Virtual Snow Leopard in Parallels: Copying & Pasting

[Greybeard]

I am running a Snow Leopard server as a virtual machine in Parallels 8.0 on a Mac mini with OS 10.8.3 as host.

I want to set up a situation in which folders are shared between the host and virtual machines, and in which I can copy files, text, images and data from one to the other by copying and pasting or by dragging and dropping. The instructions in the Parallels Desktop User's Guide are for running Windows as the virtual machine. I have studied them, tried to follow them despite running a Mac 10.6 server and not Windows as my virtual machine, experimented in various ways — all in vain. I am reduced to plugging in a USB flash drive, copying, removing the flash drive, switching to the other machine, reinserting the flash drive and pasting. Please could someone provide me with comprehensible instructions (or a link to such instructions) for achieving what I need in the case of a Mac Snow Leopard virtual machine? I should be immensely grateful.

 

[MichaelLAX]

In the meantime:

"...switching to the other machine..." - you mean, of course, just clicking back and forth between the two environments: vSLS and ML?

Have you installed Parallels Tools from the Virtual Machines menu? Maybe try to install it again?

Also, there should be a Shared Folders folder on your virtual Desktop. Inside should be a Home Folders and additional folders for each external hard drive connected to your Mac.

If it is missing, in the meantime you can access the files on your real Mac's hard drive using File Sharing, as follows:

Open System Preferences from the Apple Menu of your ML Mac. Click on the Sharing icon and then check the box for File Sharing. Note the IP address of your ML Mac as "afp://192.168.0.101 or similar and write this down.

On the vSLS Mac in the Finder, go to the Go Menu, then Connect to Server... and enter this same address and hit enter. Then enter your ML account name and password and then if more than one hard drive are attached to your ML Mac, select which one you want to mount in vSLS. Repeat for additional hard drives, if necessary. Note that this should cause them to each appear on your vSLS Desktop if in vSLS Finder Preferences you have checked all boxes for these things to appear; and files should now be accessible to vSLS.

NOTE: I also suggest that you go to System Preferences in vSLS and turn on Seconds on the Menu clock (to continuously see if it working) and also similarly turn on File Sharing, in case you need to access the opposite situation (vSLS files in ML through File Sharing).

NOTE: Certain older Mac files that had Data and Resource forks may get corrupted in the transfer from one environment to the other. I recommend that you use the Finder File menu to go to Compress and zip these files, copy them over and then upzip them in vSLS if corruption is a problem.

 

[Greybeard]

In the meantime:

"...switching to the other machine..." - you mean, of course, just clicking back and forth between the two environments: vSLS and ML?

• Yes, that is what I meant. Why I mentioned it is now beyond me, because doing it is easy and obvious.


Have you installed Parallels Tools from the Virtual Machines menu? Maybe try to install it again?

* Been there, done that, as they say.


Also, there should be a Shared Folders folder on your virtual Desktop. Inside should be a Home Folders and additional folders for each external hard drive connected to your Mac.

• Now that I have followed your instructions, I have the hard disk of the guest (SLS) machine on its desktop, and also at last the Shared Folders folder. I am delighted to say that I can now access folders on the host (ML) machine from the guest machine.


NOTE: I also suggest that you go to System Preferences in vSLS and turn on Seconds on the Menu clock (to continuously see if it working)

• Not that it matters, but, strangely, seconds in the guest machine are one second behind seconds in the host machine. It surely cannot take a second for the signal to pass from the host to the guest machine?


and also similarly turn on File Sharing, in case you need to access the opposite situation (vSLS files in ML through File Sharing).

• This is the only remaining problem: In Guest (SLS) Machine > System Prefs. > Sharing, there is no 'File Sharing', only 'DVD or CD, Screen, Scanner, Remote Login, Remote Management, Remote Apple Events'. (I would have attached a screen shot, but for some reason screen shots don't work in the SLS environment.)

But once again I must thank you for clear, simple instructions. I failed completely when I tried to do all this by following Parallels's own instructions.

 

[MichaelLAX]

• This is the only remaining problem: In Guest (SLS) Machine > System Prefs. > Sharing, there is no 'File Sharing', only 'DVD or CD, Screen, Scanner, Remote Login, Remote Management, Remote Apple Events'. (I would have attached a screen shot, but for some reason screen shots don't work in the SLS environment.)

Oh, right this is SL Server and I probably have not tried to turn on File Sharing in it myself yet. In Server it requires the one of the Server apps to turn on File Sharing. Not a big priority for me right now...

 

[Greybeard]

Oh, right this is SL Server and I probably have not tried to turn on File Sharing in it myself yet. In Server it requires the one of the Server apps to turn on File Sharing. Not a big priority for me right now...

I've now discovered that it works anyway — I can move files both ways.

 

[Greybeard]

Still (or again) in trouble!

I've now discovered that it works anyway — I can move files both ways.

Alas, I had a disaster and accidentally deleted the folder that contained my VM (Snow Leopard Server). I re-installed it, but when it came to configuring all the preferences involved in file-sharing, I seem to have done something different from before and once again have problems with moving files from the virtual machine to the host machine and vice versa. There are four places in System Prefs., each with multiple possibilities, and I am now totally confused. These are Users & Groups and Sharing in the HM and Accounts and Sharing in the VM.

I have a Shared Folder in the VM. Also a Public Folder and a Drop Box in the VM (but in these most locations are marked to show that I do not have permission to access them). And on the HM's desktop, a folder called 'TO GO!' has appeared, whose function I do not understand.

If anyone has a list or diagram or tutorial that shows what should be selected in each of the four System Preference locations (remembering that my VM is Snow Leopard Server), and if anyone can explain to me the functions of Public Folder, Drop Box and TO GO! — and how I can give myself permissions to access the locations in these for which at present I have none — I shall be profoundly grateful.