Protection of VM

M

mecoolai

Junior Member
Is there any way to Encrypt the VM file? Can you put in a password on the VM (Windows XP SP2) file when you open up Parallels?

Passwords in XP are easily hackable so I'd rather put a password on both... Maybe I'm too paranoid...
 
You could always put everything inside an encrypted OS X disk image (.dmg) file. Users would have to mount that password-protected image first before accessing the VM.
 
Open Disk Utility Click File > New > Disk Image From Folder.

Select Your folder when you get to the save name screen select the encryption option in the select menu and it will prompt you for a password when you start to create the dmg

:)
 
abanks said:
Open Disk Utility Click File > New > Disk Image From Folder.
Click to expand...
mecoolai --

A few extra comments - if your Parallels virtual disk was created as an expanding one (which initially takes little space and grows as needed to the max size you specified), you'll want to use Disk Utility > File > New > Blank Disk Image... and specify the image size, in order to specify the max size for your disk image (and not be limited by the size your hdd file is currently using). If you do this, you can create a sparse disk image in order to save space in the OS X disk image as well. A sparse image for OS X is one that will start small and grow as the contents of the disk image (i.e., your Parallels .hdd file) grows.
 
I know I created an expanding one. Is there anyway I can change/convert an expanding to a sparse disk image? I have important information on my Windows XP I do not want to delete....
 
mecoolai said:
I know I created an expanding one. Is there anyway I can change/convert an expanding to a sparse disk image? I have important information on my Windows XP I do not want to delete....
Click to expand...

Yes, I believe you want to use the Parallels Image Tool in your Parallels Application folder.
 
mecoolai said:
I know I created an expanding one. Is there anyway I can change/convert an expanding to a sparse disk image? I have important information on my Windows XP I do not want to delete....
Click to expand...
The expanding virtual hard disk is Parallel's term for a drive that will start small and grow to a maximum size as needed (rather than take up all the space at once). A sparse disk image is Apple's term in their disk image nomenclature for an image that will start small and grow to a maximum space. So if I understand your question correctly, you don't need to worry about converting anything. Basically you're creating an encrypted expanding container (a .dmg file) to hold your other expanding container (your .hdd file).

Since you created an expanding virtual hard drive for Parallels, I'm assuming you'll probably likewise want to save space and use a sparse disk image under OS X. So, your steps would be:

1.) From the Disk utililty main menu: File > New Blank Disk Image...
2.) In the dialog box, specify as the size something larger than the max size you specified for your Parallels .hdd file + the size of your .pvs file (which is very small, only about 8K) - i.e., if you created a 20 GB Parallels expanding virtual disk, create something a bit larger than 20 GB so that it will hold the max size of your .hdd file and your .pvs file
3.) Specify that you want it encrypted
4.) Specify sparse disk image format
5.) Click "Create"

The place your .pvs and .hdd file from your VM inside that, and mount and dismount that image as you need. As your Parallels .hdd file grows, your .dmg file will also grow appropriately, to the limit of the max size you created.
 
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