Save current VM State?

[rbienstock]

Is it possible to save the current state of a VM? The problem that I'm having is that on my MacBook Pro, every few weeks or so, when I close the cover, I hear a tone and the computer is turned off for some reason. When this happens, if I try to restart the VM, it is locked, and if I restart anyway, anything I did in the VM since I last started it is lost. This is a real pain. I have no idea of Parallels is causing the crashes, but the real issue for me is saving my data in the Windows VM. I've used VM Ware in Windows on other machines and it has a "snapshot" feature you can save the current state of the VM and revert back to that at any time. Can this be done with Parallels Desktop? Is there any way to save and restore the current state of a VM (other than suspending it)?

If Parallels Desktop can't do this, I'd suggest that it be added as a feature. You can do some pretty cool things with this feature in VM Ware on a Windows box. For example, one can create a VM that is a "virgin install" of Windows that has nothing installed other than the base OS, and then use that to install and test new programs while avoiding unfortunate interactions between it and other programs. You can also have multiple VMs that can be started in an already running state rather than having to boot up.

Regards,

Robert

 

[dkp]

Is it possible to save the current state of a VM?

Suspending it does save it's state. In fact that's all suspending it does. 'Save State' could even be another name for Suspend.

 

[rbienstock]

Suspending it does save it's state. In fact that's all suspending it does. 'Save State' could even be another name for Suspend.

Yes, but there is a big difference: in VMWare, save snapshot saves your current state without stopping the VM. Suspend closes the VM. Also, Save snapshot allows you to restore any snapshot at any time, while Suspend only gets you back to your last-used configuration. What I'm looking for is a way to set a restore point while I am working in the VM.

Regards,

Robert

 

[STim]

Snapshots, the most delicious VMware Workstation for WIndows/Linux feature? This is not an option yet for Parallels.

Best regards,
Tim

 

[dkp]

I realize it's awkward, but have you tried suspending then archiving the .mem file for later recall? I don't know if this will work or destroy your system, but using a backup it may be worth testing.

Does the restore state process in VMWare attempt to resync changes? It leaves me wondering about differences between snapshots - especially for Unix systems where logs and authentication issues are involved (password files, for example).