy, easy to resolve for Linux savvies. But I'm not too familiar with Linux, and that's an understatement.

I installed Parallels 6. All went well. Until I tried to install Parallels Tools in Ubuntu 10.04 and OpenSUSE 11.2 (both OS are supported).
I followed the instructions but got messages: "install: missing file operand" and "Try 'install --help' for more information."
The help info didn't give me any clue.

Linux expert please help me out.
 
1) Select Install Parallels Tools. This opens the Parallels Tools disk. You should see a file called install.
2) Open a Terminal window and type "sudo ", then drag the Install file from the Parallel Tools window to the Terminal window. Then press Enter and type in your password. Use the mouse or tab/spacebar to click the buttons in the Terminal window.
 
Thank you joevt, you got me there.

(Nice I could just drag the file into the Terminal window, just like in MacOS, never thought of trying that.)

For there may be another Linux newbe that runs into this, I tell what happened.

After dragging the Install file into the Terminal window and pressing Enter a window popped up, the same window that would have popped up after just double clicking the Install file.
The window asks: "Do you want to run "install" or display its contents?" And gives some options.

I had to close that window, it doesn't work together with the Terminal.

Then the Terminal needed another Enter before it asked for a password and started the installer.

The installer has options Remove and Upgrade. Upgrading without removing first worked just fine.
 
RobbT said:
After dragging the Install file into the Terminal window and pressing Enter a window popped up, the same window that would have popped up after just double clicking the Install file.
Click to expand...
I meant to say select the Terminal window after dragging the file and before pressing Enter. What you did was press Enter while the Parallels Tools window was still in front. I'm sorry about that and glad you got it working anyway.
 
Yes, I just found out in another VM.
I expected after dragging a file into the Terminal window that window would have the focus...
 
OK, seems to have worked for me - at least, it went through a "DOS-like" screen routine and said it had upgraded the tools, then rebooted Ubuntu (9.10). But it won't let me drag files from the Mac window onto the Unbuntu Desktop. What's happening?

DN
 
Woooah! Looks like Parallels 6 and Ubuntu 10.04 *really* don't work well together. Can't get mouse out of Ubuntu window without a keyboard ctrl-option, and dragging from Mac desktop to Ubuntu still doesn't work. I'm going to downgrade to U9.

Possible lesson from this: don't upgrade to either P6 or U10 yet?

DN
 
Look for "Parallels Tools Overview" in the Parallels Desktop 6 help. It says that Drag-And-Drop between guest and host is not available for Linux.

P6 and Ubuntu 10.04 were working fine for me while I was using Parallels Tools 5. I upgraded to Parallels Tools 6 and everything still seems to work fine but the cursor changed to a black X instead of a white arrow (at first it was invisible until I moved it around awhile). I think the black X moves around more smoothly though (it's using a hardware cursor). The title bar including the Close, Minimize, and Maximize buttons on all the windows disappeared too. Removing Parallels Tools 6 did not restore the cursor or window title bars. I can't move windows that don't have a title bar unless they have a menu.
 
I got the cursor and title bars back by playing with System -> Appearance -> Visual Effects. Then I reinstalled Parallels Tools 6 and everything is working fine again. The window title bars are visible, the cursor is a white arrow, and the Parallels Tools features work.
 
I'm having no success getting the Parallels Tools (P6) working with Ubuntu 10.04. they install OK, but I can't get the cursor to move out of the Ubuntu window without pressing control-option, and dragging/dropping between desktops is impossible, whereas it works perfectly for a WindowsXP VM. With Ubuntu 9.10, I can move the cursor around properly, but drag/dropping between desktops is not possible. With appropriate sharing permissions turned on, I can use the Ubuntu File Browser app to transfer files between Mac folders and Ubuntu folders, but destop to desktop drag/drop doesn't appear to work.
 
joevt said:
Look for "Parallels Tools Overview" in the Parallels Desktop 6 help. It says that Drag-And-Drop between guest and host is not available for Linux
Click to expand...

OK. Thanks. They couldn't get them to work yet. Sounds like a cop-out. I'm still having trouble with Ubuntu 10.04 with the cursor stuck in the Ubuntu window.
 
You could try to get Parallels Desktop 5, open the .mpkg file with Pacifist, extract the Linux Parallels Tools .iso, and install the Parallels Tools 5 then upgrade to Parallels Tools 6.
 
When I upgraded from P5 to P6, I upgraded from the P5 tools. I have another laptop which still has P5 on it, and I'll explore how Ubuntu 9.04/9.10/10.04 work with P5 and the P5 tools, to see if it was something that got broken with P6.
 
Parallels has made some improvements in Linux guest support the last two or so versions. It is now that as long as Xorg stays the same, or was just a minor revision, you could compile or run the same version without need for an upgrade. Similar for the Kernel, but now the kernels are relatively stable/consistant as far as Tools are concerned. Unfortunately 10.10 contains a new Kernel AND a new Xorg to lay the groundworks for better pen and touch input. I remember the dark days of 4 and latter when every new kernel update almost mandated a new Parallels Tools release. However this shouldn't be as bad as 10.04 since they re-did almost entirely how Xorg was configured and controlled in that version.
 
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