Starting a virtual machine crashes Mac Pro (new Intel tower)

A little more feedback.

(1) I downloaded the beta and it simply doesn't work, regardless of what nvram settings I put. I reverted to the retail, and I have no problems except on restart. With the MTU set to 1024 (in Windows, not in OS X), I have no *Internet* issues (it's kicking ass), though LAN access is still a little iffy. No website loaded with the MTU at 1500. Still though, I swear, I have a longer uptime and a shorter boot time in Parallels than I ever did on one of my old Dells.

(2) People who expect this to work already are dilusional. Whatever this problem is, it's a relatively low-level (ie. closer to the hardware) problem and probably will require some changes that, while they might be fixed simply in the code, might have effects on others parts of the code, so I'm sure there are a lot of d and alpha stages to come. Having said that, they shouldn't be surprised when people feel a little upset when it doesn't work out of the box on what's supposed to be the killer mac.

 

I think it's an entirely valid point that the Parallels folks ought to be more explicit on their web site about the Mac Pro issues. But my gosh, people, this kind of thing is a bit over the top:

The idea of buying a Mac Pro to finish an important project over the weekend? Uh-uh. That's more than a bit imprudent.

The Mac Pro is a brand new piece of hardware with significant differences (specifically, 64-bit support). Nobody should expect any software to run successfully on it right out of the gate. You should be looking for affirmative confirmation of Mac Pro compatability for any software you consider critical to your workflow, not just the absence of reported issues.

Again, without a doubt the Parallels folks ought to have a prominent message on the front page of their web site. But frankly, anyone who is that anxious to get the newest hardware up and running is asking for trouble. The reason you're not going to find a big outcry in the press, and the reason you won't in the future, is that frankly the injustice here isn't severe.

 

I am having a slightly different problem.

I had Paralles (retail version) installed on a 2.0ghz Macbook with Windows XP home and it was running just fine.

I just bought a new MacPRO (2.66 dual with 2gig Apple memory)..
I used the Apple Migration utility to bring everything over from the Macbook to the MacPRO,
including the full Paralles, windows installation.

When I try to launch paralles, I get an error saying that it could not start as it could not find a necessary driver.

I assume that is due to the fact that it may not have the video drivers etc for the Mac Pro, but
in anycase, it will not start up at all, other than the immediate error message.

The good news is that, under these circumstances, it cannot crash or casue a Kernel panic.

Some of you have been able to get it runing in some fashion however.
Does that imply that the necssary drivers are there for the MacPRO on the retail version?

And if that is true, does anyone have an explanation for the situation that I am seeing on my system?

I have not seen this particular issue discussed in these threads

Thank you,
Harley

 

The Migration Assistant doesn't migrate kernel extensions. Parallels installs kernel extensions. They're the drivers that the application says it can't find. You need to install Parallels directly on the Mac Pro. Then, you'll have the same set of problems as everyone else on that machine.

 

Again, my point was only regarding the lack of a warning about the incompatibility which would spare Mac Pro customers a lot of trouble and frustration.

I didn't buy a Mac Pro "to finish a project over the weekend" obviously. The story is a bit longer but this is not really relevant here. I finished the project on another machine.

 

Glad to hear you had backup, babal!

 

My apologies if I caused any offense. It's just that I have been through this before and this time I am much more optimistic for a timely fix.

I bought the first-generation G5 and needed Virtual PC, which wasn't compatible. It was months before VPC was compatible with my G5. On the other hand, I bought a first-generation Mac Pro to replace the G5 and it's been 2 days since I got it, but already there is at least a "workaround" for lack of Parallels support on Mac Pros.

Regardless, the problem should be fixed soon and this will all be a bad memory.

 

Toggling MTUs vs setting Windows registries

Simple answer: The registry fix will cause other unpredictible problems.

Nerdy answer: Fragmentation is an important part of the TCP/IP protocol. It allows us to send packets over different mediums that contains differnet MTUs. While most networks won't have a problem with 1024 (as suggested in one post) there will be a few that do. With multiple routes to the same destination, sometimes a site will work and other time it will not.

 

how does this thread not merit a sticky (or status updates from a parallels employee)?

 

Development team is working on Mac Pro support and fix will be available in upcoming public build. Stay tuned.

 

This is a status?

"Development team is working on Mac Pro support and fix will be available in upcoming public build. Stay tuned."

And that build has an ETA of.....

1.) today
2.) tomorrow
3.) next week
4.) next month
5.) before VMWare comes out with their beta
6.) Sometime in 2007

We know we can't hold you to an exact date... but can't you give us some better idea?

 

My unofficial estimation is somethere around 3 and 4.

 

We will make an announcement and send direct mail once we have build which support MacPro. Don't worry - you will be notified immedeately.

 

Finally a ball park time line... I was checking the forums waaaaay to frequently for updates.

 

Another kernel panic error...

I suspeneded my VM, restarted the Mac, came back to Parallels, restarted the suspended VM and got the grey screen of death.

I'm running Parallels on a 3ghz Mac Pro, 2G RAM with the nvram setting suggested in this forum. Just in case this is useful to the team....

 

NVRAM Fix + MTU Toggle = working parallels for me.

It doesn't work after every OTHER reboot, but no big deal. No kernal panics or hypervisor errors. I'm eagerly awaiting a real update, but this is good enough for now!

 

thanks for the update. That info helps a ton.

 

Thank YOU!!!!

Look, I can live with "we don't have an answer, but we think within a couple of weeks" is a hell of a lot better than "Stay Tuned".


Part of the reason that my house is now PC free is you guys, because litterally, all I need this for is VPN to work... and after having myself and a couple of other key players defect to MAC, I can say, we are now working on that issue and plan (unofficially) to have it resolved sometime between 4 and 5.....

 

Andrew... based on your phrasing of you comments... is it my imagination or are you from the UK?

lol

again, thank you for the update. I'm going to go try to make the workaround work...

Some advice... don't be HAL + 1 (big blue...) and don't be the like the folks up in the seatac area... you know, 1 fixpack away from having it right.

Be upfront.... we can all sleep better that way....

 

This is great news

Hi,

Okay so a couple of weeks then. This is great news since I couldn't use Parallels properly on my Mac Pro anyway until Crucial get their RAM sorted which is also going to be a couple of weeks.

Hopefully my mid Sept we should be sorted RAM and Parallels wise.

And then we can bug you guys about the suspend functionality in Solaris

regards
Steve