The secret:
1) only atttach the thumb drive once the vm is open otherwise MAC OS X caputures it first
2) Don' t select the flash drive from Parallels devices but rather Right clicking on the USB icon in the bottom right hand corner of windows. This allows Windows to recognize it.
I hope this helps others who may be having a similar problem. So simple when you know how....
1) only atttach the thumb drive once the vm is open otherwise MAC OS X caputures it first
2) Don' t select the flash drive from Parallels devices but rather Right clicking on the USB icon in the bottom right hand corner of windows. This allows Windows to recognize it.
I hope this helps others who may be having a similar problem. So simple when you know how....