The godforsaken ntdll.dll Error

Hi,

i have been trying to install Win XP Pro using Parallels desktop 3 build 5060 and I do manage to get past the blue screen where XP loads up all the drives, but the thats it and then I am returned to the VM property page. I have tried -

removing and reinstalling PDM.
using an iso image of the win xp disk

but none of these have worked. I also read somewhere on this forum that using an iso image worked for some. So can anyone please tell whats wrong? Is my windows disk corrupted coz i am not able to test the disk on another PC. If nothing works then I might just go bootcamping hoping that that might just work? unless ofcourse somebody offers me help here.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks.

 

One more quest for help before I switch to BootCamp

 

For bootcamp you need win xp with sp2 !!!!!

 

Mine is a copy of win xp pro with sp2 integrated.

 

You might try the non-beta version 4560 instead. If you have 1gb of memory or less, you might be running out of memory space. A detailed description of your hardware might be helpful in troubleshooting the problem.

 

Hi,

I tried installing winXP(SP2 integrated) with a different copy again but it still keeps giving me the ntdll.dll error. Is there something I am missing out on?

As for the config, mine is the stock config MBP 2.4 C2D with 2GB RAM and during setup of the VM I have allocated 1GB for windows. I come to the blue screen where Windows loads all those drivers and then the ntdll.dll error.Please Help. I am running out on options.

Thanks for the responses so far.

 

try giving the VM less ram

Hugh W

 

Hugh is correct:
720k is enough even for most games on a VM. 512 should be enough for most stuff. You might want to check permissions on your boot drive. If they are okay then drag the bad virtual machines (everything in the virtual machine folder) to the trash and start over clean.

This is the cure parallels recommends in the knowledge base:
-----------------------
Problem Description:
Errors occur when you try to install or update Parallels Desktop, create or open virtual machines, load the required drivers to the guest OS .
Symptoms:
The symptoms may vary from Parallels Desktop installation/update failure to some problems during its operation, like inability to load required drivers, VM creation failure, etc.
Cause:
Mac OS system failure or incorrect software update may result in inabilty to install Parallels Desktop or load system files properly. Working in Mac OS for long periods of time without restart may lead to some minor glitches to appear in the system as a whole.
Solution:
1. Reboot your Mac.
2. Browse the Applications folder. Open Utilities and launch Disk Utility.
3. Select Macintosh HD on the left tab and click the Repair Disk Permissions button.
4. Launch the Uninstall Parallels Desktop application (you can find it on the Parallels Desktop CD or in the downloaded Parallels Desktop DMG package) and follow the on-screen instructions. Please note that Parallels Uninstaller does not remove virtual machines from your Macintosh hard disk. It is important to use the Uninstaller of the Parallels Desktop version currently installed or newer.
5. Delete these folders, if they can be found in your system:
/Library/StartupItems/Parallels
/Applications/Parallels
6. You may also need to delete the following files (it is recommended to restart your Macintosh computer before deleting them):

/System/Library/Extensions/vmmain.kext
/System/Library/Extensions/hypervisor.kext
/System/Library/Extensions/Pvsvnic.kext
/System/Library/Extensions/ConnectUSB.kext
/System/Library/Extensions/Pvsnet.kext
7. Repeat steps 2-3.
8. Restart your computer again and install Parallels Desktop for Mac.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Good luck

 

Oh By the way:
I have always had better luck installing any software package when running in Safe Mode. To go into safe mode at boot press and hold the "shift" key when you hear the startup chime until the first screen appears. "safe mode" will appear at the top of the login screen if successful.

 

laptops with WInXP used to be shipped with 500 mb RAM

putting in more RAM made little difference because it was unused if you looked at the task manager

which is how I got the idea of LESS IS MORE
the VM just runs faster too

and best run Photoshop native on the Mac
obviously if you want to run massive PC programs best get a PC and network it with the Mac to share data

VMs are particularly good with legacy programs (which are often tightly coded) and save the expence of running and maintaining legacy hardware

Hugh W

 

Hi,

Thanks for all the responses but unfortunately m still out of luck.
Here's what i tried -

repaired permissions - same error
safe mode bootup holding shift - same error
allocated the default amount of ram i.e 512 mb same error.

Any other help or is this a dead end?

Thanks for the support once again.

 

Ok to all you folks who helped me out....I finally got this to work. It seems to me that there was a problem with the NT boot loader. I tried again...it just worked. I now have XP running seamlessly on my mac.

Thanks all for your help.Really appreciate it.