Where is Parallels Explorer?

T

TobyT

Hunter
I'm running Parallels 5 (upgraded from 4.0) with a Windows XP Pro Guest OS on a MacMini. The manual states that Parallels Explorer is automatically installed (page 245 in the 4.0 manual), but there is no icon for it under Finder\Applications\Parallels and I can't find it anywhere. As it now stands, I can't "see" any of my data or image documents on the Mac because, as a longtime Windows user I knew better than saving anything to the same drive as the OS under Documents and Settings. Therefore, my virtual machine (as it was transported) consists of logical drives for both data and images. Moving files between Windows and Mac (as, for example, a file attachment to email) is currently very difficult. Nor are any of my image files shown; I have to save an image to the Windows desktop and then drag it to the Mac.

I would appreciate any help in finding Parallels Explorer.
TobyT
 
i had to look also but it is on the right click menu when you have the vm file selected.
to be more specific (and i assume that the parallels folks had an internal contest on hiding this feature...)
find your .pvm file, right click and then select "open with" then select 'parallels mounter' and it will mount all HDD images associated with that VM.
Simple and really quite obvious when you think about it (backwards in russian)..
 
Hi,
indeed, there is no Parallels Explorer any more available in version 5 and Parallels Mounter has to be used instead.
 
I-che, it would be helpful if Parallels documented this. I read manuals, but obviously the 4.0 manual is kaput. I hate online help, but I didn't find anything documenting this change there either (or I couldn't find it). My thanks to Jeffrey P; I'll try this after I've had my morning tea and am up to it.
TobyT
 
No Joy

Jeffrey, I appreciate your help. I couldn't seem to find it via your instructions, but finally found the online manual reference on how to use Mounter. However, Apple did an update download while I was trying to get this to work which must have interfered with Windows vm in some way. When I tried to shut down Windows, thinking this might make Mounter work, I got the Blue Screen of Death, and upon restart a disk check which found a bunch of corrupted files. Once this was allegedly corrected, when I went to use Mounter, I got the message that Mounter could not access the HDD (and/or there weren't any).

I think I've got a problem with Parallels set up (which was only made to work with a multiple hour call to India) in that I show two Windows XP vms. Only one actually loads.

With respect to Mounter, the online manual instructions (for which there doesn't seem to be any easy print method other than copying to TextEdit) could be clearer. The biggie though is that it states: "If you are browsing the contents of a suspended virtual machine in Finder, you cannot delete, move, or otherwise modify its files."

Therefore, it's unclear that I can use Mounter if I want to copy files to the Apple desktop for eventual emailing. This is NOT handy. So . . . . from the Apple I can't "see" any of my virtual drives with their documents or images and I can't see them via Parallels Mounter! I have no trouble accessing them via the vm.
TobyT
 
Hi TobyT,
it appears that you try to mount virtual hard drive of a running virtual machine. Please check this link. Or, try to mount virtual hard drive when VM is stopped.
 
I-che, I know to stop the vm (I read the relevant part of the online manual yesterday). That had been my mistake, prior to yesterday. But, my comment from later yesterday still holds: What I'd like to do is be able to move files from my Windows guest OS (where said files are on virtual drives; i.e. NOT on the C: drive) to the Mac desktop for burning or emailing purposes. If I can't do this via Mounter (and the manual is unclear if copying is allowed, but it didn't matter as I could never see the drives), the only way to do it is to copy said file to either my external hard drive for moving to the Mac desktop OR copying said file to the Windows desktop and then moving it. Either way is clunky and slow. I spent yesterday doing the copying to the Seagate hard drive and then moving them to the burn file as a way to get stuff backed up PRIOR to reformatting the Seagate so the Mac could use it for the Time Machine. I have SmartMount invoked so I should be able to see the E:, F: and G: drives in the Mac, but I can't.

I'm still in trouble after the update/snafu yesterday. I've restored an old Registry version in hopes that upon Restart of the Guest OS, chkdsk doesn't continue to run. It's checked my Programs drive five times now (the first time corrected the corrupted files allegedly) and there's been nothing wrong on the four subsequent chkdsk "runs," but the flag is still set to perform this upon every Restart of the Guest.

This makes fooling with Mounter even more difficult.
TobyT
 
Hi TobyT,
I have tried to reproduce the situation with Parallels Mounter mounting only C drive; Parallels Mounter perfectly processed C drive and logical D which both appeared in Finder's sidebar and could be accessible. Files are available to access and to be copied. If issue with mounting is significant for you, I can create support ticket for you and we will investigate it closer. Let me know.
As for checkdisk appearing at every Windows start, please try to apply this KB:
http://kb.parallels.com/en/4998
 
Problem with Knowledge Base Article

I can't use the technique in the article because Windows no longer accepts my initial installation CD after I applied SP2. I'd made a SP2 Recovery disc, very carefully according to directions, but it isn't accepted by Windows either. Although I own a copy of Windows XP Pro SP3, I never installed it because I have one piece of hardware and one critical piece of software that I've been warned will NOT run under SP3. I transported Windows SP2 onto the Apple via Parallels 4 (after learning the motherboard of my two-year old computer was failing). You see the dilemma. I recognize that this is NOT Parallels' problem. I up against the realities of dealing with a Microsoft product.

I can't do without the critical software and the hardware isn't recognized by Apple (the manufacturer has no plans to provide a driver for Apple), but does work (periodically) under Parallels on the guest OS. Eventually, I'll probably upgrade it, but it includes a particularly good piece of software.

I suspect I'm not the only "former" Windows user who has this problem with a service pack-upgraded installation of Windows. I've read that people who purchased a PC without an actual CD-ROM of Windows may have the same problem after a SP upgrade. I've tried, in the past, pointing to my fully-registered and approved Windows installation on the hard drive, but this didn't work either. I haven't restarted Windows since I restored a good Registry copy (where one error message said the problem resided). I usually just suspend Windows when I'm not using it.
TobyT
 
Chkdsk Problem Solved!

I posted an earlier reply which still hasn't made it to the Board. I restarted the vm and it ran without running chkdsk . . . because I'd restored a previously-saved version of the Registry. Thank you RegCleaner!
TobyT
 
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